The Blemished by Sarah Dalton

By: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Title:  The Blemished

Author:  Sarah Dalton

Series:  Blemished #1

Published:  August 2012 by Feed a Read

Page Count:  328

Genre:  Young Adult Dystopian

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A beautiful world comes at a price...

In a world filled with stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an Education, her right to a normal life and her right to have a child.

Mina keeps a dangerous secret which she never thought she could share until she meets Angela on her first day at St Jude's School. But their friendship is soon complicated by Angela’s adoptive brother Daniel. Mina finds herself drawn to his mysterious powers and impulsive nature. Then there is the gorgeous clone Sebastian who Mina is forbidden from even speaking to…

The Blemished is a frightening take on a fractured future where the Genetic Enhancement Ministry have taken control of Britain. It will take you on a ride filled with adventure, romance and rebellion.

My Review:

This novel is extra scary simply because you can picture the events happening. Based on the storyline, it is so easy to see genetic engineering following this path that it makes you shudder. This leads to events and times that are completely heart wrenching. You can barely fathom the very real issues that these characters live with, yet they are brought to life so vividly that you feel for them. This realism combined with Dalton’s phenomenal storytelling creates a world that you feel completely immersed in yet never want to visit.

This novel was also very well written. Everything flows so seamlessly that you can immerse yourself completely in the storyline and characters. The world comes to live through Dalton’s descriptions of locales and settings. You can picture yourself walking through the various sections of the England that she has built for her story.

As unique as this novel was, the best part about it was the characters. Each and every one of the major characters is extremely well developed and loveable in their own way. You know who they are and where they came from. You can see the various trials and tribulations that they have been through to build them into the individuals that they are today. None of them have had easy lives. It is refreshing to read about something other than the upper strata of society. Yet at the same time, the author shows that they do not have carefree lives either.

This was a phenomenally well written first novel for an up and coming new author. It leads you into a world that you can get lost in while giving you something to hope for and believe in. Well done!

Buy your copy online here today!