Book Review: Slated

Title: Slated
Author: Teri Terry
Publisher: Orchard Books
Year of Publication: 2012
Summary: Kyla’s memory has been erased, her personality wiped blank, her memories lost for ever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?

Review: Let me start out by saying - this book was basically AMAZING. It was so good! I was drawn in from the very beginning - Teri Terry does an excellent job at weaving a story and creating characters that jump off the page. If I hadn't have been so busy I would have finished this novel in one sitting.

The world building was exquisite and believable. Teri Terry did an excellent job of distributing information throughout the book. The problem I have with a lot of dystopian or post-major event novels is the author tries to throw many details in very early in the book. This was certainly not the case in Slated. Details were revealed as they were needed, and not in huge clumps.

The characters were interesting and diverse, and they changed and grew with the story. For example at the beginning Kyla's new dad was joking and loving whereas her new mum was cold and aloof - in fact, I hated her mum at first, and then I quickly grew to love her. The teenagers were believable teenagers who rebelled and did stupid teenage things and were not perfect but especially in the case of Amy, they loved and cared about each other.

The only complaint I have about this story - and it's a big one - is the ending. WHY TERI TERRY? WHY? That should not have been the end of the story - that was a crap ending and I am frankly a bit mad that such an amazing novel was let down by that ending. It did not feel like the story was over at all. There was no climax. I would gladly have continued reading for another hundred to two hundred pages just for something big to happen.

I am a bit torn between giving this story four or five stars. On one hand almost everything was absolutely perfect... but on the other, the thing that was not perfect was a total let down. So I guess I have to concede, and give this book 4/5.

Rating: 4/5 stars
★★★★✰