Book Review: Day 7 by Kerry Drewery
- Nataliya Klymko
- Oct 24, 2020
- 6 min read
Martha Honeydew has been released from the terrifying Cell 7. But despite her new freedom, the corrupt government is still tracking Martha's every move. And Isaac, her only trusted friend, is now imprisoned in the very same cell she was. Isaac saved Martha's life, it is only right she now saves his... But with Martha still a target, can she save the boy she can't live without, before it is too late...
Day 7 is Kerry Drewery's second book in the Cell 7 Trilogy, a fascinating dystopian YA novel that effectively portrays a world in which trial by media and the public takes on a whole new meaning, by allowing everyone to be a juror on every case. Or at least at first sight. We are introduced to a dystopian London in which there is a clear class split between those wealthy living in the City and the Avenues, and those who live in the deprived areas of the High Rises.
The book starts of with a prologue from the perspective of Isaac, immediately after the events of the previous book.
Throughout the books, we are again privy to the unique judicial system of this world, albeit this time through Isaac, who is on death row for 7 days, and is the talk of town through Buzz for Justice and Death is Justice.
Through Isaac's eyes, we are privy to the flaws of such a judicial system, which sees crime in a black-and-white fashion. Unlike the previous book, which primarily focused on Martha's sentence, this book showcases how the system treated those who support the 'rebels' and also touches on Martha's feelings in regards to Isaac taking on responsibility for the murder of Jackson Paige (the main crime of the last book) and how she seeks to fight the system, whilst under the watchful eye of the people who consider her a dangerous icon.
Like the first book of the trilogy, Issac is not the sole narrator. We again have Martha as a narrator, who seeks to further expose the injustice of the system and free Isaac from his predicament. Eve once again is a narrator, although she is no longer a councillor, as such a position ceased to exist after the implementation of the virtual counselor. Max Stanton is also a narrator in chapters past the halfway point of the book, and Cicero also makes an appearance.
Of the new narrators, we are introduced the Prime Minister - a sinister individual who seeked to discredit Martha and her desire to seek justice for her mother, who we know was murdered when she was younger. Patty Paige is also introduced, and she proves to be two-faced, as we see in the finale of this book. Mrs B, a character introduced in the previous book, also gets some narration. An interesting addition is the narration of Joshua Decker, who readers would remember as the host of one of the shows in the judicial system; it is interesting to note that he is not hostile to Martha, but actually is in support of her cause.
The world that Drewely depicts in this novel is a further continuation to the frighteningly realistic one portrayed in the first book of the trilogy. We are once again subjected to such a narrow black-and-white judicial outlook, which takes into account no circumstantial evidence, which would have played a pivotal role in Isaac's case. Again, it isn't difficult to imagine such a bleak future, in which an idealistic 'rule by the people' is distorted to benefit those in power. Panem et circuses always appealed to people, and this book cleverly merges to the two.
The structure of the novel makes it really appealing to read, as it allows us to see how the system impacts people of different socio-economic groups and of different life circumstances. Like the previous book, the chapters are split into sections Day 1 - Day 7, depending on what day of Isaac's impending death sentence was. The script formatting of the chapters which are based on the Death is Justice or Buzz for Justice shows is an interesting change in between the narratives of the characters, as the script format showcases the heartless presenter Kristina Albright, and the roving reporter Joshua Decker, who seemingly has an issue with the current Justice system. Indeed, we see Joshua's stance in regards to Martha's innocence and his view on how people were sentenced led to him being taken of the shows in fear of spreading the 'wrong' message.
The dialogue of the story is perfectly crafted, and we are able to once again piece together not just the case of Issac, but also find out what happened to Eve's husband, and the two-faced plan of Paige Jackson, which plays a cruel trick against Martha and her message.
The characters are nuanced and believable written. Isaac, one of our protagonists, undergoes what Martha went through in the last book - the 7 Cells, albeit in a slightly different format due to the creation of the virtual counselor, and not Eve Stanton. We see Martha again as a crusader of 'true' justice and as a young girl who is not afraid to go against the system, no matter what it costs (and as we see, it does end up costing not just her, but her allies, a lot, and in some instances, with lives). We see Eve Stanton in a new light, as we find out the tragic events of her husband's death, and we come to terms with Max Stanton's conflicting alliances in light of information regarding his father's death, although in the end we see him utilising his tech skills in favour of Isaac. Judge Cicero does have a smaller role than the one he had in the first book, and mostly is seen in tandem with others on Team Martha. Mrs B's motherly cry in support of Martha is also a fresh take on the impact the judiciary has on mothers like herself. Perhaps my favourite addition was Joshua Decker, who finally gets his own narration in this second book; I will admit I was quite interested to see how his fate would play out after we became aware of how Joshua was not fully convinced in the judiciary, and it was brilliant to see him use his inside knowledge of the show's technology to help Max influence the vote (in what way I won't mention - it would spoil the intrigue!). The introduction of the PM's aide Sofia is also a welcome one, as she is a character that allows us to see the inner workings of the system at the highest level. And whilst she was not frequently referred to, I am sure she will play some integral role in the final installment of the trilogy.
Again, the wonderful pairing of Martha and Isaac is played out, with the role's reversed from the first book, now that Isaac was the one in the Cells. And despite all the tests their relationship suffers, it is clear to see that it is stronger than ever - I mean, Martha goes above and beyond to do everything to make sure that Isaac is not sentenced, even goes as far as involving, what she believed, were fake explosives.
My favourite scene in the book has to be Isaac finding out that the votes turned out in his favour (spoiler-alert), and instantly thinking of being back with Martha, who of course ends up in a predicament at the end (this one I won't spoil).
Overall, I am once again head over heels over this book. I know people usually perceive the second book to be worse than the first, but for me the first and second book were on par with each other - both had their unique storylines and strengths. It was definitely of benefit to see how the judiciary system worked in Isaac's case, who was of a higher socio-economic status than Martha, and who had testified that he was indeed guilty for the death of Jackson Paige. For anyone who is into dystopian, futuristic novels like the Divergent Trilogy, Hunger Games, Brave New World, etc, this is a must read. It is hard-hitting and gripping, and when I begun it, I could not put it down; much like the first book, I was hooked in, wanting to find out if Isaac would be found innocent or guilty, and also how Martha would use the situation to highlight the fundamental flaws of the system with her new allies.
Disclaimer: I own a paperback copy of this novel purchased from my local branch of The Works. In no way was I compensated for writing a review for this novel.
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