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Acid by Emma Pass
May. 21st, 2014 03:52 amThe Blurb On The Back:
ACID – the most brutal police force in history.
They rule with an iron fist.
They see everything. They know everything.
They locked me away for life.
My crime?
They say I murdered my parents.
I was fifteen years old.
My name is Jenna Strong.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Emma Pass’s YA dystopian novel is a so-so affair that takes the elements common to the genre (a kick-ass female main character, obligatory romance and brutal, totalitarian regime) but doesn’t really do anything new with them. It’s very much a book about identity and Jenna has three of them in the course of this book, which actually made it difficult for me to empathise with her. This is compounded by her actions in the final quarter of the book, which are supposed to be noble but are actually driven by selfishness and stupidity. I also found the romance unconvincing, mainly because Max is underdeveloped and he and Jenna don’t really have any conversations to justify the relationship. There are some interesting ideas in the book – I particularly liked the creepy Jacob and his group of anarchists but the plot line is over too quickly without really exploring the implications. Ultimately it’s an okay read and I kept turning the pages but while there’s potential for a sequel here, I wouldn’t rush to read it (although I would read Pass’s other work).
They rule with an iron fist.
They see everything. They know everything.
They locked me away for life.
My crime?
They say I murdered my parents.
I was fifteen years old.
My name is Jenna Strong.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Emma Pass’s YA dystopian novel is a so-so affair that takes the elements common to the genre (a kick-ass female main character, obligatory romance and brutal, totalitarian regime) but doesn’t really do anything new with them. It’s very much a book about identity and Jenna has three of them in the course of this book, which actually made it difficult for me to empathise with her. This is compounded by her actions in the final quarter of the book, which are supposed to be noble but are actually driven by selfishness and stupidity. I also found the romance unconvincing, mainly because Max is underdeveloped and he and Jenna don’t really have any conversations to justify the relationship. There are some interesting ideas in the book – I particularly liked the creepy Jacob and his group of anarchists but the plot line is over too quickly without really exploring the implications. Ultimately it’s an okay read and I kept turning the pages but while there’s potential for a sequel here, I wouldn’t rush to read it (although I would read Pass’s other work).
