Altered by Jennifer Rush

Series: Altered (bk. 1)

Genera: Sci-fi Adventure/ Romance/ Thriller

Subjects: genetic engineering, government agencies, experiments, memory

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 323 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Hachette: Little, Brown

Summary/ product description: “When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?
Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.
Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.
Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.”

My Rating: êêêê1/2

My Review: This sci-fi was a nice change of pace after reading so many paranormal romances lately. It’s NOT dystopian, no matter what it says on Goodreads. It’s about genetically modified guys, and a girl who love one of them. And then there’s the Branch, which is kind of like Itex in Maximum Ride. The sci-fi elements reminded me so much of False Memory by Dan Krokos, and also like Revived by Kat Patrick. If you’re a fan of the Maximum Ride series, you might also like this series. It’s fast-paced. Pages will fly by without you even realizing it.

I loved that most of this book was set in Michigan, even if it started out in New York. It was an adventure with lot of action. Anna, which seemed kind of sheltered at first, turned into a kick butt heroine, and she even learned some important things about her past. There’s the four boys with genetic alterations living in her basement. Cas is probably my favorite. Sam seems too intense. Trev is really smart, and Nick sounds good looking. But Cas, he’s funny and awesome. I love everything he says in this book. When comparing them to the guy of Under The Never Sky, Cas is Roar to Sam’s Perry-like intensity. Nick is mean to Anna, and she think of Trev as her best friend. She visits them in her basement a lot, but she doesn’t seem to have any other friends beside the boys. She takes combat lesson and loves to draw. I can kind of relate to her in the drawing part (and I also took karate for a few years). I draw, and paint.

There’s a lot of mystery and clue and stuff the lead to other things. I love books that keep you guessing. Ones you can make predictions about. This was full of twists and turns and awesome realizations. It’s hard to review this book without spoiling everything, but I was surprised with what I found out. There were some thing I already figured out, but I did not expect this. Read it and find out.

Cover Art Review: Good typography, and a very sexy looking guy. It’s pretty minimal, and I wish there was more on it, but it’s okay.

 

~Haley G

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Release Date: 11/15/2011

Genera: Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: Super power, love, resistance to government

Length: 342 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

Summary/ product description: “Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war - and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.”

My Rating: ê ê ê ê ê +

My Review: This is probably the best super hero book I’ve read. (I’ve only read a few) It reminds me of James Patterson’s Witch & Wizard series, also set in a very similar dystopian world where they want to get rid of individuality and art. Hopefully we will get to learn even more in the next book.

Juliette was interesting because she seemed crazy, but she wasn’t. Her romance with Adam is compelling. Warner’s obsession with her will make you want to hate him (he’s such a psychopathic personality). Kenji’s the cool Asian dude that you get to meet near the end. Won’t spoil anything about him.

Interesting writing style. I loved the crossed out words and phrases. It was a great way to get Juliette’s thoughts across. What she wanted or didn’t want to believe. What she wanted to say, but didn’t say. It was very creative. There were some interesting poetic sentences where the author just press enter. There was repetition of certain phrases that made you want to believe that the narrator had be driven crazy by her solitary confinement.

I started this book on Sunday afternoon, and ended it on Monday afternoon. If it weren’t for eye strain and school, and other needs, I probably would’ve read it straight through. It was that good. This is the kind of book you can’t/won’t want to put down. A fast paced page-turner full of action, romance, super powers, and awesomeness. If you like X-men, any of James Patterson’s YA book, the Gone series, The Hunger Games, or super heroes and dystopia fiction in general, buy/check out this book. I guarantee you will love it. If the writing style bothers you, try to look past it. There’s a really interesting story in there. If you’re just going to wait for the movie to eventually come out, you are missing out.

Read

This

Book!

It will leave you begging for the next one.

Cover Art Review: I love this cover. Especially what’s behind the girl in the white dress. It looks like electricity and shattered glass. It’s awesome! The cover is metallic. The title looks like it’s shattered somewhat. Well done design!

~Haley G

PS. Visit SHATTER DAY: https://www.facebook.com/shattermebooks