Here's what I liked: I love the idea of empaths. Basically, in Waggoner's world, an empath is a person who works in the hospitals and feeds people different memories/emotions/scenarios in order to help the healing process. That's so freaking cool! Empaths have strong minds and read people's emotions, and I really wonder why this isn't a character type we see more in YA fiction. Ergo, that's a good base for a strong character (though that's not exactly what happened). I also really liked the idea of an alien invasion that wasn't destructive. The aliens (might I add that our love interest in an alien, because he so totally is), come to earth to learn about our cultures, literature, and art forms and I really appreciate seeing peaceful aliens for a change. Lastly, there were two scenes that really stood out for me. The first was a scene where our leading couple goes to the theater and sees a play that's done without gravity, then they get to partake in the anti-gravity fun. I really liked that scene because it was the biggest futuristic scene in the book; it's exactly what I expected from a futuristic story. The other scene was when Zee (our protagonist) was helping an Olympic swimmer give birth. The reason I loved this scene so much was because it really showed what Zee was capable of doing as an empath and the way she had control over her abilities.
And here's what I didn't like: The story itself was very over dramatic and maybe that's because it was so focused on the love story, that the rest of it didn't even matter. Now, I'm all about a good love story, but I couldn't get into this one. It seemed very shallow to me. I felt like there wasn't even development between the couple. It was simply: girl meets boy, they fall in love immediately (and really, they don't really even know each other), girl loses boy, drama ensues (lots and lots of useless drama), then boy makes a confession at the very end that caused me to laugh and not in a good way... There was a lot of other stuff going on in the story, and I really wish those other conflicts and events were the focus. There are anarchist attacks going on, I'd like to hear about that instead of a middle school feeling love story! It really seemed like it was going to take an exciting turn about 75% into the book, but that ended up being pushed aside for the romance aspect. Ugh. Sorry, I feel like I'm on a rant, but I promise I'll stop after this next point. In any writing class you'll ever take, your professor will say the words "show, don't tell". These are important words! I don't want to hear a summary about an important conversation, I want to see the characters getting mad, having emotions, and all that jazz. There was A LOT of summary and maybe that was the reason I didn't like this book. Rant over.
So those are my thoughts. All I wanted was a cool sci-fi book with romantic undertones and now I'm sad. Yes, there's a sequel in the future, but its very unlikely that I'll pick it up. Now, you guys might have a completely different opinion than I do, and that's totally okay. I'm never going to tell you guys not to read a book. But if you do read it, I'd love to hear what you think!
Sorry this post got a little rant-y, it happens. But, on the happier side, I'm doing a giveaway on Tumblr for my followers so make sure to check it out (http://books-anovelidea.tumblr.com/)! Until next week!
-Annie
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