Welcome to my stop! I took me reading this to figure out what the cover was conveying, the black butterfly, the ocean, the glow, and like she is breathing. Totally vague, I know. ;) Check out the book, my review, and enter the giveaway below...
Anomalies
(Anomalies #1)
by Sadie Turner & Colette Freedman
by Sadie Turner & Colette Freedman
YA Dystopian, SciFi
Hardcover & ebook, 336 Pages
February 9th 2016 by Select Books (NY)
Summary
In the future there is no disease. There is no war. There is no discontent. All citizens are complacent members of the Global Governance. But one summer is about to change everything.
Keeva Tee just turned fifteen. All of her dreams are about to come true. She’s about to make the trip to Monarch Camp to be imprinted with her intended life partner. One day they’ll have perfect kids and a perfect life. But in her happy, carefree life in the Ocean Community, something weighs on her mind. She hears whispers about “anomalies”—citizens who can’t be imprinted. No one knows what happens to them, but they never seem to come back.
When Keeva arrives at Monarch Camp, her worst nightmare becomes a reality—she is an anomaly. After they are imprinted, the people she loves begin to change, and she starts to doubt everything she’s ever believed. What if freedom and individuality have been sacrificed for security? And what if the man who solves all the problems is the very man who’s created them—and what if he isn't a man at all?
When Keeva finds a warning carved under a bunk bed she begins to understand: Nonconformity will be punished, dissent is not an option, insurgents will be destroyed.
Also from Select Books.
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Praise for the Book
Turner and Freedman masterfully create a futuristic world where
lives are carefully planned out. Individuals are paired at the age of five with
their intended. Then at 15, they are reunited, given careers, and sent out to
an assigned community. On the surface there appears to be no war, disease, or
famine. Beneath the carefree civility lie secrets that the ruling Global
Governance will kill to keep. Unknowingly caught up in a covert war,
15-year-old Keeva goes to Monarch Camp expecting to be imprinted with her life
partner. When she arrives, she finds that her intended has died and Keeva is
now an anomaly: a citizen who has no partner. Without the imprinting process to
control her, Keeva more openly questions a society that she has always found
sophistic. Who took her baby sister all those years ago? What does the
Governance want with the anomalies? When will the resistance strike, and how
does she fit into the plan? As Keeva uncovers answers, she has to discover who
she truly is before more lives are lost and nightmares become reality. A lively
story with plenty of appeal for reluctant readers, this work ends in an abrupt,
unresolved conclusion. There is no doubt that a sequel is on its way. VERDICT A general purchase for libraries where Ally
Condie’s “Matched” (Dutton) or Veronica Roth’s “Divergent” series
(HarperCollins) are popular.–Claire Covington, Broadway High School, VA
“This book makes spirituality exciting and vibrant. I predict it
will be so successful that we’ll all have to learn how to pronounce 'anomaly'
correctly."—Russell Brand, comedian, author, actor
"Anomalies leaves you thinking about human nature and what
makes us who we are. Bravo."—Jason Segel, actor, author, producer
"[Anomalies is] a fast-paced story which champions
individuality and truth. Keeva is a compelling heroine who is relatable and
strong."—Pamela Anderson, actor, author, producer, activist
"A compelling read which confirms we must fight for what
makes us each special and unique."—Randy Jackson, music producer, American
Idol host
"We get to see this unusual futuristic world through Keeva's
smart and unapologetic eyes. A whirlwind adventure with deep meaning,
[Anomalies features] smart writing, engaging characters, and a plot which
leaves you hanging onto every word."—Max Beesley, actor, musician
My Review
ANOMALIES was a unique Dystopian about a girl and her journey to open her eyes to who she really is and the actual world around her, not the world it appears to be. The characters were likable, the scifi elements intriguing and somewhat creepy, and the story unique enough and filled with enough twists to keep things interesting. Overall an enjoyable read.
There were things that I liked and didn't like about the story. I'm going to hash the likes out first:
- I loved how the story pulled me in from the beginning. It was both mysterious and also made me immediately empathize with the heroine.
- The story was easy to follow and I liked the twists and how some things are explained to the reader as the main character learns them.
- I really liked the characters. I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen to them and who could be trusted, but that played well for this story.
- I liked that there were some mysteries and enough twists to keep me engaged in the story.
