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Apprentice (Volume 1) (The Collective Underground) Hardcover – October 13, 2020

by Kristen Young (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 51 ratings
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*** WINNER: Realm Makers Book of the Year ***
*** WINNER: Realm Award, Science Fiction ***
*** WINNER: Caleb Award, Young Adult***

The Love Collective is everywhere.
It sees everything.
Be not afraid.

Apprentice Flick remembers everything, except the first five years of her life. And for as long as she can remember, Flick has wanted to enter the Elite Academy—home to the best, brightest, and most loyal members of the Love Collective government.

Flick's uncanny memory might get her there, too … even if it is the very thing that marks her as a freak. But frightening hallucinations start intruding into her days and threaten to bring down all she has worked so hard to accomplish. Why is she being hijacked by a stranger's nightmare over and over again?

Moving to the Elite Academy could give Flick the future she's always wanted. But her search for truth may lead to a danger she cannot escape.
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 2
    Collective Underground
  2. Print length
    288 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Enclave Escape
  5. Publication date
    October 13, 2020
  6. Grade level
    8 - 12
  7. Reading age
    13 - 18 years
  8. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.76 x 8.5 inches
  9. ISBN-10
    1621841383
  10. ISBN-13
    978-1621841388
  11. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Apprentice is an intriguing story that will leave you second-guessing that new VR headset you just bought and psychoanalyzing your dreams again. Young has a flair for writing the sterile-perfect society of the haunting Love Collective that is both parts psychological thriller and science fiction adventure! Do not miss this story!" — Ronie Kendig, best-selling, award-winning author -- Ronie Kendig

About the Author

A Scottish-born Australian author, Kristen Young has worked in children’s and youth ministry for decades. She writes fiction and non-fiction for teens, and always has a notebook on hand to capture stray story ideas. In her spare time she loves hanging out with her family, watching movies with subtitles, and enjoying a little too much chocolate.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Enclave Escape (October 13, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1621841383
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1621841388
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 - 18 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.76 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 51 ratings

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Kristen Young

Kristen Young

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
51 global ratings
Fast-paced Dystopian
5 Stars
Fast-paced Dystopian
Apprentice Kerr Flick has been blessed with a photographic memory. Except she can’t remember anything past the age of 5. The Love Collective is all she knows, and all she wants is to get into the Elite Academy where the best of the best serve the Love Collective government. No Haters allowed.In her strict, sterile, safe environment, strange hallucinations and nightmares may threaten all she’s ever hoped for.Goodness, I flew through this YA science fiction adventure. The Love Collective creeped me out kind of like the It’s a Small World ride does at Disneyland. Dystopian vibes which I LOVE - maybe like Maze Runner and The Giver. I liked it so much I immediately bought book 2. First book totally sets everything up for what’s coming. I’m about 30% into Elite and loving it as well.
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Top reviews from the United States

Matthew Starr
5.0 out of 5 stars Enders Game X Hunger Games
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2021
Verified Purchase
This was an interesting mix of Ender’s Game and Hunger Games with the YA elements of Hunger Games winning out.
The handling of identity is fascinating in how the char struggles to understand how her memories (or hallucinations, for what she knows) define her.

That being said, I was a little overwhelmed by the large cast of characters. As I progressed, I could assign roles to them in my head (“Best Friend”, “Main Crush”) and follow the story with no problem, which feels like a missed opportunity. Fewer, deeper characters I think would have been more rewarding.

I understand the totalitarian regime over the characters is supposed to be talking down to its victims, but the titles “Hater” and “Lover” just feel goofy to me. I would have liked titles that sounded more prestigious or dangerous, but that’s just a preference.

To end on a high note, I really loved the VR scenes. It was reminiscent of games I’ve played in the past and it was fun to image playing the games in-almost-real life.
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Meagan | She Reads Wherever She Goes
4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting!
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
This was a really interesting read! I love discovering clean dystopian fiction, and this is a welcome addition to the genre.

The lingo around Lovers/Haters, the Love Collective, etc. was a _tad_ bit ... cheesy? Corny? Lol--but also strangely prescient and relevant to current times.

I didn't at all see the ending coming, and I'm very curious to see how everything pans out in Book 2!
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Stephanie S.
5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable clean YA dystopian read.
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2021
Verified Purchase
Kerr Flick can remember everything: whole conversations, things she's read, basically anything she's seen or heard. But she can't access her childhood memories. Will she find out why she can't remember anything before she was five?

Apprentice is an intriguing dystopian story, sort of like Divergent and Hunger Games, but its cult-like Love Collective is unique. The author does a good job of world-building, showing what life in the Love Collective is like. For example, all Apprentices (students) in the Collective are taught "proper lexicon" (things you are allowed to say) and how to spot a Hater. Students are even taught to report others for being a supposed Hater.

One aspect of the author's writing I especially liked is how she interjected the main character Flick's memories (including date and location for each memory) into the story occasionally to give the reader a sense of how her memory works. I also enjoyed solving the mystery surrounding Flick's missing memories as well as the nightmarish hallucination that have started plaguing her.

