Banded (Banded 1)

Easy to read and understand but too long reading sometimes. Really interesting! making the rest of the series attempt, to continue to read. And skip some paragraphs with no worries you might loose something. Nice book overall.

Banded reads like a bad, simplified version of other popular dystopian books. It is like it was written for a younger audience, one who cannot understand things. The story was so simple, and at the same time not developed very well at all.

This story is one of those were the people are broken up into sections by the corrupt government, with the sections not able to talk to each other. You get placed into your section when you turn 16 based on what skills you are best at. You also have this band places on your arm that tracks how good you are. If you do something bad it deducts points and if you reach zero it instantly injects you with poison and you die. So that is slightly different, but the bands don't actually seem to be that big a part of the story. They keep warning if you do x, y or z you will get points taken off, but Kalenna keeps doing these things and not having anything happen.

So the story starts off with Kalenna turning 16 and having to go off to HQ to learn what she will do for the rest of her life. She gets sorted and instantly becomes friends with a cute boy who is also in her section so you know that is the instant love interest. Then they quickly make friends with a smart guy and a strong, tough guy and they have the perfect little band of misfits for anything they might need. Yey. It was just odd the way they came together, and they didn't even seem to be friends really. They weren't developed enough and it was a tell not show. The love interest aspect? That was definitely told not shown. People kept saying how the two of them obviously liked each other, but there wasn't really anything that happened to show that.

So Kalenna has her band of misfits, and she also knows her mom has this secret box that has something secret in it her dad was hiding. So she goes to HQ with the thought of just trying to survive, but pretty instantly for some unknown reason she suddenly decides that the government needs to be taken down. Why? I don't know. I have no idea what prompted this sudden change in her, but she kept bringing it up on occasion after that. It didn't make much sense. But then again Kaleena was kind of stupid and didn't make much sense. There is a tournament and whoever wins gets three hours to visit with their family as their prize. Well Kaleena definitely wants to win that, especially once they find some stuff about this black box holding something secret, but she is so obsessed with Gavin, the love interest, winning as well. She keeps bringing it up to him like you want to go home! And he is all no I don't and she is just adamant that he wants to no matter what he says. Her other friends who are in the tournament as well? Who cares. Gavin must try super hard to actually win so he can go home! Again I have no idea why this is so important to her...

She also needs to learn to keep her mouth shut. She keeps spouting off to the people in charge when they provoke her, but again she doesn't get points taken off every time like they said you would so she doesn't have the most motivation to stay in line. She also is often times like I cannot do anything physical cause I am just a girl. Like she is not going to win the tournament as she is just a girl and not strong and poor her so yeah not going to win (though somehow she keeps advancing in the tournament cause it makes sense that she somehow is just super awesome at everything she tries). It was just a bit tedious to read, and really it didn't seem like much happened in this story. The tournament is the main focus, and I thought that was all just a rouse by the government to get information but apparently I was wrong as nothing seemed to happen with it. It was just a tournament. It was just not good. Not much happened, the story and characters and everything lacked development, Kaleena was incredibly stupid most of the time, it was just bad. I will not be reading any more of this series as I just don't care what happens.

This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland

The main premise is difficult to accept, with a total control society that allows amatuers to hide things that are matter of public record or easily serveiled. Good characters, plot and action make the book a perfecctly acceptable read, but not gripping enough to make me want to buy the next in the series.

The synopsis describes it as something like a cross between "In Time" and Divergent. While the basic concept lives up to that idea, the story is completely muddled with utter nonsense. The random scenes, the conversations that lead to nothing, the ridiculously long paragraphs explaining things you learned about the story in the beginning; all these are perfect examples of why this book is terrible. Not to mention at the end of this 300+ page book, nothing is really achieved. They talk about how corrupt their government is and how they'd like to see it taken down, but never is an idea or strategy formed. The author really wanted to drill the idea of the bands into the readers head, and repeatedly mentions them and their purpose throughout the book. The repetition drove me mad. I was sick of this book halfway through. Not to mention the plot was entirely see through. I could always tell what would happen next. And the main character is so dumb.

I bought this book hoping for a good dystopia. Novel, but was disappointed with the repetition of words, lack of creativity in dialogue, and you're typical, fifth grade novel. I do not recommend this book.

The main character kept doubting herself. I could barely make it through this book. I only read it when I was bored. Most of the other low reviews were dead on. I should have listened but I didn't....

I received this book from Logan Byrne and “Paranormal Romance & Authors That Rock” in exchange for an honest review.

