Luminary by Krista McGee

After escaping an underground annihilation chamber, Thalli, Berk, Rhen, and John find themselves fleeing across the former United States, aboveground for the first time. As the defectors cross the forgotten landscape, the three youths see things they had only read about on screens: horses, rain, real books—and a colony of unsanctioned survivors living the ancient way in a town called New Hope.

When these survivors reveal the truth of what happened years ago, Thalli is left unsettled and skeptical of everything she’s ever been told. Can she trust anything from the State, including her own feelings for Berk? Meanwhile, John’s unwavering faith in the goodness of the Designer begins to make its mark on Thalli’s heart. But can Thalli really come to trust in a generous, protective Designer who rules over all things?

The time for her to decide is now . . . because the State is closing in.

Luminary by Krista McGee is the sequel to Anomaly, and it picks up right where it left off. As befits a dystopian style novel, Luminary features as world that has an all controlling government and a small group of rebels that seek to live out from under the State's control. The plot line has many unexpected twists and turns and relies on mystery, suspense, and youthful romance to keep the reader invested in the story. The themes of the novel are clear and heartfelt and add to the incredible truths and raw emotions that pervade the entire story. The narration of Luminary is first person and is from the perspective of Thalli, who fills the novel with her thoughts, emotions, and desires as she struggles to understand what is real and what is not. As she learns more about really happened in the past, she begins to doubt even her emotions. However, as she learns more about Earth, she also begins to trust in the great Designer who is stronger and better than anything that the State might produce. I really liked the honesty of Thalli's thoughts as she tried to grasp what real feelings are and if God is real. I found her feelings and struggles to be realistic and even in a non-dystopian present. Overall, I enjoyed Luminary immensely, and I would highly recommend both Anomaly and Luminary (in that order) to teen and adult readers alike who are looking for a well written, Christian, dystopian style novel. I look forward to seeing that will happen in future installments in this series.

I received this novel for free from Booksneeze.com and Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.