Origin by Jessica Khoury

Release Date: September 4th 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 394
Source: Copy provided by publisher for review

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home--and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin--a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

While the premise of this story is certainly interesting and the writing was quite good, I found that the story dragged in quite a few places.  Although I understand that Pia felt cooped up in Little Cam's facilities, I felt that the story had some uneven pacing; there were quite a few scenes in Little Cam that did not add very much the plot and slowed the overall pacing of the novel down.

The writing was pretty strong in Origin; Jessica Khoury does a great job creating vivid environments--from the sterile and secretive labs of Little Cam to the jungle, filled with its promises of danger and adventures--that readers feel like they could just step into.  Of course, given how many hidden dark secrets the staff of Little Cam may have and the unknown wealth of dangers the jungle holds, readers may not want to step in!  This only goes to show what a great job Jessica Khoury did in setting the scene for readers!

That said, while the writing was good, I didn't think all of the characters were stellar.  Eio's personality did not seem particularly special, and while it seems all good and well that he's devoted to Pia, it all happened a little too quickly for me.  Sure, plenty of novels have the love-at-first-sight thing going, but most of those characters had at least had interactions with other people of their gender before their love-at-first-sight moment.  Pia being, quite frankly, a lab experiment that was locked away in the jungle for so long, had no experience with other people of her own age.  So having her fall so deeply in love with Eio so quickly made me wonder if she fell for him just because he's the only boy her age she's ever met, especially since she already had her heart set on helping make her own "Mr. Perfect Immortal" as her companion.  

Another issue I had with Origin was the build up.  I have to admit that when the big secret was revealed, I was disappointed.  I had expected something spectacular and mind-blowing since the author had held off on the big reveal until late in the novel!  It wasn't as well fleshed-out as I had hoped it would be, and given the tone of the book, I had expected something more science-based.  But in the end, it was more magic than it was science.  After the reveal, it all ended pretty quickly as well (again, the uneven pacing of the book).  That said, I will at least give credit to the author for not dragging the story or the big reveal out into several more novels!

Lastly, I found a point the novel brought up quite interesting--how far would you go for the advancement for science?  The answer that some people might give could just chill you to the bone!  It certainly disturbed me quite a bit how focused some of the scientists at Little Cam were, and how little they thought about how their methods could be harming others.  While having passion for your field is a valuable trait that could undoubtedly help you work harder, this novel also brings up the questions concerning the morals of such research and how far people should go.  That said, how scientists are portrayed in this novel should not be how you see all scientist!  Not all scientists are souless people who care nothing for morals, ethics and others, unlike most of the scientists in Little Cam! 


Overall: 3.75 out of 5
Plot: 3.75 stars
Characters: 3.5 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
Cover: 4 stars 
 

Grave Dance by Kalayna Price

Grave Dance by Kalayna Price

Release Date: July 5, 2011
Publisher: Roc
Pages: 400

Whoever said dead men tell no tales obviously never met Alex Craft.

After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking “L” word confession from Death himself, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge.

The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses, only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she’ll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end—her own.

Okay, so before I say anything, I'll admit that only recently have I begun to delve into these specifically sci-fi and fantasy genres. This was sent along by publicists who have sent me plenty of YA books that I've enjoyed so I decided to give this a try. Well despite the fact that this is undoubtedly a sequel, I actually quite enjoyed it. Granted, my enjoyment and overall understanding of the plot could have been improved by a ten-fold if I had actually read the first book. Nonetheless, this was an enjoyable read; Price has built up a complex world of human mortals, fae, and those in-between--and most importantly, how they all interact. I found most of it interesting and not overwhelming, most likely due to the fact that the story was captivating and thankfully not derailed by excessive detail of this alternate universe.

Alex is not your average girl, being able to raise the dead as shades and all, but her deeds from her past adventure about to catch up to her--and they just might reveal more about Alex herself than she is ready for. But she must forge ahead on the new murder case at hand, even as she has to tie up some loose ends, if she wishes to protect her friends--and herself--from danger. Of course having two handsome men, Death and a fae, Falin, coming onto her (possibly for more reasons than just physical attraction) just complicates things.

I liked the interactions between Alex and Death and Alex and Falin and the intricate story Price weaves was enough to keep me interested, even though I had not read the first novel. With that said, I would be very much interested in reading Grave Witch (the first Alex Craft novel) and the next book in the series whenever it comes out!

I am Number Four

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers y..I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Release Date: August 3, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 488

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next.

John Smith is Number Four, though he has gone by many names already. Constantly on the move to avoid being killed, John runs with his guardian, Henri, from town to town, never staying long. And now with Numbers 1-3 dead, John knows he's next...

