Pandora Jones: Deception by Barry Jonsberg

Pandora Jones Deception Pandora Jones Book Two
Check out my review for Book One
Dystopian, Science Fiction
Published October 1st 2014
288 Pages
Add to Goodreads
★★★★☆
It was difficult to know when nightmares ended and the waking world began.

Pan is still struggling to distinguish between her dreams and reality. When she wakes in the Infirmary her mind replays the sight of Nate running along the shoreline and the way his body froze and then flopped after he was shot. But her memories hold more questions than answers and she doesn't know who to trust.

When she forms an unlikely alliance with Jen to try to make sense of everyone's haunting similar memories and the conflicting information about The School, she finds herself with unexpected enemies.

Pan and Jen are determined to seek the truth, no matter what rules they must break or how terrible the danger they face. But can they even trust each other?

Intuition. Secrets. Truth. Courage. Action. Survival.
Pandora Jones now finds herself back at The School, the teen community where they are prepared to ensure humanity survives in the new world. A virus spread across the globe, humanity falling victim to the flu like symptoms. Bodies lined the streets as the virus spread throughout communities, with teen survivors taken to a former military barracks now housing The School. But Pandora has seen outside the walled compound and knows that The School isn't what it seems.

Pandora needs proof and enlists the help of her hardened and snarky team mate Jen. The two girls devise a plan to explore the village on the other side of the compound. What the girls discover could change their lives forever. When they return to The School, the rumours are rife. Pandora is painted as a delusional teen, with her new sidekick supposedly along for the thrill ride. Their team is in ruins, and the two girls find that sneaking around and keeping secrets has only segregated them from the group. They need to escape, but with the compound on lock down and the girls being watched, will they make it past the wall to see what's left of the world? Their lives might just depend on it.

Kelly's Thoughts

Pandora Jones: Deception completely surprised me, it was engaging, enthralling and took me on a thrill ride while exploring new friendships and alliances. It focuses on Pandora and Jen, two girls who formally held a strong dislike for one another and now a friendship is on the verge of blooming. Jennifer has quickly become my favourite character, she's incredibly tough, sassy and sarcastic. In Deception, we see her befriend Pandora for the sake of the adventure of exploring outside the compound, but she begins to allow Pandora to see her softer side, that is just as resilient. I really enjoyed reading the banter between both characters and their friendship blossoming.

Unlike Admission, Deception doesn't focus on romance but rather exploring new friendships and alliances. There is also the inclusion of a new character, who is bound to spark a few interests, quite literally. After the group returned from their deadly expedition, I assumed that the experience would have strengthened the group, but I was surprised that it seemed to divide the alliance and the girls keeping their reconnaissance mission a secret from the others certainly didn't help. I thoroughly enjoyed Admission, but was able to completely immerse myself in Deception and it kept me enthralled throughout.

I'm so excited seeing the direction Australian Young Adult is headed, no longer is it subjected to contemporaries but now we have incredible post apocalyptic and dystopians with Barry Jonsberg leading the charge. His style of writing is incredibly laid back, simplistic and allows reader to fully immerse themselves in the storyline without large blocks of mindless information or purple prose. I loved Deception, it was an intelligent read and once again Jonsberg leaves the reader on a tenterhooks with another cliffhanger, even more explosive that the last. Book three in the Pandora Jones series, Reckoning, is no doubt going to be epic.

12 comments

  1. I need to read more Australian YA because I always find it slightly more sinister and in-depth than some American novels. I know that sounds like a bad thing to say LOL. But they ARE more unique and the characters are always a bit more raw, which is what I LOVE.

    Glad this was a hit!

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    1. They are, that's a really good point Allie. They are generally less fluff and more action and the romance is usually pretty genuine too I think it's more due to our no bullshit Aussie way of life. They're usually more gritty and less polished too, which is a big plus in my book.

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  2. Fantastic review Kelly! I've read the first two books in the series as well and am really excited to see how it is shaping up. It's so great that now Australian YA has become so diverse in itself, and that we have so much local talent.

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    1. We really do, and not just contemporaries anymore, we've got post apocalyptic, dystopian and incredible Aussie fantasy novels too. I'm really excited to see what's coming out next.

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  3. Wonderful review lovely! I'm not sure why but I just never felt the urge to pick up this series - might be the cover, which screams MG to me. I definitely agree with you though, Aussie YA is getting better, and I'm so excited because of that. We need to support our fellow Aussies, and put them out there in the world!

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    1. It does look a little middle grade, but definitely take a chance on this series, it gets better with each book. Completely agree, I love to support Aussie and New Zealand authors as well, we've got so many talented authors set to take over the world.

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  4. I haven't read the first book yet but have heard constant raves, I'm so glad it doesn't focus on the romance but instead, the friendship though! It sounds like Barry Jones is definitely leading the charge outside of Aussie YA contemporary which is exciting to see. Great review hun.

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    1. Thanks Jeann.

      It's so refreshing to see that authors don't need to rely on romance in their storylines, I'd much rather see an incredible friendship between characters than thrown together instant love. You need to pick this series up.

      Like, right now.

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  5. I've only ever read two aussie YA stories but they did have a sort of realiness and complexity to them that I haven't found from American YA stories in a long time! While I hadn't heard of this author or this series (why is North America so disconnected from things other countries have to offer culture wise?) I do find myself really interested in this one! I'll have to make a note to find it on the book depository or something and see if I can get my hands on it.

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    1. We have a lot of brilliant Aussie authors, but I'm not sure how far wide paperback s ate released, but you can definitely grab copies of any Aussie release on Amazon usually. I prefer paperbacks myself, but happy to settle on eBooks too when they're hard to find.

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  6. Ohh, I'm so excited to read this one now! I wonder how many books are going to be in this series?
    Hmm, I'm really curious now about how this all plays out from Admission! Sounds like it's taken a brilliant turn! Hopefully I remember what happened in Admission before starting this one. Great review lovely xx

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    1. I think it's only the three.

      Admission was good, but Deception was so, so much better. I loved that it dropped the romance and focused solely on the friendship between the two girls, who couldn't stand one another in Admission. I can't wait to see what happens in Reckoning!

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