- I liked that I hadn't read a Dystopian story quite like this before and the mix of that and the scifi elements.
- I liked that the ending of this first book wasn't a huge cliff-hanger, but it was enough of a climax that it will lead in nicely to book two.
Now for what I wanted more of or didn't like:
- There was a little too much info-dumping for my taste. I like experiencing things more as the character does or having something explained once. Here there were some things over-explained, explained twice, or not explained at all, which leads to...
- I've never been a huge fan of characters who play important roles never knowing who they are or that they're important. It just makes sense to me that they would be prepared for what is to come, not the opposite. I got the need for this up until Keeva gets back from camp, but then I'm at a loss why her father doesn't enlighten her at that point. Then it goes on when no one will tell her anything later on or really prep her. It just kind of frustrates me.
- There were a few other things that didn't quite work for me or feel consistent, or emotions some of the characters experienced that didn't feel true to me.
- Some things were blatantly obvious to me, but the character was completely clueless about.
Overall, as I said above, this was an enjoyable read. It worked for me in many ways and not in others. What kept me going was the interesting and unique elements and that I liked the heroine overall.
Content: Some violence, innuendo, reference to a gay relationship.
Source: Received a complimentary copy from a tour host for the purposes of a virtual tour, which did not affect my review in any way.
There were things that I liked and didn't like about the story. I'm going to hash the likes out first:
- I loved how the story pulled me in from the beginning. It was both mysterious and also made me immediately empathize with the heroine.
- The story was easy to follow and I liked the twists and how some things are explained to the reader as the main character learns them.
- I really liked the characters. I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen to them and who could be trusted, but that played well for this story.
- I liked that there were some mysteries and enough twists to keep me engaged in the story.
- I liked that I hadn't read a Dystopian story quite like this before and the mix of that and the scifi elements.
- I liked that the ending of this first book wasn't a huge cliff-hanger, but it was enough of a climax that it will lead in nicely to book two.
Now for what I wanted more of or didn't like:
- There was a little too much info-dumping for my taste. I like experiencing things more as the character does or having something explained once. Here there were some things over-explained, explained twice, or not explained at all, which leads to...
- I've never been a huge fan of characters who play important roles never knowing who they are or that they're important. It just makes sense to me that they would be prepared for what is to come, not the opposite. I got the need for this up until Keeva gets back from camp, but then I'm at a loss why her father doesn't enlighten her at that point. Then it goes on when no one will tell her anything later on or really prep her. It just kind of frustrates me.
- There were a few other things that didn't quite work for me or feel consistent, or emotions some of the characters experienced that didn't feel true to me.
- Some things were blatantly obvious to me, but the character was completely clueless about.
Overall, as I said above, this was an enjoyable read. It worked for me in many ways and not in others. What kept me going was the interesting and unique elements and that I liked the heroine overall.
Content: Some violence, innuendo, reference to a gay relationship.
Source: Received a complimentary copy from a tour host for the purposes of a virtual tour, which did not affect my review in any way.
About the Authors
SADIE TURNER is a Los Angeles-based producer and writer originally from Brighton, England, who works in business development with several Hollywood entrepreneurs. She has various projects in development, and also teaches yoga.
COLETTE FREEDMAN is an internationally produced playwright, screenwriter, and novelist who was recently named one of the Dramatist Guild’s “50 to Watch”. Her play Sister Cities (NYTE, 2009) was the hit of the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe and earned five star reviews: It has been produced around the country and internationally, including Paris (Une Ville, Une Soeur) and Rome (Le Quattro Sorelle). She has authored fifteen produced plays including Serial Killer Barbie (Brooklyn Publishers, 2004), First to the Egg (Grand prize shorts urban shorts festival), Bridesmaid # 3 (Louisville finalist 2008), and Ellipses… (Dezart Festival winner 2010), as well as a modern adaptation of Iphigenia in Aulis written in iambic pentameter. She was commissioned to write a modern adaptation of Uncle Vanya which is in preproduction and has co-written, with International bestselling novelist Jackie Collins, the play Jackie Collins Hollywood Lies, which is gearing up for National Tour. In collaboration with The New York Times best selling author Michael Scott, she has just sold the thriller The Thirteen Hallows, to Tor/Macmillan, which comes out Dec 6, 2011. She has just sold the novel The Affair to Kensington and is getting ready to shop her YA series The A+ Girls.
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