NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

A million souls exist in Range. Each year, these same souls are reborn into different bodies. Until the year Ana is born. No one knows Ana and she has never lived before. And her existence means someone has stopped existing: Ciana. The other souls resent Ana for taking the place of one of their friends, someone they’ve known for thousands of years, and they’re wary of Ana. Will she be reborn after this life? Is there any point in getting close to her without knowing for sure if she’ll remain a permanent fixture in their lives? Sam seems to think so, but in a world where every seems to hate her, Ana’s not sure she can trust Sam.

Incarnate is an incredibly interesting and unique idea. After reading it, I’m surprised reincarnation hasn’t been further explored. Meadows creates a fascinating world, but as fascinating as it is, I thought she could have taken it further. She raises so many questions throughout the novel and some of the big reveals feel kind of disappointing and rushed. Everything about Incarnate is so new and the entire world is especially new to Ana, making her a perfectly relatable protagonist. She’s insanely curious, which should be beneficial for the reader. But as Ana searches for answers she doesn’t find until the very end, the suspense and sense of mystery keep building and building, leading up to a huge revelation. While the revelation is unpredictable, I just expected more from it.

One thing I really appreciate about Incarnate is the way Meadows makes you question everything and everyone. Ana is a naturally distrustful character, for good reasons, so it takes a lot for her to open up to people. Sam and his friends work hard to really earn Ana’s and our trust. Then Meadows manages to sweep the carpet out from under all of us, making us doubt everything we learn about the characters. It’s so rare that I feel that unsure, that I have no idea where the plot is going, and I commend Meadows for being able to surprise me so much.

There’s a lot to like about Incarnate. Every aspect of the novel is refreshing. The world of Range, and specifically the city of Heart, is a breath of fresh air, with it’s new traditions, customs, and overall different way of life. The mystery surrounding sylph still plagues my mind and the small portion of science behind the reincarnation piques my curiosity. The story incorporates its own new religion and raises questions about faith and belief. Basically, its a book that really makes you think, even after you finish it. If you’re growing wearing of vampires, angels, and the typical paranormal romances, then don’t hesitate to pick up Incarnate, as it’ll offer something you probably haven’t seen before.

Pages: 384
Publication Date : January 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Challenge: Debut Author
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “I desperately wanted to be someone else for a while, and for no one to know who I was. What I was. Nosoul.”

“A ship heading for New Earth is halfway through its incredible journey across the galaxy. On board, sixteen-year-olds Waverly and Kieran are part of the first generation born in space.

They have never seen a stranger before…until the day they are wrenched apart and suddenly find themselves fighting for their lives.”

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Behind the beautiful cover, Glow is a thrilling story told in alternating perspective between Waverly Marshall and Kieran Alden. Their lives on board the Empyrean spaceship had always been peaceful, with their biggest concern being when they should get married…until they faced an unprecedented attack from their sister ship the New Horizon.

In amongst the chaos of the attack the girls are separated from the boys and whisked away to the New Horizon. With Waverly and Kieran apart they fight hard not just to stay alive but to find a way back to each other.

Before starting this book I’d heard many comparisons thrown around, everything from The Hunger Games to Across the Universe, and though I can see where there might be similarities, Glow does stand on its own.

I had fairly mixed feelings about Glow, by the end, I did really enjoy it, it definitely hooks you in once you become familiar with the setting and characters but the turn of events especially with how they affected some characters left me unsure as to how I felt about them.

I was surprised by how strongly religion is used in Glow and though at times it came across as quite preachy especially from characters like Anne Mather and Kieran, it’s contrasted by Waverly and other members of the Empyrean. It would’ve been better if there more characters in the middle rather than characters who were totally with the religion or totally against it because it tends to force the reader to pick a side as well.

During their time apart Waverly and Kieran each had dark and difficult experiences that have left lasting impressions, some more horrifying than others.  Each character proved their strength, both mentally and physically but by the end, I found Waverly to be more likeable than Kieran because his transformation into the ship’s more or less spiritual leader made him seem very different to the boy he was in the beginning and made you lose that initial connection with him.

Seth was another character I had a hard time connecting with just because it was hard to figure out if we’re meant to sympathize with him or not. The same goes with Anne Mather, I wanted to believe her reasoning for her choices but some of her actions made me unsure.

It was clear that Amy Kathleen Ryan wasn’t afraid to push her characters to their limit and it’ll be interesting to see those repercussions and how they’ll affect their relationships with one another in the next book.

For the sci-fi fans this book definitely gives an awesome insight into what living in space would be like. Perhaps not with as much detail as Across the Universe, but still covers things quite well.

Though I didn’t love it, Glow was definitely enjoyable and worth a read.

Pages: 307
Publication Date: October 2011
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Challenge: n/a
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “It was true, Kieran realized later that night, alone in the darkness, hungry and aching, and missing Waverly. He was very afraid.”

“Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. 

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.”

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Hypnotising. Intriguing. Poetic. Enchanting. Enthralling. Compelling. These are the words I’d use to describe Shatter Me.

I came into Shatter Me with high expectations. I’d heard awesome things about it, and frankly, it sounded really awesome. I wasn’t disappointed.

Shatter Me is about a girl called Juliette who has been locked in a mental institution for nearly a year due to her morbid ability to be lethal to anyone she touches. I should probably warn you that there’s romance twisted into it as well.

What can I say about Shatter Me? The writing is probably one of the most memorable and lyrical I have read this year. While it sometimes seems Mafi gets dragged away with metaphors and imagery, there is something chilling in the way it’s written. It really gets inside your head.

The plot itself is fast paced, and thrilling. It never bores you. Something is always there to tamper with your emotions and keep you reading to the next chapter.

All the characters speak clearly in this novel. As I said before, Juliette’s voice really gets to you. It’s completely poignant and relatable. I just got her straight away. Adam is possible one of the greatest love interests of all time, as is Warner who is easily one of the most awesome psychotic villains out there. I can’t wait to learn more about him and Kenji in the next books.

You cannot leave the story of Shatter Me without it affecting you, and is easily one of the highlights of this year’s debut novels. Chilling, electrifying, and incredibly unforgettable, it’ll leave you gasping for more.

Pages: 338
Publication Date: November 15^th 2011
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Challenge: n/a
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “Hope is hugging me, holding me in its arms, wiping away my tears and telling me that today and tomorrow and two days from now I will be just fine and I’m so delirious I actually dare to believe it.”