Whispers in Autumn (The Last Year #1) by Trisha Leigh

Title: Whispers in Autumn
Author: Trisha Leigh
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: July 24, 2012

In 2015, a race of alien Others conquered Earth. They enslaved humanity not by force, but through an aggressive mind control that turned people into contented, unquestioning robots.

Except sixteen-year-old Althea isn’t content at all, and she doesn’t need the mysterious note inside her locket to tell her she’s Something Else. It also warns her to trust no one, so she hides the pieces that make her different, even though it means being alone.

Then she meets Lucas, everything changes.

Althea and Lucas are immune to the alien mind control, and together they search for the reason why. What they uncover is a stunning truth the Others never anticipated, one with the potential to free the brainwashed human race.

It’s not who they are that makes them special, but what.

And what they are is a threat. One the Others are determined to eliminate for good.

Whispers in Autumn was wonderful dystopian. Absolutely superb. The word building was phenomenal, and  the characters were very likeable. But most of all, I liked the dystopian feel. There is literally nothing better than a dystopian that's atmosphere makes you stop and think, "Hey, this is really cool."

But sadly, this is also one of those books where I was so far into the story, so much invested in the characters, so very much there, that I really have very little to say about it. I loved it, pure and simple, and I don't know how to explain it better than that. But I'll still make an effort.

I thought that Lucas and Althea were remarkably well done, considering the idea of writing about two people who are different than all of the rest. How hard can it possibly be, right? But a lot of people just toss ideas out there--just say them, instead of making you believe them.

But Trisha Leigh didn't do that--she made the effort to make their differences obvious--and how other people reacted to them plausible. She didn't just throw it out there, she made the reader believe it. That's something that's worth it's weight in gold.

I really, really liked the character of Althea. She was very easy to identify with, and to just generally like. I never found myself wishing bad on her character, or hoping that she would make a good decision--I knew that she would, because she made such a good impression on me. She did make a bad decision or two, but I know I would've done the same, so I won't complain.

All in all, Whispers in Autumn was a very likeable dystopian, that I actually would recommend to fans of The Hunger Games--for atmosphere love. (:

*This book was provided by the author for review.

"The others are obviously not what they seem. The damage they could inflict is endless. Their lies--their destruction--could even spread out here, where things are pure and true." --Taken from an ARC copy