Blog Tour: Anomaly by Krista McGee (Review + Giveaway)

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Published: July 9^th, 2013 (Thomas Nelson)

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5

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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.

Decades before Thalli’s birth, the world ended in a nuclear war. But life went on deep underground, thanks to a handful of scientists known as The Ten. Since then, they have genetically engineered humans to be free from emotions in the hopes that war won’t threaten their lives again.

But Thalli was born with the ability to feel emotions and a sense of curiosity she can barely contain. She has survived so far thanks to her ability to hide those differences. But Thalli’s secret is discovered when she is overwhelmed by the emotion in an ancient piece of music.

She is quickly scheduled for annihilation, but her childhood friend, Berk, convinces The Ten to postpone her death and study her instead. While in the scientists’ Pod, Thalli and Berk form a dangerous alliance, one strictly forbidden by the constant surveillance in the pods.

As her life ticks away, she hears rumors of someone called the Designer—someone even more powerful than The Ten. What’s more, the parts of her that have always been an anomaly could in fact be part of a much larger plan. And the parts of her that she has always guarded could be the answer she’s been looking for all along.

Thalli must sort out what to believe and who she can trust, before her time runs out… [Description from Amazon]

When I first started Anomaly, I thought it was pretty typical of the dystopian genre. The language, the focus on and exaltation of science over everything else (other fields, religion, love, emotion, etc), and the theme of human ignorance and dependence on a higher power (which, in turn, ends up being evil, though that’s often obvious from the start). These are reoccurring themes in dystopian literature today. Anomaly included them all, which is why I initially labeled it as “typical.” I was soon contradicted in my opinion, though, as well as pleasantly surprised.

Typical as it may have seemed, Anomaly’s fantastic plot twists is what really did it for me. It doesn’t turn out how you think it will. And don’t try and refute that statement until you’ve read the very last page. Oh yeah. It’s one of those books. The ones that change everything with the last few sentences, leaving you breathless and stunned. But that’s all I’m saying. *seals lips and throws away key*

It was really easy to connect to Thalli, obviously, since she had the “ability” to feel emotions (this made her an anomaly). An emotionless character would be pretty hard to connect with. *wink* I liked the “robotic” language that Krista used (sparse use of contractions). This can be a typical aspect of a dystopian, but it worked well in this book. As far as Berk, he was good as a love interest, but I liked Stone better. I just did. But I don’t think Thalli and Stone are going to happen, for reasons I can’t disclose. Spoilers! (oh my word, total Doctor Who reference right there, for those of you who didn’t catch it)

I’ve never read any other books by Krista McGee, though I’ve heard her YA books and her Christian romances are fantastic. But she’d never ventured into the dystopian genre before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised. Definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next in this series.

Quick Content Review: *may contain spoilers*

Language: None

Violence: None- Mild (human experimentation; not gory, no description)

Sexual: None- Mild (some kissing…or thoughts about kissing…or something like that)

About the Author…

Krista McGee’s passion to see teens excited about serving God is a driving force behind her novels. Ever since college when she spent a summer working at a youth camp, McGee knew she wanted to invest in teenagers. Since then she’s been involved in a variety of youth ministries and currently teaches at a Christian school in Tampa, FL.

McGee broke into the writing world during her time in Spain. A friend encouraged her to submit an article to a Christian girls’ magazine, and it got published. Once her family moved back to Tampa, she got the idea for her first novel, First Date, a modern take of the story of Esther. Her subsequent books, Starring Me and Right Where I Belong, are based on Rebekah and Ruth.

When Krista McGee isn’t living in fictional worlds of her own creation, she spends her days as a wife, mom, teacher and coffee snob.

Connect with Krista:

Website│Twitter│Goodreads│Facebook

***GIVEAWAY***

5 print copies of Anomaly, US only.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway