Written by:
Malinda Lo
Publisher: Little, Brown
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Source: Purchased
Series: Adaptation series #1
Purchase:
IndieBound |
amazon |
Barnes and Noble
Goodreads:
Rating:
5 out of 5 action-packed stars. I loved it!!!
Synopsis:
Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.
Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.
Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.
Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.
Aside: I like when reviewers admit biases. So here goes, I love pretty much all plots that play upon a certain subject matter. I won't divulge it fully, but think "X Files" and "Fringe" and I'm there. Throw in a government conspiracy and you've got me sitting up late and flipping pages.
I wasn't sure what
ADAPTATION was about. Yes, I read the synopsis and thought hmm, bird invasion, eh? Interesting. But what I didn't expect was to be pulled into Reese's story with such force that yes, I ignored pretty much everything (except my dog's repeated requests to be let outside).
Here's what Malinda does brilliantly -- she writes this seemingly sweet, little story about Reese and an unexpectedly awkward moment that occurred during a debate competition. Just when you fall into the rhythm of what could be a contemporary romance plot, Malinda pulls you away into scenes so action packed that you find yourself holding your breath and then trying to exhale normally so that people around you don’t notice you’re not breathing while reading, what, a book?!? Phew. See? I held my breath just writing that run-on sentence.
And then yes, there is romance. Malinda, you can write me a kissy scene any old time (not that she’s taking requests). The romance in this story is so real, it could be the storyline of a favorite romance of mine. Swing sets, corner coffee shops and San Francisco. Oh, how Malinda made me miss the city I used to visit so often.
But then there’s the matter of the birds, terrorism and Reese discovering what happened in that military hospital. As a reader, I didn’t have much time to focus on the romance because I was too busy discovering what will happen next. If you love science fiction, you must pick up
ADAPTATION . Musty-must-must.
In fact, while Katie’s away at BEA and I’m quietly keeping things up to date on MMs, so I think I’ll give away a hardcover of the book. Fill out the Rafflecopter widget below. Yes, the giveaway is open to international addresses. Anywhere that The Book Depository or Barnes and Noble will ship. Okay now, go enter. Or go to the library and check it out. Or go to the bookstore and purchase a copy. It’s worth it.
a Rafflecopter giveaway