What is it about
Set in the post-apocalyptic dystopian America, in the years 2024 and 2025, we are introduced to a teenager, Lauren Olamina, via her diary excerpts. She lives with her family inside a walled community, shielded from outside violence, lawlessness, and crime. Think Alexandria before and during the fall in The Walking Dead minus the zombies, but with different and dangerous groups.
With the increasing crime and murders, Lauren prepares herself for the eventuality of her walled community being breached. When it does, she is forced into a new world where she must survive the harshest conditions, with companions she had found along the way. Given that her father was a pastor, Lauren sets about creating a new religion called Earthseed. She begins to share her religious philosophy with her companions as they adapt to a new society that she envisions in her mind.
What I liked about it
I liked the diary format, in which Lauren documents her life inside the walled community and outside. I relished witnessing Lauren grow, from being a self-aware teenager to somebody leading a group of survivors. I would be interested to read the next book, Parable of Talents to see what Lauren has been up to.