Official Review: Branded by Katie Hamstead

[W-Harbinger]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Branded" by Katie Hamstead.]

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Branded by Katie Hamstead is a book about a young woman’s struggle to survive when Middle Eastern terrorists invade her Australian hometown and start branding and executing anyone who will not renounce their Christian faith. To say Branded is a fast paced novel would be an understatement. Within the first 10 pages, the 21-year-old main character, Allison, goes from idly tuning out chatter at her brother’s wedding reception to getting shot in the arm while running away from the terrorists that have rudely interrupted the best man’s speech. After this, I am only given a short respite from the action while Allison (alongside her brother, sister, and newlywed sister-in-law) gathers supplies at her house and then tirelessly treks further into the surrounding forest to hide from scouting helicopters and roving ground troops armed with machineguns and even more deadly rocket launchers.

However, make no mistake. Branded isn’t just high-octane fodder to tickle your action depraved fancies. The bare premise of the story is surviving religious persecution by forever staying true to one’s faith. If all the action had jaded me to the book’s foundation, I am made to see clearly when Allison is faced with the option of either renouncing her God or being branded and killed. Ever strong in her faith, she starts singing her favorite church hymn to her would-be rapist/killer even as the red-hot poker descends. Couple the previous example with the fact that, later on, Allison and her attacker trade verbal blows filled with one-sided religious slurs (on The General’s part) and it is plain to see what truly lies beneath all the bullets and explosions. Did I mention that all of these events happen within the first 30 pages?

Yet, slipped between the impromptu action and religious connotations, Hamstead gives the reader a bit of something special between Allison and a man she meets later on in the story. I am happy to say that I find the romance in Branded quite balanced, never overshadowing the main arc of the plot. Speaking of not overstepping boundaries, I also find that Hamstead manages to not draw outside of the lines when painting Allison as a strong female character; in-between making so many snap decisions (for herself and others) and facing danger head on with steel in her eyes, the young survivor manages to retain many flaws and fears that keep her humanized and relatable instead of a forced archetype. Unfortunately, I do feel that certain side characters (example: her siblings) are never given enough of the spotlight to truly shine.

Still, as the story can be over-the-top at times with the rabid obsession The General has with Allison for one, Katie Hamstead’s writing is thankfully without the unneeded purple prose that can be found in most Young Adult novels these days; there are no superfluous paragraphs describing hair, clothes, or eyes. Each chapter is written in a basic yet precise way, conjuring a perfect picture of each scene and leaving the reader feeling whatever emotion should be felt. Most often that emotion is tension and Hamstead does a fantastic job of not only keeping the reader’s heart hammering, but, most importantly, their fingers flipping pages to see what happens next. Admittedly, I found it hard to put the book down, having finished the 316 page read in the span of a single day.

All in all, I would give Branded by Katie Hamstead 3 out of 4 stars. If you are a fan of the movie Red Dawn which holds a similar plotline of young people surviving against invading terrorists than you will likely enjoy reading this book. Just keep in mind that religion is the baseline to this particular read and that suspension of disbelief may be required in parts.

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