Release Date: July 9, 2013
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
Series: Anomaly, Book 1
Rated: YA 13+
Format: ARC
Source: ALA 2013
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website
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 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?
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 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?
I got the chance to meet Krista McGee briefly during ALA 2013, and that’s when I got a copy of Anomaly signed. Unfortunately, only now did I actually read the book, as I’m on the blog tour for the final book of the trilogy, Revolutionary. While similar stories have been written with similar premises, this one had a very good flow and I found myself reading large chunks of the book without realising how much time had passed.
This book seemed to be more plot-driven rather than character development. Sure, the characters learn a lot along the way, but it was more for the plot’s benefit rather than seeing character growth. With that being said, here’s something I didn’t know until I was reading the book: this book is religious. Sure, growing up abroad in several countries you get accustomed to learning about different religions and of course, reading several texts that feature different religions. However, I felt that it was kind of... preachy. I hate saying it, but yes, it was. Religion I can handle but going a little to far into it was unnecessary. Thomas Nelson Publishing does specialize in books revolving around Christianity, so I should have probably seen this coming. Otherwise, I felt that the plot was good, but because of the amount of religious-input it somewhat hindered my reading.
I will say this though: this is probably the cleanest book I’ve read in a while. No kissing, even though there is some romance, no swear words, and no violence (graphic or gory) during the plot other than the mention of annihilation. I’m still not sure how I feel about this because it’s refreshing to see a book without an overload of swear words and bloody scenes, but I still need something that shocks or pops that would make me remember the book.
While I have some issues with the book, Anomaly was still an intriguing story and I really can’t wait to read Luminary with the way things left off with this book. Here’s to hoping that the second book will be a little less religious and more focused on character development.
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