Monday, April 23, 2012

I'm Awake and Alive

Expected Publication: May 8th, 2012
Revived
By: Cat Patrick
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780316094627


As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.

A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency's true goals, she realizes she's at the center of something much larger — and more sinister — than she ever imagined.


Review

   Daisy Appleby has been dead more than once.  The first time she died was in a horrific bus accident, but it allowed testing of an experimental drug called 'Revive' which brought her and almost everyone on the bus back from the dead.  Now, she has been stung by bees (to which she is highly allergic) when she was without her eppy pen.  Daisy was brought back by her guardian, Mason, but it is getting harder each time to revive her.  Now Daisy must start over in a new town, at a new school, with a new name.  But the upside is that this time she begins to feel like a normal teenager - like she belongs.  Will she risk everything to tell her secret to her new friend Matt (who may be more than a friend...)?  And has she been followed by someone?  Is the project in danger of corruption by the founder - the God of Revive?  And if it was Daisy might have to kiss more than her new friends goodbye...  After her latest death, Daisy moves to a new town, Omaha.  She quickly makes a friend of Audrey, a really pretty girl who for no apparent reason appears to be an outcast.  Also, Daisy finds herself falling for Audrey's brother Matt.  But Daisy isn't living a normal life - instead of parents she has handlers named Mason and Cassie.  They're scientists who work for Project Revive, whose job is to monitor her life and the effects the drug has had on her over the years.  But Daisy stumbles onto evidence that God (the man who created Revive) might be corrupt and using the project for his own ends.  When the morality and plausability of the thing keeping you breathing is called into question, where can you turn?  I really liked this book for the depth and wonderful personalities of the characters.  Cat Patrick really knows how to make your heart alternately bleed and then pound for joy.  I expected more from the plot, especially after her debut novel Forgotten had such an effortless way of weaving the plot twists around the character development.  I liked how she dealt with the morality issues, but felt like there was too much plot and not enough character.  That said, I honestly enjoyed the ending and the whole book, never experiencing boredom at all while reading it.  This book is highly recommended, just expect more personal journey than sci-fi thriller.

VERDICT:  3.75/5  Stars

*I got this ARC by chance and luck of the draw (and a truly awesome librarian friend!). No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is expected to be published May 8th, 2012.*

1 comment:

  1. Hadn't even heard of this book, sounds interesting enough...great review :)

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