Review: Reboot by Amy Tintera

Reboot
by Amy Tintera
Series: Reboot #1
Published: 07 May 2013
HarperTeen, Hardcover, 365 pages
Source: Library

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Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Rating: ★★★★

I have no idea why, but when it saw that phrase on the cover, I never thought of zombies. Neither did I think of the walking dead when it was stated multiple times that Reboots came back from the dead, revived by the KDH virus. From the start, Reboots were more like super-humans to me rather than zombies. I mean, they are hygienic and don’t have organs dropping out of holes in their bodies, so duh, not zombies.

Now that I’ve established how pro-Reboot I am, it would be pretty obvious that I utterly despised the way HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation) treated Reboots, as if they are lesser beings. Nonetheless, Amy Tintera gave me a wonderful time hating on the villains in this book.

Two of my favourite aspects of Reboot was the brutality depicted and the unconventional romance. The goriness and violence constantly present in Wren’s life as a perfect soldier was so real and captivating in a terrifying sort of way. As for the romance, it was surprisingly adorable for a relationship set in a dystopian novel.

To me, it felt like the typical roles of a fun girl & brooding guy had been swapped in the case of Wren and Callum. Wren was all unemotional and seemingly cold in the beginning while Callum was just completely endearing. I wouldn’t say their relationship is for everyone but I definitely loved it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Callum’s a feminine & wimpy guy. After all, he did do something totally unexpected for a number 22 when Wren got hurt in a particular scene. Unsurprisingly, I was swooning so much while reading it. Did I mention the pace of the romance was perfect? There was zero insta-love (YAY). Zilch. Nada.

However, I did wish the world building in Reboot was better developed. More details on exactly how the world had changed would’ve been much appreciated. Though the fact that the story was told in first person slightly justified the hazy world-building. Reboots don’t remember much from before they died so I guess Wren herself would also have limited information on worldly issues.

Action packed, thrilling and exciting, I really enjoyed Reboot. However, it needed that little extra spark to push it from a good book, to a great book. I would recommend this to dystopia lovers but it probably won’t be a good read to those newly inducted into the world of YA dystopia. Lastly, just remember that Reboots are not zombies because some of us get really defensive about that. :)

Adelena

Review: Splintered by A.G. Howard

Splintered
by A.G. Howard
Series: Splintered #1
Published: 01 January 2013
Amulet Books, Hardcover, 371 pages
Source: Library

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Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family.

She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Rating: ★★

After months of JZ’s fangirling and urging, I finally got around to reading Splintered! I would say I had high expectations for it because JZ loved it so much and I thought the idea of the story was interesting. After all, there aren’t many YA books based on Alice in Wonderland so far. Unfortunately, Splintered didn’t blow me away, it actually annoyed me a little.

The most glaring annoyance was the love triangle. I’ve reiterated over and over my hatred for typical love triangles. In Splintered, it revolved around Alyssa, Jeb and Morpheus. The romance was just so predictable what with two guys hating each other and fighting over Alyssa as if she was a toy. Way too cliché for me.

Alyssa herself was also not a very impressive protagonist. Most of the story set in Wonderland was about her attraction to both Morpheus and Jeb, overshadowing the actual reason she was there in the first case – for her Mom, Alison. The book would’ve been a lot more meaningful had there been more emphasis on Alyssa & Alison’s entangled relationship instead of the love triangle.

The guys in Splintered, Jeb and Morpheus, have failed to enthuse me too. Both of them were such Neanderthals, trying to control everything Alyssa did. They were aggravatingly overprotective and to make everything even more vexing, their overpowering attitudes didn’t even seem to register in Alyssa’s mind.

However, in Jeb’s defense, what he did at the end was pretty touching. Though it was a teensy bit too rushed and hence, having minimal emotional build-up.

Despite the numerous issued I had with Splintered, I actually really enjoyed the twisted and horrific Wonderland portrayed by A.G. Howard. It was perfectly mad and chaotic! I heard somewhere that Splintered was supposedly part horror, but if that’s so, the atmosphere needs to be creepier. Though the characters in Wonderland were definitely a very nice blend of peculiar and freaky.

All in all, I’m unsure about continuing this trilogy, especially with the unoriginal love triangle. However, that’s just my opinion and to prove that Splintered would definitely appeal to some of you, go check out JZ’s lovely review of it here. I wouldn’t recommend it to readers who love strong protagonists but if you are a huge Alice in Wonderland fan (like JZ), without question, you should try reading Splintered.

Adelena

Review: The Program by Suzanne Young

The Program
by Suzanne Young
Series: The Program #1
Published: 30 April 2013
Simon Pulse, Hardcover, 408 pages
Source: Library

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In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Rating: ★★★★

My first impression of The Program was how it shared some similar traits with the Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver, which was one of my favorite trilogies. However, in this case, the epidemic was teenage suicide instead of love. I actually found this much more believable as we are constantly hearing more suicide stories these days. Moreover, the cover was so interesting, (I especially liked the colored pills on the back because they looked adorable. Yes, I’m weird like that.) I simply could not resist picking it up.

Moving on to the actual story, I would have enjoyed it much better had I not read so many amazing dystopians before. The plot was honestly very touching, emotional and inspiring. Sloane and James’s relationship was the perfect balance of fun & youthful combined with serious & though-provoking.

Throughout the book, be prepared to be enraged, and I mean seriously enraged, at everyone who supports the Program. I found myself wanting to mutilate every single Program supporter because it really infuriated me how the Program literally stripped away the very essence of a person by removing their memories. It hit me hard how our memories contribute a lot to us being who we are.

Admittedly, The Program isn’t suited for simply anyone. It’s pretty darn depressing and the first part of the novel could potentially plant suicidal thoughts in many readers’ mind. However, in the end, those suicidal notions would mostly be overshadowed by other themes like love, freedom and choice.

A poignant story filled with wonderful meanings, I would recommend The Program to anyone interested in strongly psychological reads. Just a tip though, reading this book when you’re not too busy would be best as much concentration must be invested to fully understand the beautiful underlying meanings incorporated by Suzanne Young.

Adelena