I didn't know completely what to expect from this book, but when I finished it I had to take a day or two to reflect. Firstly, this book was amazingly written. Secondly, I could actually see something like this happening. This book got me interested, invested, and engaged with the characters. I find myself thinking about the book days after I've finished it, and I'm even more impatient to read book 2 (assuming there will be one, and I hope there will be!)

Woah, Woah, Woah!! All I can say is that this book was a thrill a minute!

The story takes place in New York City in the future after basically a post apocalypse of some sort. The city is sectioned out and walls put up but you can only stay in your specific section. Drayden lives in the lowest section called the dorms. Everyone is supposedly treated equal by receiving all the same pay for jobs, food and essentials, no matter which section they live in... but are they?

The story starts off when Drayden's Mom is exiled outside the city walls. The government states that she has committed treason but Drayden doesn't believe it. His Mom was the greatest and would never betray her people. He makes it his mission to find out why his Mom was sent away to her death by entering The Initiation.

The Initiation is a test of intellect & bravery. Drayden is one of the smartest kids in his school but does not fair so well on the brave part. Can he complete a test that no one has entered in 2 years? If he does, he gets to move himself and his family to the highest section called The Palace, where they could get better jobs and maybe find out what happened to his Mom.

I really liked Drayden and felt that he was written so well that I felt that I could see a change in him over the course of the testing. I saw him go in a kid and actually come out a man. The cast of characters was an interesting mix. I secretly adored Charlie because he was an absolute hoot and was quick with the one liners which gave a good mix of humor to the story.

Though I felt that the story did move a little slow at times, I still had a very hard time putting it down. The ending was a big shocker and I see another story *crosses fingers* in our future from Mr. Babu. I loved the world these characters were created in and can't wait to see where they go from here!

"Bravery isn't the absence of fear. It's choosing to overcome it."

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for this copy in exchange of an honest review.

Fantastic book from page one! I was hooked immediately and could not put this book down. Full of drama and action; it's a gripping and thought provoking tale that must be read by anyone who loves a great dystopian story! I have no finger nails left at this point.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.

If I were to describe this book in one word, I would say it is marvelous. I didn't hesitate to give a 5-star rating because this was just so enthralling. The world building was great and the pacing was pretty fast, with the Initiation starting at 30% into the book, which I appreciated since I was in the mood for a fast-paced read.

Also, the author created such wonderful characters! I instantly loved Drayden, our main character. He started out as a fearful yet intelligent boy who doesn't have the courage to stand up for himself. But as the book progresses, as Drayden comes face-to-face with losses and challenges, his drive to succeed grew more and more. I saw how his character developed to someone who set aside all fears and hesitations to save his loved ones. He also has a strong sense of morality. But aside from Drayden, another character that I had absolutely loved was Tim, the boy with the heart of gold and the perfect best friend anyone could ever ask for. I adored the friendship between Drayden and Tim, how they rely on one another and fulfill each other's shortcomings.

The plot is fantastic and it kept me on edge. The challenges in the Initiation were ghastly yet exciting to read about. I liked how Drayden and Catrice explained in detail their solutions and strategies for the challenges, since not all of them in the group excel in intelligence. I also liked Drayden and Catrice's chemistry from the start, though I'm glad that the romance wasn't too much.

I highly recommend this one to fans of dystopian books. I'm really excited for the next books in the series!

I received this book for free from Netgalley and Publisher/author in exchange for honest review.

First, lets just look at this cover. LOVE IT!

This book was just amazing. I loved the world building in the book. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I hate it took me this long to pick this book up. This book was issued to me a month ago by Netgalley and I just now picked it up to read. I love a good book set in Manhattan New York. This book was fast paced and full of turns.

The author did a great job translating this story. I was not a let down.

