Review by Mune -- Tick by Allison Rose
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Mune
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Review by Mune -- Tick by Allison Rose
[Following is a volunteer review of "Tick" by Allison Rose.]
4 out of 4 stars
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It has been a long time since I stayed up reading until my eyes itched and burned while my back screamed in pain to remind me that I needed to get up and move around. Tick by Allison Rose was the cause of my suffering, but I am not complaining! This book was amazing. Everything I usually dislike about YA books and the repetitive premise of dystopian novels was absent in this story. I felt like I was seeing the terrible and frightening world of a real 17 year old girl. At no time did I feel like rolling my eyes at a clichéd scene or grimacing at dialogue faux pas. Allison Rose has an amazing series on her hands.
The story takes place in a future world where a technology company, FutureTech, is basically running everything. You can feel the oppression of the controlling corporate centralized society, forced to be herded along on a certain path based on ones’ financial situation and connections amongst higher up people. In this society, having anything abnormal about your personality, and more specifically your brain, is something that is vigorously sniffed out by invasive drones that are everywhere. People plaster on plastic smiles and hope that they won’t have to have their brain wired and become a bothead, something similar to one who has been lobotomized. FutureTech, and the United States government, are being rebelled against by Alias (now Alias-X). The protagonist is a 17 year old artistic girl named Jo. She lives with her mother, a woman who has already dealt with the mental repercussions of the brain altering world, and the haunting memories of her artistic father who had killed himself within the last few years. Jo has a tick, a personality quirk. Jo’s tick, though, is somewhat terrifying because she goes into a daze as her mind plays out gruesome murder scenes of the people around her.
This book was riveting. The grit, reality, and harsh truths that Jo has to face and the horror of the society she lives in becomes very real. I was afraid that her personality would seem contrived or unrealistic, because I couldn’t imagine a character with these sorts of visions being relatable. Allison does a wonderful job, though, at developing Jo’s character. You feel her desperation and fear, and then you feel her waxing and waning resolve as her situation changes. I truly felt sympathy for Jo, despite the chaos and darkness of her character. The other characters in the story each build in their own fashion and you can’t help but sincerely feel the same emotion towards people that Jo does. I pitied her mother and at the same time was disgusted with her inability to wake up to the world around her. I hated her mother’s boyfriend. The questionable characters pan out smoothly, and the uncertainty that Jo feels was reflected in my own feelings. The most fascinating facet of this is that Jo seems to have a very sociopathic view of people, and often is very devoid of emotion. This does not take from her character, but enhances how each character and scenario is scene and felt.
There was very little I could find to dislike about this book. As for spelling, grammar, etc., there were only two instances where I noticed errors, but they were typographical. The story is very dark and very violent. Though it is young adult, it is more of a realistic young adult; older teens at least. There are sexual innuendoes but they are not strong or vulgar. My only worry was towards the end of the book. The ending is a bit more uplifting and does have a shadow of hope for the people in the story. I am just hoping that in the second book the darkness is not completely done away with, as it would not maintain the flow and depth of the story. Other than that, I was extremely satisfied.
I would give this book 4 out of 4 stars. This is probably the best book I have read in a long time and deserves nothing less than a perfect score. Fans of Scott Westerfield’s Ugly series or even Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game would really enjoy this dark dystopian novel. I do think the audience is much older teens, due to the graphic violence, but any mature teen 15 years and up would be able to read this. I am so happy I found this gem and am very anxious for the second book, which Allison says is currently in the editing phase. If you love a dark, gritty, dystopian story, this is your book!
******
Tick
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
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4 out of 4 stars
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It has been a long time since I stayed up reading until my eyes itched and burned while my back screamed in pain to remind me that I needed to get up and move around. Tick by Allison Rose was the cause of my suffering, but I am not complaining! This book was amazing. Everything I usually dislike about YA books and the repetitive premise of dystopian novels was absent in this story. I felt like I was seeing the terrible and frightening world of a real 17 year old girl. At no time did I feel like rolling my eyes at a clichéd scene or grimacing at dialogue faux pas. Allison Rose has an amazing series on her hands.
The story takes place in a future world where a technology company, FutureTech, is basically running everything. You can feel the oppression of the controlling corporate centralized society, forced to be herded along on a certain path based on ones’ financial situation and connections amongst higher up people. In this society, having anything abnormal about your personality, and more specifically your brain, is something that is vigorously sniffed out by invasive drones that are everywhere. People plaster on plastic smiles and hope that they won’t have to have their brain wired and become a bothead, something similar to one who has been lobotomized. FutureTech, and the United States government, are being rebelled against by Alias (now Alias-X). The protagonist is a 17 year old artistic girl named Jo. She lives with her mother, a woman who has already dealt with the mental repercussions of the brain altering world, and the haunting memories of her artistic father who had killed himself within the last few years. Jo has a tick, a personality quirk. Jo’s tick, though, is somewhat terrifying because she goes into a daze as her mind plays out gruesome murder scenes of the people around her.
This book was riveting. The grit, reality, and harsh truths that Jo has to face and the horror of the society she lives in becomes very real. I was afraid that her personality would seem contrived or unrealistic, because I couldn’t imagine a character with these sorts of visions being relatable. Allison does a wonderful job, though, at developing Jo’s character. You feel her desperation and fear, and then you feel her waxing and waning resolve as her situation changes. I truly felt sympathy for Jo, despite the chaos and darkness of her character. The other characters in the story each build in their own fashion and you can’t help but sincerely feel the same emotion towards people that Jo does. I pitied her mother and at the same time was disgusted with her inability to wake up to the world around her. I hated her mother’s boyfriend. The questionable characters pan out smoothly, and the uncertainty that Jo feels was reflected in my own feelings. The most fascinating facet of this is that Jo seems to have a very sociopathic view of people, and often is very devoid of emotion. This does not take from her character, but enhances how each character and scenario is scene and felt.
There was very little I could find to dislike about this book. As for spelling, grammar, etc., there were only two instances where I noticed errors, but they were typographical. The story is very dark and very violent. Though it is young adult, it is more of a realistic young adult; older teens at least. There are sexual innuendoes but they are not strong or vulgar. My only worry was towards the end of the book. The ending is a bit more uplifting and does have a shadow of hope for the people in the story. I am just hoping that in the second book the darkness is not completely done away with, as it would not maintain the flow and depth of the story. Other than that, I was extremely satisfied.
I would give this book 4 out of 4 stars. This is probably the best book I have read in a long time and deserves nothing less than a perfect score. Fans of Scott Westerfield’s Ugly series or even Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game would really enjoy this dark dystopian novel. I do think the audience is much older teens, due to the graphic violence, but any mature teen 15 years and up would be able to read this. I am so happy I found this gem and am very anxious for the second book, which Allison says is currently in the editing phase. If you love a dark, gritty, dystopian story, this is your book!
******
Tick
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Like Mune's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "The Silent Shadow" by Patrick Clarke
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Tommie H Odom
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This is a great book and review. I love it. Everyone has a Tick. You have one and I do to. This book shows and tells of the length people will go go to destroy the minds of others. Especially the ones that we are threaten by. Read it. It shows you how to guard your mind so that others want take what's rightfully yours. When your mind is gone. You are play dough in the hands of the boss.
