Amy Tintera

Dark and unique take on what an epidemic might do to young people. After an illness wipes out much of the population, teens and younger kids start coming back after dying. They're renamed by numbers equivalent to the length of time in minutes they were dead. The higher the number, the more dangerous and emotionless they are. 178 is at the top in her cadre and is tasked with training 22, but he's still too 'human', an impairment to his training and leaving him too emotional. 178 is frustrated, then intrigued, but must decide whether to obey or rebel when told to eliminate him. Part dystopian, part thriller and part romance, all skillfully blended.… (mer)

Interesting premise but poorly executed. I really like the idea of having a fairly emotionless main character who grows throughout the story, but I don't think the author had the writing chops to pull it off. The writing is serviceable but not engaging; Wren's narration came off as dull and flat, and granted she is supposed to be detached from her feelings, but I couldn't help but think it could have been done much better. Wren had so much potential to be a really cool character but the author never managed to make her interesting enough.

I didn't particularly care for Callum's character either. He just seemed like a totally weak and useless person who never took anything seriously. His only saving grace was his humanity, but I don't think the author ever used it well-- he just came off as far too much of a bleeding heart at the expense of his common sense.

And I think that is the main problem with this book-- it's about a boy who shows an emotionless girl how to be in tune with her feelings, but nothing in this book rang emotionally true to me. I don't really see how Wren came to like Callum; it happened far too fast which made me very unconvinced by them as a couple. I can see why they might be good for each other, but I felt like the author skipped over the process of them falling for each other.

In any case, I couldn't help but think this book could have been great had a stronger writer tackled it, like Cynthia Hand (who writes incredibly relatable and emotionally true characters) or Julie Kagawa (you can bet Wren would be a total badass and the worldbuilding would be much better).
… (mer)