Glitch, Book 1

Author:  Heather Anastasiu

Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin

Source:  Netgalley

Pages: 359

Publication Date:  August 7, 2012

Zoe lives in an underground Community in a dystopic/post-apocalyptic society. In this society, computer chips have been implanted in all humans ridding them of emotions in order to prevent future incidents like the ones that happened in the past and nearly led to human extinction. Their mates are chosen for them, their children are "grown" and their jobs are chosen for them. They have allotted times to eat, exercise, and rest. Each person is expected to live for the best of the community and this brainwashing is constantly pounded into them through a feed. But Zoe has started malfunctioning and/or glitching. Zoe is starting to feel emotions, see color and have desires. But, if the Uppers or Regulators notice her glitching either by showing emotions on her face or by a rise in her heart monitor, she'll be taken in and possibly deactivated. What's more, Zoe's glitches have given her the power of telekinesis. Eventually, Zoe meets other Glitchers including Adrien and Max (the two boys in the love triangle). Zoe finds herself struggling with her feelings for the boys and just understanding the concept of "love." She also wants to do something to help other Glitchers. She learns about a Resistance with plans to overthrow the Community.

I pretty much enjoyed this book. In my opinion, Anastasiu crafted her world very well. I understood what was going on and how the people were controlled. I felt what it was like for Zoe to be malfunctioning and trying to control her emotions and at the same time not wanting to lose her newfound feelings. I loved the way Anastasiu described Zoe's shock at seeing colors. That was some good writing. It had me wondering what it would be like to discover color in my teenage years. How would I have reacted? 

The one drawback is that the entire story felt very familiar - like it was something that I'd already read before but didn't quite remember the entire story. That could just be due to my reading too many dystopian books but I wish it had been a little more distinguishable in that aspect. In spite of the familiarity of the story, Anastasiu did manage to throw some good plot twists in at the end. 

Overall, I enjoyed it and I'm wanting to know what happens to the characters.