Review: Inhuman by Kat Falls

Publisher:  Scholastic, Inc.

Genre: YA, futuristic, post-apocalyptic

Series: Fetch

Pages: 384, Hardcover

Release Date: September 24^th, 2013

Rating: 

 Summary from Netgalley:

Beauty versus beasts.

In the wake of a devastating biological disaster, the United States east of the Mississippi River has been abandoned. Now called the Feral Zone, a reference to the virus that turned millions of people into bloodthirsty savages, the entire area is off-limits. The punishment for violating the border is death.

Lane McEvoy can’t imagine why anyone would risk it. She’s grown up in the shadow of the great wall separating east from west, and she’s naturally curious about what’s on the other side – but she’s not that curious. Life in the west is safe, comfortable . . . sterile. Which is just how she likes it.

But Lane gets the shock of her life when she learns that someone close to her has crossed into the Feral Zone. And she has little choice but to follow. Lane travels east, risking life and limb and her very DNA, completely unprepared for what she finds in the ruins of civilization . . . and afraid to learn whether her humanity will prove her greatest strength or a fatal weakness.

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Coffee To Go: I absolutely LOVED this book. It’s original, it has a hint of didacticism, and it will keep your eyes glued to its pages. I highly recommend that you go buy it—and soon! If you’ve read another young adult book like this one, let me know. The plagued world in which Lane lives is none like I’ve ever read. And I’ve read quite a few books.

Characters—

Lane: She’s a bit of a germaphobe. It adds some serious comic relief to the story, which is good. I like that she doesn’t just take everything people say to her with a grain of salt and she looks for the best in people. Lane realky believes in humanity and I find that super inspiring. I liked her as a protagonist a lot. She’s quick on her feet, too.

Rafe: He starts the novel as a HUGE jerk. I’m not saying he ends the novel as a deep, tortured, beautiful soul or anything, but the reader does get to see a huge change in his demeanor. I really cared about him by the end. He’s pretty precious. Besides the fact that, like I said, he’s a huge jerk. Sometimes, I was like, “Rafe, are we in a post-apocalyptic type world or are we in junior high?” But…*sigh*…the story wouldn’t be the same without him.

Everson: He’s pretty much perfect at everything. And he’s good. A perfect foil for Rafe. I know it sounds crazy, but I felt safe around him…and I’m just the reader! I absolutely loved him!

The World—

So basically the entire United States winds up on the West side of an enormous wall that splits the entire country in half and keeps out feral, a horrible disease that mutates humans into animals. Oh, and it mutates people at different rates, so you never know when the disease will overtake someone’s brain, stripping them of their self-control. Talk about blurring the lines of humanity. If you’ve read Lauren Oliver’s Delirium trilogy, you know about the Wilds. I feel like this story is about all of legends about the Wilds coming true. Kat Falls creates a savage, survival of the fittest, is-this-even-possible, type of world. I can’t say much else for fear of spilling a spoiler, but just WAIT until you get to Chicago! It gets crazy!

The Themes—

Definition of humanity/Moral dilemmas

Friendship/Family

Definition of civilization

Final Thoughts—

Hmm…Rafe is hot. Ever is dreamy. Both of them can kick serious butt. Yes, there’s a love triangle. No, it does not take away from the story. I’m so thankful that Lane isn’t the type of girl to get caught up in that mess. She’s pretty busy trying to save her father (No spoilers here; you find out in the first chapter or two). Inhuman is filled with action, dramatic irony, a crazy plot twist or two, and, best of all, it made me think! Not deep, existential questions, but questions about right and wrong, good and evil. I can’t wait to see how Kat Falls continues Lane’s story in Fetch #2!

Memorable Quotes—

“Safe and happy don’t always go together.”

“It’s the beast that kills. When I’m human again, the beast’s sins will not be mine.”

 

***This review was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

India – Adventure and Blog Hiatus

I cannot believe it’s here! By this time in two days, I will be in India. Yes, India. As I’ve never left the country, this trip marks a milestone in my life. The culture is so beautiful and colorful and rich–I don’t know how I’ll keep up! I will be working with victims of human trafficking. This next month will involve some of the most rewarding and some of the most difficult moments in my life. From riding an elephant to buying fruit in an overwhelming market, this June will be teeming with adventure.

Sadly, I will not have access to the internet while in India, which means no blog postings for a month! *Insert crying here.* I absolutely love blogging and book reviewing, so I will be taking notes, pictures, and drinking in all of my experiences in India (minus the squatty-potties) for my next few blog postings, which I will upload promptly upon returning to the States.

Lastly–and you can take this as a simple request or as what it really is: me on my knees BEGGING you to stick with me–I won’t post for a month, but all of the amazing stories, sights, sounds, culture, etc that I will post afterwards will be worth it.

Sincerely,

A Bittersweet Blogger Who Will Miss This Very Much For The Next Month

also known as

CoffeeShopReader

Harry Truman: “Leaders are Readers”

Yes, you read that correctly. How, do you ask, can someone who spends every spare minute of their time poring over words on a page, sometimes more than once, twice, or three times, be someone who leads others? It’s simple, really. Reading gives us imagination. Immersing ourselves in stories in which an orphan with a scar on his forehead discovers he is, in fact, a wizard with a destiny, the Chosen One, rescued and empowered by his mother’s sacrificial love, in which four siblings enter a magical world through a wardrobe and meet a lion and a witch, in which a girl is born into a city where a person’s faction comes before blood and everyone’s minds are supposed to work a certain way; in which a boy with dyslexia, ADHD, a satyr for a best friend and a sword-pen embarks on numerous quests and defies the gods of Olympus, and in which a girl witnesses a demon’s death while in a nightclub with her nerdy best friend strips away the barriers of impossibility that we face daily. While we go about our daily routines—the one’s in which we must return to real life—we take with us a valuable tool: a reader’s eye.

What would this building look like in an apocalypse?

What if this garden were a doorway to a faerie world hidden right under our noses?

What would the world look like if love were treated as a deadly disease?

Would my mind be able to overcome a serum-induced simulation?

I know, I know, you’re still probably wondering how any of this makes us leaders. Creativity, flexibility, and the ability to draw from the experiences of others all enhance our skills and decision-making. While we may not have attended Hogwarts, fought demons, or faced Dauntless initiation in our endless days of school, work, and bill-paying, we have experienced—through a character—the gain and loss of love, the importance of purpose, the thrill of adventure, the beauty of self-sacrifice, the value of friendship, and many others. This isn’t to say that those who prefer sitcoms, movies, live theater, or reality itself are not as good as readers, but much of TV and movies gives you everything. You can’t internalize a TV show like you can a character or a story or a world inside of a book. We take the words and descriptions that the author gives us and we put the finishing touches on what we see in our mind’s eye. We interpret literature according to our life’s experiences, successes, and failures; we make it our own.

Just some thoughts. I’m new at this, okay? 🙂