I really enjoyed this read. There were twists and turns and I was thoroughly entertained. I highly recommend… if you like that sort of thing. ;)

First of all, thank you to netgalley, the author and the publishers for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

I haven't read a YA dystopian in what feels like years but is more likely months. So, when I had a look through my Netgalley shelf for something to read I knew that it was time to pick this one up. I was not disappointed. I loved the unique plot of having to pass an initiation to move up from your current level in society so that you can have a better job, home, life and perks. I loved that the initiation was both a trial of wit and bravery. I raced through this one in a day and just did not want to put this down as I wanted to know what challenge would be coming next and what they would have to do to complete all the trials.

I also really enjoyed the ending, and I definitely didn't see the final twist coming.

The permise of this book did sound really interesting to me which is why I originally requested it but it did become a book that lay unread for so long then when I did give it a shot it was not what I thought it was going to be so I did Dnf this one, so there for I will be giving it a middle of the road rating

this book was willlld, when i read it for the first time. but looking back it could've been a lot better honestly. the premise is promising, but i just wish that the true horror elements properly shone through.

Thank you Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Loved the concept behind this book. It reminded me of the film 'The Cube' in that you did not know what was coming next. Full of action and is not backwards in coming forwards in testing your patience with the different characters in the book.

Have bought the rest of the series for my library too. Great series.

I loved the premise of this book, so I was really hoping to connect with the book itself. However, it just didn't connect for me.

The Initiation by Chris Babu, which is a dystopian novel set in New York which has now been split into zones.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the book, at the start you a thrown right into the deep end, and the pace keeps strong all the way through. I found myself loving the writing style, every trial that the team takes part in is well described without being so wordy.

I really liked Drayden as a character, his main focus on signing up to The Initiation was to find out what had happened to his mother, and the only way to find out why was to be able to go to The Palace.

I found myself liking the cast of characters that are thrown together for The Initiation.

I found this story was not predictable, I found myself gasping in places, and the group dynamics was just brilliant. I found there was also quite a bit of characters growth during the book between all the characters.

Overall, this was a great dystopian book, and I can't wait to read the next in the series.

Omg this was so good! There was action, drama, romance! I loved it! Going to start the sequel now! I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book! Not to mention Tyler Posey did an amazing job narrating the audiobook!

A relevant read to all who wonder about what equality should and can look like in our world of the haves and have-nots. Unfortunately, I can totally see this story coming true in the future. For lovers of Maze-Runner, Hunger Games, and Marie Lu books--this fast-paced book will keep you turning pages.

As far as dytopian novels go this was worth reading. But I couldn't really relate to the characters and I couldn't detect any character development either. Only with the lead character, Dray.

I'm giving 3 stars becuase the story flowed nicely but I always find the charcters the most important in a book and if I can't relate to any of them than that book is not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Permuted Press for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

