Shutdown by Heather Anastasiu

Series: Glitch (bk. 3)

Genera: Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: psychic ability, technology, telekinesis, individuality, emotions, resistance to government, love

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 307

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $9.99

Publisher: Macmillan: St. Martin’s Griffin

Summary/ product description: “The battle is all but over, and hope seems to be lost. Zoe and her fellow Resistance fighters are on the run, having lost their home, their protection, and their leader. They are outnumbered and outmatched by the powerful corporation that controls the world, and the cruel Chancellor is inches away from completing a scheme that would kill most of humanity. Zoe's only remaining option is to chase the impossible dream of upending the Link system, freeing the world from the hardware that controls their thoughts and emotions, and hope it will trigger a revolution.
The plot requires a nearly impossible mission to infiltrate the dangerous Community, and it is a task that Zoe must unfortunately complete alone. With challenges and surprises at every turn, nothing goes according to plan. Adrien's visions of the future now show two possible outcomes: one in which they succeed, and one in which humanity falls. It all lies in Zoe's hands.
Full of romance, high-adrenaline action and shocking twists, Shutdown is a heart-pounding conclusion to an exciting sci-fi adventure trilogy for young adults.
The thrilling conclusion to an action-packed sci-fi trilogy”

 

My Review: Another great dystopian series comes to an end. I haven’t read finales of many dystopian series recently, but I know this one was good. I love the characters and their powers. Since the last book left off on a not-so-good note, I’ve been anticipating the conclusion. Now that I’ve read it, I happy with the way it ended.

Adrien was lobotomized in the last book and lost his emotions. He seemed very robotic. And he didn’t love Zoe anymore. I didn’t want this to end up like the Delirium series, where Andrien is “cured” of love. But wait, there is hope! He’s getting a treatment that could help grown some brain matter back.

Warning: some small spoilers ahead. If you want to be surprised when you read the book, don’t read ahead. If you want to find out just how awesome this book is gonna be, please do read ahead.

At the beginning of the book, Zoe is sent on a mission with Max, the shape shifter who pretended to be Adrien in the previous book. Zoe is still angry at him for his betrayal, because they used to be friends before he started working with the Chancellor. When the mission fails, they go back to the compound. Something bad happens that caused the compound to be found and now they all must escape. Zoe saves Adrien and they get separated from the other and must survive on their own.

It’s really interesting to see how Adrien’s changed. It made me pretty mad for a while because I loved how romantic he was before. He was all about logic now and seemed very cold and unemotional. But there was still something very Adrien about him. Underneath it all he still cared for Zoe. They could take away the animalistic, human instinct of compassion and survival.

My favorite thing about the book series was the superpowers. I loved seeing how Zoe power developed. Her telek is very believable, the way that the author explains it. I could picture the way she used it. It was like remote viewing and sensing things. Zoe can feel the pull and presence of objects and people. She can manipulate them to, move them about. The biggest and latest development was her learning to fly. I’ve been waiting for this for a while. With telekinesis so powerful, you’d think you could lift yourself, and move yourself through space.

Everything became so exciting and enthralling and Adrien started having visions again. And when everyone that made it regrouped, they started figuring out how they could finally stop the Chancellor. And wow, what an epic finale. Since the Chancellor has Zoe’s brother, she had to save him too. There are tragedies along the way, but overall the series wraps up nicely, though I kind of wish we could see how society will rebuild itself and what happens after Zoe saved the world from the Chancellor?

This series was like Shatter Me, Delirium Under the Never Sky, Renegade (Elysium Chronicles), and many other dystopian series out there. But it still managed to be a unique, exciting series and I’m sad that it’s over. I can only hope that Heather will write a e-novella or short story from another character’s perspective if she already hasn’t. Right now this is definitely in my top 10 dystopias.

Cover Art Review: I love the cover. The girl, who’s supposed to be Zoe, looks like she’s focusing on using her powers. Or possibly feeling what it’s like to be outside, unprotected for the 1^st time. I also like the techno-light effects coming out from the O in the title. And the gold colors are really atmospheric and emotional.