Release Date: June 7th, 2011 (TODAY!)
Genre:  Sci-fi, Romance, Dystopia
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 416
Rating:
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Summary: 

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Review: This book was so original and AWESOME. I've never read a dystopia like it, it certainly doesn't blend in with the mass of dystopias currently being released. It does have hints of Matched, Uglies, and maybe a little bit of The Giver, but its story is completely unique. There is a fairly heavy amount of mild swearing, but it's very mild. Nothing above H* and D* I think.

This summary is interesting, because it really doesn't tell you what the book is about. The summary doesn't tell you about the massive amounts of super-cool technology, that people are born with sort of "super-powers," and Violet has a tech-sensing super-power.

It also doesn't tell you about the badlands--the world very similar to our own on the fringes of Violet's "perfect world,"--which is where Jag grew up and learned how to live. One of the most interesting things in the book is the politics between between the "Goodgrounds" where Violet lives, and the "Badlands."

Perhaps the summary doesn't tell you about these things, because the book itself doesn't tell you a lot about them. The book IMMEDIATELY jumps into the action-- Violet is arrested in the first scene. This is a great way to instantly suck a reader into the story. Unfortunately, it also prevents the reader from learning about the society before being thrust into it.

As a consequence, I spent the whole book asking a lot of questions. Questions like "Wait... does everyone have super powers? Is that normal?" "What is a Thinker?" "What is a comm?" "What is life like in the Goodgrounds? Why are people so desperate to get away?" Some of these questions are answered in the book, but none of them are completely answered. I wish I knew more about Violet's world, so that I could better understand what she's going through.

However, I don't think this took too much away from the book. Violet spends most of the story doubting her own thoughts, and really confused. I spent the whole book doubting my own thoughts, and really confused. As such, I almost felt like I was Violet, and was living in the story. I didn't understand what she was thinking, but I easily understood how she was feeling.

There is a kind of "love-triangle" in this book, but it didn't bother me at all. Why? Because I didn't like either of the boys. Not in a both-of-them-suck kind of way, instead I thought that Violet was such a kick-butt character, that I didn't think she needed a boy. I like her enough on her own. But if she wants to pick a boy, that's fine with me. I'm team Violet.

And I'm team Posession!

This review is part of Utah Author Month. (was read in May)



*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.