Title: Hit (Hit #1)
Author: Deliah S Dawson
Genre: Young Adult //Dystopia
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: April 14, 2015
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased (Audible)
NO ONE READS THE FINE PRINT.
The good news is that the USA is finally out of debt. The bad news is that we were bought out by Valor National Bank, and debtors are the new big game, thanks to a tricky little clause hidden deep in the fine print of a credit card application. Now, after a swift and silent takeover that leaves 9-1-1 calls going through to Valor voicemail, they’re unleashing a wave of anarchy across the country.
Patsy didn’t have much of a choice. When the suits showed up at her house threatening to kill her mother then and there for outstanding debt unless Patsy agreed to be an indentured assassin, what was she supposed to do? Let her own mother die?
Patsy is forced to take on a five-day mission to complete a hit list of ten names. Each name on Patsy's list has only three choices: pay the debt on the spot, agree to work as a bounty hunter, or die. And Patsy has to kill them personally, or else her mom takes a bullet of her own.
Since yarn bombing is the only rebellion in Patsy's past, she’s horrified and overwhelmed, especially as she realizes that most of the ten people on her list aren't strangers. Things get even more complicated when a moment of mercy lands her with a sidekick: a hot rich kid named Wyatt whose brother is the last name on Patsy's list. The two share an intense chemistry even as every tick of the clock draws them closer to an impossible choice.
Delilah S. Dawson offers an absorbing, frightening glimpse at a reality just steps away from ours—a taut, suspenseful thriller that absolutely mesmerizes from start to finish (goodreads).
Hit asks more questions than it is prepared to answer.
Plot: The United States has sold its debt to the banks, and because no one cares about what they're signing, the banks have legally been killing the "weakest links" of society. What I liked the most about this concept is that it made me think, a lot. As a society, we no longer even consider documents without scribbling our John Hancock, so what's stopping anyone from abusing that power? While it started off as Patsy knocking off 10 people from a list of "deadbeats," she begins becoming more introspected and seeing her victims more as people instead of names on a page.
I bought this one on a complete whim with no research so I had no idea that Hit was the first installment in a series. Be prepared to be scratching your head in confusion for a good chunk of this book. I found myself desperate for the bread crumbs of information that Dawson would throw the reader every now and then.
Characters: Patsy has not known an easy life which explains how she can judge others for living in excess. While she felt completely devoid of emotion for the first half of the book, she did begin to open herself up to the reader eventually and speculate more about the human condition and society. I enjoyed her commentary on her situation and the tidbits of her past explaining how she came to be the person she is today.
There is a boy-situation in this one which seems a bit unrealistic. When you're knocking off johns, I feel like your least concern should be some boy. They do fall victim to insta-love, but I do believe that Wyatt was a good addition to the team and aided in humanizing Patsy.
World Building: Hit is scary because, like most dystopians, there is a grain of truth. It's not too hard to imagine a bank laying claim to a country and doing with it as it will. Patsy's inner critique and the narrator helped illustrate the struggle between the town's social classes.
Audiobook Performance: Rebekkeh Ross gives a 5-star performance in this audiobook! Her male voices are believable and none of her accents sound offensive or too far out. She captured Patsy's tortured voice well which made the reading experience even more enjoyable.
Short N Sweet: Hit is a non-stop thriller that paints a dark future that doesn't seem so out-there. I personally recommend the audiobook edition, because I believe the narrator delivers a level of humanity that can't be read on the pages.
Labels: 2015 audiobook challenge, 3.5 stars, book review, deliah s dawson, hit, review, Simon Pulse
