It’s been many years since I’ve read this book, and I still absolutely adore it and recommend it to anybody who wants some amazingly done ya dystopian! It’s a well-covered genre within the young adult age bracket, and yet this book manages to bring a fresh look to the genre and is incredibly engrossing and absorbing.
I read this when I was 17 (5 years ago now, oh god) and there are two reasons that I know this book was amazing.
- I was still obsessed and needing to read the rest in the series years later (I couldn’t afford to buy the next two straight away)
- I read this whole 400+ page book on my phone. I found ways to read it in class, on the bus, when I should’ve been revising for my exams. I was so into it!
This isn’t some mahoosive phone either guys, this is an iPhone 6. This book was so damn good. So obviously I’ve given this 5*s, but why?
First of all, the concept. Our main character Kyla has been “slated”, which means that she was caught doing something illegal and those under 16 have their minds wiped by the government and are placed with a sort of foster family in order to try and give them a second chance at life. Sounds great, sounds like a good solution. But her memories are gone, her personality erased, and she has no clue why.
Teri Terry has mixed dystopian and sci-fi together here to create an interesting and unique concept of a world that has drastically changed, for the worse, since the past but no one can quite see it with the technology and the government blinding them with lies and deceit.
Kyla is a relatable character and a typical teen. But more than that, she also has a great developmental arc and slowly, very slowly, starts to become her own person. Just here, it’s instead of one the government molded rather than our parents. When it comes to the rest of her foster family, you don’t know who to trust. Sides keep changing and the cards in play are never fully revealed. Her mum is the daughter of the assassinated previous Prime Minister, her dad seems to be on her side but there’s something he’s not saying, and her foster sister is a slated too. What did she do?
We also have Ben, beloved Ben. He’s the cause of the romance in this book, and Teri writes him in a way that would make almost anyone fall for him. You need their relationship to succeed. And yes, I know, I don’t like romances. But when they’re intertwined brilliantly with a story arc which is technically separate I just can’t help but fall in love with couples!
Some older readers might be put off by the “ya-ness” of this book, but I urge you to give it a go. I may have been within the age bracket when I read book #1, but I read the next 2 books when I was 21 and adored them both and definitely want to re-read them. Get the from the library, from a charity shop, just give this amazing author and amazing book series a go. You never know, it might surprise you.
Have you read the Slated trilogy? Or any of Teri Terry’s other books? I’ve yet to get around to her other writing but I’m very excited to! I adore it!
Abi of Pellinor 