Book Review :: The Haven, by Carol Lynch Williams

The Haven by Carol Lynch Williams
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
on March 4th 2014
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 224
Goodreads

For the teens at The Haven, the outside world, just beyond the towering stone wall that surrounds the premises, is a dangerous unknown. It has always been this way, ever since the hospital was established in the year 2020. But The Haven is more than just a hospital; it is their home. It is all they know.

Everything is strictly monitored: education, exercise, food, and rest. The rules must be followed to keep the children healthy, to help control the Disease that has cast them as Terminals, the Disease that claims limbs and lungs—and memories.

But Shiloh is different; she remembers everything. Gideon is different, too. He dreams of a cure, of rebellion against the status quo. What if everything they’ve been told is a lie? What if The Haven is not the safe place it claims to be? And what will happen if Shiloh starts asking dangerous questions?

Last updated on 7 June 2022

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What is The Haven by Carol Lynch Williams about?

We first meet protagonist Shiloh right from the beginning of this first-person narrative, and immediately I struggled to connect with her. Living her entire life at The Haven Hospital and Halls, it’s all she’s ever known. She sticks to the rules and eats what she’s told when she’s told. She takes the Tonic at night, just like everyone else. But then Gideon has a melt down in class and while Shiloh is shocked and scared for him, she goes about her life, doing to class, going to eat, talking with best friend and roommate Abigail.

Shiloh is constantly terrified that they will come for her or Abigail and take them away. Sometimes people don’t come back when they take them. Shiloh did, the first time, with only memories and whispers of what happened. She’s not supposed to remember, but even as a Terminal, she doesn’t want it to happen again. When Gideon suddenly tells her to go against everything she’s ever known and stop taking the Tonic, she thinks he’s gone mad. But eventually persuaded my Abigail, Shiloh learns that their entire existence is a lie, who they really are is all a lie.

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My Thoughts: The Haven

I apologise for the poorly worded synopsis of mine. It’s hard to write about a book that you didn’t reeeeaaaaly enjoy. It was okay, and I think I’m glad I read it, but it was no way near a favourite.

Like I mentioned, I didn’t connect with Shiloh as a character, nor anyone else for that matter. The characters were shallow and I didn’t really care for them. While Terminals have no personality, and that’s part of who they are and the story, even when they suddenly felt things properly like the ‘Wholes’ (non-sick people), Shiloh and her friends didn’t improve. I found it hard to like them, even when they were working together and making a difference.

The storyline was fine, and I quite enjoyed the concept of the whole thing. But it was very similar to other books and movies, even, reminding me especially of Never Let Me Go.

Spoiler Alert!

Also the ending! What.The Heck?! Yes, the group of friends escape the horrible hospital, yes the reasons they are there become apparent and the outside world is protesting for them, but no, it changes nothing.

At the end of the book, Shiloh literally just goes to the door of a house and is invited in. I won’t say more than that, but that’s literally what happens. There’s no change for those inside The Haven, there’s no change of minds or hearts of the people, and there’s nothing but the young lovers getting together and escaping. That’s it.

I only realised as I was writing this how frustrating that is.

But if you like your YA dystopian, and it sounds like something you might enjoy, don’t let my not-that-great review stop you from reading it. I borrowed it from the library simply because the cover was cool, it sounded halfway decent, and I wanted a really short book to catch up on my Goodreads challenge. 3 silly reasons for reading a book. However, it was okay, 2.5 stars probably, and I did read it in about 3 hours.