Banded is the first book in a dystopian series. It takes you through Kalenna’s sorting after her 16th birthday, and through the first month of her time at HQ. This is a specialized school for all sixteen year olds that are recently banded. This will be the last time that zones will congregate, unless one gets a job that involves cross zoning (doctor, police, etc.). The band is an electronic device similar to a watch. It keeps track of all wrong doings, as well as good choices, while adding or subtracting points accordingly. It starts at 100 and ends at 0 when it takes your life by lethal injection.

The main character, Kalenna, is very curious and strong. She has the potential to be an awesome heroine. With that being said, she is very naive and not as mature as she should be at times. Kalenna meets friends who each play a part in her discoveries. Gavin is a super sweet guy and a potential love interest. Hector is a big ole teddy bear. He’s got lots of muscle and he has the hots for Jasmine, who is a badass dagger fighter. Ivan is a very intelligent nerd boy who has proven his resourcefulness. The warden of HQ is a major player in this story. He has access to too much power, more information than we know, and doesn’t seem to be the most just person to be the head honcho at the HQ.

This series does have a Hunger Games meets Divergent series feel to it. However, it was a great story in its own right. The similarities weren’t so much so that it was a put off. I still enjoyed this book, and liked the pace of it. The fighting scenes were very well told and kept me wanting more.

There were words and phrases that were way over used, part of the storyline was VERY predictable, and the ending was too abrupt for me to feel like there was any type of resolution. Regardless of these few annoyances, I am looking forward to book 2 in the series. Banded is very PG and is suitable for any age.

Banded is a book about a dystopian society were citizens are divided and segregated by the government according to their aptitude. They are given permanent bands on their arms which deduct points anytime they cross the government. If they reach 0, the bands kill the wearer. Kalenna is sorted into the Altrustric group (doctors, etc.) and sent to HQ to for training. While there she learns more about the secrets the government is hiding, and the secrets her father had before he disappeared.

I enjoyed reading this book and following the story of Kalenna. The world is interesting, and Kalenna and her friends are well developed and likable. She is a strong heroine, but a realistic one as well as she has some flaws and weaknesses. The pacing seemed great to me, with an easy-to-follow plot, and I was able to finish this book quickly.

There were just a few things that bothered me. First off, it explains that a failed revolution of 2012 caused the society to be the way it is. That right there (reading this in 2014) ruins it for me. Perhaps if that date was set to something farther in the future, it would not have taken me out of the fantasy. Also, I felt like Kalenna's roommate was a useless, underused character. Perhaps she will feature prominently in a sequel. And lastly, it just ended too soon without much being resolved or happening...it just needed more of something. In the end, the government and society is unchanged, but Kalenna is not so perhaps she will be primed for more upheaval and change in a future novel.

Overall, a good start and introduction to a new dystopian series with a ton of potential. I look forward to seeing what the author does with it.

NOTE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

There is no escaping the fact that Banded has similarities to Veronica Roth's Divergent; the way individuals are sorted into sectors at 16, depending on their suspected talents (no magical hat here though!); the strong female voice who is troublesome to authorities, rebellious, skilled at fighting and who is carrying a huge secret. However, Banded is well-written and for those who have yet to read Divergent or are new to dystopian fiction, Logan Byrne offers his reader an appealing option.
I particularly liked the characterisation of Kaleena, who has a vulnerability which opens her to the reader, but also a strength which makes us want to follow her story. Although the presence and identity of a 'mole' in HQ is no surprise to the reader, there are elements of the story I enjoyed, especially the relationships Kal develops with Gavin, Jericho and Ivan. The fact that she prefers the company of boys is an unconventional addition, and I think by doing this Logan Byrne makes Banded a genderless novel. It also eliminates any of the competition and bitchiness which sometimes exists when there is a number of female characters.
The four friends have different talents and a shared mistrust of the system they live in. They realise that by helping each other they can discover the truth about life inside of HQ. Gavin, Ivan and Jericho are all genuine, although Jericho has an arrogant side. The closeness between Gavin and Kal provides comfort to them both and it did not surprise me that their friendship develops. It will be interesting to see how Logan Byrne handles this in Eluded.
The discoveries which the four young people make add a mystery and extra tension to Banded and leaves us wanting to continue the Banded series. I have already purchased the sequel and look forward to reading it very soon.
I received this as a complimentary review copy, but this has had no influence on my opinion.

*** I received a gift copy from the author in exchange for an honest review ***

The concept of the banding reminded me slightly of the film ‘In Time’ (2011), with the countdown that ultimately ended in death.
I see other people are reminded of ‘Divergent’ with the sectors. For me, it reminded me more of ‘The Hunger Games’, but that could be because I haven’t yet seen ‘Divergent’. However, in reading the book, ‘Banded’ held it’s ground and was quite a good read too. I couldn’t put it down.

