"The Generation Archives" is an unusual concept of fantasy dystopia. The first "Announcements" gave me the fear of a genocide storyline but fortunately that was quite soon solved as a false warning. Or maybe I'm a little sensitive because of things happening in the world and the right wing propaganda of Germany where I live.

I very much like it how characters are introduced in this story. R: R: Boxall has a great way of characterizing through the plot and the actions of the characters. Unfortunately I mostly felt pretty detached by the most ones and I wasn't able to feel a lot of surprise by the twists at the end of the book. The mystery of the tapestry was also a little bit underwhelming because even as a librarian I know how little the chance was of having a meaning for our protagonist but on the other hand it was pretty much a center of attention for Rin.

Nevertheless I liked the flow of the story and how the plot points were build up. I think I will continue with the series because it could evolve in so many great ways! The first book was a solid work and intriguing enough.

An engaging dystopian YA fantasy that feels realistic and will keep you reading until the last page.

Despite this book essentially dumping you into the center of the world with very little buildup, I found it extremely easy to get a feel for both the worldbuilding,as well as the conflicts within this book. Everything has a sense of realism to it, that makes even the more fantastical elements seem grounded in reality. Once I began reading, I was hooked until I finished a few hours later, and not once did I hit a slow point that made me consider going to bed before finishing this novel. I also love how the ending sets up the conflict for the story to continue, and I cannot wait to see how this story moves forward in the next installment.

Rin is a fantastic main character, and while one might be inclined to believe she is simply “too good” at everything she tries, I never found myself doubting her. I also loved how there was an in-universe explanation that made everything make sense, but that it’s not something obvious from first glance. Her characterization is relatable and realistic, and never once did I not find myself rooting for her success as I read her journey.

I will admit to being the first to not always like the romances placed in these kinds of stories, but Ieuan was such a fantastic supporting character and friend to Rin no matter what, that I found myself rooting for him anyway. Their closeness and romance feels natural, especially when Rin begins the book not fully understanding both his - and potentially her own - changed feelings towards each other. However, I loved how Ieuan cared and loved Rin as a friend first and foremost, and despite not overtly hiding his feelings towards her, he never makes her feel like she has to choose him in a romantic context, or that his help and support is only hinged upon it. I also love how Ieuan uses this trait of his to help the other characters in this story, and that Rin not only recognizes him doing this - she is able to vocalize it to help a fragmented relationship mend as well.

I loved the other supporting characters, as they all felt real and unique. Never once did I have difficulty determining who was speaking, which can be a difficult thing to do when a book has many speaking characters in it and sometimes their narrative voices begin to blend together. While the characters grew and changed, and their interactions with one another grew along with the story, at no point was their characterization lost to move the plot forward.

I also loved how we, as the reader, could determine many of the twists and reveals within the book before the protagonists, at no point did it feel like this information was intentionally left out for the story to progress, or like it was unrealistic for the main character to not have realized these things sooner. I enjoy when I can determine plot twists early on in the novel, as well as when the book has a fantastic foundation for them, and yet I never once questioned Rin herself never realizing these same things.

This is a brilliant addition to the dystopian ya sphere and I believe anyone who enjoys stories with an overlying conflict, an oppressive government, and a small group of oppressed trying their best to save each other would love this novel. Fast-paced with a momentum that never slows down until the last page, I loved The Generation Archives and I cannot wait to read more of this world.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for providing this e-ARC.

This was a strong start to the Immutavi series, it had that concept that was promised from the description. I was hooked from the first page and was invested in what was happening. I thought the characters were really well done and worked with the world in a way that was engaging. R. R. Boxall has a strong writing style and left me wanting to read more in this world.

I picked up this book, not really knowing what to expect, thanks to the suitably vague blurb. This book still wasn't what I expected in both good and bad ways.

Parts of the blurb feel a little misleading - after all, I'm not sure that you could call a randomly spread mutation an 'invasion', although I suppose the empire might see it like that.

