[Review] Glitch by Heather Anastasiu

Title: Glitch
Series: Glitch (Book 1)
Author: Heather Anastasiu
Genre: YA, dystopia, sci-fi
Format: E-book, 371 pages
Publication Date: August 7, 2012
Published By: St. Martin's Press
Source: Received from publisher

 

Synopsis from Tour Host

In the Community, there is no more pain or war. Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean of destructive emotions, and thoughts are replaced by a feed from the Link network.

When Zoe starts to malfunction (or “glitch”), she suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings, and identity. Any anomalies must be immediately reported and repaired, but Zoe has a secret so dark it will mean certain deactivation if she is caught: her glitches have given her uncontrollable telekinetic powers.

As Zoe struggles to control her abilities and stay hidden, she meets other glitchers including Max, who can disguise his appearance, and Adrien, who has visions of the future. Both boys introduce Zoe to feelings that are entirely new. Together, this growing band of glitchers must find a way to free themselves from the controlling hands of the Community before they’re caught and deactivated, or worse.

In this action-packed debut, Glitch begins an exciting new young adult trilogy.

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Author Bio (Spotlight)

Heather Anastasiu is the author of the young adult sci-fi novel, GLITCH (St. Martin's Press/Spring 2012). She recently moved to Minneapolis with her family, and when she’s not busy getting lost exploring the new city, she spends most days writing at a café.

Random Facts About Me:

• I played the piccolo in my high school marching band.
• I paint a little, but for some reason, only in winter.
• So, the last name, I know it looks like Anastasia, but it has a U on the end: Anastasiu (rhymes with 'so-nice-to-see-you'). It's Romanian in origin.
• I like body art. Well, I like art of all kinds, but especially body art, i.e. tattoos, because it's the art you get to take with you. I figure, there's so much about the body we're given we don't have control over (hips, nose, forehead, chin, height, foot size, health), so much that we get no choice in, but hair color and ink designs? Hello world, this is me and the kinds of things I find beautiful!
• I was in a wheelchair for a year during college because of health problems. Being wheel-bound and knee-high for a year certainly changed my perspective on life (pun intended).
• Yes, I am a fan of cheesy puns.
• My favorite book is East of Eden because it blew open my world when I first read it at age 20.
• I also unabashedly love Twilight. I even wrote a chapter in a forthcoming book of academic essays about how Twilight, for all its shortcomings, can also have positive implications for readers in that it provides a platform for public participation in a communal female myth. It's compulsively readable and is all about engaging our fantasy lives and letting us participate in vicarious wish fulfillment.
• I like pink and black together, but not apart.

www.heatheranastasiu.com | @H_Anastasiu | facebook.com/HeatherAnastasiu

My Thoughts

Glitch is an intriguing introduction to what I hope will be a wonderful new series. It's an interesting look into a society where the government has decided the people are better off as unfeeling controllable drones than free-minded happy and social citizens.

I really enjoyed exploring the ideas of feelings and emotions through Zoel's newly opened eyes as she "glitches" and loses contact with the Link that usually blocks the population from feeling and building close relationships with others. It's almost funny when she experiences some sort of emotion and has no idea what is happening to her, and the resulting actions that come from that experience.

Emotion was exhausting. Life had been so much simpler without it.

I have seen some complaints regarding the "love triangle" that occurs in Glitch, and as a self-proclaimed hater of the love triangle arc myself, I was surprised that this one barely bothered me. I guess it's because it is almost always clear which two belong together. Zoel, even with her steep emotional learning curve can feel that one of the boys just isn't right for her while the other clearly makes her react differently.

There was something else I couldn't quite define--something that made me uneasy. We were a wrong fit, like unmatching puzzle pieces.

I thought about everything that had happened since I'd met him, how I'd instinctual trusted him from the start,  how his touch calmed me and made me feel safe, even in the most tense situations.

The character of Maximin did bother me quite a bit though. I feel as though he could have been made the "wrong choice" in better ways than was actually used. He just came out way too creepy stalker and almost abusive and I physically shuddered any time I had to read an interaction between him and Zoel. I just didn't enjoy it at all.

I found the world building very intriguing and the whole idea behind the society of great interest as well. It's one of those things, like with The Giver, where you can see some of the reasoning behind the choices that were made, but wonder if perhaps (well yes) the government took things too far...especially when it comes out that the government themselves don't follow their own rules! But then again, do they ever?

As a Torontonian, I think the subway train scenes were always some of my favorite and made me feel at home. I wish ours were as orderly as The Community's though!

The subway train had stopped with a hiss of brakes, exchanging passengers promptly ever quarter hour. I breathed in and looked around me. It was overcrowded as always, but subjects entered and exited the train in evenly spaced, perfect lines. Order first, order always.

I wish!

But overall Glitch is a highly enjoyable read that I recommend to anyone who enjoys dystopian tales. I look forward to the release of Override, book 2 in the series.

My rating?