It’s been two long hard years since the world as it was broke into this food scarce fend for yourself type shell of what it once was. The land of abundance is no more.
For Cal and Frida, life is quiet in the wilderness they have created a home within. They have a garden, and a house, and a water source near by. Admittedly it is a lonely world but it is what they have and for the most part they feel secure.
When Frida discovers she is pregnant she feels strongly that they must look for others. While Cal is uncertain of this move, he understands his wife’s fears and together they go off to search for other people. When they come across a community that is heavily guarded they are allowed inside, at least for a while to see if they will be accepted. The community is full of surprises – some personal, and some frightening such as the fact that there are no children there. As Cal and Frida cautiously look for answers they do not know who they can trust. Is this the best the world now has to offer? Were they better off alone where they were, or was that too only a temporary feeling of safety?
When I first heard about CALIFORNIA it sounded like a book for me. I love a good dystopian novel and I was excited to dig into this one.
CALIFORNIA had a very slow start for me. It honestly could have been partially due to the changes going on in my life at the time of starting to read this one, but I found it slow-moving and not gripping enough to hold me to it. I picked it up, read a few pages and put it down off and on for weeks. When it finally started moving (about 100 pages in) then I became engaged in what was happening.
The book was good… very good in some ways, but as I progressed to the ending I knew that all the different plot lines that had been opened up could not possibly be closed within this one book. My biggest disappointment is I felt at the end it just…
ended.
Not a cliffhanger… but more like it ended like a chapter ends. There should be more but there was not.
I had a lot of questions left and felt there was a lot more that needed to happen to bring this story line to full and satisfying conclusion. No where that I have looked do I see that there are plans to make this into a trilogy or that there will be a sequel even. For now.. I am under the impression that was it and if that is the case… I am left unfulfilled.
Book Journey 
Oh, that’s too bad….I have this one on Sparky. Sometimes books do just end, and I don’t like that feeling either.
I dont need everything tied up with a neat bow but I like to have some sort of sense of what is happening 😉
I think I’ll skip this one after reading your review. I like a little more closure too!
Others have liked it so read other reviews… I just felt it was a little open ended 🙂
Hmm, I have this on my wishlist, and now I’m not sure whether to look for it. I don’t mind books in a trilogy or series, but one that just stops cold…nope. So disappointing. Thanks for the heads-up.
I keep looking for signs that it is “to be continued” but not seeing it…
Aw, too bad. Maybe this would be good for a book club?
Not sure Kathy – my book club would have been upset with all the unanswered questions.. I would however like to read dystopian for book club some time.. if the book is right it could lead to interesting survival discussion 😀
oooh, yeah I know what you mean. Hate when a book just ENDS with no sense of closure!
Me too…. 😛
I was not very taken with this one either. And I too kept looking for a sign that there were more books to come — even though I’m not quite sure I want to read more. The ending was totally unsatisfying.
Agreed. The book had great potential. Unmet. But it was there.
I like dystopian too but I held off because of the hype. I’m fussy about my dystopian worlds, and after reading some of the reviews… I don’t know. And I really don’t want to get hooked into another trilogy or continuing series – my book pile is big enough!
Then I almost hate to say it Leslie but my advice to you is to pass on this one. I never say that, but knowing what you like to read I think you would be disappointed.
Thanks. I appreciate the candor from you and other bloggers who opinions I trust.
I’m 2/3 into this now Shelia and not overly impressed thus far after all the hype.
I will be curious about what you think about it when you are done Diane. The last part has a lot of action but no closure.
I haven’t written my review yet but you are right. The ending was like how a chapter ends. It didn’t even occur to me that there could be more books. Normally, I’d be pretty curious about the pregnancy but in this case, I really didn’t care about Frida’s kid. Horrible me!
I can see that Ti, its hard to really feel emotion for Frida because she does not give us much in return.
I kind of struggled with this one too, and the audio format wasn’t the best either. I wouldn’t really want to continue with this series if there is a sequel 😦
I think I would read the next book mainly because I am curious about Frida’s brothers plan. If they do not have a sequel than I am sorely disappointed on how open it leaves us as readers.
I haven’t read this one, but have seen a number of not so positive reviews. Think I’ll probably skip it 🙂
Unfortunately, I think that may be the right choice Sarah.
I read another review of this that had me wondering if I’d like it. After reading your thoughts I think I can give it a pass 🙂