The Renascent World

Book 1

Young Adult - Sci-Fi
438 Pages
Reviewed on 10/29/2020
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Carryn W Kerr loves the sweet nuances of the English language and armed with the beloved tools, she follows her characters through thrilling, fictitious worlds.
Growing up in a small South African village in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Carryn was excited when migrating to the metropolitan city of Johannesburg. Here, she lives with her husband and son.
When not writing, you'll either find her in the gym, road-running or at the stables, riding Mr. Fantastic, her horse-slash-muse.

    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

The Renascent World is a work of fiction in the science fiction, romance, and adventure sub-genres, and was penned by author Carryn W. Kerr. The work is aimed at both young adult and adult readers to enjoy and it is largely accessible, though it does contain moderate references to murder and scenes of violence. In this thrilling opening to a new series, we find ourselves following the life and exploits of Cassidy Jones, who has lived beyond the destruction of Earth and escaped to what seems to be a blissful utopia. But when she is presented with the mate she is expected to welcome into her arms, Cassidy finds herself longing for another. And he is still on Earth.

Author Carryn W. Kerr has crafted a moving YA sci-fi romance that will certainly tick all the right boxes for readers seeking powerful first love and high-risk action and adventure. One of the things which most impressed me about the work was the conceptual framework and Petriville itself as a town that has quite literally placed itself above it all. Cassidy is a great heroine with real vulnerabilities, showcased by the author’s talent for close narration, and her passions take her to many risky decisions, but this is also very relatable to the intended reading audience. As such, there’s plenty of high drama, suspense, and thrills that will keep the reader turning from page to page. Overall, I would definitely recommend The Renascent World for fans of dystopia and romance that really packs an emotional punch.

Vincent Dublado

The Renascent World is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi young adult novel with a dramatic and gripping storyline. After a meteorite destroys Earth, human civilization finds a way to repopulate to ensure the survival of the species. Cassidy Jones was only five when she and her family were chosen among other carefully selected families to inhabit the mysterious city of Petriville—a place encapsulated by a giant sphere in Earth’s orbit. Everything is blissful in its small population that operates under a set of rules. But Cassidy discovers something sinister when Gina Petri, the city’s totalitarian founder, assigns a mate for her that Cassidy refuses. Complications further ensue when she meets a young man named Eric through a communication pod. Eric is one of the few remaining Earth survivors who reveals Gina’s plans against his people to Cassidy.

Carryn W. Kerr has written a story filled with evocative scenes. It makes you wonder what future lies ahead for our planet. The world-building is skillfully crafted and gives an immersive feel of what it is like to live in a protective dome. As for the exploration of relationships, Kerr gives enough time to establish Cassidy and Eric’s relationship on a getting to know basis, to build up their feeling of longing to touch each other. It is even more intense when you think that they are teenagers experiencing first love. Gina Petri is an antagonist that you will love to hate. Cassidy’s strength as a protagonist hinges on how formidable her enemy is, and that is what makes Gina a hateful and effective villain. Evocative and thought-provoking, The Renascent World sets the bar for what dystopian YA fiction should be.

Tammy Ruggles

The Renascent World: Book 1 by Carryn W. Kerr is an evocative young adult sci-fi drama. Meet Cassidy Jones, a 16-year-old girl who escaped a catastrophic meteorite that destroyed Earth except for a few survivors. She has shunned an arranged relationship in favor of a forbidden one with a boy from Earth, named Eric, who is a hologram and one of the last few survivors. She is in space with her parents in a town called Petriville, and now she will do just about anything to be with Eric in the flesh. Petriville is about to return to Earth, but will Cassidy meet up with Eric, or will Petriville's founder Gina (who also arranged the mate for Cassidy) put an end to her happiness? This scenario takes place in a future time of course, where customs, laws, and social norms are very different from what we know today.

What I like about this sci-fi story are the elements of drama and suspense, and the choice made by Kerr to portray Cassidy, her brother Liam, Jonas, and the other young characters as typical, relatable adolescents. The first-person narrative lends a personal touch to the story and heightens the angst, and the dialogue is fresh. The storyline is unique, and the psychological aspects are compelling. And if that isn't enough, the author has a romance between a human teenager and a hologram. This puts a nice twist on the sci-fi genre in a way that makes you so curious you have to keep reading. So, given all the reasons to become interested in the story, I will say that it never disappoints, and is highly entertaining. You get the feeling that these are real teenagers with future problems. This author knows her YA audience well, and I think they will love The Renascent World: Book 1 by Carryn W. Kerr.

