The Factory

The Factory Series

Young Adult - Thriller
354 Pages
Reviewed on 10/26/2017
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite

The Factory by Amanda Dacyczyn is the first book in The Factory series. No one really knows how the Factory started, but they know that fifty people will go in and only six make it out alive. None of the survivors talks about what happens to them. They thought it was done until one day, they see smoke in the sky and they know that it's back. Worse, they know someone they love could be chosen to go inside. Javeen has taken care of his siblings since his father's disappearance, doing everything he can to protect them. Mae has been on her own since her parents died, when the town seemed to have forgotten she even existed. When the Factory chooses them, Javeen is determined to do whatever it takes to make sure she comes out alive. As the two form a bond, they realize the Factory is a dangerous mind game that will try to break them at all costs.

A wonderful beginning to a series, The Factory is an emotional story of survival, friendship, and an eerie beginning to a larger adventure and I can't wait to see where it goes. Amanda Dacyczyn provides a range of emotions as Mae and Javeen are forced to confront their pasts, themselves, and each other. They're both layered, flawed, and holding onto the pain of their pasts by going through the motions of their daily lives. Javeen is charming and has a gentleness about him, and in a sweet aside, he's been trying to work up the courage to talk to Mae when he's thrown into the Factory with her. The Factory is honestly terrifying, not for its unseen controller, but for the emotional and psychological games played on those chosen.

The setting is intriguing, a dystopian world where the United States is vaguely regarded, a fine balance to the eeriness of the Factory. The village is heavily shown at the start and though it isn't a paradise and the tragedy in the characters' lives is very real, it still feels much like a home. Javeen and his siblings have a close bond that is endearing and adds to the devastation when he's chosen for the Factory. Dacyczyn provides a lot of sympathy for both main characters, making both very human with flaws, weaknesses, and strengths. A wonderful read!

Kristen Van Kampen (Teen Reviewer)

The Factory by Amanda Dacyczyn is a stunning young adult book. The story follows three young adults - Mae, Raya, and Javeen - who are three of the fifty people who have been sent into the Factory, after it had been quiet for many years. The factory will test their wits and mental strength. The three make an alliance, promising that they will help each other escape, but they know that it won't be easy. After all, only six people will manage to escape. But soon, stakes are heightened, and there is a big chance that they will die, sent into the furnace. Will the three be able to survive the experience?

I really, really enjoyed reading The Factory by Amanda Dacyczyn. The book is very well written, and I really liked that the story is told from multiple point of views. The book is absolutely thrilling and extremely exciting. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. Readers will gasp, laugh and cry along with the characters. I was hooked by the first page and I never wanted to put the book down. The story is very descriptive and will help the reader to visually picture what's happening. The characters are extremely well developed, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. This book will keep readers in suspense, make them wonder what will happen next. The book is absolutely stunning, and the story is well written. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, especially thriller/dystopian fans and teenagers.

Scott Cahan

The Factory by Amanda Dacyczyn is a fantastic psychological drama set in a dark and mysterious dystopian world. I expected to be at least a little amused by this story that sounded on the surface like one of my favorite books, The Hunger Games. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find myself more than a little amused. I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. Early on as I read, I found myself not wanting to put the book down, and I don’t say that about very many books. The story centers around a group of 50 townspeople who are randomly chosen to go into a factory where they will be forced to go through a deadly process that will weed out most of them, allowing only six to exit. We follow three characters, Mae, Javeen, and Raya, as they meet and eventually become allies in their struggle to survive. There are no human villains in the story. Instead, the factory itself is the evil force that our characters must overcome.

For a rookie author, Amanda Dacyczyn writes with the rich style of a seasoned pro. In The Factory she strikes the perfect blend of nail-biting action and heart-warming character interaction. She has crafted a setting that is dark, dirty and futuristic, all at the same time. She’s also given us some very likable and endearing characters. The situations they are forced to endure are almost unbearable, partly because the factory’s games are creatively evil, and partly because we grow to love the three main characters early on in the story. Ms. Dacyczyn’s comfortable writing style brings us naturally into the heads and hearts of her characters, forcing us to care about them as they fight against overwhelming odds. Yes, there are similarities between this book and Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games, but that in no way implies that The Factory suffers because of that. In both novels we have likable young characters who are forced to play in a futuristic game of life and death. But the comparison stops there. The Factory takes the genre into a fresh new direction. It thrusts us into a world completely of its own and plants its own flag in the dirt, establishing itself as the next great dystopian novel. It rivals HG in its originality and superb storytelling, capturing its readers imagination, refusing to let go until the bitter end.