Book Review :: Birthmarked, by Caragh O’Brien

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien
Published by Simon & Schuster
on April 1st 2011
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 361
Goodreads

In the future, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like 16-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Gaia delivers babies, then hands a quota over to be 'advanced' into the privileged society of the Enclave. She has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested.

Last updated on 22 February 2022

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase with one of these links, I recieve a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full Affiliate Policy.

What is Birthmarked by Caragh O’Brien about?

Birthmarked, by Caragh O’Brien tells the story of Gaia. In short: Gaia’s parents get arrested; Gaia travels over the wall into a society that had dictated exactly what happened on the outside of the wall for years; she has to find out where they are being kept, without anyone seeing her and her scarred face; she gets thrown in prison; she discovers that the birthmark of four dots that she and her mother put on the babies’ ankles that they gave to the Enclave wasn’t actually normal, and now there is big hoo-haa about all these kids and young adults with dots on their ankles; she is forced to figure out a code that her father had created that contained all the records of the babies that were taken from their birth families on the Outside and given to adoptive parents on the Inside…oh, and she falls in love. Of course.

My thoughts on Birthmarked, by Caragh O’Brien

It’s written in third person, and is well written I think. I did enjoy the code-cracking part of it (I like a bit of mystery and puzzle-solving…), and I think the story had a good plot, a good set of twists and turns and was unexpected in some parts; generally a good story. But I think it could have been better.

I’m not quite sure how, but I felt like it was lacking something.

That being said, I did enjoy it, and would give it a 3.5 out of 5 (couldn’t figure out how to nicely change that star picture into a half section). According to Good Reads there are 2 more, and also a few .5 books. I think I will read the next two, when I get through the other books I have stashed next to my bed…a pile that is ever-growing and if I don’t read faster, is going to gather a large fine at the library and I may get kicked out of the country.

Have you read Birthmarked? What did you think?