So this is one I've been meaning to get around to for quite a while: the entire concept here: a dystopian oppressed walled-in world supposedly based on equality divided into separate zones really appealed to my sense of imagination and while this was well written and ingenious it still didn't quite manage to capture my fancy: actually falling quite far from that mark.
So briefly as I said above this is New America: carved out of the former Manhatten, this is now home to Draven and his family.
Draven lives in the Dorms the lowest zone placement in New America: there are three other zones, The precinct: where the guardians reside: they are the police force of this new dystopian future: The labs where anyone intellectual resides: so the teachers, scientists and doctors and lastly the Palace where the bureau are: these are the leaders and government of New America.
You are locked to your zone placement and supposedly everyone has equal status and privilege no matter your zone or job.
The only way to supposedly raise your status for yourself and your immediate family is to enter the initiation upon graduating school: this is apparently a test of intelligence and bravery played out in the abandoned underground subways beneath the city.
It's like a very deadly game of crystal maze where failure means exile or even death and its quite apparent that the ruling class definitely has a hidden agenda here.
So, after his mother is exiled without due cause Draven with some slight outside persuasion decides to compete: alongside him are several of his former classmates.
Told entirely from Dravens POV these teenagers (sixteen-year-olds) are at loggerheads from the start and with conflicts arising constantly I did want to bang their heads together slightly and scream behave, children at there immature antics.
I mostly put aside their immaturity on account of there young age, but I was still a trifle bemused at the constant concern over there love lives and who they all liked: it just didn't seem authentic to the storyline or even important when they were in an actual fight for there very existence: personally I would think it would be the last thing on their minds at this time.
They also seemed to brush aside and recover from some very hard-hitting events with such apparent ease when I think they would have been much more affected overall.
So there were times when The Initiation really shone for me, but it was then let down by its slightly repetitive nature and it did actually get quite monotonous at times.
It also really took me a while to get into the story here with me stopping and starting this quite a few times before sticking around for the long haul.
In itself 'The Initiation' is a clean YA dystopian read that also manages to deal with some quite harsh situations throughout: and though on paper this did seem a great fit for me in actuality I just didn't fully connect here and wasn't ultimately invested in the eventual outcome.
That's not to say it won't be your bag: this is still an extremely imaginative endeavour just not really for me.
I voluntary reviewed an Arc of The Initiation.
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

It's the future, the rest of the world is in ruins, with only Manhattan left as New America. This new society is based on equality, with those who don't fall in line with the Bureau exiled outside the city walls. This all seems to make perfect sense, until sixteen year old Drayden's upstanding citizen of a mother is exiled. Why was she exiled? What could she have done to upset the Bureau? The only way for Drayden to discover the truth is to enter himself into the Initiation, a trial where only the most worthy survive.

The action started immediately and the pace kept up throughout the whole book. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I really liked Drayden's character and it was hard not to root for him. Overall, I was a fan of this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I quite liked this book. The plot sounded a little bit like The Hunger Games to me, and since I loved those books, I thought, why not try it? Also, the cover was a beauty, which is what attracted me in the first place. 

The Subway tunnels being the place where the Inititation takes place was interesting to me, because it's right under the noses of all people out there, and yet, they were all on their own down there. 

Drayden, the main character was someone I could not particularly like very much. In my opinion, during the Initiation, he kept thinking about both Catrice and Sidney, and in the end I felt like I was just reading a book about Drayden deciding which girl he would choose (while I wasn't entirely sure they even liked him that much), while the challenges were just minor things.

As for the other characters, I liked Tim, Alex was a moron and a bully (which was meant by the author, so very well done), and Charlie was a bit weird. He was talking to Alex one time, and helping Drayden and the others another time. I recognized Charlie as one of the people I had in my class, who felt sorry for the people that were bullied but was afraid of being bullied himself so he sided with the bully. 

The guys were all quite well written, I thought a bit more backstory would have been nice, but I understand that in an action-packed book, backstory is not easily written. As for the girls, I said before I thought they were mainly meant as love-interests, which saddened me a little. I did, however, see a lot of awesome things that each character was able to do so that was nice.

The ending surprised me a little (no spoilers!) and I wonder how this will go on. I honestly thought the ending was pretty closed, but apparently, the series continues in The Expedition, so I'll see where all this leads to!

The Initiation was a fast-paced, action-packed, rollercoaster of a ride! Wow. What a pleasant surprise!

First of all, this cover needs to be redesigned, its just too plain. Usually, the cover of a book is the first thing that causes me to take notice. The same can be said by many readers – it starts with the cover, so, a little redesign would be great.

The premise was interesting but it felt familiar. If the Hunger Games and The Maze Runner had an offspring then The Initiation would have been it.

Chris Babu somehow made it his own and credit must be given because he deserves it.

I’ve been in a reading rut, mostly because of my job completely draining me, so I wanted something that could drag me out. I was afraid <u>The Initiation</u> would let me down.

It was exceptionally slow for the first 25% of the book. However, it sped up really quickly and then became pretty steady with just the right amount of action and drama throughout the rest of the book.