I don't want to give anything away, but fans of science fiction and those interested in UFO's, alien encounters, alien abductions and other things of the like--this book is for you! The plot sounds like one of those alien theories; aliens live among us and many unexplained events in our history were actually their doing. I am not a big believer of those theories, however, I still enjoyed reading I am Number Four. The plot isn't original, but I think I enjoyed the book because it was a story the author spins based on those theories, instead of just descriptions of an alien theory.

I am Number Four's plot may be about extraordinary beings, but I found a lot of the plot rather ordinary. It seemed like formula stuff; John joins a new school, gets picked on by the star jock (who's ex girlfriend was a cheerleader), but manages to get the jock to stop bullying him and manages to get the girl. It wasn't really special and some of the characters seemed flat. I was rather disappointed that readers don't really get to know Sarah that well; John just comes along, falls for her, and neither John nor the readers get to know Sarah better, which might be the reason the chemistry didn't feel very strong between the two of them.

The author did manage to build up a bit of emotion though. You feel for the Loriens who lost their planet, despite how hard they fought, and it tugs a heartstring or two when you realize those who were old enough to remember Lorien (the Nine's guardians) have lost everything they've known and must survive on a foreign planet.

Overall, I think I enjoyed I am Number Four, mostly because (as I mentioned above) it's a story based on UFO theories instead of just being a UFO theory printed in some pamphlet next to a grainy photo. Not the most well written book and some of the supporting characters were lackluster, but I would still like to know what happens next when the sequel comes out!

However, I must say that I am actually very excited for the movie! It stars Alex Pettyfer! Alex was in 2 other movies based on books I loved (Alex Rider & Beastly--which I am really really excited for!) and I can't wait to see him portray John in I am Number Four!

Overall: 3.5 out of 5
Plot: 3.5 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Writing: 3 stars
Cover: 4 stars (I like how the finished version looks overall)

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

All across America, dead teenagers...aren't staying dead. They come back as "differently biotic" or "living impaired) (to be politically correct) beings, who are pale, less mobile, and less coordinated so they are taunted because of these traits, by the normally biotic people. This phenonoma only occurs in America, perhaps because of all the immunization and vaccinations that American teenagers have gotten when they were younger. These kids that come back for a second chance at life are hated and since there are no laws protecting these differently biotic, the more zealous of the angry lot have taken violet action against the differently biotic teens, often maiming or killing them, and when a differently biotic dies a second time, that's it, they're dead for good.

Phoebe, a goth girl, has her share of friends, but is definitely not one of the popular kids at school. She does not hate or love the living impared students that start attending her school but she and her friend Margi are haunted by guilt over one of the girls who have come back as a living impared. Most of Phoebe's classmates are less than happy when the living impared start attending their high school, and when one living impared teen joins the football team, the school is in an uproar.

Only Adam and a few others on the football team are more open to the idea of having a differently biotic teammate. The others, with the coach's support, try repeatedly to take out the differently biotic player--Tommy Williams. Much to Phoebe's surprise, she is growing closer to Tommy, and finds herself crushing on him. Those who learn of her crush are not pleased at all--no living person has ever been with a living impared person before. But as the crush becomes more and starts to entangle Phoebe in complex webs of hate and violence, Phoebe finds herself having to take a side. Can she somehow help these differently biotic teens be more accepted in society and help protect them? Or will she also fall prey to "zombie"-haters and their violence? Can she and Margi confront their past and their guilt to start anew with the girl that has become a living impared?

Phoebe joins the Differently Biotic Work Study Program in an attempt to help out, but doing so has earned her even more animosity from the zombie-haters, and her increasing interaction with the so-called 'zombies' is not increasing her social status either. But when Adam realizes that he loves Phoebe and tries to protect her and her new DB friends, more and more people are dragged into the deadly webs of hate and confusion, and the uneasy peace cannot last for long...

Where does Phoebe's heart lie? Where does Tommy's heart lie? Can the imminent confrontation be somehow stopped? Can rights for DB kids be won? Can Phoebe make a difference in this ever-changing society?

Generation Dead was an undoubtedly innovative story with some amazing characters! However, at some points it felt a bit slow and seemed to drag on before the pace picked up again. Generation Dead was an interesting read overall and really gives you some food for thought. Our society is rarely accepting of big changes and yes, there are some overly zealous people even today that think violence is the answer. This novel gave an interesting (& rather acurate, in my opinion) view on society today, and I really cannot imagine what it would be like if dead teens across America did come back to life, but I would hope that there would not be widespread violence and hatred.

9.350 (out of 10)