Horde by Ann Aguirre

418 pages

"A horde of freaks has destroyed Salvation and it's up to Deuce, Fade, Stalker, and Tegan to lead the refugees to safety. Deuce decides the only way to fight an army is to raise one. At first, everyone laughs at the idea of a girl leading humanity's forces against the Freaks, but after proving herself in combat, she firmly establishes her qualifications for the role.

Along the way, she works on healing Fade. He's suffering from a severe case of PTSD in an era when diagnosis is impossible. Further complicating his recovery, and their burgeoning romance, is his reluctance to being touched, a consequence of the horrors visited upon him by Freak hands. Deuce refuses to give up on him, however, and their resulting tender moments are all the more moving for being hard won.

When Deuce learns the reason the Freaks are getting smarter, she realizes time is running out for her kind. Can she overcome or render a permanent truce with the enemy? Who will ultimately survive?" -Dust Jacket

I have been waiting anxiously for this book for a year. The first two books (Enclave and Outpost) were non-stop thrill rides. Outpost ended with Deuce, Fade, Stalker and Tegan leaving Salvation in a desperate attempt to get help. Horde picks up right where that one left off. One of the things I've loved about this series is Deuce's character development. Over the course of the three books she's learned how to love and care about people rather than just fight and survive even though those are her basic, natural tendencies. That changes how she makes decisions and occasionally not for the better, but it makes her more vulnerable and relatable.

Fade has always been my favorite. He's an awesome fighter but at heart he's a gentle soul. I like that even though there's a little bit of a love triangle (mostly because Deuce is clueless), Deuce stays true to Fade and doesn't give up on him even when he pushes her away. And once she understands her feelings she is adamant about them. She doesn't understand exactly what's happened to Fade but she knows how she feels about him and that he's worth fighting for. They've been together since the beginning and I love that they stay together. I love how much they love each other. That's sappy, but I'm a sucker for this kind of romance.

There are so many other characters to love in this book. Stalker, though not always a good guy, tries to find redemption. Tegan, brutalized by Stalker and his gang, forgives and becomes a great strength to Deuce. Company D turns into a force to be reckoned with and Deuce finds friends and allies along the way even when it seems impossible.

The tide that turns the war was unexpected and awesome. I love that an act of kindness saves the world. I think that's such a timely message. I love dystopia because there's usually always hope even when there's nothing else and things are at their darkest. Deuce has her moments of self-doubt and discouragement but she has Fade and others to lift her up and keep her going. In turn, she does the same for them. It's a great camaraderie. {Spoiler Alert} This series followed the perfect model for books of this sort. As a reader, you want the main characters to struggle to fight impossible odds but then come out victorious. You can accept other characters dying even when you love them, but the main characters have to survive so there's a happily ever after.

A word of caution: I decided not to let my 14-year-old read this last book. She read the first two and was disappointed about that. The whole series is very violent. It's not graphic or over-the-top violence but there is a lot of killing. The book is called Horde because there are thousands of Freaks and Deuce and her army have to fight them and they do so mostly close up with knives. That's not the main reason I decided not to let her read it however. Deuce and Fade have a few romantic encounters that I didn't think she was old enough to read. They're more than the "sparking" that they did in the first two books and my daughter is pretty innocent. This series is definitely a PG-13 one. The violence is along the lines of The Hunger Games. With all of that justification, I have to admit that this is probably my favorite dystopian series to date. I'm planning on re-reading it during those long, cold winter months.