5 out of 5 This has been the book of the week this week, and it doesn't do it justice. I have just recently reviewed Miss Shirvington's earlier book; 'Between the Lives' and I am running out of praises to throw her way. This book was an absolute masterpiece, and surpassed all my previous assumptions; the blurb left a lot to the imagination and I was really worried how Shirvington was going to convey such a strange concept; she did it flawlessly. At first it reminded me a bit of 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth, to be honest it could rival it. The second book in this series; 'Corruption' just came out and I have already reserved a copy to pick up after school tomorrow. This novel completely encompassed the ideas of so many genres I was extremely surprised that Jessica isn't bigger in the YA world; with 2 novels I already love, I know she'll be very big, very soon. I am worried to summarise this plot because I am afraid I won't do it justice; but here goes nothing. |
Sounds cool huh ? Well from Maggie's perspective, you'd think she was wearing a ball and chain, the one downside to M-Bands are getting negative results. These normally just symbolize a bad potential relationship, but multiple can reflect a potential imbalance within the owner and they are registered as potentially 'dangerous'. People usually turn their Phera-Tech off after committing to a relationship, not wanting anymore rating after committing to one. However each citizen has to register 4 readings a month. If someone registers 4 negative readings a month, they are labelled 'negs' - not a good thing, this signals to the 'government' or M-Corp - not a good thing.
Maggie has spent the past 2 years trying to get into M-Corp and uncover the secrets they hold - negs are supposed to be rehabilitated and released back into society - but they never come back, including her father. She wants her father back and does everything to do it. She uses the heir of M-Corp, Quentin Mercer to get there, tricking him into thinking he's a neg, and promising him a cure in exchange for his accessibility. As their plan begins to flourish, feelings between the heir and the impoverished girl begin to grow and Maggie begins to question what she did to Quentin as her guilt grows - in an explosive ending so many ideals are flipped on their head.
This book has me speechless - I cannot comprehend it in any words, it wouldn't do it justice. It had a perfect amount of semi-dystopian themes, romance, kick-ass action and whitty comebacks I couldn't put the book down. + Plus it has a pretty cover :). It was an absolutely fantastic read that I cannot recommend any higher, and probably is my favourite read of the year.
(THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING - IVE READ LIKE 300 THIS YEAR) !!!!!!
I loved the wordbuilding and the simplicity with which Miss Shirvington managed to convey such confusing elements, to which I now feel like an academic on M-Corp :) It was such a fantastic book that explored ideas of self-preservation, family, first love, and personal change. All the characters were so vastly different from Quentin's father Garret, to Maggie's brother Sam, they all had their different and unique personalities and small sub-plot that it made the story that much more enjoyable to see how all the journeys linked and crossed, instead of just a main plotline that was predictable.
Honestly the best book I've read all year, and could not recommend it more, you will not regret it.
Well done Miss Shirvington,
Well done :)
Hayley xx