30 July 2012

(ARC) Review: Glitch - Heather Anastasiu

Release Date: August 7th, 2012
Paperback: 320 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press


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.


Glitch is a mavelous mix of dystopia and sci-fi with awesome paranormal aspects. Despite de slow beginning which was a bit hard to get by, the last few chapters were completely captivating. It's not a secret that my favorite genre is dystopia, so Glitch was a must-read for me and even though it wasn't as good as I was expecting, it was still an amazing read.

The sequence of events in Glitch were really different in comparison to other novels. Everything starts happening and then..BAM, everything changes and you start to wonder if what you thought about the characters and the story was wrong. I loved the many twists in the story because they weren't in any way predictable yet they were a bit confusing. One thing I really enjoyed about Glitch was that the author really did her homework while writing this novel, there were many scientific words and, overall, the science elements were impressive. Furthermore I really enjoyed the concept of evolution, with some characters developping powers (like X-Men!).

The characters were a bit hard to relate to, most of all Zoe, the main character. After living for so long under the power of the Link, when it starts to Glitch, she experiences feelings for the first time. This caused many unnecessary descriptions, while still understandable, were just TOO much. Adrien was an enjoyable love interest but sometimes I found him a bit dull. There were some awkward scenes in which Adrien and Zoe or Zoe and Max talk about love and sexuality, which were a bit hard to swallow!

Glitch was, regarless of the many faults, an amazing novel. The writing could use less descriptions and hopefully the characters will be more developped in the next installment. Nevertheless the plot was throughly enjoyable. A mix of a dystopian background, X-Men superpowers and sci-fi, Glitch couldn't not be incredible.



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 cafĂ©. Website / Twitter

2 comments:

  1. An author who did his research: I like that. It's so much better :) I like the sound of this story and it's nice that there are so many unpredictable twists! What a shame that the characters were hard to relate to. Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts ^^

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  2. Huh. I think the premise of this books sounds interesting, and even though you still liked it, I'ma little skeptical. I have a really hard time with books that start off slow. I just can't deal with it. I also have a really hard time with overdone descriptions. They make me roll my eyes. I may try it still, but I'm not sure.

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