Title: Landry Park
Author: Bethany Hagen
Source/Format: won, paperback
More Details: YA, Dystopian
Publisher/Publication Date: Speak, February 4, 2014
Sixteen-year-old Madeline Landry is practically Gentry royalty. Her ancestor developed the nuclear energy that has replaced electricity, and her parents exemplify the glamour of the upper class. As for Madeline, she would much rather read a book than attend yet another debutante ball. But when she learns about the devastating impact the Gentry lifestyle—her lifestyle—is having on those less fortunate, her whole world is turned upside down. As Madeline begins to question everything she has been told, she finds herself increasingly drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana, who seems to be hiding secrets of his own. Soon, rumors of war and rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself at the center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty—her family and the estate she loves dearly—and desire...
I went into Landry Park by Bethany Hagen without reading the synopsis first. My first impression of the book was that it was a historical novel, the first few pages certainly read like one. However, Landry Park is set in a very different, futuristic/dystopian version of America that seemed to get some of its ideas straight from the Victorian Era.
To be fair, I gave this book more of a chance than I usually do for others that don’t immediately get my attention. I read on past the first one hundred pages—I even finished it. Madeline Landry’s story was one that I couldn’t get into. I wasn’t interested in all of the parties that happened in the first part of the book. There were small hints of a plot, but the whole conflict in Landry Park was almost…typical. And it wasn’t just Madeline either I hardly cared about any of the characters or their part in the story.
The ending was just alright, but there’s nothing much that I can say on it. The writing style was ok, it had a nice flow to it and I could visualize the setting. However, that didn’t overshadow my disappointment. Landry Park was a dissatisfying read that left me wanting so much more, and I don’t think I’ll be reading anything else by this author unless it’s available at the library.
