Teri Terry

(There are very minor spoilers in this review)

I've had this on my TBR list for a couple years- the premise sounded like an intriguing YA read. I read the whole book in about a day because of that fact; since I had finally checked "Slated" out of the library I figured I might as well just read it! And my thoughts? I think my the 3-star rating is accurate: "liked it". It was good. Nothing great, or even super creative, but I thought it was a decent YA dystopian novel.

The premise behind the events of the book are that teen terrorists can be "slated"; that is, have their mind wiped blank and then are taught EVERYTHING new, with no memory of who they used to be. These Slated teens are given a new name, taught how to walk, talk, read, and then after 6 months, they are given to a new family. But quite a few questions arose for me, and they were never answered. For instance, if being Slated only works for those under the age of 16, then what about the adult terrorists? In the time this book is set (about 2050, I believe) are there really THAT many 14-year-old terrorists? Also, Terry never really expounds on why the Rebel group in this book are so hell-bent against the Government and Slating. It just seems to be a cliche "Big Bad Govt vs Freedom Fighters" thing.
Don't get me wrong: in this day and age, I think a YA book that explores the topic of terrorism is a really good idea. In the second half of the book, Kyla's mother explains to her that in the 30s (that's the 2030's) the terrorism became so bad that people didn't leave their house, and the riots and chaos was off the charts. Honestly, that really hit home, because the exploration of "what happens to us next?" is an important one, and it was very interesting to see how Terry wrote about it. But I felt as if there were some loopholes in this plot.
I also think the pace of the book was too slow, especially the first half. Kyla barely learns anything until well until the second half of the book. The first part is a lot of running, nightmares, more running, cute-boy-plot, running, and more nightmares. It got a little tedious.

The characters themselves were pretty good (except Ben- he just got really annoying). I like how Kyla is slowly learning things about herself and the reader really gets to see some character development, even in minor ways. I was SUPER happy to see the relationship between Kyla and her mother progress! I thought it was going to be one of those "evil stepmom, dad is the nice guy" deals, but I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVED solid family relationships, and again, it was so so nice to see Kyla grow to love Amy and her mom.

I'm interested to read the next book in the series, but I hope the pace picks up and that Terry incorporates more details of the world and the events that led to people being Slated.
… (meer)

Predictable, melodramatic psychological thriller and family drama.

Saphy had a congenital heart defect made worse by a Covid infection. She’s given a second chance at life when her name came to the top of the transplant list — there was a match. The donor is a young woman who is was attacked and left in a coma until tests revealed she was brain dead. While the police try to work out who killed Flora, her organs are harvested and transplanted into several recipients.

Saphy is recovering from her surgery but feels compelled to find out whose heart she received. She becomes obsessed once she knows it is indeed from Flora, a very beautiful and popular young woman. She meets Flora’s family and Flora’s older sister, a doctor named Fern. Soon, Saphy is channeling Flora, wearing her clothes, getting her hair cut and colored, meeting Flora’s friends and wanting to be her. Flora’s family welcome her with open arms and support.

Told in alternating points of view between Saphy and Fern, the narrative shifts from the believable into the fantastic. Slow moving and banal, it takes forever for the suspense to build to the climax. Once the big reveals occur, the reader will not be surprised. The conclusion quickly ties up all the loose ends in typical fashion. I was disappointed.

I did not care for the main character, Saphy, at all and soon any positive feelings I had about anyone else in the story also vanished. The whole aspect of Saphy getting messages and feelings from Flora really got on my nerves. The narrator of the audio — well, the voice of Saphy was fine, however every single other character’s voice sounded so similar, if female, that often I could not be sure who was speaking. The attempts at the male voices were horrible. Surely it’s not that much trouble to have at least one female and one male narrator in production to try to fix this for listeners?

This was the first book I have read by this author and I doubt I will listen to another. I do thank NetGalley and Bookouture for granting access to the audiobook for me to review.… (meer)

I wish the concept behind this book had been revealed a little bit earlier on because it was such a fascinating premise but I think it could have been taken further than it was.
 
This book could almost be considered magical realism, but it's kind of iffy as to whether it leans to the fantasy side or not. I think I would have liked it to be a little more realistic after it all.
 
Quinn and Piper alternate their points of views and sometimes these transitions are abrupt. Having the narrator's name in the corner of the page is a stylistic choice that helps greatly, but I still found it hard to truly distinguish between their voices, partially because Piper evolved over the book and Quinn did not. Their quick changes does make the story move quickly, but it can be challenging at points to follow.
 
I wish there had been more imagery of the area Quinn was from--it takes an hour's hike to get up to where she lives and the first time they make this trek, it's a huge deal, but later it becomes casual. I felt like the moors had so much potential but while some scenes with dogs were well written I didn't get a true sense of the scenery.
 
This does have some interesting commentary on what good and evil are but I wasn't a fan of the way that it ultimately played out and with some scenes before. I found it hard to respect certain characters for their actions. The interplay between the two sides of the spectrum was intriguing though, especially as the backstories developed.
 
Slated was a whole league ahead of this book, but Terry's writing style still makes for a fast-flowing fantasy novel.
 
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)

This is one of the good ones, folks! I absolutely devoured this book.

I loved the premise. I loved that Kyla had no memories at the beginning. I love that she was entering a new world and rediscovering old schemas in her brain. I love that Terry included details such as her not knowing a knife was sharp because she had to learn. (I loved that Terry didn't drown the book with these details.)

The world in this book was wonderfully depicted as we were discovering it alongside Kyla. It was fascinating to see what other people were taking for granted and what she found to be slightly strange or creepy feeling inducing.

The politics in this book were also beautifully done and deathly possible. Set in a futuristic UK, this goes into enough depth to explain how the world came to be without being boring to those who don't enjoy politics.

The characters in this book were fantastically built. I loved Kyla's 'sister,' fellow Slated, Amy, who was a sweetheart but incredibly different to Kyla. I detested her 'dad.' I grew to grudgingly adore her mother. There were fascinating character at the hospital and at school and all over the place!

About halfway through this, I got up and went to check that my library had the second book available for kindle, because I had a feeling that if it didn't, I would be very angry. It did. Which is good, because I have a physical need to finish this series.

If you like dystopias, this is a must-read.… (meer)