Tara's Book Review: Circle 9 by Anne Heltzel
I initially picked up this book because the cover led me to believe it was a dystopia of some sort, but after reading the blurb, I figured I’d give it a try anyway. It’s difficult to discuss the plot without some major spoilers due to the book’s twists and turns, but the basic idea is this—Abby wakes up by a burning building with no idea of who she is or where she came from, lying next to a boy named Sam who promises to keep her safe. At first, it seems as though her life with Sam in a “cave palace” is a romantic dreamworld, and Abby is content to let him provide for her and tell her who she is. However, as Sam’s actions become sketchy and Abby starts to remember snippets of her former life, Abby realizes that she needs to find out more about her past and starts to understand that the world she sees may not be what it seems. More and more cracks appear in Sam’s story as heinous things happen to Abby, eventually culminating in a test of Abby’s will to survive. This book was intense, even though it was pretty slow-moving at times, but I found myself wanting to keep reading to see how it would all play out. If you’re a careful reader, many aspects of the plot are a little predictable, but that doesn’t diminish Heltzel’s capacity to make Abby’s realization of her circumstances compelling and heartbreaking. The book’s final act seemed a bit rushed to me, and the ending leaves things pretty open, but this psychological thriller is definitely worth a read if you can handle some heavy topics.