The story is well-paced. Not too slow, but it's not really fast either. I immediately wanted to read Elite (book 2) when I finished Apprentice.

This is a clean read with no graphic violence, sex, or foul language.

An enjoyable clean YA dystopian read. 5 stars for me!
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M. Hughes
4.0 out of 5 stars Holds Your Interest to the End!
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2021
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I purchased this book out of curiosity. As a Realm Maker member, I'd heard that this was one of the winners. I'll admit I'm not so much into dystopian future stuff (dozed off through the Hunger Games but still accurately predicted the ending). But I gave this one a try, and and really enjoyed it.

Reasons I enjoyed it?

* Loved the world building. I could envision this place. There were only a couple of settings used throughout the story, but I could picture the placement of every chair. I understood the rules of this place and why they existed.
* Really well-drawn protagonist. Kerr Flick is a girl of 15 who's been in a Love Collective "nursery" for the past ten years. Her conscious memories go back no further, but when she's asleep, her nightmares try to tell her about her past.
* Some good secondary characters--Dorm Leader Akela (interesting that her code name is Zed, which makes her a kind of collective in herself--everything from A to Z) is wonderfully enigmatic and ultra-cool.
* Nursery kids like Myk, Fedge, and Koah are well-done too. Myk and Fedge are Flick's avowed enemies (part of the Three Fists--I forget the other fist's name) and seize every opportunity to make her miserable. Koah is like Flick--always picked-on, always trying to escape her tormenters. Unlike Flick, though, she'll do anything to fit in--including joining the crowd of Flick-tormentors.
* At the Elite Academy, Flick actually does find friends, people who don't feel threatened by her phenomenal memory. Sif seems like the kind of friend I always wanted...up to a point anyway, but no spoilers. :)

Things I don't like quite as much:
* I'll take off half a star for the segment midway through the book when everyone suddenly gets "sullen." The word "sullen" is used several times in just a few pages, and I found myself wishing someone would get a thesaurus already.
* Same with "glare." It was spread more, which is good, but it occurred more too.
* I also wish the author had found better names for the opposing groups than "lovers" and "haters." I understand why she chose those terms, and they are eerily appropriate, but they're also used in such ways as to make one's eyebrows shoot into the stratosphere sometimes.

But that's piddly stuff, all the small-potatoes irritations are worth no more than one star when pooled together. The main thing is that it held my attention from the beginning to the end, to the point that I've already ordered the next book in the series. I want to know what happens next--and that's the highest compliment I can pay any author.
2 people found this helpful
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Eve Parnell
5.0 out of 5 stars Epic!
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2021
Verified Purchase
Apprentice ended entirely too soon and I wish I had book two handy to pick up immediately (take note, those of you who are about to pick up Apprentice)!!

Young did an amazing job keeping up with all the details she had to considering Kerr Flick’s memory abilities. There were several twists and elements that I was not expecting, keeping me on my toes the whole book! The story is complex, and Young wrote it so well! So looking forward to picking up Elite and seeing how the story ends.😄
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Tyrean
5.0 out of 5 stars Slow Build, Compelling read
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2021
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Dropping the reader directly into a new world, this novel doesn't seem like a slow build on the first page but as I continued deeper into the book, uncovering layer after layer of world building, character development and plot twists, I realized this book has so much more than even the exciting first pages have to offer.
A true treasure of YA fiction, I recommend this compelling read to fans of science fiction, dystopias, and more.
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Top reviews from other countries

The Mom Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Clean Dystopia
Reviewed in Canada on June 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book had all I could ask for in Dystopia novel, a good story line, gripping characters and clean. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys YA fiction and will definitely be reading the next book in the series as soon as it comes out.
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N. L. Passmore
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Debut with this Dystopian YA Novel
Reviewed in Australia on July 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
Kerr Flick has been raised in the nursery dorms for as long as she can remember, and that's saying something given that she has a photographic memory. Give her a date years ago and she can tell you exactly what happened and who said what, word for word. Some of her cohort think she's a freak because of her abilities, but all that changes when she is one of the exceptional teenagers chosen for training in the Elite Academy. It has been Kerr's dream to be a Watcher, the elite of the elite, but there is more gruelling training to undergo before the test that will determine which role each person will play in the community. As Kerr learns more about the Academy, her troubling visions get worse. Are they just nightmares or something more? All is not as it seems in this dystopian world, and Kerr will have life-changing, and life-threatening, decisions to make before it's over.

I really enjoyed this debut novel from Kristen Young. The writing is really strong and the story had me engaged from the start. Kerr is a believable and sympathetic character and I really cared about her journey. There are some heart-stopping moments and I had to keep turning the pages. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. I loved it every bit as much, if not more, than bestsellers like 'The Hunger Games' and 'Maze Runner'. It definitely deserves a wider audience.

Although some issues are resolved by the end, this is Book 1 of the Collective Underground series, so there is more ahead for these characters. Book 2 will be released shortly and I can't wait to read it.

If you like books like 'The Giver' and 'Divergent', you'll love this book.
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