Tent City by Kelly Van Hull

This book was brought to my attention by BookBub (deal expired).

Dani Campbell lives in the South Dakota of a United States that is barely hanging on after locusts caused famine. The book opens with Dani's family learning that the Military-now-Council plans to remove children from their homes. To avoid being taken to an undisclosed location and fate, Dani's father decides that the 17-year-old and her 5-year-old brother, Brody, will escape to their family's cabin in the woods. But when they arrive, it is occupied by run away kids and Dani has to figure out how to manage with the squatters.

So let's rip the bandaid off: I did not like this book. It is written in first person, which I usually like, but I did not like the protagonist and narrator, Dani: she comes off as unreliable as she jumps between past and present tense. I think Kelly Van Hull opted for first person to protect the reader from learning things before she was ready to reveal them. I think this could have done more effectively using a third-person limited narrator. To me, Dani does not come off as the heroine but rather someone who is just along for the ride. She was supposed to be caring for her brother but seemed to more often abandon him in the care of her friend, Kit, who is not a developed character. I hope in the sequels Dani takes an active role in driving the plot.

I think part of my disappointment with the novel is that I really wanted to like it: the plot is right up my alley. I think the series has potential but I don't currently have plans to read any of the sequels. However, that could change because the twist at the end made me think of the gang in Willow protecting Elora Danan and I love that movie.

Visit Kelly Van Hull's website for more information about the author and how to purchase her books.