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ec_newman's review against another edition
4.0
Read this as a manuscript for a lit scout. This is more 3.5 stars. If people can get past the space stuff (I find that to be not usual genre for girls and this is def a girls book) I think it was good.
sleepygirlreads_'s review against another edition
4.0
Not quite sure what I think about this book. It wasn't bad, I did like it, but it didn't WOW me! It was anoher dystopian, admittedly quite different from the others that I've read. I just don't think I was in the right mood to read it... I only started reading it because I go it for free on pulseit.com. If I was in the mood for a dystopian, I think I would have enjoyed it more. The characters were good, except for Lissa's mother and that copilot whoms name evads me. I liked the plot, even though it was the typical dystopian plot, but it was gone about differently. I loved the setting and the different planets. That, and the whole twin thing, were my favourite things about this book.
ravencourt23's review against another edition
3.0
Up to about three quarters of the book, I didn't like the main character very much. Elissa acts like a brat who thinks she's entitled to anything she wants. She treats Lin exactly like the government called her, a Spare. Elissa acts like she's better than Lin just because she grew up with her parents and not in a facility, and has the "proper" morals. She says she wants to help Lin, and then blames Lin for all the problems they run into when it's actually Elissa's fault. I probably would've liked it a lot more if it was told in Lin's point of view. But near the end, she started treating Lin a lot better and she wasn't as unlikable as before. I actually liked her quite a bit more by the end. The book was also a bit slow around the middle, but the twist with the hyperspace was really interesting, which made me like the book a bit more.
mirable's review against another edition
5.0
Booklist starred review:
Three years ago Lissa had everything: popularity, looks, and a bright future. Now she is the weird freak scheduled for minor brain surgery to cure the phantom pain and hallucinations she keeps having. They’re hallucinations of being somewhere else and of being someone else. Then she discovers that she has a Spare, a twin who has been an experimental subject in a secret government facility for years, and that her pains weren’t phantom after all. Lin, who has electrokinetic and telepathic abilities, escapes the facility and finds Lissa. Together, they run for their lives, and when nowhere is safe, they buy passage on a ship right out into space itself. Cadan, the ship’s captain, is Lissa’s brother’s best friend, and Lissa’s buried feelings for him only complicate matters. Howson uses crisp, cinematic writing; high-octane action adventure (complete with deep-space battles); and several unexpectedly shocking twists to explore moral dilemmas that often come with speculative fiction. Sekoia is a three-dimensional world with quirky details and a fascinating history, and the characters are well-developed and believably flawed. Sparked with danger and tinged with romance, this is a roller-coaster ride into space that just about everyone should enjoy. Grades 7-12. --Charli Osborne
Three years ago Lissa had everything: popularity, looks, and a bright future. Now she is the weird freak scheduled for minor brain surgery to cure the phantom pain and hallucinations she keeps having. They’re hallucinations of being somewhere else and of being someone else. Then she discovers that she has a Spare, a twin who has been an experimental subject in a secret government facility for years, and that her pains weren’t phantom after all. Lin, who has electrokinetic and telepathic abilities, escapes the facility and finds Lissa. Together, they run for their lives, and when nowhere is safe, they buy passage on a ship right out into space itself. Cadan, the ship’s captain, is Lissa’s brother’s best friend, and Lissa’s buried feelings for him only complicate matters. Howson uses crisp, cinematic writing; high-octane action adventure (complete with deep-space battles); and several unexpectedly shocking twists to explore moral dilemmas that often come with speculative fiction. Sekoia is a three-dimensional world with quirky details and a fascinating history, and the characters are well-developed and believably flawed. Sparked with danger and tinged with romance, this is a roller-coaster ride into space that just about everyone should enjoy. Grades 7-12. --Charli Osborne
tobyyy's review against another edition
4.0
Linked pulled me in right from the start. The "mystery" surrounding Lissa was intriguing, although from the blurb I already knew what it was (the telepathic link to her twin), but the way it was presented in the novel was very fascinating. I was appalled by her parents' behavior, though, especially her mother's... ugh, she was awful!!
Ms. Howson has a way of making Lissa seem very human and very flawed, yet at the same time extremely likable. The same for Lin - and I really liked how she highlighted how Lin didn't know how to behave with other "legal humans" because she'd never been around them to learn. It was so sad... heartbreaking, really... and then
Highly recommend. :) I only knocked it down to four stars because of Lissa's parents, to be honest, and how inhuman her mom seemed. It didn't seem to be entirely unbelievable, but at the same time it wasn't entirely believable either. I guess propaganda is propaganda, though, and some people just can't - or won't - see through it even when evidence clear as day is presented to them.
