Set Me Free is the fourth book in the futuristic middle-grade series Tomorrow Girls by Eva Gray.
If you don't want to be spoiled for the earlier books, I suggest you avoid this review and look into the first three books: Behind the Gates, Run for Cover, and With the Enemy.
You've been warned - synopsis starts... NOW!
Maddie is still reeling. She's only just been rescued from the clutches of the Alliance, where she was brainwashed and persuaded that she wanted to stay - until her awesome friends didn't take no for an answer. And then, well... she found out her mother is the LEADER of the Resistance! The mysterious "Hornet", those that all who fight against the Alliance follow = her Mom. Wow.
And now she has a little device thing, shaped like a honeycomb, that seems impenetrable but apparently carries super-important information for her mother. She's been tasked with getting it to her ASAP. Only problem? She has no idea where her mother is!
Not to mention the fact that Drew, Alonso, and Helen, all of whom were waiting on Maddie's rescue mission back at the old, dilapidated car wash building, have all disappeared and the building has been demolished.
So, yeah - there's a lot on their plate right now.
First they have to find Drew, Alonso, and Helen (hopefully alive), and then Maddie needs to figure out if her Mom ever left her any clues to find her.
Because the entire War may depend on it!
Set Me Free is an action-packed little book targeted at a tween audience. What's great about that is that all the girls' are portrayed as smart and capable, giving it an inspiring tone. Now, that same tone can be a bit cloying and obvious to an older read - causing it not to translate real well (like the entire series), but the very fact that it is juvenile is the point!
The repetition and cornball-esque feel Set Me Free and the entirety of the Tomorrow Girls series sometimes sends out, just doesn't quite make for entertaining reading for us older readers. And that's perfectly okay. It's probably a great book for 9 to 13 year olds!
And I do really like the overall ideas of the series and the ultimately strong patriotic tone. It's the actual execution that is rather exclusive to young readers only. Definitely a pick for younger sisters, nieces, daughters, etc. A fun, futuristic, light-dystopia novel that might help young girls get interested in sci-fi in the future!
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