Susan Sewell

When an autocratic leader orders the teens under her domain to mate with a specific person within a defined period of time, one girl rebels, drastically changing her friends and families lives in the dramatic new adult novel The Renascent World (Book 1) by Carryn W. Kerr. When Cassidy Jones was five years old, an extinction-level meteor was traveling to earth, so she and her family entered Petriville, the sphere created by her parents' employer, Gina Petri. When Cassidy turns sixteen, Gina sends out a mandate to all the teens, assigning each a partner and the directive to mate with them within a year. Angry that she isn't allowed to choose who she loves, the stirrings of rebellion begin to fester within Cassidy. Soon after, while interning in her mother's office, Cassidy meets Eric through a hologram sent from earth. However, what Cassidy learns through their contact alters her perspectives of her perfect life. There is more to Petriville than what everyone has been told, and this new knowledge endangers Cassidy and her family and friends. Is Gina really the benevolent benefactor she portrays herself to be? What sinister agenda is she concealing?

The Renascent World (Book 1) by Carryn W. Kerr is a profound and exciting young adult novel. Skillfully written, the characters are well-developed, the plot flows seamlessly, and the story engages the reader from the very beginning. Brimming with action, suspense, and drama, the plot flows at a brisk pace, creating a compelling story arc that culminates in an electrifying conclusion. Containing violence and murder, it is a riveting post-apocalyptic novel that will captivate readers from the ages of twelve to eighteen and anyone else who loves an exciting dystopian adventure.

Rabia Tanveer

The Renascent World by Carryn W. Kerr is a young adult science fiction novel that will make you hold your breath as you read on. Cassidy's parents took her and her brother Liam away from Earth to live in Petriville, a sphere of a town that orbits Earth. Almost everyone lost their lives on Earth when a meteor hit the surface. But now that Cassidy is 16, she is expected to mate with a person she doesn't know, and she is not ready to sign away herself like this. She refuses and now she and her family are in trouble with Gina, the founder of Petriville. But all hope is not lost for her. She finds Eric, a boy from Earth, whom she contacts via a hologram and they fall in love. But Gina has terrifying plans for Cassidy and the remaining people on Earth. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants unless Cassidy defeats her in time. But is Cassidy strong enough to do that?

The Renascent World is a perfect mixture of science fiction and dystopian genres. Usually, this is not a good mix, but Carryn W. Kerr makes it work wonderfully. The themes of romance, camaraderie, love, and family run high in this story. The story opens with these themes, and it ends with these themes. Cassidy's relationship with her brother is comforting, which is something she needs to survive her future. I admit, I wasn't keen on Eric, but as the story progressed, I fell in love with him too. Gina is a great villain. She is shrewd, cunning, and knows how to get the job done. I hope the author comes up with a sequel soon because the ending left me wanting more! Really well written and developed.

TBR Pile Review

Rating: 5 Stars - A Must Read!
Cassidy lives in space after the world was destroyed. When she was old enough, she’s given a mate and she wants nothing to do with a forced partnership. She’s already smitten with a boy. Eric, the handsome boy who survived on earth. Cassidy's tidy world is quickly crumbling and she’s not sure where to go or who to trust.

Yes! This is exactly what I was in the mood for! I absolutely loved Cassidy. Loved her! She was a normal, considering they’re in space, girl. When the forced mating happens, I was outraged as she was. Eric seems so perfect. Too perfect, he had me suspicious. I really like how everything played out. The action, the romance, the twists. The details and world-building were freaking fantastic!

I absolutely recommend reading The Renascent World, you will not be disappointed!

Elite Reviewing Group

"Engaging and enjoyable sci-fi adventure." -- Elite Reviewing Group
4 stars
When Cassidy Jones was five, she, her brother and their parents, along with several other carefully selected families, were chosen to populate Petriville, a city contained in a huge sphere in Earth's orbit. Thus, they were saved from a meteor which struck Earth and destroyed most of the people remaining on the planet. For eleven years, Cassidy and her friends have lived happy, sheltered, privileged lives in the sphere, always with Earth looming in their sky as a visible reminder of where they came from and where they hope humanity may return one day. However, the hermetic existence of the citizens of Petriville is about to be shattered forever. While helping her environmental scientist mother monitor Earth for signs of renascent life, sixteen-year-old Cassidy makes a monumental discovery which will change everything, both for her and her fellow survivors. Gradually awakening to powerful new-found emotions and the dark truth lying at the heart of the seemingly utopian perfection of her sealed world, Cassidy is set on course for conflict with Petriville's totalitarian founder, Gina Petri, and a perilous journey back to Earth ... The author's world-building is skilful and detailed, immersing the reader in an environment which, despite its on-the-surface idyllic setting, is established as unnervingly wrong from the get-go. Told from Cassidy's POV, her discoveries deftly peel away layer after layer to reveal the terrible truth and purpose of Petriville. Eugenics, slavery, guilt, freedom of choice, and finding the courage to resist tyranny are brought to the fore in Cassidy's journey of realisation and renascence, in which she will experience the joys of love and loyal friendship, the exhilaration of adventure, the terrors of torture, and, ultimately, the devastating grief of loss. The central love story can feel a little over the top at times, but it rings true in that it is in keeping with Cassidy's first experience of love as a teenager, with all the intensity and flowery language that entails. Her love interest is kept suitably enigmatic: we are never entirely sure whether he is genuinely the man of her dreams or will turn out to be someone else entirely. Their adversary, Gina, comes across as a chillingly effective combination of 1984's Big Brother and Harry Potter's Dolores Umbridge. Given her intelligence and the power she has accumulated as a woman, in what has up to now been a predominantly male field, she is one of the most intriguing characters as well as the most horrifying. More on her backstory and motivation would have been interesting and added to her depth as a villain. Well-plotted, evocatively descriptive, at times humorous and at times shocking, The Renascent World ends both on an upbeat note and with a sinister hint of things that may yet be to come. A recommended read for fans of romance, sci-fi and adventure.

