Thursday, July 26, 2012

Glitch by Heather Anastasiu [ARC REVIEW]

Glitch (Glitch #1)
by Heather Anastasiu
Summary from Goodreads:

"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.
"

Rating:

That cover just screams: READ ME! So yes, dear Glitch cover, I accept.  

People please meet Zoe, a girl who lives in the underground city, the Community, where every individual is implanted with a computer chip that wipes out any destructive human emotion. Each person is connected to the Link where every thought is manipulated and controlled. Of course, every controlled environment has its flaws, and Zoe is one of them. She is a Glitcher, someone who has a chip that breaks from the Link. A malfunction that occurs from time to time, giving leeway for her to act on her own, and feel her own thoughts and emotions. Her Glitch also enabled her to develop Telekinetic powers which she has yet to learn to control. Struck with fear of getting caught and being disposed, she hides her Glitch only to find that she is not alone, Adrien and Max come into picture and things get a lot more complicated...


I wasn’t really expecting much from Glitch. With all the dystopian novels getting so much hype, the plot isn’t really that new, but the Sci-fi feel to it as an added feature makes it more interesting. The underground world built about was something new though, and it makes the idea of “government over-control” a more convincing aspect. How else can you have power over an entire city [in an oppressive and inhuman way] if you don’t contain the people, right? Compared to the world above, people won’t have much room to run off to. I totally get it.

Zoe, our heroine, is a typical person. She didn’t really stand out to me at the beginning. She wasn’t thoroughly described physically, then again coming from a world where nobody really stands out; there wasn’t much to be described. Anyway, what I like about her is her strong wiliness; she was capable of thinking of the right choice even despite the fact that she only started deciding for herself [without a feed from the Link] for a short span of time.

As you might’ve noticed from the synopsis, there is a love triangle going on in this book, which if you ask me, feels a little unnecessary. I’m fine with Zoe and Adrien’s relationship (even though it’s another one of those insta-love moments); they seem to fit each other nicely. So having Maximin, aka the Pervert, trying to get IN (pun intended) on Zoe was probably just another piece to add more spice to the story. And may I just say that I had a serious WTF reaction when Max told Zoe, “Can I see your genitalia?”... *silence*...*cricket sounds*... awkward!  

Anyway, overall this book was pretty good. I’m a little confused sometimes but nothing that doesn’t get cleared out in the end. I’ll be looking forward to the next book.

*Thank you, St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the copy of Glitch.