ARC Review- SLATED. A Thrilling 2012 Debut

Sixteen-year-old Kyla has been 'slated': all of her past memories erased, her entire personality wiped blank. She has been assigned a new name, a new date of birth and even new parents. The government that did this to her claim she was a terrorist, and that she has been given a second chance. But Kyla knows that the government has been lying. Without her memories, how will Kyla ever find the truth? And if her old self is really and truly dead, then what are the terrifying images that still haunt her dreams?


SLATED, by Teri Terry, releases May 3rd 2012 from Orchard Books (UK)

Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to be one of the early reviewers of SLATED, and for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up SLATED, other than the fact that the cover and synopsis sucked me right in. But I can say this, to those who just skim through reviews, or to those who just want proof that this is one of my favorite books I've read in a long while: I don't want to remember what reading was like before I read SLATED. It is everything I have been looking for in a book: suspense, mind-bending mystery, romance, and just the right amount of science fiction to appeal to those who aren't typical fans of the genre.

Characters:

1. SLATED is about Kyla, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been given a second chance at life once she has had her memory wiped by the government. Slateds must wear a device called a Levo, which helps monitor their moods. It keeps them from being able to feel things that every human has the right to feel, and that is a wonderful creepy twist. 
2. I loved Kyla. The best kind of character is one that a person can relate to, and the author painted the perfect picture in my mind of who this girl was and grew to be. Kyla is thrown into the world as a child would be. She is unsure of her surroundings, completely new to everything around her. Without her memories, she has to discover everything again for the first time.  She becomes strong in the silent, gradual sense. She is scared of standing out in a world where everything has to be "just so," yet somehow, she does it every day. It was so cool to see her slowly figuring out how things worked, in the same sense that a toddler would. But she is smarter. Stronger, and has strange breakthroughs that leave the reader begging for more pages. I was up late at night just to see how Kyla would take the things that happened to her.
3. The other characters, like her Mum and Dad and sister Amy (who was also Slated), were always changing sides on me, and for some reason, I loved that. I couldn't figure out who to trust. Who to believe. They kept me on my toes while reading, and I found myself flipping through the pages as fast as I could to get to the next chapter.
4. Which brings me to Ben. Oh, Ben, with your steamy eyes and your sexy runner's physique. What I would give to be with you. LOL. His character is the most wonderful compliment to Kyla's. Together, they are up against the world, and that makes the romance so much more desirable for the reader.

Plot: 

1. SLATED is one of those books that takes you for a wild ride, then spits you out at the end and leaves you breathless, and few other books can compare. 
2. There is so much mystery to this one. So much suspense and while readers may look at this book as purely Dystopian, it is so much more than that. It will appeal to readers of every genre, even those who like steamy romance. 
3. SLATED is very big-brothery in the sense that the Slateds don't have the freedom to do as they please. It seems there are always eyes watching them.
4.  There were so many moments where I found myself feeling like I was Kyla, desperate to understand the hold that the government had on the world. People are disappearing. People are scared of the authorities, and best of all, I think people in this book are scared of their own power to make a difference.  It was scary, because it felt so real. And it very well could become real. That's the best kind of fiction.

Basically, I don't know how I'll last until book 2 comes out. I almost wish I could be Slated, just so I could read this book again and re-experience it all for the first time. That's how awesome it was. The mystery...the relationship between Kyla and Ben, the gorgeously descriptive writing, and the awesome ending. Oh, Lord, the ending...don't even get me started on that. This is quite a big book, and don't think that you'll discover what's really going to happen by the time the last few pages roll around. Because you won't. The ending has a heart-wrenching, amazingly shocking twist, and that's another reason I love it. I think SLATED is going to help pave the way for a new brand of YA Science Fiction, and I'm proud to be a fan of it from the start. You want to read this book. I'll say it again. YOU WANT TO READ THIS BOOK. 

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