Scan barcode
lilyalthea's review against another edition
4.0
> French Review <
> English Review <
Reese and her debate partner David are about to fly home when North America grounds all flights. Dozens of airplanes crashed suddenly when flocks of birds hurled themselves into them. As the population goes nuts over the possibility of terrorist attacks, David and Reese are victims of a car accident while trying to go back to San Francisco… A month later Reese finally wakes up in a mysterious military hospital. After signing a confidentiality agreement, the two teenagers are sent back in their family but things start to get weirder. Reese develops strange connections with people she gets in contact with, she heals way faster than humanly possible, and has the awkward feeling that she is being watched anywhere she goes… What really happened during that whole month she was unconscious in this military facility?
To be honest, I love everything that is related to Area 51 and conspiracy theories. I’m not saying that I believe them but I always found these stories, which gets their start with real events, particularly endearing. So obviously Adaptation was the perfect book for me. A young adult sci-fi thriller whose background is government secrets, lies and experiments? I’m in! And I believe that every reader who enjoys these sort of foundations in books will be pleased by the outcome of this one.
Reese, the main character, is easy enough to like. She has a good common sense and doesn’t blindly/stupidly run in any situation. It is particularly pleasant considering how discreet David, the boy from the book’s description, is throughout the story. I wish we had seen more of him, alongside of Julian, Reese’s BFF who happens to be a big fan of conspiracy theories. We are mostly focused on our main character which is a shame, even though it is simply echoing Reese’s cautious personality when it comes to get involved with people. Her dad left the family when she was still young and it’s evident that’s the reason why she is so persistent on being on her own. She protects herself by keeping others at bay and it’s one of the many things she’ll struggle with the whole story.
The only other character that has some sort of importance is Amber, a young woman Reese meets after she gets back to San Francisco. I instinctively disliked her and I wasn’t too excited about their blooming relationship. I felt like that Amber was always way too convenient and I couldn’t really warm up about her because of this. Though the story hints at a love triangle between David, Reese and Amber which was somewhat original. I’ve never seen this configuration, where a girl has romantic prospects with a boy and a girl, and it’s a nice change from the poor girl stuck between two hot guys that are fighting over her. I’m still not that sure about how it’s supposed to play out since the relationships were a bit shaky throughout this first book, but I’m sure it’ll be developed more strongly in the sequel.
However the main strong part of this book is its story. I liked how well Melinda Lo handled her plot and how nicely things came into place. Of course this first book mostly evolves on characters building but the paranormal aspect wasn’t too neglected either. You can say that Adaptation is a contemporary sci-fi novel, and even though I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi, it totally worked for me.
Adaptation is a nice read mixing contemporary YA and sci-fi very well together. It’s the kind of story you would expect to see as a TVshow (it reminded me of CW’s show where paranormal elements are inserted in everyday settings like high school or family dramas). I particularly liked the tone of the book, the background of government’s secrecies and conspiracies, and I’ll happily read the sequel to see where Reese, David, and the others will end up.
> English Review <
Reese and her debate partner David are about to fly home when North America grounds all flights. Dozens of airplanes crashed suddenly when flocks of birds hurled themselves into them. As the population goes nuts over the possibility of terrorist attacks, David and Reese are victims of a car accident while trying to go back to San Francisco… A month later Reese finally wakes up in a mysterious military hospital. After signing a confidentiality agreement, the two teenagers are sent back in their family but things start to get weirder. Reese develops strange connections with people she gets in contact with, she heals way faster than humanly possible, and has the awkward feeling that she is being watched anywhere she goes… What really happened during that whole month she was unconscious in this military facility?
To be honest, I love everything that is related to Area 51 and conspiracy theories. I’m not saying that I believe them but I always found these stories, which gets their start with real events, particularly endearing. So obviously Adaptation was the perfect book for me. A young adult sci-fi thriller whose background is government secrets, lies and experiments? I’m in! And I believe that every reader who enjoys these sort of foundations in books will be pleased by the outcome of this one.
Reese, the main character, is easy enough to like. She has a good common sense and doesn’t blindly/stupidly run in any situation. It is particularly pleasant considering how discreet David, the boy from the book’s description, is throughout the story. I wish we had seen more of him, alongside of Julian, Reese’s BFF who happens to be a big fan of conspiracy theories. We are mostly focused on our main character which is a shame, even though it is simply echoing Reese’s cautious personality when it comes to get involved with people. Her dad left the family when she was still young and it’s evident that’s the reason why she is so persistent on being on her own. She protects herself by keeping others at bay and it’s one of the many things she’ll struggle with the whole story.
The only other character that has some sort of importance is Amber, a young woman Reese meets after she gets back to San Francisco. I instinctively disliked her and I wasn’t too excited about their blooming relationship. I felt like that Amber was always way too convenient and I couldn’t really warm up about her because of this. Though the story hints at a love triangle between David, Reese and Amber which was somewhat original. I’ve never seen this configuration, where a girl has romantic prospects with a boy and a girl, and it’s a nice change from the poor girl stuck between two hot guys that are fighting over her. I’m still not that sure about how it’s supposed to play out since the relationships were a bit shaky throughout this first book, but I’m sure it’ll be developed more strongly in the sequel.
