Book Review: Crash by Lisa McMann (Visions #1)

This book had promise, but for me, it was unfulfilled potential. The central idea for the novel was about a girl who has a vision about a car crash and after it not going away she realises it must be true; so she tries to stop it, without looking insane.

The reason she tries so hard to stop it is because in one of the nine body bags she sees as a result of the crash, the face of her childhood crush is present. She still has feelings for this guy and she believes that if her vision is true that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't try to save him.

See, the premise seems quite interesting, but it was the execution where this book had it's downfall. The writing was simplistic and didn't seem to suit the story very well. The plot was undeveloped and lacked depth. It all just kind of happened with no reason why. I just felt like her character could've been developed further and maybe a background of why she is having this vision. Is it due to a mental illness(this is implied throughout the book but it seems unlikely or at least wasn't explained fully) or some kind of power she has? I think it could've improved if her "power" had more of an impact in the storytelling. For example when she asks her Psych teacher about psychic abilities being linked to mental illness and he says to do some research. That kind of research would've enriched the story and made it more interesting. Also if she had more than one vision, like she had tiny visions about small incidents like tripping on the ice on SuperBowl Sunday. For me, the story was developed enough and it is the reason why I didn't like it too much; it was kind of average.

RATING - 3 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: Linked by Imogen Howson (Linked #1)

Wow. I didn't really know what to expect from this book but I got surprised with how fast-paced and awesome this book was. The concept was brilliant and was immediately what got me excited and intrigued about the novel. 

Linked is about Elissa and how she finds out that she has a Spare (aka Twin) who was taken by the government for experiments at birth. Her parents were made to forget/lie but it becomes obvious to her Dad when she hits puberty and starts experiencing "hallucinations" which are really just flashes, through a telepathic link, to the inhumane experiments that are happening to her twin sister. These hallucinations are destroying Elissa's life because she is consistently in pain because of them. It is not till after she's been signed up for a brain surgery appointment that she realises that they aren't hallucinations and that the person she sees through is real and needs her help. After meeting each other for the first time, Elissa's life gets turned upside as the attempt to get "Lin" away from the government and find safety. 

It is a wild ride from the get-go because Lin is a bit of wild-card because she immediately lacks empathy for anyone other than Elissa. Elissa has to try and teach Lin that not everyone deserves her wrath. I found this transition for Lin to go through was particularly interesting because she has spent her whole life being told that she isn't human and to try and change her viewpoint on the world and other people is incredibly realistic and a central point of stress for Elissa throughout the book.

The relationship between Cadan and Elissa is incredibly interesting because there is a lot of background there. I'm glad of the direction it took and that it wasn't some pointless YA romance that was slotted into the book for the sake of it. 

As a twin myself, it was weird and interesting to try and imagine myself or my sister being viewed as non-human or a clone just because we were born at the same time and look alike. I don't share any telepathic link with my sister but it sure is interesting to read about those kind of connections. I find that a lot of other stories I read about twins are quite pathetic because they cast twins as being fully compatible and as a twin, this is so false. I'm glad that the relationship between Elissa and Lin was as complicated as any sister's relationship. It definitely helped to relate more to the situation (not that I can really relate to fleeing from a government that is trying to kill me and my sister.)

Overall, I don't have anything bad to say about this book except that it was released in June this year and I'm going to have to wait awhile to complete the series. This book is also Imogen Howson's debut novel and since it was so excellent, I'm quite excited to see more from her.

RATING - 5 out of 5 stars

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