Review of The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey

I received an ARC of The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey. It is a dystopian novel about a small walled- off community that lives in fear of trees and other dangerous creatures beyond their borders. Koli, a boy of fifteen finds out a secret that threatens to change the hierarchy of the community and is exiled by the leaders to prevent the secret from coming to light. We then follow the adventure outside the walls.

This had the misfortune of being read as I learned the pandemic was spreading to my country. Due to the anxiety and fear of the pandemic, reading a dystopian was not the best idea for me and therefore it took me almost a month to finish. I will try to be as objective as possible.

This story has a very slow start. While the blurb mentions that Koli will leave the safety of the walled community, it doesn't happen until nearly halfway into the book. Once he does, the story picks up and is actually quite thrilling. One stylistic choice I didn't care for is the way Koli and the others talk.
They constantly speak with poor grammar, similar to a toddler. I "et" instead of "ate" or I "shooted" instead of "shot." I did get over this after a while but it did impact my enjoyment. On the other hand, one thing I think Carey did well was his world building. He invented new creatures, plants, and technology which helped me envision the world. Overall, I gave this book three stars. It is the first in a series and I will most likely pick up the next one. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an ARC. This book will be published on April 14th, 2020.