I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book was great and I really enjoy myself a good dystopia. But already from the start, even the first page, this book threw me off, and I had this feeling that this would not be a book in my taste. Unfortunately, I can't really put my finger on exactly what it was about the story that I didn't like, but it felt like it was all tell and no show in the beginning. And the main character, Drayden just felt like a 10-year-old in the beginning. He was mostly whining about his mother being taken away, which I do understand kind of sucks and in real life one would probably be in bed crying for months. But this is a novel and things need to happen, characters need to be given a personality and the story needs to be interesting. It didn't really happen here, and it took about 20% of the book before things took off and I started getting into the story.

But even then, I didn't really connect with the characters and I never had much love for Drayden. He was whiny and scared and not at all as good as he was supposed to be. It was as if the story was written about all the other people, and he's just one of the secondary characters. I would have loved to see this story from someone else POV.

Although it may sound like I didn't like the book, it was still an enjoyable read. The book has a lot of good things too. Worldbuilding, suspense (when you reach the Initiation), twists. Overall this is a 3 star read, and even though it may not be a book I personally didn't love, I can see the value of this novel and know that a lot of people will love it.

So, if you like dystopia and life & death challenges, give this book a try.

This dystopian novel is a must-read for fans of The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and Divergent.
The plot was well thought out was were the characters. You never knew what could possibly happen next. It certainly had me glued to my seat.
I would highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read more from Chris Baby.
Thankyou Netgalley for giving me a copy to read.

This was a slow starter for me.
It took me a while to get into the story, mainly because the start was just crammed full of history which some of was unnecessary, but once I got to the start of The Initiation I was hooked.

I do think there’s a lot of hype about Drayden being super smart, when in reality if Catrice wasn’t there he wouldn’t have passed many of the intelligence ones.
Each character had their own development throughout the book and I am intrigued to read more about some of them.

I would definitely read more of this series as I want answers to my unanswered questions.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley but this has in no way influenced my review or opinion.

I read some of this one and chose not to continue. I agree with what others said about the world-building being too much of a focus in some spots, and it just didn't hold my attention as much as I had hoped.

This book was not what I expected in the least , it was better . The characters were rich & diverse & I finished this book in one sleepless night ! Would recommend

*I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

——

This book was really difficult for me to get in to! Chris Babu does an amazing job at world building, which is required for this place of New America, but at times it felt like that was all I was reading...a history book or something similar.

I enjoyed the challenges that Drayden went through. I think they were well written and really showcased the author’s talent and the skills of the protagonist. When the different girls that Drayden was interested in became more of a focal point, I was okay with that (who doesn’t like a love interest?) but then the love parallelogram took over the story and it wasn’t about the challenges of the Initiation anymore.

Overall, I would still recommend this book to those who are really big sci-do fans, or those who really liked the world building of the “Hunger Games” and/or the “Divergent” series

** spoiler alert **

I wavered between two and three stars throughout The Initiation. Overall it was ok but I was annoyed that they said that the one of the reasons America collapsed was lack of equality and then New America was basically a caste system. Didn't make sense to me.

Then at the end, after all they went though it turns out that they’re picked to be the scouts to see if there is other civilization. They were basically tortured just to see if they could hack it outside? That these teenagers are you’re best hope? That they’re going to lead a bunch of adults out there and find help?

Yeah.... no.

However, I did enjoy Drayton and the initiation process, it was tense at times and I really appreciated that. As much as I didn't buy the ending, I do want to read the next book and see what is out there past New America.

I really enjoyed the world building, Chris Babu develops the world surpberly and in-depth. Making you believe that you are there as well; experiencing the disgusting smells and wandering in total silence. A virus, called the Confluence, has supposedly wiped out most of humanity. In order for the people of ‘New America’ to survive and to rebuild, the Bureau ultimately decides that everyone shall live “equally.” Well, so they say…

The first part of this Dystopian story takes place in ‘The Dorms’. There are several zones in ‘New America’, these are the ‘Meadow’, ‘Lab’, ‘Precint’ and the ‘Palace’. By far the ‘Dorms’ are in the worst conditions imaginable. Drayden lives in the ‘Dorms’ with his mother, father and older brother, so we get to learn a lot about the conditions. For instance kids in the ‘Dorms’ have never known what it is like to use a computer, watch t.v., use the internet or even a ballpoint pen.

