Twinmaker Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Twinmaker official blog tour! Today I have my review of the book to share with you and don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of the post to enter the tour wide giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the tour banner!

Twinmaker (Twinmaker #1)

Author: Sean Williams

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopia

Release Date: November 5, 2013

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Description:

High-stakes action combines with issues of friendship and body image in this timely and thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of technology and identity.

You can be Improved....

In a near-future world in which technology can transport you anywhere instantly, can a coded note enable you to change your body—to become taller, stronger, more beautiful? Clair is pretty sure the offer is too good to be true. But her best friend, Libby, is determined to give it a try, longing for a new, improved version of herself.

What starts as Libby’s dream turns into Clair’s nightmare when Libby falls foul of a deadly trap. With the help of Jesse, the school freak, and a mysterious—but powerful—stranger called Q, Clair’s attempt to protect Libby leads her to an unimagined world of conspiracies and cover-ups. Soon her own life is at risk, and Clair is chased across the world in a desperate race against time.

Action and danger fuel Sean Williams’ tale of technology, identity, and the lengths to which one girl will go to save her best friend. 

Twinmaker is the first book in a new YA science fiction series that discusses a world almost entirely dependent on technology and the devastating effects this may have. The story follows main character Clair Hill - a normal girl who goes to high school with her best friend, Libby, and crushes on guys. Everything changes when Libby admits to getting a secret message telling her about Improvement - a mysterious way to change whatever you don't like about yourself by using a code while teleporting. Libby's impulsive and does Improvement without telling anyone first. Although Clair believes that Improvement is a scam, she begins to worry when Libby starts missing school, complains of terrible migraines, and doesn't act normal. Clair is determined to figure out just what Improvement is and what it has done to Libby, so she can change her back. Little does Clair know that by questioning Improvement, she's opened a giant can of worms that will have her racing across the globe to save her own life. She won't give up that easily though, and soon Clair joins forces with unlikely allies and does things she never dreamed possible - all in order to stop Improvement and save Libby. Will she be able to get to Libby in time? Will she be able to stop Improvement before it hurts someone else?

It's really hard to write a review for this book after just finishing it. I'm still trying to grasp some of the concepts and ideas used in the book, mostly about the technology and the details surrounding it. The world that the author created was completely fascinating and I loved learning everything I could about it, from the Water Wars to the technology that everyone used daily and how everything worked. The descriptions of everything were very detailed and vivid, so it was easy for me to imagine myself alongside Clair in this strange world. I could actually see this technology being created sometime in our world - we may have the capabilities to do it - and that made it all the more interesting to me. As I mentioned, the world that the story is set in relies heavily on strange technology and I found it confusing and hard to follow at times when the characters detailed what was happening and what would be happening during a plan. I have to admit that some of it went over my head and that did bring my interest level down a bit, but only because I was unsure of what was being said or done. It popped the bubble I was in while reading and I found it hard to re-engage with the book after that. The characters were all well written, especially Clair. We get to see her character really grow and mature in the book as she goes from normal teenage girl to a wanted rebel taking on the government almost single-handedly. The plot was really compelling and I really loved learning about Improvement and the government conspiracy behind it all. The ending left me confused and underwhelmed - I feel like there should have been more to it. Now that I know it's just the first book in a series, I feel better about the ending and hopeful that the next installment will less confusing. This was a great start to a promising series that just needs some tweaks to be awesome. I'll definitely be reading the second book to see what will happen next and hopefully get some answers to the questions left after the first book. Recommended for fans of YA science fiction and dystopia.

 

#1 New York Times bestselling Sean Williams lives with his family in Adelaide, South Australia. He’s written some books–thirty-nine at last count–including the Philip K. Dick-nominated Saturn Returns, several Star Wars novels and the Troubletwister series with Garth Nix. Twinmaker is the first in a new YA SF series that takes his love affair with the matter transmitter to a whole new level. You can find some related short stories over at Lightspeed Magazine. Thanks for reading.

WEBSITE
  

 

(3) Winners will Each Receive a Copy of TWINMAKER

Must be 13+ To Enter / Ships in US Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway