“Everyone knew the rules. They were taught to us almost from the day we could walk. The first rule everyone learned was to be inside the gates before dark, because once they were closed for the night, it was too late.” Life After E.L.E. (Frozen World Series, Book 1) by JC Morrows centers on a community of survivors in a frozen world, 30 years after a rogue moon collided with Earth. Seventeen-year-old Eve is trying to find her place in the Arizona Caves community ruled by a merciless chancellor. Everything seems to be working out when she joins the hunting group, but there’s a hidden truth that threatens the safety of her family and friends.

Despite the familiar post-apocalyptic theme and some similarities with other well-known dystopian fictions, the premise is intriguing, which is where the main strength of this book lies. Its prologue grabbed my attention right away, where the protagonist Eve tries her best to reach the compound before the gates close. She’s easily likable, but tends to evaluate some things repeatedly. The plot overall is well-paced, although there are some events in the story that I think could be developed quicker. This is not necessarily a weakness, but there's still so much to find out about the secrets that the young protagonist shared with her late father, and the conspiracy that lingers in the caves. On the other hand, it kept my interest from start to finish. On the whole, there’s a lot of unanswered questions in this Frozen World Series debut. Nevertheless, dystopian YA fans would find Life After E.L.E. a solid read.

Earth had turned into a frozen wasteland after being struck by a rogue moon. Population remnants are surviving in underground shelters. Those who do not obey the authorities are exiled into the wilderness. Eve, a seventeen-year-old girl, watched her father struggle to reach the gates before they closed for the night. The gates closed and she never saw her father again. The only thing she had left from him were memories and the secrets he told her. It was much later that she began to wonder whether his death was a simple accident. Five years later, she joined a group training to be hunters, which meant going outside into the frozen land. She was very good at everything and longed to become a fully qualified hunter. All this time, she felt that something was very wrong in the cave shelter, but she couldn’t pin it down. A romantic attachment with one of her classmates gave her someone able to steady her. During one training trip outside, the group stumbled across vast city ruins, and that is when the murders started. On her graduation test, Eve found herself in the forest, knowing she would not be able to reach the shelter before the gates closed.

Life after E.L.E. is a simple story about a young girl struggling to find her place in the closed society of a cave shelter, burdened with the knowledge that her father could have been saved, struggling to cope with a growing romantic relationship and the feelings it generated. JC Morrows presents an interesting and very well written scenario of life after an apocalypse, where adherence to rules ensures the colony’s survival, but it is not an idyllic existence, as Eve had found. However, probing too deeply could see her exiled in the wilderness, which meant death. Intended for young readers, the book is not burdened with complex characters or deep plotting. Nevertheless, adult readers will find this work entertaining.