Admission: Pandora Jones by Barry Jonsberg

Pandora Jones Admission Pandora Jones Book One
Written by Barry Jonsberg
Dystopian, Science Fiction
Published in Australia May 2014
312 Pages
Thank you to  Allen and Unwin 
Add to Goodreads 
★★★★
Pandora Jones wakes in an infirmary - her body weak, her memory providing only flashes of horrific scenes of death. She soon discovers that her family has succumbed to a plague pandemic which almost wiped out humanity. Pan is one of the survivors who have been admitted to The School - a quarantined, heavily guarded survival-skills facility - to recover their strength, hone their skills and prepare for whatever comes next. Pandora's skill is intuition, but how useful will it be outside the secure walls of The School? And what if it leads her to question where the truth lies...
Plague. Pandemic. Intuition. Secrets. Truth. Courage. Action. Survival.
Pandora can't remember much from before arriving at The School, rescued from the streets of Melbourne where the bodies of the dead lie haphazardly in the destitute streets. Glimpses of a life she miraculously survived show the virus that had spread at an alarming rate. Starting with a cough, the flu like symptoms seemingly killing those infected within hours. But now Pandora Jones finds herself brought to the safety of the walled community known as The School, where teens of all ages are housed in simple down conditions, with meager meals and army fatigues. They are taught to survive the new world, where each night over four hundred students are plagued by nightmares, their soul wrenching cries only further proof what the world has lost.

The former military barracks is walled in, the location chosen to keep the students and instructors healthy and uninfected. Beyond the fence lies a village, where civilians bring supplies to and from The School. The message is clear, students are not to cross the wall. Placed within an orientation group of fellow new students, the group are expected to learn, to train, to eat and work alongside one another, including the charismatic Nate. Nate is the picture of physical perfection, strong and intelligent who loves to run. Other team members all seem to have unique and differing traits, with Pandora's verging on the supernatural. Pandora has the gift of intuition, able to sense someone watching her, a lost item or even person. Fellow team members are skeptical, and none more so than Jen. But to survive The School, the group of teens need to band together. 

As an easy friendship blooms between Pandora and Nate, the two teens are both curious to why lies beyond their surroundings. Finding a route of escape is easy, making it out undetected? Not so much. But when the group are tested on their new survival skills, it soon becomes clear that The School isn't the safe haven they believe it is.

Kelly's Thoughts

I really enjoyed Admission, it blended an apocalyptic storyline, with survival, romance and a psychological teen thriller that is a brilliant start to what is set to be an incredible series. Imagine everyone around you, from teachers, parents, siblings, neighbours and friends that are lying dead in the streets. A virus sweeping the globe and wiping everyone out but a few questionable strangers and yourself. With no one to turn to, and that's where your memories seem to fade. But luckily you were rescued by a small walled community known as The School, which seems more like being imprisoned than taught to survive.

Barry Jonsberg created a world in which the reader won't know whether to flee from or escape to, and nothing is what it seems. I liked Pandora, she's a modest protagonist that wants nothing more than to blend into the background and not draw attention to her gift of insight. Nate soon becomes her partner in crime, both teens sharing a curiosity of what lies beyond the wall. Admission simply has one of the best Prologues I've ever read, 'It took slightly under eight hours for Melbourne to die.' I was completely hooked from page one, and it didn't disappoint. The storyline flows beautifully and to put it bluntly, screwed with my head. You know something is coming, you prepare for it, and then Barry Jonsberg completely surprises you and leaves you wanting more. The cliffhanger is simply evil. Kudos mister Jonsberg. This is one series that I can't wait to continue.

24 comments

  1. Wow Kelly, I haven't heard of this one before but sounds like you enjoyed it (another apocalyptic book!). Go Aussie Authors :)

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    1. If it's dystopian or apocalyptic, I'll sniff it out. I have a feeling the next book in the series is going to be epic after how Admission ended.

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  2. "blended an apocalyptic storyline, with survival, romance and a psychological teen thriller" <-- you had me there. This sounds absolutely brilliant. I haven't seen it around before but thanks for putting it under my radar!

