The Recently Read posts will tend to be books I have enjoyed. For a full roundup of books I have read and their reviews you can find me on Goodreads Here.
Acid by Emma Pass
The year is 2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID—the most brutal controlling police force in history—rule supreme. No throwaway comment or whispered dissent goes unnoticed—or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a horrendous crime she struggles to remember. But Jenna’s violent prison time has taught her how to survive by any means necessary.
When a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed, and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID, and try to uncover the truth about what really happened on that terrible night two years ago. They have taken her life, her freedom, and her true memories away from her. How can she reclaim anything when she doesn’t know who to trust?
My Thoughts:
I’m generally not a big fan of futuristic or apocalyptic novels as they just seem a bit too dark for me – says the girl who mostly reads about murder and bloodshed! But I have been following Emma for a long time on Twitter, in fact since before she got her book deal and I have also fairly recently started a love affair with YA fiction, so I thought I would check Acid out. And I can say, I’m glad I did.
It’s set 100 years in the future and we find Jenna in prison and a very hard nut of a girl. It all seems very bleak, but she’s not in there long before she’s broken out and her life changes. She doesn’t understand why and neither do we as the reader because it’s told in first person present tense narrative so we only ever know what Jenna knows. There’s no flipping between viewpoints to fill us in at any point, we really are sitting with Jenna the whole way. And it’s a roller-coaster ride for her because life is difficult 100 years from now and for a girl trying to stay out of the authorities way after the prison break she has to make some rapid decisions that land her in some difficult predicaments.
I thought it was well drawn and I could easily see the image of the future that Pass wanted us in. Some of the political areas of how the country changes were scary in the way that you could maybe see small aspects of how changes like that could occur.
It’s a fairly long book for a YA and at times I thought the adventure was going on a little too long and became a little confusing from Jenna’s point of view, but I still wanted to see where it ended so kept reading.
It’s a book that keeps you on your toes and turning the pages. I liked the world building and the characters Pass had created. I enjoyed them and stayed with the novel because of that. The denouement was suitably dramatic and had me glued to my sofa when I should have been doing other things. I refused to move until I’d finished the book.
If you’re happy to contain your disbelief and enjoy a romp in a futuristic YA world then you’ll enjoy this book.
writenote1 says
Probably not something I would read, but enjoyed your review.
Rebecca Bradley says
Thank you. I’m trying to widen my reading horizons and I’m quite enjoying the experience. I know I won’t read half the types of books out there either, but it’s fun trying to.
Alex J. Cavanaugh says
Not a fan of either dystopian or young adult, but that was cool you tried something new.
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks Alex. I’m quite enjoying trying things I wouldn’t normally read. It’s surprising me.
Margot Kinberg says
Rebecca – I’m not much of a one for dystopia, but I am an admirer of anyone who creates books that young people want to read. So I give credit for that. And I really respect your decision to try something new, even something you weren’t sure you’d like.
Rebecca Bradley says
Thanks Margot. I hope to continue to try books I might not like rather than sticking with the tried and tested ones. I hope it will make my reader brain happy and help the writer brain in me. 🙂
Emalie says
I’m not a big fan of dystopian, but I really like the cover. I thinks it’s really cool.
Rebecca Bradley says
It’s a great cover isn’t it?! And it does really suit the book.
Jacqui Murray says
I love strong women characters. I love strong heroic characters in general. This sounds good.
Rebecca Bradley says
She is definitely a strong character Jacqui. I don’t know if you read YA or Futuristic books, but It was an interesting read. I know you do have an eclectic reading range which is what I’m trying to do myself now.
tesfagiorgisfamily.com says
What’s up colleagues, its impressive piece of writing
regarding cultureand completely explained, keep it up all the time.