When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?
Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.
Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.
Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.
***
Altered is set in a world where Anna thinks that everything is normal -- well, as normal as you can be when you are homeschooling and running tests on four boys with no memory of how they got to Anna's home base. And then one day shit hits the fan and Anna finds herself in grave danger of being held captive by a sort-of crazy organization. Worse, she discovers that she's also not a normal girl whose sole job is to run tests on the four boys. She's something more. Something crucial.
This book has got my attention right from the very first chapter. The whole idea of four boys who are genetically altered living just right below your house is just absurd and a little terrifying. And then there's the whole not-remembering-who-they-really-are thing, which makes the whole situation more mysterious, and a whole lot more interesting. When they have to set out to find the truth, it's a mind-blowing journey, and nothing short of amazing.
The plot is awesome, and the characters are strong too. Anna is a determined and strong girl. Not that I like her, because sometimes I just can't find a reason to like her (even though I haven't found a reason not to like her), she's definitely likable. Sam is wary and good at strategy. Always calculating his next move. I admire his skills (of course his skills are admirable. He's freaking genetically altered, for god's sake). But sometimes I despise that because he's always calculating and stuff. Just once can you be a tad bit softer? Trev was my favorite character. He's very smart and caring. I like him... until a certain something that makes me change my view towards him. And then there's Cas, who is the light one. Always try to live his life to the fullest, regardless of the situation. And then Nick... well, he's kind of a dick (okay, he's really a dick). But for some reason I just can't hate him. Even less so when I find out the reason behind his dickheadness. They are very different people, but they all have a very strong image to me.
A minor flaw about Altered is that the book is a little too short. Sure, the book has set the roots of the problems that will be raised in the following books, and it ends pretty well. But I think more can be evolved from the story. Like... I don't know, some more flashbacks from other characters, not just Sam? Well, flashbacks or not, I think more can be talked about in this book. I feel like I'm getting not enough from Altered.
So yeah, Altered is a very good YA novel. It's worth-reading and I think everyone should give it a try.
Rating: 8/10
This book has got my attention right from the very first chapter. The whole idea of four boys who are genetically altered living just right below your house is just absurd and a little terrifying. And then there's the whole not-remembering-who-they-really-are thing, which makes the whole situation more mysterious, and a whole lot more interesting. When they have to set out to find the truth, it's a mind-blowing journey, and nothing short of amazing.
The plot is awesome, and the characters are strong too. Anna is a determined and strong girl. Not that I like her, because sometimes I just can't find a reason to like her (even though I haven't found a reason not to like her), she's definitely likable. Sam is wary and good at strategy. Always calculating his next move. I admire his skills (of course his skills are admirable. He's freaking genetically altered, for god's sake). But sometimes I despise that because he's always calculating and stuff. Just once can you be a tad bit softer? Trev was my favorite character. He's very smart and caring. I like him... until a certain something that makes me change my view towards him. And then there's Cas, who is the light one. Always try to live his life to the fullest, regardless of the situation. And then Nick... well, he's kind of a dick (okay, he's really a dick). But for some reason I just can't hate him. Even less so when I find out the reason behind his dickheadness. They are very different people, but they all have a very strong image to me.
A minor flaw about Altered is that the book is a little too short. Sure, the book has set the roots of the problems that will be raised in the following books, and it ends pretty well. But I think more can be evolved from the story. Like... I don't know, some more flashbacks from other characters, not just Sam? Well, flashbacks or not, I think more can be talked about in this book. I feel like I'm getting not enough from Altered.
So yeah, Altered is a very good YA novel. It's worth-reading and I think everyone should give it a try.
Rating: 8/10
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