katiewilkins186

In this dystopian novel, humanity has given up the ability to feel emotion or think for themselves. Instead, they are all connected to a network which regulates their activities and decides when they should be deactivated. However, many young adults are beginning to "glitch", suddenly experiencing emotion and also displaying strange new mental powers. As Zoe struggles to hide her glitches and control her erratic telekinetic powers, she also has to deal with feeling emotion for her family and for boys for the first time.

I loved the way the author introduced us to the world. She does a great job of showing instead of telling and revealing little bits of information at a time. It kept me interested and helped me get inside Zoe's head to understand how confusing suddenly feeling emotion was for her. The writing was a style I like in YA books; clear, straightforward, with vivid descriptions and believable behavior and dialogue.

The only thing that kept me from really loving this novel was the feeling I'd read it before. And I basically have, because the story parallels the plot of Uglies very closely. I liked the setting and the premise of this novel a little better, but that didn't make the plot any more original. There was also the oh-so-ubiquitous love triangle, although our protagonist was clear about who she liked (at least when free of outside mental influence) which made it much less frustrating than in many other books. Overall, nothing new here, but still a fun read which kept me turning pages well into the night.

Who should read this? fans of the current trends in YA (dystopian, love triangles, etc), people looking for a little more sci fi in their lives

This review originally published on Doing Dewey.