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4.5 39
Young Adult Fiction 550
My heart was racing right up to the last sentence!
Overall rating
 
5.0
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I seriously felt like I was having a heart attack at the end but I loved every minute of this book and can't wait for Pandemonium!

I read this in just a few hours because I could not put it down. Great writing, strong characters and an interesting take on the trendy dystopian world, one where "love" is viewed and treated as a disease. Like with any disease, some are cured but a few, despite all efforts, either go uncured or are resistant to the treatments. These are the ones, the Invalids, that are the most dangerous.

The main character, Lena, is an orphan whose parents are long dead, her mother having taken her own life (supposedly) because she was "uncureable" and who is just a few months away from being cured herself. Lena sees herself as plain, a rule follower and is looking forward to her procedure and moving on with her life after graduation. Her best friend Hana is beautiful, rich and questions everything about the procedure and life as they know it. (I *heart* her!) This scares Lena and she worries about their futures and their friendship. Enter Alex...he happens to witness the odd interruption that takes place during Lena's evaluation (a precursor to the "curing" procedure) and since then she can't stop thinking about him. She runs into him again several more times and he begins to make her question everything she's ever believed to be true about her life. When she's with him, she also starts to notice the beginning stages of "the disease" which she knows is impossible. He's already been "cured", she's weeks away from her own "curing" and has already been "paired" with who she'll marry so what's happening? Information about her past also begins to unravel and she starts the fight of her life - literally.

This is a story full of life that had me laughing, crying, and on the edge of my seat right up till the very last sentence. The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that are a couple of f-bombs (spoken by Lena) and I just didn't get them. They didn't seem necessary for her character in that part of the story. I know she's going through changes and while I'm not a fan of language like that, I do "get it" when it's used within the context of a story/situation but it just didn't seem to suit her. Maybe it's just me.
Good Points
Great writing, strong characters.
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May 25, 2013
I loved this book and your review was right on! I also think this first book was the best of the trilogy.
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