The 100 by Kass Morgan So it finally happened. It wasn’t aliens, it wasn't a solar flare, it wasn’t the perfect storm, nor a volcano; it was the humans. They nuked themselves. Of course, they were all aiming for each other, but the radiation and destruction that resulted from the nuclear warfare forced them all to abandon their home, Earth. Now humans live in orbit miles above the planet from whence they came. Now their home is a patchwork of every country’s space stations. The remains of the human race are safe from the noxious atmosphere and destruction of the surface, but not for much longer.
Time is running out for the inhabitants on the station, or more specifically, the air. After 200 years in space, Earth resembles an abandoned pool with a broken filter, no cover, and filled with leaves and June bugs, but now it's time to test the water. Therefore a decision is made to re-colonize the Earth, by sending the most able-bodied, respectable citizens. Just kidding, they send the juvenile delinquents, one hundred of them to be exact.
Just think about it, one hundred teens completely separated from any governing body and given the entire planet to do whatever they want with... needless to say this story could have gone in many different ways. Luckily, the four narrators are not like your typical teens. Bellamy, Wells, Glass, and Clarke have all suffered tragedies and have been matured because of it, giving the book a serious and calculated tone. It is not a classic survival story nor is it a teen romance. In fact, this book is more reminiscent of a mystery. The four main characters all have a hidden past, everyone sent to earth was previously in jail for something. Slowly, buried secrets begin to surface about the them and about the system that put them there.
This is the first book of three, and while the second installment is teased as being closer to science fiction, this first book is an almost purely human story that is centered more on the drama than the actual characters. While enjoyable, this book seems to be better suited for television than operating as a piece of literature. And in case you didn’t know, it actually has been adapted into a show, but just in case you don’t own a TV you can always read the book.
