Anomaly
Author: Krista McGee
Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopia
Release Date: July 9, 2013
Publisher: Thomas NelsonDescription:
Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.
Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels things. She asks questions. And in the State, this is not tolerated. The Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong—and they have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created. Thalli has kept her malformation secret from those who have monitored her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of music to record as her community’s assigned musician, she can no longer keep her emotions secreted away.
Seen as a threat to the harmony of her Pod, Thalli is taken to the Scientists for immediate annihilation. But before that can happen, Berk—her former Pod mate who is being groomed as a Scientist—steps in and persuades the Scientists to keep Thalli alive as a test subject.
The more time she spends in the Scientist’s Pod, the clearer it becomes that things are not as simple as she was programmed to believe. She hears stories of a Designer—stories that fill her mind with more questions: Who can she trust? What is this emotion called love? And what if she isn’t just an anomaly, but part of a greater design?
Anomaly is a young adult science fiction/dystopia novel that begins as Thalli is counting down her final moments before death. The reader is then taken back in time to hear Thalli's story of how her world came to be the way it is, how she first learned she was an anomaly, and how this discovery both set her free and condemned her.
This was a captivating and enthralling novel that had me sucked into the story after the first paragraph. The setting is a dystopian new world after the aboveground has been destroyed following the Nuclear War. The author put a lot of world building and detail into described the dystopian world that Thalli lives in and how it came to be this way. I found myself fascinated by the world she created for the novel and I loved learning as much about it as I could. The characters were very drone-like, as they are programmed to be, so Thalli's character really stood out among them. She's a smart and strong lead character with an interesting personality and outlook on life. She is technically deemed defective by the Scientists who govern the State, but the Thalli realizes that feeling emotions and thinking for herself are a much better alternative than the life they are programmed to live. The plot was mesmerizing and I found myself eagerly reading to see what would happen next in this creepy new world. The scary part of this setting was that I could actually envision it happening to our world now, if things continue down the wrong road. This realization made the story all the more powerful. The writing was seamless and had a quick pace, so I flew through the pages in one sitting. I literally couldn't put it down! The entire package - setting, characters, plot, and the deeper topics of individuality, love, faith, and self discovery - all made for a superb addition to the YA dystopian genre. Highly recommended for fans of science fiction and dystopian novels as well as those looking for a unique book with a beautiful message.
McGee broke into the writing world during her time in Spain. A friend encouraged her to submit an article to a Christian girls’ magazine, and it got published. Once her family moved back to Tampa, she got the idea for her first novel, First Date, a modern take of the story of Esther. Her subsequent books, Starring Me and Right Where I Belong, are based on Rebekah and Ruth.
When Krista McGee isn’t living in fictional worlds of her own creation, she spends her days as a wife, mom, teacher and coffee snob.
Learn more about Krista McGee and her books at kristamcgeebooks.com. Readers can also become a fan on Facebook (krista.a.mcgee) or follow her on Twitter (@KristaMcGeeYA).
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