Review : Glitch by Heather Anastasiu
Summary (from Goodreads)
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.
In this action-packed debut, Glitch begins an exciting new young adult trilogy.
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.
In this action-packed debut, Glitch begins an exciting new young adult trilogy.
Personal Thoughts
Glitch has been on my wish-list for some time now. I was intrigued by the cover and the premise of the book. I was somewhat certain that I would end up loving the book since I've had a more or less positive experience with dystopian novels. Unfortunately, I found that Glitch wasn't captivating enough to hold my attention due to an over-load of cliches.
Computer chips have been installed on all the people in The Community, a dystopian society, so that 'cancerous' feelings are eradicated and the thoughts of the people are basically implemented into them via the Link. Zoel, the protagonist, soon starts to 'glitch' and begins to have own thoughts and feelings. This sort of behavior is anomalous in The Community and she has to everything to keep it a secret. Soon, she meets Adrien, another anomaly, who informs Zoe that there are other glitchers out there.
I had a really tough time figuring out the main character, Zoel. She was, in a way, pathetic and lacked a back-bone. I disliked her lack of independence. It was unnerving to see her rely on the male characters so much. I wanted her to be a heroine who could stand up for herself. Unfortunately, Zoe was not that. She kept crying and wallowing in self-pity and I found myself being annoyed by her. The love interest, Adrien, was a lifeless character. He had no personality trait whatsoever and I found him to be irksome. Max, the other love interest, was a downright perv, who kept pushing Zoe to do things she didn't want to. I got that the guy had never experienced pleasure and wanted to enjoy himself, but he emotionally blackmailed the poor girl. Plus, he was always horny. (He says crap like "Can I see your genitalia?" - I had a good laugh when I read that line!) I must say, the characters were all very dissatisfying, but there's still room for improvement in the next books.
The romance, too, was ridiculous. For one, there was a serious case of instant-love. Zoe and Adrien fall for each other within hours. I found that to be so unrealistic, especially since Zoe knew basically nothing about Adrien. Also, there's a love triangle that felt way too forced. It felt as if the author felt compelled to add it for some reason. As I mentioned above, Max was a character who was overcome with lust, so what he felt towards Zoe was nothing more than hormones, or so I felt. There was no chemistry whatsoever between any of the characters. To be honest, I was very disappointed.
The plot had the potential to be something extraordinary. I found the whole idea of glitching to be brilliant, but I also felt like nothing much happened throughout the book. One thing I look forward to when reading dystopian novels are action-packed scenes, which are absent from Glitch. Heather Anastasiu's world seemed fascinating at first, but then over the course of the story, I began to get so annoyed since I just kept waiting for something epic to happen, and I ended up disliking the book. There were times when I just wanted to give up reading the book, because it was painful to get through it, but I decided to try and finish it because I did request the ARC through NetGalley. The author's writing style is actually very good and I believe that she is talented, but her characters need some work.
Needless to say, I am extremely dismayed that I didn't enjoy this book so much. I'm not sure whether fans of YA dystopia will love this one or not, but I think everyone should give it a shot and form an opinion. I'll be interested in hearing everyone's thoughts. To sum up, Glitch failed to impress me.
Rating
Cover : 4/5
Plot : 1/5
Characters : 1/5
Writing : 3/5
Plot : 1/5
Characters : 1/5
Writing : 3/5
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