KissinBlueKaren

I had the wrong idea about this book. I thought it would be more dystopia/fantasy and it ended up being dystopia/scifi. I finished this book in one day. I just couldn’t put it down. Great cast of characters with a refreshing original premise.

This is a spoiler-free review. Don’t let anyone spoil this book for you! This book has a killer twist in it.

Ella just lost her father. Her mother is battling a terminal disease. Ella is dreaming of her father and it seems he wants to tell her something but she talks herself out of the dream before he gets to the point. Or maybe she is just going insane. When Ella is approached by a government agent to use her mother’s technology to find traitors within the government, Ella’s world starts to unravel. A boy approaches her with a warning not to trust her best friend. Her best friend is the only one she can confide in. The boy and Ella’s Father are somehow linked. Ella is the key to everything, if only she can figure out how.

Beth Revis has created a world for these characters that is really original. The science is not over the top, but still very advanced. Fans of sci fi will love this story. There is a strong family connection in this story and it was very sweet to see it come to a close. With Ella about to become an orphan, she struggles with her loneliness. She tries to put on a brave face, she tries to help her Mom with her work. So when she is approached by the government to help, it is not far fetched that she would entertain the idea. Ella’s abilities are wonderful, but they build up slowly. I loved this about the story. It doesn’t feel forced.

I found this book to be quite addictive. We don’t see what is wrong with the world until the boy points it out. Indeed, Ella seems quite unaware that there could be anything wrong with government, even though there is a heavy presence of rebels attacking in the city. The rebels are even thought to be the cause of her Father’s death, but she doesn’t seem angry about that. She just seems sad and she is trying to keep from going insane. I could kinda see how sanity might be more important then politics. There are definitely gaps in her reality. She has suffered such a great loss and is now dealing with work and her mother’s illness.

There is an adventure in this story. I liked how the author showed us the world without being overly descriptive. We see the world as Ella sees it. The androids, the technology, the transportation are all very inventive and creatively described. This story comes to a hasty conclusion. We are finally in on the twist and then the book ends. I still have questions after reading this because some questions seem like they didn’t get answered. I probably missed them in the reading. I was just a little shocked about the twist.

Even despite those things, I would still recommend this read. This is the kind of book I would want to reread again later. I might have missed the answers. The story and conclusion are still swirling around in my brain. Once I got my mind wrapped around the twist, the whole story changes. The book left me wanting more of that world. This was a wonderful read!