Author: Jennifer Rush
Series: Altered #1
Edition: Hardbound
Publication: January 1, 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 323
Source: Bought from National Book Store
Category: Romance, Dystopia, Sci-Fi
Synopsis:
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.
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This is one of my 2013's Most Anticipated Debut Novels and just like what I always feel for my books, the excitement I have for it is so much I can sometimes barely breathe. The cover and synopsis just make me so giddy and finally now, I can let go of the breath I've been holding for so long: I am done reading it. Whew.
Life in a lab has been routinary for Anna. But lately, she has been sneaking out to visit the boys, Sam, Cas, Nick and Trev, who have been undergoing alterations by the Branch. They are locked up and always on medication because according to Arthur, Anna's dad, they are being made into fine soldiers. Anna likes Sam and she trusts the boys. When Arthur's boss visits them and decides to shut down the entire experiment, the boys move and escape with Anna. The revelation of their past awaits and Anna isn't even prepared.
Altered for me is obviously a Sci-Fi. There's a hint of dystopian and a lot of ogling romance. I liked the whole concept of it but my questions cannot be ignored. It wasn't clearly explained how the memory wiping and alterations are done except for pills, for what purpose (I couldn't buy creating fine soldiers), what has Anna got to do with controlling the boys and if they can make her control them, why couldn't they create a simulation or something that would control them otherwise, If they wipe their memories, why are they having flashbacks, how long has the lab been creating soldiers like the boys, what really started it and so on and so forth. I got a ton of deeper questions but they would be too much of a spoiler so I will not include them. I also find the slow buildup a little annoying but I enjoyed the full blast action of it. No one was holding back and that added a really nice air to the whole Sci-Fi plot. The disappointment it left in me was huge, to be honest. Maybe I expected so much and failed again. There were just too many loop holes in the story and I am saddened that I couldn't give it more than two stars.
I also find the characters very vulnerable. Since there hasn't been any successful experiment in the past, the people who were administering the said experiment couldn't give concrete answers or explanation to any of the characters. Their adventure in finding out what Sam stole a long time ago boosted my confidence in it a little because that was very interesting. They could fight alright, but I just don't understand how one can survive gun shots in the chest. They links the boys have with each other wasn't also thoroughly explained and all I have were the pills they gave them. The romance was very predictable, too. I've been wishing that Sam would give Anna a hard time but no, it didn't happen. But I love Cas and Nick though most of the time he's being ridiculous and Trev, too. He's kind.
Altered is a very promising debut novel that I enjoyed reading. I may have too much questions that left me hanging but the thrilling adventure Rush enveloped in each character made it full of life! The action scenes were all very intimidating, shocking and electrifying! I am hoping there would be more in Erased!
"In all things it is better to hope than to despair."
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