This was the longest reading of my life. It was an experience similar to Oliver Twist for me, a book I despised profusely.

I can’t sugarcoat it: I felt like I was suffering through horrendous fanfiction of The CW’s The 100, which is loosely based on Kass Morgan’s trilogy of the same name. The entire book is literally the pilot episode of the television series, and it’s ten times better.

The 100 by Kass Morgan
Series: The 100 #1
Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers on 18 March, 2014
Genre: #nothanks, Dystopian, Fiction, Romance, Science fiction, Young adult
# pages: 326
Source: Giveaway
Goodreads
Rating: ★★

The plot

Everyone is a horny teenager, I guess. Every character featured in this book is thinking not about survival, but about love. I don’t know about you, but if I had been sent down to Earth, I’d be worrying about how the hell I was going to survive and why I wasn’t prepared for any of this shit—did the people in command not expect anyone to survive? Yet, you have people doing stupid shit and falling after so-and-so, wanting so-and-so, and getting upset because they don’t have so-and-so.

It feels too much like crappy fanfiction, the reason I can’t tolerate reading much anymore these days.

The characters

100 percent #StraightCoupleProblems.

Clarke

Clarke is stubborn and curious. Compared to the television show, she’s a weakling who needs a man to save her and give her warmth and stability; she thinks only of her relationships, aside from when she’s carefully tending to people in the medical tent.

Wells

Ex-boyfriend of Clarke on the Ark, Wells is utterly annoying. He is one of those guys who gets upset when he can’t have the girl, who does stupid shit—like risk everyone’s lives—because he thinks with the thing that flip-flops around between his legs instead of his actual brain. He is selfish, and just…he was so horrible I just wanted him to die already…but it never happened.

A terrifying plan began to take shape, and his chest tightened in fear as he realized what he would have to do. But Wells knew there was no other way. To save the girl he loved, he’d have to endanger the entire human race.

face palm

He basically dedicates his entire existence and purpose to Clarke Griffin.

Glass

I watched the series before I actually read more of the book. I was missing the television series, so I read the book. I’d been meaning to, anyway. “Who the fuck is Glass?” was my major question when I picked up where I left off. Glass escaped the shuttle to Earth when Bellamy pulled his little stunt to get on the ship to Earth, so she’s not at all part of the survival story.

All these kids had wristbands on to monitor their status, and I don’t think I found out what happened to hers (unless I missed it).

Glass serves literally zero purpose. She learns a little bit about the problems with the Ark, but…so what? Her role in this novel is so pointless, and I feel like Morgan just wasted my time on several hundred pages just to learn about this chick.

Glass, a delinquent because of teen pregnancy (which wasn’t allowed), let go of the boy she loved because she loved him…then just cut him off…because of something so stupid. Seriously, it made zero sense. I really don’t understand it.

Bellamy and Octavia

Bellamy wasn’t supposed to get on the shuttle out of the space station, but that’s okay, because Glass escaped. In the midst of hunting for food for survival and trying to avoid people (he must be a misanthrope), he winds up pining after Clarke, too, who turns around and wants him like a lovesick puppy.

Meanwhile, we have Miss Poor Me, Octavia, whining like a little baby. She’s portrayed as this innocent being, then depicted as a selfish—for reasons stemming from fear—chick who cares only about herself and not necessarily the well-being of others.

And don’t forget about her constant pining after Wells, who doesn’t notice this, because he’s too into Clarke.

Overview

• There are minor grammar and punctuation mistakes, but the former overpowers the other and soon becomes annoying. For example, “Oh my god” should have been edited better—a comma and capital G is rather necessary, even though it’s being used in vein. However, religion isn’t really mentioned in the book, and…it’s really weird to see “God” in the book a few times, as if a nonreligious bundle of people use this language daily, as if they do believe in God…even though they don’t.
• Everyone is pining after someone.
• No one is adequately concerned with their survival.
• The first book covers who knows how many days; the sequel is entitled “21 Days”, but there is no set use of timing in The 100. It’s such an issue I couldn’t decide whether something had just happened out of order.
• The page numbers were difficult to read. The 4s look too much like 9s. If this were my book, I’d be all over getting that fixed.
• Morgan continuously broke fourth wall; the book is in third person…there are ways to make a point without using “you”.
• There are fragments. Everywhere. Many sentences? Don’t even make any sense. At all. Why can’t we just, put commas in the right places and—use em dashes appropriately?

If you’re one to read books before you watch the show/movie, just watch the show instead. Don’t waste your time with The 100. If you read for research on how to write romance between characters, read this one for what not to do. It feels like such a first draft.

Ugh. This is why I stick to 250ish-page books.

I likely will not continue the series due to the use of fragments, plethora of pitiful characters, lack of diversity, and fact that I don’t really like the author. My impression of Kass Morgan is the rant-y post she published on The Huffington Post about how, even though her book inspired the television show, she’s not allowed to be a character on the show/can’t always be on set…it felt extremely whiny and self-absorbed—more so now that I’ve finally read her book and found it’s not that great.