Kalenna (what a lovely, unusual name) receives her band when she turns 16, as is the custom of the time she lives in. She then joins the other 16 year old teens in getting shipped off to HQ to be sorted into their future sectors. Her character is pretty naive when it comes to attracting boys, which I found to be quite a refreshing change after the last few books I’ve read where the heroine is the same age and “in love”.

The story was quite a nice easy way to ease the reader into how Kalenna’s world worked. We are introduced to the bands and how they work. We are introduced to how the teens are sorted into sectors and what jobs are related to each sector.
The training and the fight scenes are described really well, enough so that you can almost imagine being part of the class.
The characters are all believable, but I would have liked to have seen more about the “mole” and the the havoc they supposedly caused.

Although there are fight scenes and romance is touched on, ‘Banded’, in my opinion, is suitable for YA from the age of 12 and up. I can see both young boys and girls enjoying this and wanting to carry on reading the series.

‘Banded’ deserves a 5 Shamrocks rating as I think it’s exactly right for any YA. It’s not OTT, it’s not violently bloody, it’s not all kissy face and sexual tension.

Banded was an alright read. From the blurb, its pretty obvious that it has clear similarities to Divergent. Still, there was an additional twist to this. In Banded society, teens weren’t given the option to choose which zone they wanted to be in. Its kinda like the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter, except with a lot more serious consequences. I can’t say I loved reading Banded, but I definitely do not dislike it.

Firstly, I like dystopians, so naturally, this appealed to me. Even though there may be similarities to other books, the main plot line is still different. I really like the whole band idea, and how it serves as a continual reminder that you could die at any time, if you did something bad enough.

But the thing that stopped me from really getting into the book was the main character, Kalenna. Okay, so there’s nothing exactly wrong with her. She is perhaps a little immature for her age, a little naïve, but other than that she’s alright, I guess. But the thing that really irked me was how cocky she was getting. Example. She has never touched a staff before but assumes that she can win the whole competition somehow. After going through like a day or so of training, she somehow thinks she’s really strong and all. It wasn’t even self-confidence, but it is pure pride. I guess I did find her a bit immature sometimes, given that she is already 16. She isn’t a bad character, just very predictable. And yes, I don’t like her, but that’s my personal opinion!

In terms of pacing, it was rather good. The story wasn’t draggy, even though there were phrases here and there which I felt were unnecessary. Like how she looked at her hands before sleeping. I don’t know, a little bit is fine, but sometimes I felt it was overdone.

The characters were a little flat here. Not to say they weren’t interesting, because they were. They aren’t difficult to connect with, they’re just forgettable because they haven’t been properly developed. Yet, I hope. I think I like Ivan the most. He is a little bit more than just another smart kid I feel.

I’m not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing, but there seemed to be a lot happening in this book. Right now, they don’t seem very connected, like every event is separate. Oh sure, there is a connection in terms of I guess, rebellion. But nothing concrete yet. I do hope that the plot points in this book would be talked about more in the series. Like, her roommate, that annoying Trace guy (I honestly can’t decide who I would rather see win in a duel, Trace or Kalenna), the romance side.

All in all, while I can’t say I loved this book, I do think I’m intrigued enough to keep reading on. I am interested as to what they will find, and I felt the book ended just as it got good. This is a 3 stars book for me.

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed here are mine alone.

Got this from author for a fair review: A mysterious start as a hook, the reader knows about a secret box, we follow Kalenna Slater around when she turned sixteen. The day she puts on a special band and get sorted into one of six zones. There she meets new people and discover a dark secret that could threaten everything.
At times, I wonder why Kalenna is placed in altruistic, but most of the time her willingness to help others makes her a good candidate for a story such as this one. This has 'interesting' written all over it.

Banded is for those who love the series Divergent and The Hunger Games. It is an intense, suspenseful yet touching story that will keep you locked in until you finish it & leaving you dying for more. This book had me crying due to the family aspects that are in it and laughing/smiling at the friendship & romance. This is a must read in my opinion and I can not wait to see what the rest of the series has in store! Thank you Logan!

This was a well written book that took a totalitarian government to the beginning of training. Dividing a city into barricaded zones where there was no communication between them and taking the children away to train into one of six different life long zones was not working the way it was hoped. Instead there was a general sense among the brightest students that something was not right about the way they had to live. This book set the tone for what I hope will be an interesting series.