However the main strong part of this book is its story. I liked how well Melinda Lo handled her plot and how nicely things came into place. Of course this first book mostly evolves on characters building but the paranormal aspect wasn’t too neglected either. You can say that Adaptation is a contemporary sci-fi novel, and even though I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi, it totally worked for me.
Adaptation is a nice read mixing contemporary YA and sci-fi very well together. It’s the kind of story you would expect to see as a TVshow (it reminded me of CW’s show where paranormal elements are inserted in everyday settings like high school or family dramas). I particularly liked the tone of the book, the background of government’s secrecies and conspiracies, and I’ll happily read the sequel to see where Reese, David, and the others will end up.
tregina's review against another edition
3.0
SUCH mixed feelings about this one. In some ways it felt like completely different genres smashed up into one another, and the characters and relationships seemed fairly shallow. I was really uncomfortable with the assaults, and in general I wasn't sure I liked the story all that much. But at the same time, I burned right through it, so obviously something about it appealed to me. And I've been thinking lately that I really miss aliens and conspiracy theories. The 90s really were my time.
kivt's review against another edition
3.0
solid YA novel if you like area 51, san francisco, and bisexual teens with feelings, which i do. not really compelling enough to read the sequel though.
rachd24's review against another edition
4.0
I gave Adaptation 4/5 -
Ok, so I’ve quite recently discovered how much I love dystopian/sci-fi novels and when I read the synopsis for this book I was pretty excited about it. Adaptation was a bit of a slow burner for me initially, but once I got into the story and the character relationships started to develop I couldn’t stop reading. All the things I loved about Adaptation:
To read my full review:
http://confessionsofabookgeek.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/adaptation/
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way impacted on my views or opinions.
Ok, so I’ve quite recently discovered how much I love dystopian/sci-fi novels and when I read the synopsis for this book I was pretty excited about it. Adaptation was a bit of a slow burner for me initially, but once I got into the story and the character relationships started to develop I couldn’t stop reading. All the things I loved about Adaptation:
To read my full review:
http://confessionsofabookgeek.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/adaptation/
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way impacted on my views or opinions.
madifish97's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
bookph1le's review against another edition
1.0
This book and I just did not get along. I didn't like the writing, I didn't like the characters, and I repeatedly found myself so caught up in how unrealistic I thought it all was that I could never fully get into it--and I read LOTS of books with unrealistic premises--the more outrageous, the better!--but the author has to be able to sell me, which unfortunately Malinda Lo could not do.
fantasynovel's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
I honestly thought I was going to like this book way more than I did. Aliens, a bisexual narrator, birds falling out of sky? Like, sign me up. But I thought this book would be just way more than it turned out to be. It kept feeling like the book was waiting to really start and get into the plot. There was so much filler stuff happening. I thought this would be more one of those "teens work for the government" books. I think it would have been much cooler if Brian and Reese had never gone home. It didn't make sense, it was boring, and it didn't need to happen.
I honestly thought I was going to like this book way more than I did. Aliens, a bisexual narrator, birds falling out of sky? Like, sign me up. But I thought this book would be just way more than it turned out to be. It kept feeling like the book was waiting to really start and get into the plot. There was so much filler stuff happening. I thought this would be more one of those "teens work for the government" books. I think it would have been much cooler if Brian and Reese had never gone home. It didn't make sense, it was boring, and it didn't need to happen.
stargirllxo's review against another edition
5.0
Wow what a great book! I loved every minute reading it and once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down. It was amazing start to finish and I can't wait to read the next one. I wish there was more of David and Reese together even though that wasn't the main ship. The ending was unexpected to me, learning about what happened to Reese and David in the military hospital was sort of a surprise to me and that made the book even greater.
alicebme's review against another edition
4.0
I got Malinda to sign my ARC at the ALA conference in Anaheim, and I was pretty thrilled to talk with her. I love that she went another way, even though I was hooked into her medieval, fairytale sort of realm as well. The romantic scenes between the main character and Amber were hot and tasteful, and I am so pleased to have read something like that finally. I also can't say enough thank yous to Malinda for having a character who is attracted to people regardless of their sex. The conversation between the main character and her best friend about labels rang true.
There were some pretty silly parental behaviors in this book, I suppose it is necessary in the YA world to kill off adults or render them useless whenever possible. It always makes me giggle and roll my eyes when it happens as abruptly as it did to the poor debate coach. Geez.
There were some pretty silly parental behaviors in this book, I suppose it is necessary in the YA world to kill off adults or render them useless whenever possible. It always makes me giggle and roll my eyes when it happens as abruptly as it did to the poor debate coach. Geez.
brendalovesbooks's review against another edition
I'm halfway through this book, and I'm just so bored. It's not really what I thought it was going to be. The beginning started off really exciting, with a lot of craziness happening. But then all of a sudden we are almost at a standstill. It has turned into a teenage romance, and that's not what I'm wanting to read right now. It's just not my type of book unless I'm in the mood for it, which I very rarely am.
I'm sure there is going to be more excitement to the story. At least, I'd think there would have to be to explain the beginning portion. But the pacing is so off that I'm just not interested.
I'm sure there is going to be more excitement to the story. At least, I'd think there would have to be to explain the beginning portion. But the pacing is so off that I'm just not interested.