Great book. Interesting and creative world-building, suspenseful plot as the young heroine tries to unravel the mystery of her mother's disappearance and uncovers threads relating to the founding of their island society (by refugees from the new ice age in North America). Although "good guys" and "bad guys" initially seemed fairly clear, both good and bad characters became more complicated as the book progressed, which I really appreciated. There were some details about the whole "new ice age" thing which seemed not fully formed - though as it wasn't a major part of the action, that's understandable.

At first I did not find the protagonist that sympathetic. Perhaps that was intentional on the part of the author. By the third act, I was definitely rooting for her to succeed.

Not heavy on science, but that was forgivable. Part of me was hoping that there would be more back story on how the island came to be new promised land, clearly that was not the intent of the author. The book was more concerned with social commentary than science.

TL:DR Skip it. Wimpy, whiny, and undeserving hero who doesn't do anything the rebels could have lived without. Overuse of the words "sea" and "sweat".

How is this girl a hero? The only thing that she does that is the least bit heroic is in the final pages, after the battle and after she's been declared a hero. Everything that happens to Darcy is because time/place, not because she actually made decisions to affect something. Even then she does everything grudgingly while pouting.

It's not like she stood up for what she believed in, she just wanted to find her mom. She didn't care that the elections were rigged and that the government was set up in a way that no one could ever climb higher in the social ladder which is determined by which boat one arrived in on the way to the island. People were freely admitting how messed up their society was and all she could think was, "meh. I miss my mom. Ooh, that roast looks good. WTH, she forgot the roast was there?! Who forgets about real meat?! Can I have some? I miss my mom."

Nominees for most overused words:

>Sea
>Sweat

And holy crap were they used! Seafoam, Seaboard, Seafiber, Seaguard, seaweed... It goes on. "Hmm, I need to add some setting here, what word do I used... I know! I'll use our word and just add "sea" in front. Genius!" thinks Anna North.

Smelled like sweat, tasted like seat, sweaty seafiber, cuddled into the sweat, dried sweat, sweaty sweaty sweat-sweat. "Sweat" was particularly harrowing because I swear Anna North used it in rapid fire. I know it's a little hard to use synonyms for the word, but, ugh. It was too much.

I did never see "Seasweat" but maybe it didn't cross her mind. Either way, no one tell her, it'll end up in a sequel.

I don't even know where to begin in writing a review on this one, so I will keep it brief. I have a near-obsession with post-apocalyptic/dystopian novels right now, and this one covers that niche perfectly. I would say it definitely qualifies as literary fiction, and I would imagine sci-fi lovers would also really enjoy it. It reminded me of an adult version of the Hunger Games (obviously not with the kids fighting to the death business, but the dreariness and the poverty, etc.)

It is dark, dreary, and terrifying- in the best possible way. Up until the last few chapters, most of my imagery while reading was dark.

The ending..... well.....

This one will stay with me and haunt me, and that's a compliment.

Recommended for people who enjoy: sci-fi, The Hunger Games but wish there was a more adult-like version, dystopian novels, literary fiction

Working through how I feel about this book. The writing was good, detailed, and vivid. I felt like I was there, which is a little unfortunate given that it's not a pleasant future that North has painted. In the year 2043, a teenaged girl named Darcy lives on an island in the Pacific after North America has succumbed to the Ice Age's second coming. Her mother goes missing one day and that disappearance unravels Darcy's whole life as she embarks on a search for her.

The novel is dark and gritty, leaving uncomfortable grains behind. But behind that I found the story to be rather predictable. We all know by now that dystopian novels don't work out and government control is scary and the face behind it all is usually m,ore terrified than anyone. I liked Darcy fine, but I disliked Sarah. I couldn't help but feel that Darcy was better off without her. I wanted to be more sympathetic to Darcy's plight, but I don't think her mom did her any favors.

North seems to have set the ending up for a sequel. I'm intrigued to know how that comes to be.

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't mind the grittiness of the writing or the harsh environment descriptions at all. It actually seemed to make the setting of the book more realistic to me. I suppose if something like the premise of this book were actually to happen, that would be how it would really be.

