- Publisher : Entangled: Mayhem Books
- Publication date : April 7, 2026
- Language : English
- Print length : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1682816451
- ISBN-13 : 978-1682816455
- Author : Jess Lourey
The Verdant Cage by Jess Lourey is a pretty good dystopian YA novel. It follows many of the YA tropes so it’s a little too predictable, but it still has a good story and some twists that you might not see coming.
Noah’s Valley is a self-contained society surrounded by a giant wall. There are rules that everyone must follow, and most do, to keep the society functioning. All occupations are determined by their ‘house’. Marriages are arranged by the Record Keeper house, and should you marry into another house, you must learn and take on that new house’s occupation. Lately, the Guardian house, which is meant to protect the inhabitants of the valley, has taken to controlling the population with more and more draconian tactics.
Rose has grown up in the Apothecary house, which is the equivalent of doctors and healers. Gryphon was Rose’s childhood friend, but they have had a falling out and now want nothing to do with each other. Of course, it is arranged that Rose should marry Gryphon and join the Guardian house. When her mother is killed just before the wedding ceremony can take place, it starts a series of unexpected events. Her brother is blamed for the crime and ‘harvested’ (sent outside the wall, presumably to his death), and Rose must decide whether to follow her strict rule-following upbringing, or rebel against the ever-more authoritarian practices of the Guardians that are overtaking the valley
If you like YA dystopian tales, you will probably like The Verdant Cage. Lourey creates an interesting world, with a different sort of society than I’ve seen before. The universe the author creates is well done. The book is well-written and enjoyable, but the story line is a little too predictable much of the time.
Matt Truxaw’s newest book is Monster. This urban fantasy, horror, thriller will keep you turning the pages.
He is also the author of the hard science fiction thrillers: “Plastiphobia/Plastivore” and “Anthrophobia: A Teacher’s Tale”
You can find them all on Amazon in Paperback, Hardback, Kindle and/or free to read with Kindle Unlimited.
When you read any of them, he would really appreciate a review/rating on Amazon or your favorite book seller/book reader site.
More about Matt:
He was born in Orange County California many years ago and he still lives there. He has been reading books for most of those years and writing up book reviews for the last few years. He gets MANY of his books out of the library/Libby so expect a lot of old science fiction classics book reviews and other science related reviews in addition to newer books he comes across.
If you want to be ‘in-the-loop’ on these and other works, you can follow his website( MattTruxaw.com), his author’s page on Amazon or his Facebook page.
For more reviews and articles by Matt here on Amazing Stories (Click here).
Monster: A Novel by Matt Truxaw
Recent Comments