Blog Tour ~ Review & Tour Wide Giveaway: Anomaly by Krista McGee

Hey everybody! Welcome to my stop on the Anomaly blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. Click here for the full blog tour schedule! :D 

Title: Anomaly

Author: Krista McGee

Release Date: July 9th 2013

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 320

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction  

Blog Tour Hosted By: YA Bound Book Tours

My Rating: 4 / 5 stars

~Synopsis~

Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.

Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels things. She asks questions. And in The State, this is not tolerated. The Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong - and they have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created. Thalli has kept her malformation a secret from those who have monitored her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of music to record as her community's assigned musician, she can no longer keep her emotions secreted away.

Seen as a threat to the harmony of her Pod, Thalli is taken to the Scientists for immediate annihilation. But before that can happen, Berk - her former Pod mate who is being groomed as a Scientist - steps in and persuades the Scientists to keep Thalli alive as a test subject.

The more time she spends in the Scientist's Pod, the clearer it becomes that things are not as simple as she was programmed to believe. She hears stories of a Designer - stories that fill her mind with more questions: Who can she trust? What is this emotion called love? And what if she isn't just an anomaly, but part of a greater design?

~My Thoughts~

Wow! I'm just now coming up for air after immersing myself in Thalli's story. The synopsis had caught my attention the moment I saw it, and I couldn't help but to try to think of different ways this story might go. With all of the twists and turns, I'm still catching my breath and never could have imagined a story like I just read - it was so much more than I was expecting.

The world that Krista McGee creates is absolutely creative and so shocking...to have human emotions ripped away from us in order to have a peaceful productive society? Would the lack of feeling be worth the peace? Would it be worth it to live without experiencing emotions? These are some of the questions I found myself thinking about because I know everything comes at a price. 

What happens when a member of this society begins to feel? They're annihilated, and that's exactly the word used, which conjured up images of being blown to bits. How is that keeping peacefulness and productivity? Annihilated. Not just "terminated" or "executed." Very strong word of destruction. When Thalli finds herself experiencing sadness or joy or curiosity  she has a hard time hiding these emotions from those around her. She slips up, is found out, and is scheduled to be annihilated. 

I don't want to talk about the plot itself because it's so intricate and complicated, I fear I might give something away without realizing it. I do want to express how much I love the way this story was told and how it can launch a thousand interesting and thought provoking discussions. I was kept on my toes - just when I thought I was figuring out what was going on, something would happen, taking me in a new direction. It was a fun ride! 

I thought about the Vulcans from Star Trek throughout the novel because they find emotions to be "illogical," and Thalli's friend, Rhen, made me think of Spock. She'd say, "I don't understand," when Thalli would ask her a question, and I knew she really didn't understand because of the way she thinks. The idea of whether emotions are okay to have or whether they're destructive to us as human beings is the central theme of this book. I loved how many questions about life in general and how to live are raised by this story. I was given much to think about. 

If you're a fellow dystopia lover like me and looking for something new and fresh in the genre, this book needs to be the next one you read! :)

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review as a stop on the blog tour. 

~Available from~    

    

~About the Author~

Krista McGee's passion to see teens excited about serving God is a driving force behind her novels. Ever since college when she spent a summer working at a youth camp, McGee knew she wanted to invest in teenagers. Since then she's been involved in a variety of youth ministries and currently teaches at a Christian school in Tampa, FL.

McGee broke into the writing world during her time in Spain. A friend encouraged her to submit an article to a Christian girls' magazine, and it got published. Once her family moved back to Tampa, she got the idea for her first novel, First Date, a modern take of the story of Esther. Her subsequent books, Starring Me and Right Where I Belong, are based on Rebekah and Ruth. 

When Krista McGee isn't living in fictional worlds of her own creation, she spends her days as a wife, mom, teacher and coffee snob.

~Author Links~

    

~Giveaway~
5 print copies of Anomaly!
US only

a Rafflecopter giveaway