I enjoyed the twists and turns and visiting the different places along with the main character. I thought that the characters she meets along the way to finding her mother added depth and made the storyline more interesting. The political component of the island's runnings and how it affects every character down to street performers really interested me. I found the entire environment well described and easy to visualize.

This book really roped me in - I finished it very quickly. I hope that Anna does write sequel. I'd be interested to see how the main character does when she is shuffled from one harsh world to the next (at least I'm imagining it to be), and how she copes with it.

America Pacifica by Anna North is a dystopian novel that takes place on a tightly packed small tropical island where Americans have moved to following an ice age which made North America Uninhabitable. The island is controlled by a leader who ensures that the rich (those who made it to the island first) live a nice and comfortable life while the poor squander to stay alive. Darcy has grown up on the island in severe poverty dropping out of school to work at a nursing home to help support herself and her mother. When her mother disappears she drops everything to find her and uncovers more than she expected about the real history of the island and it's founders.



I had mixed feelings about this book, it's being cross marketed to the YA audience so I expected something completely different, once I realized it was an adult book I enjoyed it more. The book is very gritty. Darcy lives in total poverty and is so desperate to find her mother that she is willing to do anything to get information. While the story was entertaining it was not always engrossing and the dystopia and "enemy" were not strong enough for this book to be fantastic. There were plot points and characters that were unnecessary and distracting to the main plot which bogged down the story for me and the lack of a strong and prevalent secondary character kept me detached at times. Darcy went from place to place and met with different people most of which did not ever appear again.



Appropriateness: As I said earlier I was initially under the impression that this was a Young Adult audience because it has been cross promoted to YA bloggers. This is not a young adult book, it is an adult book that has a main character that is a teenager. The main character is a reformed drug addict (who huffed solvent) and speaks longingly about the drugs as an escape. There is quite a bit of sexual content in this book which are "icky" rather than erotic. There are descriptions of sexual organs, masturbation and a graphic description of Darcy having sex with someone for information. There is some violence but not a large amount and there is no romance at all. I would recommend this book to science fiction and dystopia fans 16+ who would not be put off by the sexual content. This book isn't erotica by any sense and would not be harmful for younger readers however the nature of the sexual content is of the type that would make younger readers uncomfortable.

This book is a dystopian. Had no idea, I found it in a bulk bin and bought it for the cover. It's rated on the lower end on Goodreads, barely above a 3 star, and it's been on my TBR shelf for a few years now.

This book follows a girl living on an island called America Pacifica years after the mainland has fallen under an ice age. Her mother goes missing, and this novel follows her as she attempts to find her. Everything we learn about the history and politics of this world is through the characters she meets.

I thought the writing was actually very good and if you like a story that is moved solely by the character than this is a book for you. I felt like it was a great look at how apathy and fear can lead to a broken government and elitist system, with hope possibly at the horizon but ignorance, propaganda and fear maintaining the status quo.

Overall, an enjoyable read, a little slice of life in a dystopian world with what I consider the perfect ending for this story.

Think Winter's Bone crossed with Ship Breaker, spiked with a little bit of The Hunger Games, and you have a good idea of what is excellent and maybe not so excellent about America Pacifica. The not so excellent thing is that because the market is so heavily saturated with dystopian worlds and headstrong girls in search of justice and/or their family members, this will seem like so many things you've already read and loved before. Perhaps in contrast it will fall short. You might be tempted to put it down within the first 100 pages.

But if you give Darcy's story time to grow on you, it will. If you have doubts that she is as indomitable as Ree Dolly, you must read to the ending. Anna North's prose seems almost styleless and confusing at first, as the post-apocalyptic world is being introduced, but given time to grow it takes on a crisp, understated beauty (again you must read to the ending).

Perhaps the best thing about the book is that its revolutionaries are vulnerable, very human, a balm to the flat characters of Ship Breaker. It's rare to read about revolutionaries that are defined as much by their susceptibility to being squashed as they are by their noble ideals. In fact, this is why I usually don't like reading political stories. But America Pacifica manages to be as much about people as it is about politics.

Fans of any of the books mentioned above should enjoy it. I really did.