The 100

Kass Morgan

Sep 2013 · Sold by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

About this ebook

The first book in the New York Times bestselling series that inspired the hit CW television show.

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries – until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents -- considered expendable by society -- are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves -- but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.

Ratings and reviews

While I enjoyed listening to The 100, it didn't really impress me very much. It was an interesting story, but never went deep enough for me to connect to the story or the characters. I have listened to this audiobook twice, and I am still confused about the relationships between all the characters. Clarke used to date Wells, who is best friends with Glass, who was dating Luke, who is now dating Camille, who I think is maybe friends with someone else. I honestly have no idea. There are so many connections and the point of view changed so often that I kept losing track of who had connections with other characters. The one character that I liked the most was Bellamy, but I didn't develop any connection to or concern for the other characters. While the story was interesting and full of action, some of the storytelling needed some work. For example, there is a scene where two space stations are sealed off from each other in an effort to preserve oxygen. Yet one of the characters climbs through the air ducts to get from one station to the other. If everything is sealed off to preserve oxygen, it shouldn't be so easy to travel through the air ducts. It makes no sense. This is the most glaring example, but there were other instances in the book where I wished details had been more fleshed out. The concept of the story is really interesting, and I kept finding myself wanting more and getting let down. All in all, the story was entertaining, but not one that will stick with me for a long time. I haven't seen the TV show yet, but I can understand why so many people say the show is so much better. I can picture a lot of the scenes having great potential for TV. Seeing this story unravel on the screen will probably help to flesh out the details I was missing in the book. I enjoyed the story enough that I will probably listen to the next book at some point in the future. And I really want to finally watch the show. But unfortunately, I am already having trouble remembering a lot of details about the story because it didn't have a tremendous impact on me.

I originally watched the TV show, and was really excited when I finally got my hands on this book. But I was pretty disappointed... I've always loved books more than their TV or movie counterparts, so this was the first time that I've ever liked the TV show more. The show and book are very different, and the only reason I'd recommend reading the book is if you watched the show, and want to get to know the characters better, otherwise you're not missing much, the show and book are completely different

The plot in the novel is sometimes more interesting than the show, yet because of the characterization of the kids and adults the show feels far superior. With basic writing and sometimes poor storytelling, the novel leaves much to be desired. The book is good for middle school aged romantics, and even then the romance is rushed and unrealistic; but other than that I'd say avoid the book. If you're still interested, watch the show and see if that piques your interest.

About the author

Kass Morgan is the author of The 100 series, which is now a television show on the CW. She received a bachelor's degree from Brown University and a master's degree from Oxford University. She currently works as an editor and lives in Brooklyn, New York.