The Perfect Fight by S.Y. Humphrey

The Perfect Fight Reviews

• 
  Cath

  This is a novella for the Skin Trials series and focuses on the main character Gali (Galilee) Bartlett and her family. Of the four adults that should have been able to work in her household, her mother lost both legs in a farming accident, her brother died and her father has cancer and the hospital can’t be bothered to treat him any longer as her is deemed unworthy of any other treatment. They are in a time period where a genetic based government system called Perfect Society, has been set up and used to test people to see what their genetic worth is and whether they will be able to work long enough to be worth keeping in society. If you are genetically disposed towards a particular disease, then you aren’t going to get any sort of good job.
  
  Gali’s father was the mayor of the small town of Liberty, a veteran who has also lost a son fighting in the war and a productive farmer on their family owned farm. Due to their family problems, their family’s worth has been recalculated and only Gali is being counted as a worker. This puts pressure on Gali to work more hours and ignore her studies, which are the only chance for a better paid job in her future. Their farm is being targeted by a local business man, Larry Ledbetter, who is throttling other small farms, charging exorbitant prices for basic farming supplies like animal feed. He wants to buy their farm and will not pay anything like what it is worth, as crops fail and soil quality gets worse.
  
  Her only chance to save the farm and get medical treatment for her father, is a plan from some of her classmates and former students, who want to get back at those with all the control and their unfair control of supplies and even simple survival for the common man. Their plan is direct action against those at the top of the Perfect Society and will involve vicious situations used against the people they target. Gali is a great planner and knows lots about all the areas around them, as she has worked for lots of neighbours and other farms, to fix equipment and test soil quality etc. The aim is to shut down Larry Ledbetter and others like him in their local area that are leaving people living in the dark, unable to afford even electricity for lighting!
  
  Their actions are being supported by a lot of their neighbours and fellow town folk, even for such drastic actions as they are taking, to get a reaction and for changes to be forced to be made. The Perfect Society model is allowing an even bigger divide between the normal workers and those who are wealthy and can afford any medical treatments. The wealthy and their worth isn’t being affected by constant recalculation like those of the normal worker and this is something the group want to see changed. They won’t accept defeat, but some of their group will be arrested and some of their actions won’t succeed, but they will never give up.
  
  Their lives will never be allowed to go back to what they were before they started taking action, but their lives were failing and falling apart every day. Most of the town have been badly affected by the Perfect Society algorithm being used to value their working worth over a lifetime and most have lost their properties and jobs already. Family farms are being taken over by large conglomerates, pushing out the smaller farmer. The battle for equality could turn deadly, but these young friends and neighbours are determined to stand up for their rights and those of others in their town. Who will win in the end, is yet to be seen. A great start to this series and a new author for me to follow. I look forward to reading the other books in this series and would recommend it to all who love a bit of dystopian suspense, set in a not too distant future. I received an ARC copy of this book from the author and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
  
• 
  Tiffany

  After reading this book, I wanted to write and post this review to share my honest experiences toward the story.
  
  Although the story is short, it really does not disappoint. It was a thrilling, captivating read filled with action and intrigue. I really enjoyed reading this, and look forward to reading other books in this series.
• 
  Samantha Corkin

  I really wish this book was longer that’s the only bad point about this book.
  
  The characters are really quite lovely and I don’t think I actually dislike any of them. I feel like they did lack development though and I think we would have got the development I would have liked if the book was that touch longer.
  
  Same as the story really, it was a really good plot but I just wish it was developed a bit more. And by development I mean just a bit more detail about the heists and an input on how she met these characters that are helping her. Maybe a point of view from one of them to see how these heists made them feel. I would have also loved to read more details about how she lost both her brothers and how her family has developed from the start.
  
  The setting of the book was good and I loved every bit about it, the farms, the suffering, the drought, the flooding it just seems to all fit with our current environment, and you know what really annoys me in 5 years time that is normal just like the book and people still think global warming is not happening.
  
  I can’t wait for the next book.