External Forces by Deborah Rix
Format: Paperback/ e-book
Pub. Date: September 13th, 2013
Summary:
It’s 100 years since the Genetic Integrity Act was passed and America closed its borders to prevent genetic contamination. Now only the enemy, dysgenic Deviants, remain beyond the heavily guarded border. The Department of Evolution carefully guides the creation of each generation and deviations from the divine plan are not permitted.
When 16-year-old Jess begins to show signs of deviance she enlists in the Special Forces, with her best friend Jay, in a desperate bid to evade detection by the Devotees. Jess is good with data, not so good with a knife. So when the handsome and secretive Sergeant Matt Anderson selects her for his Black Ops squad, Jess is determined to figure out why.
As her deviance continues to change her, Jess is forced to decide who to trust with her deadly secret. Jess needs to know what’s really out there, in the Deviant wasteland over the border, if she has any hope of making it to her 17th birthday. Because if the enemy doesn’t kill her first, the Department of Evolution probably will.
My rating: 4 out of 5 Deviants!
My recommendation: Anyone who likes dystopian, sci-fi books.
My review:
My copy was provided by Netgalley.
Jess has been different than everyone all her life, but this difference could get her killed. She must hide her difference before she's found out, but with the DNA tests that can find the difference, hiding in plain sight isn't very easy. So when Jess decides to join the army, she finds a way to avoid the test. But her Deviance can't stay hidden for long. Her Deviance is dangerous. It could get herself and others killed. When she's chosen for the Special Forces and must fight her feelings for Matt, Jess finds it's impossible to hide who she is.
I loved the characters in this book! I especially loved Sheree who was a beautiful girl who didn't care about her beauty. She was a gun-toting girl who was the best shooter in the Special Forces. She was strong, stubborn, and didn't take crap from anyone.
I also loved the action in this book. It was nonstop! I was dragged in right from the beginning and I couldn't stop. I loved the world building in the book and how it all made sense. While the book did have to explain some things, the explanations weren't long and boring. It was actually interesting to know how the world Jess lived in came to be.
Jess had to grow mentally to survive the Special Forces. She had to face her fears and conquer her feelings. She was strong and even when she wanted to give up, when she wanted to reveal herself, she stamped down on these feelings and continued on. Jess cared about others and didn't want them to suffer. She tried to hide her kindness by saying it was for herself, but she genuinely cared for others and I loved her relationships with all her friends.
The romance between Jess and Matt was slow, but definitely hot. The feelings between them was just simmering on the surface, just waiting to burst out. I liked how they confronted each other about their feelings and their doubts without keeping secrets that could destroy what they feel about each other.
At times this book confused me a bit, but I'm sure it would all be cleared up in the future. Like the mark Jess had. I mean, nobody ever saw it? Didn't anyone ever get suspicious about her? Some questions were left unanswered and I hope they're solved in the next book.
The only thing I didn't like about this book was how some scenes seemed very alike to Divergent. I mean, they both are different, either Deviant or Divergent. The knife throwing scene was very similar and even the romance was the same. I kept thinking throughout the whole book how the two books were so similar. But External Forces played off its world building rather well and I enjoyed it.
This book was entertaining and I can't wait for the sequel!
No comments:
Post a Comment