Charlie and his one-liners had me laughing for the majority of the book . . . even if they were inappropriately timed. I loved Charlie, even for a sorta side character.

Drayden annoyed me. Most of the pledges annoyed me, to be honest. They were all pretty shallow and conceited. And Alex’s character, my god. I never disliked a character so much.

For fans of the <i>Divergent</i>, <i>Hunger Games</i>, and even <i>Maze Runner</i> series — I think you’ll love this one. A great futuristic dystopian with secrets to uncover, and some survivor of the fittest, don’t underestimate the weakling elements.

Wow oh wow! This book! This book was a gripping, mind blowing, dystopian. It’s a test of intellect and bravery. I just love when books turn out better than expected!

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

This book is great for the fans of Hunger Games and The Testing. I thought how the characters reacted to each of the stations they found to be realistic and relatable the inclusion of panic, fear and failure made the story work. While being slightly predictable the book kept me interested and wanting to see the outcome.

Goodreads Synopsis:
As featured on CNN, The NY Post, and Bloomberg!

Everyone is equal. But no one is safe.

In a ruined world, Manhattan is now New America, a walled-in society based on equality. But the perfect facade hides a dark truth.

A timid math geek, sixteen-year-old Drayden watches his life crumble when his beloved mother is exiled. The mystery of her banishment leads him to a sinister secret: New America is in trouble, and every one of its citizens is in jeopardy.

With time running out, he enters the Initiation. It’s a test within the empty subway tunnels—a perilous journey of puzzles and deadly physical trials. Winners join the ruling Bureau and move to its safe haven. But failure means death. Can Drayden conquer the Initiation, or is salvation out of his grasp?

My Review:
This book really called to me when I read the description. It begins with Drayden laying in his bed when he hears a scream. He runs to the living room, and sees two Guardians holding up his small mother as she struggles and screams. His father tells him everything's okay, but the Chancellor walking in tells a different story. That's the day everything changes. She declares his mother guilty of conspiring against the Bureau of New America, exiling her from her family and home. She gives her ten minutes to get out.

Can you imagine how scared he was? His family detached and his adult life speeding ahead at him, he mostly snuck around and heard secrets that he probably shouldn't have. After a couple long conversations, he's convinced to enroll into the initiation, an incredible test of bravery and intelligence that lets you become one of the richest and most powerful people in New America.

Set in the post apocalyptic world around New York, the city is called New America. Everything is zoned off, and everyone is supposed to live equally, the outside world is separated by a big wall. If you do something bad you're exiled, and you can never return. The reasoning was that they were scared of new bacteria, but I don't really know how a stone wall would protect you from that. The bureau single handedly saved humanity, or so they preach. Everyone respects them, but no one really loves them. They control everything, especially rations, and lately everyone's been getting less and less. Because of the lack of birth control, jailing people is pointless and most crimes that are committed, people get exiled for.

This book is exciting, but the beginning is slow. I had to give it a fair chance before I actually got into the story, but after about thirty percent of the book was done I was hooked. I didn't want to put it down, and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I liked this book a lot and I'm glad I got the chance to read it. The characters really grew a lot through the story, learning to work together despite their many problems with each other, and I'm happy for them. It made me nervous to read a couple times, just because of what was happening. Definitely check it out if you get the chance.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon, and another link to the author's Twitter.

https://amzn.to/2M2WoKo

https://twitter.com/realchrisbabu?lang=en

Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

Being a huge fan of YA dystopian novels, I was very excited to check out The Initiation. This story left me feeling like I had read this before, similar plot...teens having to pass a test to save themselves, the inevitable love interest, blah blah blah. I enjoyed the first third of the book, leading up to the initiation, but then I was so let down with the initiation itself. Way too much dialogue, I mean you would never guess these kids are facing death with how they acted. Then the love triangle. Really? I did enjoy the writing style, an easy and quick read. And on the bright side, the way the story ended gives me hope for an interesting second book.


I was provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.