Synopsis: When you can’t trust yourself, who can you
believe?Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.
Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.
Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.
Rating: 4/5 StarsGenres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance
Recommended for: fans of All Our Yestrdays, action-movies
Other books in the series:
Erased Reborn
My thoughts:
I've
had my eyes on this one for ages! The synopsis was intriguing, the cover is
effing hot and the hype was all good! And I've finally picked it up. Yes, yes,
I know I'm late to the party, but better later than never. And let me tell you
-- Altered is the perfect rush of
adrenaline in a lazy summer afternoon!
“Yeah,” Cas added, “you
can hitchhike your way across the country. Just flash your abs. I bet someone
would stop.”
Nick snorted. “Shut the hell up.”
“Damn,” Cas said. “You’re cranky. We’re free! You should be doing the Hokey-frickin’-Pokey!”
“I would rather light myself on fire.”
“Awesome.” Cas rubbed his hands together. “Anyone have some marshmallows?”
Nick snorted. “Shut the hell up.”
“Damn,” Cas said. “You’re cranky. We’re free! You should be doing the Hokey-frickin’-Pokey!”
“I would rather light myself on fire.”
“Awesome.” Cas rubbed his hands together. “Anyone have some marshmallows?”
Anna
is a girl like any other girl. She has talents (drawing), she bakes cookies and
she loves her father. But there are a few details that make her quite
different: she takes combat lessons, she has a lab in her basement and she's
friends with the four boys trapped in there. Her Dad works for the Branch, a
company interested in developing bioweaponry and set to make the best soldiers.
So Cas, Trev, Nick and Sam are on the way of becoming the most lethal weapons
until they decide to escape. Anna is caught up in their adventures and then
BAM! They all realize that Anna is actually the key to the story.
Anna
and me didn't hit off right from the start. She annoyed me quite a lot, because
she had the mentality of a thirteen-year-old girl. I get that she was in love
with Sam and all that jazz, but she didn't have to be so clingy to him. And her
stubbornness and curiosity were rather idiotic since she put her past above the
well being of herself and the boys. Also, she's so possessive of Sam and
everytime she mentions her jealousy -- of Sam's older girlfriend -- made me
laugh out loud, cause really now: she has no right over Sam.
We
got along in the end. She started evolving into the no-more-bullshit type of
heroine and I can't say no to that kind of progress. I'm all for kick-ass
chicks.
Now
let's move onto the boys. Sam, the leader of this small group and also Anna's
huge crush, was, in a word, an asshole. Yep. I didn't really like him. I mean,
sure: he's drool-worthy, clever (maybe too clever), determined and quite
protective. But he's also a trained assassin that only saw Anna as a means to a
goal and he didn't shy away from manipulating her by making her fall for him.
And that's just low.
I
might add that the fact that he's so stoic and ruthless, mysterious and
secretive didn't give me fangirling feels like it usually does with other book
characters. With him, I got the whole creepy vibe going on. It was like he
constantly urged me not to trust him. And honestly, I never did.
“I read the
engraving—SAMUEL CAVAR—and gasped. “Samuel Cavar was an alias you used,” I said
to Sam. “I read about it in your file.”
“Cavar is Spanish,” he said. “It means ‘to dig.’ ”
Cas pushed up his sleeves. “Well, then, amigos, I guess we cavar the shit out of this grave.”
“Cavar is Spanish,” he said. “It means ‘to dig.’ ”
Cas pushed up his sleeves. “Well, then, amigos, I guess we cavar the shit out of this grave.”
May
I fangirl over Trev? He memories book quotes and he's so goddamn sweet and
smart. The kind and altruistic type, the understanding boy, the best friend.
Plus, he's hella handsome. But he also ripped my heart in two at one point and
I couldn't help than be wary of him afterward, no matter that I loved him.
Cas
was a whole other thing. He's easygoing, carefree, hilarious and sort of stupid
in an adorable way. He cracked me up and he made me realize that Altered has 4 males and only one girl
and there isn't a love pentagon or anything like that going on. Now that's
something I appreciate.
Then
there's Nick. He might be a top-notch jerk and a complete bastard when he wants
to be, but I loved him the most. He always seemed sort of lost and alone and
that only triggered the mamma-bear instinct in me and the need to hug the hell
out of him. His past was a total tearjerker, but I still want to know more
about him. I have a feeling he was truly amazing before he got involved with
the Branch.
This
book kinda reminded me of All Our
Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill, although Altered
has no business going on with time travelling. But the pace, the action-driven
plot, the twists and betrayals, the involvement of a program and the government
triggered a vague sense of déjà vu.
Jennifer
Rush sure created one heck of a story! I'm torn between reading Forged, the prequel story, and going on
with Erased. I want to know more! So
many pieces of the puzzle are still missing, although we discovered a lot in
this installment. And that's the wonderful thing about Altered -- you learn
tons without ever feeling you're about to experience the major kill of
info-dump.
“The quote reminded me
of that feeling you get when you start to wake from a dream you don’t want to
leave. That crushing sensation in the center of your chest, like you are losing
an important piece of yourself you won’t ever get back.
That’s what hope was. Clinging to something you weren’t sure would ever be yours. But you had to hold on anyway, because without it, what was the point?”
That’s what hope was. Clinging to something you weren’t sure would ever be yours. But you had to hold on anyway, because without it, what was the point?”
All
in all, I enjoyed it. I wasn't gripped by it in a
I-need-to-know-what-happens-right-now style, but it was entertaining
nonetheless. Four unbelievably hot boys, life or death situations, mysteries
and the constant fear of the unknown -- what more could you wish for?
ENJOY! ©
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