Perception Trilogy by Lee Strauss
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NCH
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Perception Trilogy by Lee Strauss
I just finished Lee Strauss' Perception trilogy a few days ago and while I am not usually a YA/Teen genre reader, I really enjoyed these books. This series is based in a dystopian future (surprise!) where science has made some major advancements. The biggest of which is being able to genetically alter people to be healthier, live longer, be more beautiful, etc. Not everyone can afford to be genetically altered, however, which creates two classes of people: the GAP's and the naturals. The GAP's tend to be more privileged than the naturals, which causes tension between the two classes. One of the main characters is 18 year old Noah (a natural) whose mother works for the family of the other main character, 17 year old Zoe (a GAP). Noah is not very fond of the GAP's or the privileges they receive and actively protests against them. When Zoe's older brother is found murdered in the part of the city where the naturals reside, Zoe turns to Noah to help her find out the truth about her brothers death. The story continues from there and has a number of surprises. I would recommend this story to those who enjoy the YA/Teen dystopian future read.
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Istiak_Ahmed
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The Story:
Perception had some interesting concepts. I enjoyed thinking about what a society would look like once the ability to extend life presented itself. Strauss created a world with only the wealthy having the ability to extend their lives, the others live on the fringes. Of course, this creates a social hierarchy associated with who has been genetically altered versus those that have not either due to choice or inability. The science of how the advances were made was barely touched upon though Strauss does give details into how the city and it's citizens looks. Overall, the future Strauss created was not one I'd want to read further about or live in.
The Characters:
The characters and the romance lacked for me. Zoe wasn't overly likable and try as I might I could not feel connected to any of the characters. I didn't care that Liam, Zoe's brother, was missing. Zoe referred to her parents by their first names which I didn't care for, and also confused me in the beginning when I was trying to remember who everyone was. She does have a substantial amount of growth throughout the novel.
The romance was rushed and I never felt the moment where the two leads fell for each other. Zoe and Noah had electric pulses when they touched, which always make me roll my eyes. I would say that Noah Brody was probably the best character and he had the most depth to me because of his religious views and his connections and dedication to his family.
Final Thoughts:
Perception wasn't a bad book just not one I felt very connected to.
Perception had some interesting concepts. I enjoyed thinking about what a society would look like once the ability to extend life presented itself. Strauss created a world with only the wealthy having the ability to extend their lives, the others live on the fringes. Of course, this creates a social hierarchy associated with who has been genetically altered versus those that have not either due to choice or inability. The science of how the advances were made was barely touched upon though Strauss does give details into how the city and it's citizens looks. Overall, the future Strauss created was not one I'd want to read further about or live in.
The Characters:
The characters and the romance lacked for me. Zoe wasn't overly likable and try as I might I could not feel connected to any of the characters. I didn't care that Liam, Zoe's brother, was missing. Zoe referred to her parents by their first names which I didn't care for, and also confused me in the beginning when I was trying to remember who everyone was. She does have a substantial amount of growth throughout the novel.
The romance was rushed and I never felt the moment where the two leads fell for each other. Zoe and Noah had electric pulses when they touched, which always make me roll my eyes. I would say that Noah Brody was probably the best character and he had the most depth to me because of his religious views and his connections and dedication to his family.
Final Thoughts:
Perception wasn't a bad book just not one I felt very connected to.
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Mamma_J
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This is the first book in a teen distopian series. It is set in the not to distant future, which has changed due to a breakdown in nature and the advancement of technology. There is very little about the breakdown of nature, it is more of a side topic. The technological advances include human life extension, personal implanted chips of an individuals life and the electronic transportation.
The distopian factor comes in as only the very wealthy can afford the extension of life and DNA genetically altered treatments, leaving the majority of human kind to live normal lives. The GAPs (Genetically Altered People) have also created perfect environments to live in gating themselves away from the unaltered.
The main characters are a young GAP female and a normal male who come together to investigate the suspicious death oh the young women's brother. Their investigation leads to shocking discoveries setting the two out to escape danger and find solutions.
This story is not as extreme a distopian story, in it is not dealing with a new world government, as it focuses more on dealing with the potential of extreme disparities if things continue. It is set in a more contemporary America so it is easy to slip into the setting. The characters are easy to like and it feels like something that could really happen in the near future.
As this is only the first book in the series there has not been a lot of plot change, but leaves open all the potential possibilities. It did not capture me as throughly as other books of this genre, but it kept me coming back. I would give this a 3 out of 5 star review.
The distopian factor comes in as only the very wealthy can afford the extension of life and DNA genetically altered treatments, leaving the majority of human kind to live normal lives. The GAPs (Genetically Altered People) have also created perfect environments to live in gating themselves away from the unaltered.
The main characters are a young GAP female and a normal male who come together to investigate the suspicious death oh the young women's brother. Their investigation leads to shocking discoveries setting the two out to escape danger and find solutions.
This story is not as extreme a distopian story, in it is not dealing with a new world government, as it focuses more on dealing with the potential of extreme disparities if things continue. It is set in a more contemporary America so it is easy to slip into the setting. The characters are easy to like and it feels like something that could really happen in the near future.
As this is only the first book in the series there has not been a lot of plot change, but leaves open all the potential possibilities. It did not capture me as throughly as other books of this genre, but it kept me coming back. I would give this a 3 out of 5 star review.
