‘The Torturer’s Daughter’ shows an oppressive government and the courage and strength of one young girl. Rating: 3/5

*This is book #1/28 for my 2014 book challenge. You can take a look at the reading challenge here.

When her best friend Heather calls in the middle of the night, Becca Dalcourt assumes it’s the usual drama. Wrong. Heather’s parents have been arrested as dissidents – and Becca’s mother, the dystopian regime’s most infamous torturer, has already executed them for their crimes against the state.

To stop Heather from getting herself killed trying to prove her parents’ innocence, Becca hunts for proof of their guilt. She doesn’t expect to find evidence that leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew about the dissidents… and about her mother.

My journey with The Torturer’s Daughter was a roller coaster. The story was good, as far as plot line and writing style,  but it fell flat for me at times. The story takes place in a dystopian world where the government executes ‘dissidents‘, and that’s about all I could tell you about the world. There wasn’t enough back story for me to understand not only the setting, but whose side I was really on. Who are dissidents? What happened to the government that led it to this? So many questions that weren’t necessarily important to the story, but would have helped me care. Which was the main problem with the story. I just didn’t care. I didn’t care what happened to the characters or their relationships and I didn’t have anyone to root for, though I was supposed to. The main character was constantly questioning herself and it became monotonous. Not only would she question herself, but she would even at times decide that her decision was wrong and then follow through with it anyway. At times this questioning was likable and relatable, but due to how often it occurred it became relentless.

With all of that said, I liked this a lot. It’s a story that has potential, and I would read a sequel if one was ever written. There were times when I couldn’t put the book down because the cliffhangers were so suspenseful. I also really enjoyed that there was a strong female character that tried to the best of her ability to think for herself, make her own decisions, and then stand by those decisions. I wish more YA books featured more characters like this. I tend to really nitpick books, and when my only complaints are because I wanted more from a story (more background, etc.) that’s a  good sign.

Rating: 

If you’re interested in reading my GoodReads updates from this book you can do so here. I must say, they’re quite entertaining. It will tell you exactly what I was thinking on certain pages.

Note: I received a free ebook version of this book through The b00k r3vi3w tour to write an honest review. All opinions held within this review are my own thoughts and feelings and do not reflect upon anyone else.