When Death Is Coming

The Severed Fates, Book 1

De: Jen Woodrum

Narrado por: Catherine Murphy

The “4” tattooed on the back of Corrie’s neck means she’ll die before she turns twenty.

The knowledge of death dates has become available to the world. Now, those with early death dates—the Threes and Fours—are forced to put their short lives to use in a labor camp called the Prime so the long-lived can thrive.

While Corrie tries to focus on using her leadership role to secretly create change in the Prime, her friend’s suspicious death makes her wonder how set in stone fate really is. In a search for the truth, Corrie finds the source of the death dates. She discovers that she has a family outside of the Prime……

and her own death is even closer than she thought.

Facing rising questions about the world, her family, and her future, Corrie knows the answers lie outside of the Prime’s concrete walls. And if she can uncover them, then life must have a greater purpose—but can she find it before death arrives?

©2023 Jen Woodrum (P)2025 Jen Woodrum

fantastic, page turning YA dystopian

In this world death dates are known. People recieve tattoos to mark how old they will be when the die and divide them into different classes. The longer you will live, the more privileges you have. Wereas, the lower classes are put to work. They are seen as less valuable to the system.

I liked that the main character, Corrie of four, was not an open rebel fighting against the system. She is a ruler follower, rebelling in her own quiet way. I enjoyed seeing the found family and unexpected friendships forming. There were some twists at the end that makes me excited to pick up book two. I did appreciate the authors note mentioning that book two will be following a different main character, in a different area, but some characters from book one will be in it.