Spoiler
The fact that she insisted that Lin was not actually human and was "a thing" was absolutely disgusting, as was her utter adoration of Bruce. I really did like Lissa's dad, though, by the end - he redeemed himself by asking to be introduced to Lin. But wow... I really hope, if I read the rest in the series, that we never run across Lissa's mom again (although I bet she does crop up again). She was the one that was inhuman, in my eyes.Ms. Howson has a way of making Lissa seem very human and very flawed, yet at the same time extremely likable. The same for Lin - and I really liked how she highlighted how Lin didn't know how to behave with other "legal humans" because she'd never been around them to learn. It was so sad... heartbreaking, really... and then
Spoiler
finding out that the "less controlled" twin is what electrokinetically powers the SFI fleet's hyperdrives?!?! That was AWFUL and I totally didn't see it coming. It made me so very glad that Lin escaped when she did!!Highly recommend. :) I only knocked it down to four stars because of Lissa's parents, to be honest, and how inhuman her mom seemed. It didn't seem to be entirely unbelievable, but at the same time it wasn't entirely believable either. I guess propaganda is propaganda, though, and some people just can't - or won't - see through it even when evidence clear as day is presented to them.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
3.0
a really interesting idea. A link - a connection with another person. And Lissa's quest to try to find normal again.
although I found some of the dialogue a little odd and some of the characters a little silly at times, this one definitely held my attention. I thought Lin and Lissa were a great duo to read about and understand the world form Lissa's perspective.
although I found some of the dialogue a little odd and some of the characters a little silly at times, this one definitely held my attention. I thought Lin and Lissa were a great duo to read about and understand the world form Lissa's perspective.
z_bookfluencer's review against another edition
5.0
Linked worked really well for me. Some of the twists of the story are given by the synopsis, but it was still entertaining to see how the story panned out.
I felt the Linked was a compelling story. For the most part with the characters, what you see is what you get, but I didn't dislike that. I felt there were some thought provoking subjects to the story. I enjoyed that different types of relationships were explored. I felt the pacing was done nicely and the revelations were done in a very organic manner. It was interesting to see the different viewpoints of the characters, and what they did or did not do about those viewpoints, and I felt it was a great reflection of everyday problems that people face in life.
Linked is like a space opera, in the sense that it is done in a futuristic time, on different planets and moons, and sometimes traveling through space. The world building was quite soft, and I feel like Linked could be a great stepping stone for those trying to getting into more science fiction, particularly YA science fiction.
There was something that was rushed, and I am not giving details so there is no spoilers, that I can see some people not liking that it was rushed or wanting more time with that particularly subject. It worked in the sense that that aspect of the story didn't need to be detailed as that event was happening, and what was given was more of answers or consequences, of a problem brought to light.
There was some graphic content concerning human experimentation.
Overall, I felt Linked was very well written and I will be continuing with the next book in the Duology, Unravel.
I felt the Linked was a compelling story. For the most part with the characters, what you see is what you get, but I didn't dislike that. I felt there were some thought provoking subjects to the story. I enjoyed that different types of relationships were explored. I felt the pacing was done nicely and the revelations were done in a very organic manner. It was interesting to see the different viewpoints of the characters, and what they did or did not do about those viewpoints, and I felt it was a great reflection of everyday problems that people face in life.
Linked is like a space opera, in the sense that it is done in a futuristic time, on different planets and moons, and sometimes traveling through space. The world building was quite soft, and I feel like Linked could be a great stepping stone for those trying to getting into more science fiction, particularly YA science fiction.
There was something that was rushed, and I am not giving details so there is no spoilers, that I can see some people not liking that it was rushed or wanting more time with that particularly subject. It worked in the sense that that aspect of the story didn't need to be detailed as that event was happening, and what was given was more of answers or consequences, of a problem brought to light.
There was some graphic content concerning human experimentation.
Overall, I felt Linked was very well written and I will be continuing with the next book in the Duology, Unravel.
clairereviews's review against another edition
5.0
I would probably never have picked this book if it hadn't been one of my bookclub's reads for this month. I had no idea what this book was about, nor about how engrossed in it I would become!
The story is captivating and well written, fast-paced and with great characters. A brilliant book that has got me looking forward with great anticipation to the second in the series.
The story is captivating and well written, fast-paced and with great characters. A brilliant book that has got me looking forward with great anticipation to the second in the series.
everthereader's review against another edition
3.0
In the beginning of the book, all Elissa wanted to be was normal, which I must admit found cliche. I really didn't like the story in the very beginning and didn't really understand what was wrong with Lissa. Then she met her twin and I began to like her character a whole lot better and she was shown as brave. I really like Lin's well because she's stubborn and kind of reminds me of myself. Cadan was really a jerk in the beginning ton her but I could see that he changed. I would say that I thought the romance between Cadan and Lissa was pointless to the story honestly and I would have liked it better if she got help from her brother Bruce instead of Cadan.