Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Lauren is 15 and lives with her family and neighbours in a walled cul-de-sac. Sometimes they leave those walls, to work, run errands, or to practice shooting. Outside is a dangerous place: wild dogs will attack and try to eat you, people who are desperate and will try to kill you to steal everything you have with you. Over time, the break-ins get worse and Lauren has to make plans for what happens if her neighbourhood is overrun.

This book is written in diary-form, from the perspective of Lauren. It’s post-apocalyptic, in a way, but it’s an interesting setting as the currency still holds, there’s companies, police, fire department, even a president— everything still exists, but not in an effective way. How can you find hope in a world as broken as this? How can you trust strangers?

I really enjoyed reading this, it was entertaining and thrilling, although really brutal at times. If you can stomach that, I recommend reading this.