2013 book , fight , fledge , morph , review , Sci-fi 0 Comments

Fledge is the second book in the I Am Just Junco series. I have to say, I like Clutch--the first book in this series; however, out of the two, I like Fledge the best. In my personal opinion, I think that's a good thing because each book should be better than the first one.

My husband Kevin always says when a person is hard on the outside, they’re soft in the inside (sounds like a Tootsie Pop). I don’t know if that holds true with every individual, but with Junco (the main character) it does. She may be a foul-mouth, bad-ass warrior who has been killing people since she was a young child, but she cares.

She has a heart.

I appreciate that about her character because if she didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to sympathize with her.

At the beginning of the book, Junco is put into hyper-sleep while she goes through morph. During that time her body grows wings and talons. It reminds me of a caterpillar in a cocoon, transforming into a butterfly. Basically, that’s what everybody does who goes through morph. Afterwards, you must go through Fledge.

Fledge is a test to see if you can fulfill your potential–to prove your worth. You have to go through a series of fights and fight to the death, to earn your place. Of course, Junco goes through those fights. I’m not going to tell you what happens, but there’s a lot of action in this book.

Before the first fight, Junco befriends a 10-year-old boy named Isec. He’s one of the fighters in Fledge. Junco takes him under her wing–no pun intended–and helps him through those fights. Here’s what she says to him before the first fight and after he tells her his age:

“Ten? Isec, when I was ten I had already assassinated two world leaders on Earth. I think I know what the fuck I’m doing. So relax, because if you get killed it will be because you panic and don’t do what I fucking tell you. Got it?”

Yup, she has a potty-mouth, but ya know what? People who cuss is the most trustworthy.

It's true.

Studies on the matter have proven it. And if you're in Junco's good graces, you can trust her with your life.

Besides going through Fledge, Junco secretly comes up with a plan to save Tier. Tier was one of the main characters in Clutch. He’s an avian and was supposed to have killed Junco. He didn’t, and now he’s on trial for treason. The reader doesn’t discover Junco’s plan on how she’s going to save Tier, until the tail end of the book. But her plan makes sense and completely dodges the “eye roll” which some books unfortunately receive with over-the-top, unrealistic scenes.

I recommend this book, and I will continue to read this series because I am now hooked on it. I give this book 5 *****