Summary:
Lily Atwood lives in what used to be called Washington, D.C. Her father is one of the most powerful men in the world, having been a vital part of rebuilding and reuniting humanity after the war that killed over five billion people. Now he’s running to be one of its leaders.
But in the rediscovered peace on Earth, a new enemy has risen. They call themselves the Revealed – a powerful underground organization that has been kidnapping 18 year olds across the globe without reservation. No one knows why they are kidnapping these teens, but it’s clear something is different about these people. They can set fires with a snap of their fingers and create a wind strong enough to barrel over a tree with a flick of their wrist. No one has been able to stop them, and they have targeted Lily as their next victim.
But Lily has waited too long to break free from her father’s shadow to let some rebel organization just ruin everything. Not without a fight.
But in the rediscovered peace on Earth, a new enemy has risen. They call themselves the Revealed – a powerful underground organization that has been kidnapping 18 year olds across the globe without reservation. No one knows why they are kidnapping these teens, but it’s clear something is different about these people. They can set fires with a snap of their fingers and create a wind strong enough to barrel over a tree with a flick of their wrist. No one has been able to stop them, and they have targeted Lily as their next victim.
But Lily has waited too long to break free from her father’s shadow to let some rebel organization just ruin everything. Not without a fight.
So, I was given a copy of this book to review through netgalley and I've got to say I was mainly attracted by the cover - beautiful covers drive me to them like a moth to a flame. Then, when I read the blurb, I just knew I had to have it.
So before I go into all the good stuff I've got to comment on the actual writing and structure of the book; I thought that the writing flowed beautifully, holding my very short attention span (trust me I'm honestly like a goldfish when it comes to memory and getting distracted easily) and never once faltered or vered off down a course that I couldn't understand or comprehend, I was able to follow it without the frustration of having to re-read sections over and over again, which is an activity I find myself having to repeat quite frequently in some books. I also loved the plot and thought it was well thought out and took me down some twists and turns that I never could have predicted.
Unpredictability was another talent that this book weilded with expertise, most books, of course, can be predicted - due to the fact that there isn't really such thing as a completely original story. Not that that's a down side, I still enjoy practically every book I read, even when I see what's coming. But the fact that I couldn't guess what was going to happen next in this particular novel just made it all the more of an adventure for me.
What else that struck me as magnificent for this was the way it was written - the style. Usually in books I watch over the events, it's like I'm kind of a ghost; I can see all the characters and see them as they play out their parts but I usually know, or have a feel for what they're thinking and feeling - who I can trust although on the odd occasion I would find myself disoriented from a plot twist. With The Revealed this was not the case - I was thrust inside the main character (Lily) and was limited to only being able to think in the way she does, when she felt betrayed, I felt betrayed, when she didn't trust someone, neither did I, I found myself feeling exactly the same as she was throughout the book and that was something that I hadn't come across before, and being as active a reader as me, to come across something for the first time must mean it's extremely rare. And as both a reader, and a writer
, this is extremely exhilarating and enlightening.
This book had all you could ever wish for - a secret organisation said to have strange abilities - a parent-daughter conflict, showing a lack of freedom that I, and I'm sure many other teens across the globe, can relate to - and, of course, what is a YA book without a swoon-worthy man. (Just saying, I ship Kaly so hard).
I loved this book and I'm 100% positive that in no time YA lovers will be snatching it off the shelves.
Thoroughly enjoyable read.
*****5/5 stars*****
(Find out more about the book at www.jessicahickam.com.)