Food is also sparse with poor living conditions which are cramped and undesirable.

Which brings me now to our main character, Drayden. He’s a sweet kid, but a complete wuss, you really want to slap him in the face a few times. His story is naturally heartbreaking; his mother is exiled at the very start of the book and he is left feeling distraught, angry and alone. I liked that this was how Chris Babu starts the story, diving straight into the action – no messing around.

Drayden decides, from the support of his older brother and his teacher, that he will enter the Initiation in order to find out what really happened to his mother and discover the mystery of the Bureau.

….and that’s where I was let down. I did enjoy reading about the different tasks and the conflict between Drayden and two other pledges (standard). It then became boring; pretty fast actually. I felt that I was reading the same thing over and over again for pretty much the rest of the book. I struggled to keep going.

There was a lack of detail during the actual Initiation and too much dialogue. Most of the dialogue was repetitive making no sense to the actual story so, I kinda gave up the will to live.

The final straw was the romance. I have no problem with romance in a story; it can add a bit of spice and be entertaining. This romance took over the whole damn initiation. A life-risking task would have just taken place and all Drayden can think about is what girl does he like more, do they like him and who will he end up with. LIKE WHAT IN THE HELL.

What made it worse was it became a love triangle. I actually wanted to puke. It happened. It can never be taken back.

Drayden spends a huge amount of time worrying that he is not brave enough which will result in everyone failing the initiation, I can appreciate the message behind it. That anyone can be brave; it’s deep down inside of you-you just have to believe in yourself.

I have a terrible feeling that I would probably read the next book. I didn’t hate this book because it had such a strong promising start. I liked some of the other pledges though it felt that others needed to be developed more. Perhaps we will see this in the next instalment. Overall, focus less on the romance and more on the action!

I would like to thank Permuted Press and Chris Babu for sending me this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I love it when books turn out better than you expected, and The Initiation was one of those wonderful books.

This was such fun to read. It was hard to stop and put down, which is a great testament to the story. And while it started like the typical dystopian, with the world breaking down due to disease and warfare and class inequality as the central driving plot force, Babu took it in a direction I really enjoyed. First, I loved the world-building. New York City always seems to be the centre of the world with these kind of stories, but I liked how it was laid out. Self-sufficiency in energy and food production, and with a sense of normalcy with school for all, movies in the park and teenagers being teenagers—albeit in a limited world.

The Initiation really put me in mind of The Hunger Games with a dash of The Maze Runner. The event itself is a challenge that will either end in your imminent death or an upgrade in your social status. But the journey to get there was a lot of fun. I was such a fan of the fact the whole thing took place in the abandoned subway tunnels. I wasn't sure what to expect of the Initiation, but the intelligence and bravery tests were so engaging and exciting. Particularly the intelligence ones. For instance, one was that puzzle where you have two different sized cylinders and need to find a certain amount of liquid that is neither of the marked sizes. I was racking my brains trying to remember how to do it, and I was impressed with how the characters handled it. In particular, I really liked how Drayden worked through the puzzles, bringing me along to the conclusion without confusion. And the best part about all these riddles and athletic challenges? None of them were predictable, which I wholeheartedly expected to happen.

The cast of characters was great. Considering there were six main characters, each one stood out on their own and brought their own element to the Initiation challenge. The bully is a character you love to hate. The love triangle between Drayden and the two girls was surprisingly enjoyable. Normally I dislike books with love triangles because it always seems to take over the story, but that wasn't the case here. It was always there, but it was subtle and brought up in a reasonable and believable way. You're fighting for your life, not pining after the only girls in the challenge with you. Somethings need to take precedence, and Babu did it right! Finally—and I won't give anything away—but what happens with best friend angle ... colour me shook. I was stunned, and I live for that as a reader.

The only thing I struggled with is it did get a little repetitive at times. There's only so many intelligence and bravery challenges you can go through before you need to take a step back. It's unavoidable with this kind of plot and the setting of the story, but still. Another thing was sometimes the tasks dragged on because they went into a bit too much detail. I was lost until they actually put their game plan into action.

