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Wow! Terra was such an awesome read! I was completely hooked by the story. It honestly took me by surprise how much I enjoyed this book. The reason for that mostly was that I've become a little bored and frustrated with the dystopian genre. Pretty much all books in this genre were starting to blend together for me. Same type of world, same type of herone, same type of controlling goverment. Blah, blah, blah. But thankfully Terra wasn't such a book. Yes, the same type of things that in a lot of dystopian novels feature also feature in Terra but unlike some other books, it was all wrapped up in a much better packing. A huge positive part for me was the writing. I love Gretchen Powell's style. Fast-paced, not lingering on unnecessary details and told in the point of view of such an interesting main character. Oh and the chapters weren't too long. That's always a plus for me. Really, what more could I want?

I liked the building of the world as well as Terra's character building. There weren't many overly details like you sometimes get with these type of books, like when the authors try to fit every single details and the past of said world in the first few chapters. Hallelujah! As for Terra, she was very easy to like. I loved the way she cared for her 13 y/o brother, Mica, even though she might not always have been there for him in the past. She has many flaws and knows it, but she tries to do her best. She has also a sense of humor that I appreciate and is strong. Terra's definitely one of the most intriguing new characters that I've read about lately. Mica is totally different from his sister, but it doesn't make me like him even less. He's pretty damn great actually and you can really see him grown through this book, you can especially tell in the end.

There were many other characters in this book. From Terra's fellow scavs to folks she talks to in daily life like Copp to evil goverment people. But I suppose the most important one aside from Terra herself and her brother is one that doesn't fit in her daily life and that was Adam. He comes from somewhere entirely else. As the love interest in this book he did pretty good. I wasn't totally swooning over him but I liked him. He had this whole mysterious vibe about him where you just know he's hiding something and not telling the whole truth. Though there was romance in the book, it didn't overshadow the story at all, which I think in this genre is a must. Go, Gretchen!

Like any great book it had its share of shocking events happening. I do love these twists that you don't see coming as long as they aren't too overly dramatic. And let me tell you that I totally hadn't seen this one thing coming that made this book not only a dystopian read but also kinda scifi. Score! It was all just super awesome, really. And also refreshing reading a book like this because it wasn't all too intense like I know other books in this genre can be. I really liked that.

All in all, Terra by Gretchen Powell turned out really great and unexpected. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year. I'm so glad I had a chance to read and review it.
Great characters? Check.
Well-written and intriguing? Check.
Just the right amount of romance? Check.
And an awesome plot with some unexpected twists? Check!

A deserved five stars for a fantastic book. I can't wait to read the sequel!