[Review] The Moon Dwellers - David Estes

Title of Book : The Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers #1)
Author : David Estes
Publisher : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published : 30th June 2013

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms. 

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

The Moon Dwellers is the first book in The Dwellers series by David Estes. In this dystopian book, humankind has been living underground after meteors hit the earth. They created a society called Tri-Realms which consist of sun realm, moon realm, and star realm. This book has been on my TBR list for a long time and now that I’ve read it, I want more.

First of all, I like the world building. It takes time for me to get the whole underground thing but overall I like the idea of Tri-Realms society. The description of the society is understandable and the conflict in it is intriguing. The story not only revolves in Adele and Tristan (the two main characters), there’s more going on out there in the realms.

Talking about characters, I love the bromance between Tristan and Roc. They complement each other. Sometimes they are described as tough guys but they also have their own flaws. That makes them realistic. Meanwhile, Adele is a perfect protagonist, too perfect I think. She’s a young tough girl and it will be good if I could see more vulnerable side of her. So it will make her more real and relatable. 

As for the romance, Tristan and Adele came from different sides and different classes. Even though I’m not really sure if I could call it romance, I like the strange connection between them. It’s new for me and it’s refreshing. I’m curious about the electric thing between them and I’d love to know more how their relationship develops.

This book is fast paced and there’s a lot of action which could make my heart beats faster. Bombing, shooting, escaping from prison, fighting, action, action, and action. The Moon Dwellers has enough intensity which I like. Not too much, but enough. Because if the book is too intense I could go mad.

Despite of all the good things this book has, I think that the whole adventure is too easy for Adele and her entourage. It seems like they always could solve their problems, coincidentally or not. Probably some of the helps they got will be explained in the next book, I don’t know. Anyway, if you like dystopian YA book with a lot of actions; you might want to read this one. I enjoy reading The Moon Dwellers. I’m curious about the continuation of this series and really looking forward to read The Star Dwellers.