Title: Regina Shen: Vigilance
Author: Lance Elrick
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction / Dystopian
Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Regina Shen is pursued by the notorious Department of Antiquities for her unique DNA. She jumps the Barrier Wall into the Federation to find her kidnapped sister. Stuck on a heavily-guarded closed university campus, she must use her wits to escape and rescue her sister without letting either of two rival Antiquities inspectors capture her.

I previously read and reviewed the first book in the series, Regina Shen: Resilience, and after reading it, I looked forward to starting the second book in the series. Regina Shen: Vigilance takes place two years after the events of the first book.

Mo-Mere believes Regina is ready to jump the Barrier Wall, and start looking for her sister. After two years of training, studying and honing her survival skills, now is the time for Regina and Colleen to be reunited and to find some answers. Except, well, what did you expect, things don’t go as planned. For Regina, she’ll have to remain vigilant and find out who she can trust and who she can’t – but the same counts for the other characters too. DeMarco is still after her, and will do whatever it takes to capture her. Regina’s quest to find her sister brings her to university, close to where they’re holding her sister – but will she able to find her and save her?

I thought this book was more thrilling even than the first, and I already enjoyed that one a lot. The ending was very surprising, and I actually had to re-read it; I hadn’t expected some of the plot twists.

I loved Regina in the first book, but I liked her even more in this one. She’s grown as a person, she’s more determined than ever, and she knows how to keep her head cool in dangerous situations.

The new characters were an excellent addition too, especially Ester. A solid sequel to the first book, and a great addition to the series. Can’t wait to read the final part.

Title: Regina Shen: Resilience

Author: Lance Elrick

Genre: Young Adult Science-Fiction / Dystopian

Age Group: Young Adult

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase: Amazon

Outcast Regina Shen is forced by the World Federation to live on the seaward side of barrier walls built to hold back rising seas from abrupt climate change. A hurricane threatens to destroy what’s left of her world, tearing Regina from her family. Global fertility has collapsed. Chief Inspector Joanne Demarco of the notorious Department of Antiquities believes Regina holds the key to avoid extinction. Regina fights to stay alive and avoid capture while hunting for her family.

Regina Shen: Resilience is the first book in a trilogy focusing on Regina Shen, a young girl who is forced by the World Federation to live on the outside of the Wall. Aforementioned walls were built to hold back rising seas due to climate change and to protect the world behind the walls. Like that wasn’t bad enough, a hurricane raging overhead seperated Regina from her family, and she’s now completely run out of luck. Meanwhile, the Federation agents claim she has unique DNA that could save mankind – except that Regina doesn’t trust the Department of Antiquities at all, especially not after what she’s read in the forbidden books she gathered from sunken cities. So now Regina must fight to stay alive while looking for her family.

The best thing about this book, hands down, is the world building. I liked the idea of barrier walls, of how the world is dangling on the brink of extinction, the climate changes that happened, and so on. The world Regina Shen lives in is anything but friendly for the people inhabiting it (which gets kind of scary if you think of it as a futuristic version of our planet). Add in the bonus of no books existing in this dystopian world (oh no, no books!) and you get an intriguing setting for this first book.

Regina Shen is tough. Tougher than most main characters, especially teens. She’s a survivor through and through, and no matter what life throws at her, she manages to get through it. As the title says, she’s resilient, our Regina, resourceful, clever and determined. She’s complex and feels like a real person, and I couldn’t help but cheer her on.

I won’t spoil the ending, but it definitely made me curious for the next book.