Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a “dark party” to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she’s ever known, including the people she loves the most.”

I’ll be honest, while I was excited to read Dark Parties I was worried it would echo the same thing every other dystopia has to say. I’m worried, more or less, that there are running out of unique ways for dystopian societies. I was pleasantly surprised. The world Neva lives in doesn’t seem that far off to me. That makes Dark Parties very terrifying. The Protectosphere is basically a giant dome that covers a huge area of land.

Inside of the Protectosphere people are told that nothing remains outside, the rebels feel differently. As secrets are uncovered Neva learns more about everyone around her and who she should and should not trust. Dark Parties kept me on my toes wondering just what would happen next.

Neva is a great heroine. She is strong, determined, and willing to do anything to protect her friends and family. The world Grant has created is fascinating. Everyone looks alike from physical features to their clothing, so teens use identity marks (paint, tattoos, scars) so that they can have their own personality.

My only complaint is the term “dark parties” is never explained! If you read the book, it is pretty obvious, at least to me, what they are intended for, but I would assume that being the title of the book it would be explained a bit more.

I enjoyed Dark Parties, while it wasn’t the best of recent dystopian novels it was entertaining and worth checking out!