Review: The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie

Book Blurb:

Who do you become when you have nothing left to lose?

There is something Poe Blythe, the seventeen-year-old captain of the Outpost’s last mining ship, wants far more than the gold they tear from the Serpentine River.

Revenge.

Poe has vowed to annihilate the river raiders who robbed her of everything two years ago. But as she navigates the treacherous waters of the Serpentine and realizes there might be a traitor among her crew, she must also reckon with who she has become, who she wants to be, and the ways love can change and shape you. Even—and especially—when you think all is lost.

Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched trilogy, returns with an intricately crafted and emotionally gripping story of one young woman’s journey to move beyond the grief and anger that control her and find the inner strength to chart her own course.

Find out more about the book on Goodreads

My Review:

3 Stars Out Of 5

Genre: Dystopian, Heart-Wrenching, Historical, Survival, Suspense, Teen--

Poe has made it her mission to create armor and equipment to protect the ships that mine the rivers for gold. It is her life's work and the only thing that she can do after her love Call was taken away from her. When she is told she has to go on the last mission of the vessel, something she never thought she would have to do again, she learns that her world is not as simple as she always thought.

I will admit that I struggled with this book. I really, really wanted to like it and I was excited to jump into the story and the world. But unfortunately this just did not work for me. I can fully appreciate the world that Ally created, kind of like an alternative history with some interesting gadgets and ideas, but that was about all I liked.

Poe, the main character was not someone I could connect to, which is a requirement for me to like the book. I love characters and the ability to understand and relate to them, but I was missing any sort of spark from Poe. She was a girl who had hopes, dreams and love, but it was cruelly taken from her one night when her boyfriend Call was murdered by raiders- setting her on her path for revenge that motivated the rest of the story and her actions. She never really developed past her grief and desire for revenge, keeping people at arms length (including me the reader) and distrusting everyone for no reason, and then at times completely flipping her views with what appeared to be no motivation or warning. I did not really like her or care what happened to her.

Overall I just had a really hard time engaging and investing in this story. I like Ally and her previous books, and her short chapters were perfect to keep me reading "just one more" chapter until I was finished with the story. I am sure someone else will really enjoy this angsty tale of revenge set in a cool alternative history.