The Star Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 2) by David Estes

A YA Sci-fi/Dystopian Novel published by David Estes (09/24/2012)

Summary:

The Star Dwellers continues Adele’s and Tristan’s stories within the impending uprising against the Sun Dwellers. Adele rescued both her sister and father in the first book (The Moon Dwellers) and now must find and rescue her mother in the Star Realm below. With the help of the friend she made while in the Moon Dweller prison, Tawni, Adele ventures down into the deepest depths of the Tri-Realms. Meanwhile, Tristan and his trusty best friend Roc must convince the Moon Dwellers to unite with the Star Dwellers against the Sun Dwellers. The Star Dwellers continues revealing secrets about the rebellion and war as well as the unique romantic relationship developing between Tristan and Adele.

Keywords:

Post-apocalyptic, underground, uninhabitable earth, romance, segregated society, class system, unequal power, dictatorship, in the dark, secrets, power-hungry leaders, corrupt government, fight the power, resistance, escape, kick-butt female, friendship, survival

My Review:

This second book in the series, like most seconds, was not quite as exciting as the first book, but I loved it just the same! It had all of the great elements I saw in the first book and continued the story I fell in love with in Moon Dwellers.

David Estes has a way with dialogue and describing action and setting the scene. His second book, much like his first in the series, is full of lovely quotable passages and great lines in the dialogue. The book is full of uplifting quotes, such as “Speak from your heart, and everything else will work itself out.” (Page 209) and “The only way to make things better is to fix the bigger problem.” (Page 219).

We are given a little more information on the overall plot regarding the inequality between the Tri-Realms as well as more intrigue into the now blossoming romance between Tristan and Adele. Roc and Tawni also continue with the story and we are given a few new characters. At this point in the series, Elsey, Adele’s younger sister, shows how wise she is.

Estes continues alternating Adele’s and Tristan’s point of views each chapter, which is done amazing well and adds so much to the complexity of the story as we get both the main characters’ inner thoughts.

I think it is still amazing how equivalent Adele’s and Tristan’s roles are in the importance of the fight for freedom and justice from the oppression of the Sun Realm and President Nailin. I love series like Hunger Games and Divergent for giving me a kick butt female character, but Estes goes a step further and gives us both a male and female kick butt characters at the same time! This series is great for both males and females alike, not just creating a role model for one gender or the other. The characters are also physically diverse and personality-wise diverse. I love them! After finishing up the Dweller Series, I will look into other books by David Estes as I think he is a fantastically gifted writer with amazing books.

This novel was published by David Estes 09/24/2012 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating: 5.0

Links for more information:

Goodreads

David Estes’s Website

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