Thursday 30 April 2015

Review: Ultraviolet - R. J Anderson

Title: Ultraviolet
Author: R.J Anderson
Pages: 410
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Orchard Book
ISBN: 978-1-4083127-5-9
Rating:3/5

**Synopsis taken from back of book**

"Once upon a time there was a girl who was special.
This is not her story.
Unless you count the part where I killed her. "

From the synopsis I was very dubious as to whether I would like this book as it sounds an awful lot like a crime novel. Nevertheless, I got it simply because I adore the Faery Rebels series she wrote. This book was nothing like I expected. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's based around a girl who has whats known as Synestheisa. The crossing of the sense causes phenomena such as letters being perceived to have a colour associated with it, sounds creating colours or having tastes. The protagonist, Alison Jeffries has this but to the extreme. A fire alarm causes her immense pain that makes her lash out which is how she ended up in a mental institute. She is believed to have caused/known something about the disappearance of one of her peers, Tori Beaugrand.  After hearing the Noise, Alison is sent into a hysteric state and returns home with bloodied hands claiming that she disintegrated Tori... hence the trip to a mental institute.

I liked the twist the story took. I shan't give away what occurs should you wish to read it. I think you should personally. However, what I didn't like was the fact that Alison. A highly reserved and somewhat introverted character blurted out her love for someone that she hadn't known particularly long. Perhaps I''m just a sceptic. Though I thought the reply she received was adorable.

In conclusion, I thought it was great. I liked the characters for the most part. (Could not stand Alison's mother. What a heinous being) The plot twist was a nice addition but the novel seemed to be attempting to cover all bases. It seemed like a contemporary novel, then fantasy, then thriller and then very much sic-fi. I couldn't quite understand all the time what it should be marketed as other than YA. Nonetheless, I would recommend it to those who are interested in the capacity of the mind, aliens and teenage drama.


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