The 100 by Kass Morgan

Many of people have heard of the highly popular television series, the 100, on the CW. Yet what not everybody knows is that this series is inspired by a book series by Kass Morgan. I absolutely LOVE the show, so I decided I had to read the book series. Here's a brief run down of the book.

300 years ago Earth was destroyed in a total nuclear war, an event now known as the Cataclysm. A portion of the population was able to escape to space stations that would sustain the human population for hundreds of years. Unfortunately supplies is running low quicker than was anticipated, to account for this there are population laws prohibiting families from having children without getting preapproval or having more than 1 child. Criminals are also handled more strictly. If a person over the age of 18 commits a crime they are executed, if someone commits a crime under the age of 18 they are put in confinement until they can be retried at 18. However the retrials hardly ever end with a pardon.  This is pretty much the most that can be done to help balance out the waning supplies. because by their calculations Earth is still too radioactive to sustain human life. 

However when times become desperate the leaders decide to collection 100 underaged criminals to send to Earth. They will track their vitals to help determine if Earth is survivable. However they are wrong in one assumption... that they will be the only humans on Earth.

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Spoilers Ahead!!!

I enjoyed this book, however I don't know how I'd have felt if I had read the book before watching the series. If I would have liked the book more because I didn't have any expectations, or if I like it less because I know the potential for this show, & I feel like the book didn't live up to it. With that being said I think the best way for me to proceed with this review is to do a little compare/contrast between the book and the show.

First off there were a lot of inconsistencies with characters, ones that are/aren't there as well as their traits/personalities. Like I was telling my folks it felt like the writers for the show took all the characters' traits, put them in a hat then picked them at random for each character they kept or added. An example of this... In the show Bellamy is a jerk who takes control as leader of the 100, he doesn't like Clarke & his super protective of his sister, Octavia. In the book here's his personality broken down into it's original form.
Jerk- Graham (a character that didn't make it to the show)
Leader of the 100- Wells
Clarke- Bellamy likes Clarke in the book, though in some scenes she does/says something that triggers him & he doesn't
Super Protective of Octavia- Bellamy
This happens for a couple of separate characters. I get why they did it because some of the characters in the book took a backseat, but they had strong traits that could help the storyline. However I will say there are some characters they got rid of from the book that I'm glad they did, namely Glass. She's a main character & narrates 1/4 of the book, however I fail to see what importance she plays to the overall story.

Clarke has a very similar kind of "rewrite" in the show. My favorite thing about Clarke in the show is that she is super independent. She's a very strong female character, that while you ship her with someone, she doesn't NEED someone, it isn't the main focus in her storyline. In the book there are a number of incidents when Clarke needs someone to save her. To name a few instances Clarke ends up looking for medicinal plants & falls through the floor of some ruins... she needs Wells to save her. She gets bitten by a snake while looking at wreckage... she needs Bellamy to run her to camp while she's passed out. The books version of Clarke isn't as independent & is way more boy focused. She's much less of a role model than television Clarke, which makes me sad. 

I'm also kind of glad that they killed Wells in the show though... I mean I get that he's a major character, and has pretty much been the only one keeping the 100 safe. Butttttttt... HE'S SO FREAKING ANNOYING!!! He can do something really dumb and unforgivable, then redeem himself by doing something super sweet, then he shoots himself in the foot by doing something (again) that's completely unforgivable!! All I hear when I think of this character is something my mom always use to say, "if you were really sorry you wouldn't keep doing it." Wells constantly keeps doing unforgivable things that put Clarke in a bad position. Now I hear you bleeding hearts going but he's got really good intentions... actions speak louder than words, & all Wells' actions hurt Clarke. That isn't healthy for her & clearly it isn't healthy for him because he's constantly having to try & rectify his mistakes. I think the show did a very generous think killing him off early on in the series. 

I will say that there are a few characters that were not in the book that they added to the show that I wish was in the book series. Character number one... Finn! I mean ya he goes off his rocker, but he added an interestingly liberal side to a very dangerous world. There isn't really a character that fits his MO in the book series. When you have a world where all the characters have to fight & kill to survive, it was interesting to have a character that wanted to approach a hostile environment with a more passive, peaceful approach. In the 100 the Grounders, unfortunately referred to as Earthborn in the book, don't make an appearance until the very last page of the book so this next part I'm making a blanketed statement. I think Finn also played a vital role in creating a semi-peaceful relationship with the Grounders. I mean ya he went psycho & killed a bunch which led to a lot of tension & the threat of war, BUT he's the first one to push the 100 into even THINKING that they could come to a peaceful relationship with the Grounders. 

The second character I miss, & I have absolutely no good reason why, is John Murphy. He is the absolute WORST character in the entire show. He is selfish, betrays people again & again... but there's something I like about him. Like I said I don't have a  good reason, he is a pretty useless character, but I like him & I kind of wish he had been in the book. 

However the REAL heartbreak I have with this book is Lincoln. He is hands down one of my favorite characters from this series... BUT HE'S NOT IN THE BOOKS!! Or rather apparently he is... but he's a SHE!! In the second book apparently a female Earthborn is introduced & Wells ends up with her? At least that's what I read online... I'm kind of entirely wrecked because of this development.

I will say the major problem that I had with the book is that, while I enjoyed it, the world isn't built very well for the reader. I think the saving grace for me is that I've seen the show & it had a very detailed world, both on Earth & in the spacestation. This book had so much potential & I feel like it didn't rise to the occasion. It kills me a little bit because I absolutely LOVED the premise. I really am curious as to how I would have felt toward this book if I hadn't watched the series first. 

However I will say I still did enjoy this book & I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series!