Type is a dystopian story that takes place in a world only a couple generations in the future. I liked this twist, because it seems like most dystopian stories feel like they could be on a different planet. The contexts they take place in are often so different from our own that it's hard to imagine that such things could be possible. Type's world, on the other hand, feels a bit more realistic and closer to our own.
In Type, our world has developed in such a way that one's MBTI type determines everything: the school one goes to, the career path one follows, even the person one marries. The narrator, Sophie, is a twelve-year-old girl whose father is one of the head psychologists and plays a huge role in how type-related programs work. At first, it appears that this is being done in order to help people fully develop their strengths and to realize their potentials. Over the course of the book, however, we slowly realize that things are darker than they seem.
Personally, I took issue with Sophie. As a character, and a narrator, I thought she was pretty weak. She was extremely naive and couldn't pick up on the subtlest of clues. I tried to tell myself that it was in order to help the reader learn more and/or because she was supposed to be a kid. But when it got so bad that the other characters were constantly pointing out her naivety, it was just plain annoying.

A lot of the plot seemed sort of random to me and the fact that she seemed to magically escape from every bad situation seemed too good to be true. Bad things happened to other people as a result of her actions, but not many bad things seemed to happen to her. Whenever she needed to be rescued, there was someone there to rescue her. It started to take the excitement out of the story. I also didn't sympathize with most of the characters. There are some deaths, but I didn't feel shocked or moved by either of them and that made them feel sort of pointless to me.

I thought the concept was fairly interesting, but the execution fell flat for me. I'd give it 2/5 stars. It wasn't horrible, but I wouldn't really recommend it to others. ( )

This young-adult dystopian novel has an intriguing premise: children are slotted into schools and careers based on their Myers Briggs type indicator. The world developed by Hendley has many similarities with that of Veronica Roth’s popular Divergent series, but it is more plausible as it has its basis in real-life academic theories and does not rely on futuristic science-fiction elements.

There are weaknesses in the novel, particularly in the characters. The main character’s thoughts and actions seem to be that of a child much older than 12. Almost all the other characters are one-dimensional, some seeming to be caricatures of their personality types. Parts of the plot were predictable, and the weak resolution at the end was disappointing but no doubt was done that way to set up a sequel. Despite these problems, I did find the novel an enjoyable and suspenseful read. ( )

What an amazing novel. Alicia Hendley is an awesome writer. I was hooked from the beginning and didn’t want to put this book down until I finished, I believe this story will stay with me for a long time to come. I received this book from Library Thing to read and review. ( )

I was thoroughly engaged throughout this book, as I love a good dystopian story. I thought the characters were well developed and believable and enjoyed the interaction between them. As some of the other reviewers have mentioned, the abrupt ending took a lot away from the story for me. It appears to be set up for a sequel, which I will gladly pick up and read, but I would have liked to see about 50 more pages or so to more adequately wrap up this storyline.

All that being said, the premise of using the Meyers-Briggs test as the means of reorganizing society made this story come a little bit more to life for me. This is something that most of us are at least a little bit familiar with and was a fascinating alternative to the "end of the world and rebuilding of society" scenarios that proliferate the dystopian society genre. If you enjoyed the Matched trilogy by Allie Condie or the Delerium series by Lauren Oliver, you'll definitely dig this book. ( )

This was a very creative and entertaining book. I suspect that the notion that society could be improved by using type to enforce structure, education, and social control has occurred to more than one MBTI proponent. History has shown (as the book points out) that what starts as a good idea can mutate quickly and horribly. This is a great lesson, told simply here for YA readers.

The target audience seems to be a fairly young audience. However there are some strong themes and tough moments. A young adult reading this book may want some adult guidance, particularly if they have not learned the history of the Nazi sponsored holocaust. Having said that, there is enough here to hold the attention of older readers who will no doubt anxiously await the next installment in this series.