Hit by Delilah S. Dawson (Website, Twitter, Goodreads)Published by Simon and Schuster on April 14th 2015
Genres: Dystopian, Thrillers & Suspense, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
In order to save her mother, a teen is forced to become an indentured assassin in this sizzling dystopian thriller.No one reads the fine print. The good news is that the USA is finally out of debt. The bad news is that we were bought out by Valor National Bank, and debtors are the new big game, thanks to a tricky little clause hidden deep in the fine print of a credit card application. Now, after a swift and silent takeover that leaves 9-1-1 calls going through to Valor voicemail, they’re unleashing a wave of anarchy across the country. Patsy didn’t have much of a choice. When the suits showed up at her house threatening to kill her mother then and there for outstanding debt unless Patsy agreed to be an indentured assassin, what was she supposed to do? Let her own mother die? Patsy is forced to take on a five-day mission to complete a hit list of ten names. Each name on Patsy’s list has only three choices: pay the debt on the spot, agree to work as a bounty hunter, or die. And Patsy has to kill them personally, or else her mom takes a bullet of her own. Since yarn bombing is the only anarchy in Patsy’s past, she’s horrified and overwhelmed, especially as she realizes that most of the ten people on her list aren’t strangers. Things get even more complicated when a moment of mercy lands her with a sidekick: a hot rich kid named Wyatt whose brother is the last name on Patsy’s list. The two share an intense chemistry even as every tick of the clock draws them closer to an impossible choice. Delilah S. Dawson offers an absorbing, frightening glimpse at a reality just steps away from ours—a taut, suspenseful thriller that absolutely mesmerizes from start to finish.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect with Hit by Delilah Dawson but the summary intrigued me. The idea around a bank buying out the government debt and creating a world where people who owe money to the bank have the option to either pay up immediately or become debt collectors.
Hit’s main character is Patsy and Dawson opens up the book with a bang by bringing the reader along with Patsy as she begins completing her agreement. At first, it wasn’t fully explained how Patsy ended up in the situation she is in but along the way, we find out exactly what got her into her current situation. The agreement Patsy made was to collect the debts of 10 other people that owe Valor money. If they are unable to pay up on the spot, the debtors have two options. They can either become a collector (and do the same thing that Patsy is doing) or they can die. Yep, you heard me, death is the other option.
Along the way, Patsy is faced with a lot of tough decisions. As she begins to connect the dots, all of the debtors are connected to her in some way. I didn’t fully understand the endgame with that part of the story and the way this book ended, I’m hopeful that there might be more to this story.
While I thought this story was an interesting one, I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. Patsy is smart and clearly will do whatever she needs to in order to help/protect her mom but there wasn’t anything about her that made her someone I really liked. When Wyatt enters the story, I found it odd how they ended up connecting and then ultimately sticking together.
Overall this was a quick read and I found myself continuing to push through to see what was going to happen next. I am curious to see where Dawson takes this story and want to know more about where these characters are headed. If you’re looking for a unique story with a twist, consider checking this one out.
Thank you to Simon Pulse and Edelweiss for the review copy.
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