Forced Religion in a Dystopian Novel

 A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes 

This was such an interesting concept and the author is a good writer, so this should have been good. Unfortunately, she stops the story to religion at you. And, that's the thing; I don't mind a religious allegory, I don't mind a character's quest to reconnect with or find their religion if I know that's what the story is about going in. But, nowhere in the description of this dystopian novel did it mention that Parvin was going to grapple with her religious beliefs. And the bigger issue than the surprise religion was that it wasn't organically included; it wasn't subtle. The concept was that at birth everyone is given a clock that counts down until their death. And if you don't have a clock you are considered a radical and either relocated or sent over the wall as punishment. But Parvin and her brother Reid share a clock, and neither know who it belongs to because they were triplets and one triplet died shortly after birth, and his clock zeroed out. Super interesting concept. Parvin and Reid share the one remaining clock and neither knows who will die halfway through their 18th year. Parvin decides to write her autobiography and she asks her mentor to introduce her to the best biographer in the country, Skelly Chase, so she can get some tips. They meet and he reads the first few pages and tells her it's terrible. But he agrees to read the rest and meet her the next day with some pointers. Then his train is delayed; the same train Reid was on coming home and injured on. He gets to the part about their clocks and agrees to write it. Then he takes her to the enforcers and she is sent over the wall with a journal and a good luck. She chronicles her life for 6 months; meeting the albinos, losing her hand, meeting Jude and Willow, helping Ash give birth, traveling to Ivanhoe, working, and getting poisoned on the return. She gets back after watching Jude sacrifice himself to save her only to watch Skelly Chase murder her brother. She has been convinced that the clock was hers, and now her brother is dead. Jude's brother, Hawk, takes her to a hospital, and that's where the book ends. I'm pissed because the concept was so interesting and she really is a good writer (I enjoyed her two alternate history novels) but I can't stand the forced religion. I'm not sure if I want to finish the series or not.