Review: The 100 by Kass Morgan

The 100 (when you say the title, it is The One Hundred) by Kass Morgan takes place in a future world where humanity has not been on Earth for over 300 years. Teens who commit crimes are immediately sentenced to confinement – isolated prison – until retrial or death. Except something has changed, and 100 of these teens are being sent back to Earth to see if it is safe for living again.

 Our lead cast of characters include;

• Clarke, the well-to-do former medical aide
• Wells, the privileged son of the chancellor
• Glass, the enigmatic escapee
• Bellamy, the sarcastic enigma

The book starts off in a confusing, disorienting manner. Within four chapters we have flashed back, met four characters and their friends and seen how they are connected. With so many names being thrown around, it was hard to figure out who was who. By about halfway through the book, the characters and their personalities start to stick. For parts of the book, it feels like future dystopian Gossip Girl, and parts of the book read like a solid Young Adult dystopia.

The switching perspectives, while overwhelming at first, allows for a greater range of understanding the world, which Morgan masterfully builds. The emotions and actions of the teens feel very real and understandable, especially for having been confined criminals put in a poorly constructed spaceship and sent to Earth.

The twists and turns the characters on the surface of Earth experience seem very routine until the last handful of chapters, when everything takes a turn for the worse.

I read this book in about three solid sittings, a hundred pages or so at a time and it kept my attention very well. I am looking forward to the sequel, which looks like it should be out late 2014.

The 100 has been  developed into a television show that premieres on March 19^th, 2014. The premise of the show is similar to the book, but there have been some minor tweaks and changes. The show will be aired on The CW, so I am expecting lots of pretty boys and pretty girls.