Welcome to my stop on the Mirror X Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. Click here to follow along with the full tour schedule.
Title: Mirror X
Series: The Van Winkle Project #1
Author: Karri Thompson
Release Date: June 30th 2014
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Source: Review copy
Cassie Dannacher wakes up in a hospital over 1,000 years into the future after her space capsule is retrieved from space. She soon learns that 600 years prior to her arrival, the earth was struck by a plague, killing over half of the world's population. Naive and desperate, Cassie, who longs for home and is having trouble adjusting to the new, dictatorial 31st century government, is comforted by Michael Bennett, the 20-year old lead geneticist at the hospital where she was revived.
But why is Cassie in genetics' hospital in the first place, and why do several of the people around her seem so familiar, including Travel Carson, the hot and edgy boy she is fated to meet? Soon she discovers there is a sinister answer to all of her questions - and that they want something from Cassie that only she can give.
What would happen to the human race if a plague killed over half of the world's population? None of the possibilities I've thought of before compare to what happens in Mirror X. I was surprised and even shocked at how creative this novel is in mixing light science fiction with a dystopian theme. I'm a little jealous, too, but the great news is, I got an awesome book to read.
First of all, I must confess I'm never going to get tired of reading dystopian novels. I love how this genre jump starts my thinking about society, human nature, and social and political issues. Mirror X reminds me of 1984 with the heavy surveillance and monitoring of the citizens - in what I felt to be a nod to the classic novel, Cassie, the main character, mentions it when she finds out more about the society she's woken up in.
When Cassie wakes up from her frozen state, it's the 31st century, over a thousand years after an accident that caused her to be brain dead. She finds out her grandfather had her cryogenically frozen in case future technology developed to regenerate brain function.
I felt her intense frustration at waking up in a society vastly different from the one she lived in. I felt her loneliness at the realization she's the only one who has survived from her time - everyone she knew and loved have been long dead. I felt her longing for her family and her intense sadness knowing she would never see them again. I think I'd be angry, at least at first.
Society has changed in many ways from the one she remembers. After a plague swept the planet and killed over half the population, the survivors rebuilt as best they could. But no one studies history any longer, space exploration has been abandoned, the phrase "life is precious" is constantly repeated, and everyone is expected to wear a bracelet that pretty much does everything, including allowing the government to track your every movement.
I don't want to tell you what it is the geneticists want from Cassie in case you don't already have an idea. In my opinion, it would give away too much of the shock value once you do find out. I will say that Mirror X had me thinking about the lengths people will go to in order to avoid death and how scary it would be if the human race died out. Some think death is the end of everything, others see it as one of many stages, and yet others believe it's only the beginning.
Deep down, I think we all fear the end of our species. It's why we keep reproducing and doing our best to make the world a better place for our offspring. Mirror X is engaging, thought provoking, and relevant to the society we live in. Mirror X could very well end up being a novel listed as a choice to read in high school classrooms right alongside classics such as 1984 and Brave New World.
My Rating
My debut YA novel, Amateur Angel, was released May 1, 2012. The next book in that series, Hollywood Angels, comes out September 1. The first book in my upcoming dystopian trilogy, The Van Winkle Chronicles, will be released by Entangled Publishing Summer 2014.
Blog Tour organized by:
I am seeing some great reviews of this book all over the blogosphere! Can't wait to get ahold of a copy to read!
ReplyDeleteIt's so awesome!! I'm looking forward to what you think when you get a chance to read it!
DeleteHoly wow! Excellent review, Jennifer. I can tell Mirror X really affected you. And I'm eager to get my hands on it as well. I love dystopian as well. And I like books that are provocative - especially about the future of our world and species. I'm also curious to see how Claire handles it all. Thanks for sharing this book. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brandee! I really don't think I'll ever get tired of dystopian. I just can't imagine it. Do you think you ever will? They're interesting and can start up some really great discussions. Hope you love it!
DeleteGreat Review! I can't wait to get my hands on this book, but I can never find it in my local book store :/
ReplyDeleteThank you, Aneta! I hope you're able to get a copy of this book very soon and that you love it! :)
DeleteI remember when you did the cover reveal. This one caught my eye. I haven't read all that many dystopians, but I'm crazy about dystopian movies/TV shows. I love the struggle to survive and how people's true nature shines bright as day.
ReplyDeleteThe premise is awesome. First with the girl being frozen because of brain damage, what a great spin, then to have the world change so much and for it to be 1984-ish. That book freaked me out so much. I never looked at the TV the same way again. I'm leery of the wrist bands that do everything. I can see society creating tech like that to take care of all the day to day tasks and then it all going to shit.
I'm glad you loved it. Don't be too jealous, Donnie Darko Girl who loves zombies and still gets all gushy over romance and kick ass girls has her stories to tell.
The cover is so pretty, and it does stay with you, doesn't it? I love dystopian movies and shows, too. Like *cough* The Purge *cough* That movie was marketed as a horror/thriller, but it was dystopian to me. And thriller, too. That movie explored people's true nature and that bad things can happen anywhere to anyone, even if you're super rich.
DeleteI agree! That book freaked me out, too. The premise of this book also reminded me of Doctor Who, which Janie and I are big fans of as you know. There was an episode where people's TVs were stealing their faces. I'm surprised I can even look at a TV, lol.
I can see wrist bands like that being invented, too. I hope we don't have to worry about that anytime soon. I can just see younger people being all about it, and people our age and older would be totally against it. There was an episode of Doctor Who where everyone is implanted with a microchip in their brain, and the news and things were downloaded directly into the mind. That scares me so much. That was the Cybermen episode. EEK!
Tech always outpaces what we as a species are ready for, so it would all go to shit, too. I know it.
Thank you, Robyn! That's lovely to think about. :)