Overall, this is a fantastic entry into what I'm sure will be a promising series. The ending threw me for a loop with a twist I certainly hadn't expected. To be fair, I expected what transpired to happen at the end of book 2—I'm assuming this will be a trilogy—and in a different circumstance. The surprise I got instead was refreshing, and I can't wait to read what happens next.

4/5

This book is part HUNGER GAMES with a dash of MAZE RUNNER and some sprinkles of a very terrible dystopian future. I enjoyed this book from the very beginning even though it starts with quite a kicker. The world that Chris Babu built pulled me in probably because it freaking terrified me. It's something that I could actually see happening to our world. The main character, Drayden, is an intelligent and somewhat nerdy kid who enters a test that could (and tries to) kill him in order to better his family. Honorable, right? It's easy to cheer him on throughout the crazy trials that he has to go through because his motives are pure. It helps that he's super freaking smart. I promise, you won't be able to put this book down!

The story is set in a dystopian world were everyone is suppose to equal, but in reality they are not. The people living in the dorms are given less food and now there are power outages they are dealing with too. Drayden decides to enter the initiation because he wants to find out why his mother was exiled. He has no idea what to expect from the initiation other than that there are bravery challenges and intelligent challenges. He is a smart 16-year old, but he has never been very brave.

In the beginning of the book, I didn't really like Drayden. He was a little too whiny, and was afraid of everything. As the story went along and the group of kids went through each challenge, Drayden started growing on me. He started believing in himself and not letting Alex continue to bully him. In the end I liked the book, but I didn't like the way the book ended. I don't want to give the ending away, but I will say that I will buy the next book in the series.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own**

I honestly thought, when I started this book, that I was going to be reading just another dystopian novel where society falls apart because of some sort of war or disease, society rebuilt itself the best it could, and a problem would arise where someone would have to travel beyond the small civilization that had been established to help the society. This did happen, but it was different than others that I've read (and being a huge fan of the dystopian genre, I've read a lot of stories like this).
I felt that I could relate to the characters because the things they were going through (mentally/emotionally anyway) are similar things that everyone goes through. We all worry about being brave or being smart enough to face the challenges in life. Now, these specific individuals had to worry about that and about life or death situations, which is what makes them different from us.
There were parts of the book that were hard for me to get through. I felt that things would run on way too much, like descriptions of the challenges they were facing. A lot of them we would have to hear how they were solving them twice because one part of the group would figure it out then relay it to the other part of the group. Hearing it twice got a little repetitive, especially with the number of challenges they faced. There were also a lot of places where Drayden would start thinking and he would just think the same things over and over again. It seemed pretty repetitive as well.
Overall, it was a really great book. I would for sure read it again and I would continue on with the series.

Fantastic read. I enjoyed this book. Couldn't put it down at all.

This book starts out slowly, the language used doesn't help the pace of this novel. It seems too Victorian for such a dystopian novel.
Great Characters though

This review is based on an ARC of The Initiation which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Permuted Press).

"Bravery isn't the absence of fear. It's choosing to overcome it."

Holy moly The Initiation is intense! This book was such a wild ride; I never knew what was going to happen next! Oh, man, the chapter with the final challenge? I was clawing at my skin and pulling at my hair with anxiety because I had no clue how it would end or if everyone would be okay or if they would finish in time. Oh geez, dudes.

I love-loved the cast of characters and the roles each person played. Every character was real in their own ways. (The love triangle BS could have been left out with all the life or death scenarios, but Drayden is a teenage boy, and I guess hormones dominate survival instincts in those creatures.)

I found The Initiation reminiscent of both The Hunger Games and Divergent. I can't verify the originality of the plot though, as I rarely read YA dystopia stories.

Which brings me to why I give this only three stars: I'm just not huge on dystopia. I really enjoyed this story, however, despite it being a genre which I don't normally get into!

I can see The Initiation being a bit hit in the YA community, and I really hope it does well! Now I'll just be here, in my room, waiting for the sequel.