A really interesting read

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020
The Renascent World is a very interesting post apocalyptic/space travel read. The world that our main character Cassidy lives in is very unique with the small population, animals and rules. I was fascinated to see how these segregated people live separate from all the normal temptations of life. Life on Earth is not supposed to be possible and yet Cassidy meets Eric, there begins our story.

I liked the book and read it to the end. There was constant action and surprises popping up along the way. The amount of twists was shocking! There were times I was frantically flipping because my characters were in a particular sticky situation. The story was written well. I only have two things that stuck out to me as odd.

One, I am not sure if the way I interpreted Cassidy and Eric's relationship is correct. It is insta love with these two, which felt like the typical Romeo and Juliet relationship. They meet each other a few times and “love” each other right off the bat. They don’t have particularly deep conversations apart from maybe one time. They don’t laugh together or know anything that is important to the other one. I didn’t believe they actually loved each other. Perhaps the author wanted to convey a typical teenage romance? If so, it was done perfectly. I honestly wanted Cassidy to be with Jonas. He was her friend her whole life. They go through some seriously tough times together where he steps up and protects her. I see where he would love her and how she would fall for him. And yet, Cassidy wouldn’t look twice at him? Why is Eric so much better? Jonas actually worked with her as a partner rather than just telling her what to do like Eric did.

Two, the brother sister relationship was odd to me. Okay, they are in a futuristic setting. There is no crime, death, or anything wicked (so they think), going on. I see where brother and sister wouldn’t be like a modern day pair. But, I have two older brothers and they never would act the way Liam did. I found him a little ridiculous. Anytime Liam was with Cassidy he was nothing but supportive. Even when she was messing up and putting her whole family’s life in danger her brother was amazing about it. An older brother would be the one person to tell her how it is. Instead, he showered her with compliments and every scene told her he loved her. With this being said, the moment something risky is going to happen, the two don’t partner together, but instead rely on their much weaker friends. No way would a brother so dedicated just up and split. When they were about to part ways he said, “I love you very much my beautiful sister.” I burst out laughing imagining each of my brothers saying that. No realistic brother calls his sister beautiful every time he sees her and proclaims his love. It was just weird to me.

Overall, the book was just plain cool. The world Cassidy grows up in is very neat and I had no idea where the book was going. Our bad guy was just plain evil too, that is always fun.

A page Turner book!

Nichole Haines
5.0 out of 5 stars A page Turner book!
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2020
The Renascent World is a great well written Science Fiction book. It is filled with exciting scences. I often wonder myself if one day a meteor will hit our planet. This is definitely a page turning book and will continue to keep you entertained for hours after you start reading this book.

I couldn't put this down until the last

Carly-Rae London
4.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put this down until the last page!
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2020
I love the characters especially Cassidy Jones! The novel had great action scenes too! Overall, it was a fun and fast read. Author Kerr had a way with putting her characters in situations that left me on the edge of my seat!

Deanna DePriest

Deanna DePriest
4.0 out of 5 stars The Renascent World
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2020
I really enjoyed Cassidy and Eric’s story. Will definitely read again.

Well written novel!

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written novel!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
The Renascent World is a gripping post apocalyptic/space travel read. It was an well written, easy read with a convincing descriptive story line.
I don't usually read Sci-Fi books, but I really enjoyed the book and read it to the end. The brother, sister relationship was a bit unrealistic, in my experience anyway, but that is about the only part of the book i didn't like. This is a uniquely, fun, romantic, and action-packed post-apocalyptic novel that incorporates a whole new world.
I couldn't help but think that it would make an excellent movie!

it was amazing

Irma James rated it it was amazing
I loved this book and am keenly awaiting the sequel. I do not usually read sci-fi but am so glad I delved between the pages of this gripping story. Carryn’s attention to detail in “creating the scene” is incredible and allowed me to “picture” every page I was on. I can’t help thinking what a fabulous movie this story would be. Cassidy, Eric, Liam, Harriet, Jonas, Gina, Graham...all very real people even in this sci-fi story.
Well done Carryn...awesome read.

Brilliantly written.

Aug 24, 2020 Janine rated it
Brilliantly written. A book that you cannot put down