I felt like the reveal of Rin's nature was telegraphed too early in the book, so that when it was revealed to her, it wasn't a surprise for the reader at all.

That said, I am almost always going to love a book about a resistance movement, and I did enjoy this one. It felt a little short (although within the normal range for a YA novel), and it stopped just as the pace started to pick up and it really got going. Even so, it was definitely an enjoyable read, especially the relationship between Tilly and Scratch - nobody is getting between that girl and her swamp dog.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cranthorpe Miller for an ARC of this novel. Unfortunately, The Generation Archives was absolutely not to my liking.

Sometimes I think I’m just not the target audience for Young Adult, but there are plenty of YA books I honestly enjoy. This wasn’t one of them. We follow Rin, who grew up under the watchful eye of her adopted grandmother, as she and her best friend Ieuan escape from their village with a group of mysterious strangers. The premise of a dystopian world with mutated humans is interesting but inconsistent - I never got a handle on what the average technology level or living situation was in this world, and Rin is too incurious about her own village to provide us with that information. She just ambles along with the plot, “realizing” and “instinctively knowing” things that have just been stated to her.

In addition, the pacing is all over the place, with the story dragging to almost the 30% mark before the plot kicks in. Most of the rest of the book is devoted to travel, but the return journey for the end-of-book heist takes place over a handful of pages. This book needed to be tightened up a *lot* - the arrival at the Cove should've been the midpoint of the book, with more time devoted to getting the information about the immutavi chips. Either that, or build up the characters and spend the whole first book on the journey to the Cove and Rin exploring the world she’s never seen. There’s a lot of potential here, but it just feels squandered.

One of my least favorite aspects of the book is how Rin seems to hate every other female character that isn’t a) a caregiving figure, like her grandmother, or b) a child. There’s a scene at the village harvest festival where we meet a queen bee-type girl named Melody, who only seems to exist for us to see Rin one-up with the most childish insults I’ve seen outside of a Disney Channel show. In the time leading up to the harvest festival, Rin is disparaging about the opportunity for the girls of the village to dress up and do a little talent show, something which I imagine they don’t get a lot of opportunity to do in this DYSTOPIA. But no, Rin’s Not Like Other Girls (I cannot believe she actually said this) and she makes no secret of how the whole thing is stupid. I wish Rin had had a female friend she could’ve rooted for, even if she didn’t want to participate herself.

The only redeeming part of this book was Lark, a sharp-tongued young woman who’s even more done with Rin than I am. Her story about her past (related entirely via Rin’s narration, rather than dialogue) was compelling and would’ve made for a much more interesting novel than the one I read. I appreciated how Lark’s dedication to her younger brother superseded her own safety and desires; sure, she complained about not wanting to help, but she still did. She’s flawed, but also the most relatable character in the book.

(Rin hates Lark and thinks that if Lark didn’t know the way to their destination, she’d leave her behind without a second thought. Are we surprised?)

This book ends on a cliffhanger to set up a sequel, and I wish the author the best, but I will not be reading it.

The Generation Archives
Thank you to Netgalley and Cranthorpe Milner for the ARC of this novel. I LOVED this book. It gave me the feeling that I had as a teenager falling into a new book world.

Rin is just a girl living in a post-plague world where the infected become Immutavi: mindless, dangerous beasts with a penchant for brutality. When three strangers show up in her small village her life gets turned upside down as she learns new truths about her world and those in it (including herself).

I can’t say enough how good this book was. The writing was so well done, with perfect pacing to keep me wanting to turn the page and read “just the next chapter!”. The world building while confusing during the first few pages, unraveled very well throughout, and I liked how Rin learned things as the reader did. Speaking of Rin, what a great character! She went through such a great character arc of being naive and thinking herself helpless to strong and confident in her abilities. Her relationships with Lark, Tilly, and Ieuan were very well done. The storyline was interesting too! I love a good classic journey and this one was fantastic. Nothing boring about it, with enough of reality to make it believable. I absolutely need to know what happens next, and can’t wait for the next one!!

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.