Glitch by Heather Anastasiu

Book:  Glitch

Author:  Heather Anastasiu

Date:  August 7, 2012

Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  A-

In the Community, there is no more pain or war. Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean of destructive emotions, and thoughts are replaced by a feed from the Link network.

When Zoe starts to malfunction (or “glitch”), she suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings, and identity. Any anomalies must be immediately reported and repaired, but Zoe has a secret so dark it will mean certain deactivation if she is caught: her glitches have given her uncontrollable telekinetic powers.

As Zoe struggles to control her abilities and stay hidden, she meets other glitchers including Max, who can disguise his appearance, and Adrien, who has visions of the future. Both boys introduce Zoe to feelings that are entirely new. Together, this growing band of glitchers must find a way to free themselves from the controlling hands of the Community before they’re caught and deactivated, or worse.

In this action-packed debut, Glitch begins an exciting new young adult trilogy. (cover and description from goodreads.com)

MY REVIEW

Initial reaction

I wonder if Neo will be waiting for them on the other side…….

Title and cover

It was ok.  It wasn’t terrible but it didn’t get me overly excited.  It fits the story and the colors are nice.  ::shrugs::

The plot, characters, etc.

Ok, I’m going to go ahead and admit it.  I’m kind of getting tired of dystopians.  I mean, it’s a love/hate relationship for me.  I really do love them, but they are starting to saturate the market.  And unlike paranormal, where you can have vamps, witches, weres, zombies, faeries and a whole host of other creatures, there are only so many ways to re-work Big Brother.

This book doesn’t really re-work it either.  There is still the Giant Evil government in place that is suppressing people in the name of helping them.  But this one really did remind me somewhat of the Matrix.  The computer chip that is implanted in everyone causes them to just sort of accept things and feel no emotion.  And the people who are glitching start to feel things.  So it was an interesting premise.  But what made this book stand out for me was the way the author worked the story so that you never knew who to trust.  That’s what made this story interesting.

There was a love triangle, another horribly overdone premise in YA, but because of the trust factor, I never really knew who to pull for and who Zoe should believe.  It was thrilling and made every exchange feel dangerous because I never knew who was lying and who was telling the truth.  So the reveal was thrilling and a total surprise because again, the author twisted it in a way that I didn’t see coming.  That simple change alone is what moved this book way, way up in my rating.  Even though there really isn’t anything new, there is a whole new way to present the plot and that made a book that could have been average turn into something much, much better.

So basically, this is just another dystopian but because Heather Anastasiu is so skilled at creating plot twists and turns, this book moved from pretty good to really awesome.

Songs

Well, the most obvious choice for me was this one…..

Pink Floyd:  Comfortably Numb

Evanescence:  Bring Me to Life

And of course, isn’t there a perfect Jack Johnson for everything?  This song seems perfect to me for this book.

Jack Johnson:  All at Once

The Final Score

So, my final grade for this one is A-.  The story really kept me guessing and kept me sitting on the edge of my seat, even in a genre that is becoming a little tired and overdone. 

Thanks to St. Martin’s and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.  I received no compensation for my honest review, not even a computer chip to keep my kids from driving me crazy.  Darn.