    If it were the end of the world, I'd eat a lot of food and surround myself with books and read and read and read until I died. :D

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    1. Ohhh, I would eat myself stupid too! But just junk, you wouldn't be finding anything nutritious on my plate. Bugger that, I wouldn't even use plates anymore either.

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  3. Haha! I'm with Mel! I love the sound of the combined apocalyptic, survival, thriller and romance all blended into one! This isn't something I've heard a lot about, but I'm definitely putting it on my TBR. Thanks so much for sharing Kelly! <3

    ~ Zoe @ The Infinite To-Read Shelf

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    1. I love smushy books too. Where an author doesn't define what category they're taking the storyline and just write. Not only do they cater to a wider audience, but they tend to not have those dull boring patches. It's like a book free for all.

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  4. I seriously feel like I need to read this book!! I loooove apocalyptic things. (Like end of the world, whoohoo, what could be more fun?) Erm, okay. What would I do? Well first if it's not here QUITE yet, I would use the internet. I would use it a lot. THERE ARE DRAWBACKS TO THE END OF THE WORLD OKAY? NO INTERNET.

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    1. But on the plus side of there being no internet, we might not be around long enough to really feel the effects of not being able to blog or Tweet. Oh gosh, how did I become so morbid?

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  5. This is the second review I have read for this, the other was just as positive. I really want to read this now. Thanks for the chance to win it. If the end of the world were almost here I'd gather all my family together and hug them tight! And then I'd quickly try and finish the book I was reading so I knew how it end ;)

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    1. And if you're really skilled Rochelle, you could hug them and read the book over their shoulder. Two birds, one stone kind of thing. Then you might have time to knock another one off your list, like eating five blocks of chocolate, or doing a nudie run down your street.

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  6. If the end of the world was near, I'd probably just eat all the chocolate in the house. I mean, if I'm going to die it might as well be in a sugar coma, right? I was going to request this book but for some reason didn't get around to it. Which is weird, because Barry Jonsberg's contemp MG My Life As An Alphabet was fantastic!

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    1. A girl after my own heart, a sugar coma would be the most blissful way to go. I haven't read that one Em, but will definitely add it to my list.

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  7. This book looks SUPER DUPER AMAZING! Um, if the end of the world was upon me, I'd probably just eat ALL THE THINGS and maybe cry in a corner. I'm definitely not awesome enough to survive.

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    1. I'm too much of a wimp to get my Katniss on and fight for survival either Joy. I vow that we should join Em up there and just lull ourselves into a sugar coma.

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  8. This book looks very interesting! Let's see...end of the world...probably hug someone. Or my cats. Or just take a good last look at what is around me.

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    1. Hugging a random stranger? I'd go the cat option. Although, animals could probably sense the urgency of the world ending, so you might need to put mittens on them to stop them from scratching your eyes out. Ouch. That wouldn't be a pleasant way to go. Thanks for entering Ash.

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  9. First thing I would do when I found out it was the end of the world is to tell all my friends and family that I love them. Something that I don't do very much of! Thanks for the great giveaway & review, this book sounds fantastic.

    Jeann @ Happy Indulgence

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    1. Aww Jeann, you don't need to say it. I know how you feel. Apart from my other half, I don't do it all that much either. Good luck and thanks for entering.

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  10. This book sounds so intriguing. First thing I'd do would be pulling out my time turner, going back in time and fixing the problem.

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    1. Ooh, you're a clever one Kate. No one has thought of that yet. But what if your time machine wasn't available?

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  11. This sound so interesting! I need more dystopian novels to read, and more Aussies in my reading pile and this is a definite must.

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    1. If you're looking for other YA Aussie dystopians Amy, you should try The Last Girl series by Michael Adams. It's another awesome one. Pandora Jones: Admission is a brilliant strategic science fiction, but not without humour and romance. It really is an all round great read. Good luck and thanks for entering.

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  12. If it were the end of the world, I'd fill up the bathtub with water! Something my parents always told me to do in an emergency! LOL!

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  13. If I knew it was the end of the world I'd grab some food, water, a pen and sketchbook and some of my favourite books then drive out to somewhere remote and beautiful. If I know I'm probably going to die a horrid death I'd prefer to get out of the city.

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