Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Different Girl

Dahlquist, G. (2013). The different girl. NY: Dutton Books.

ARC provided by Dutton Books via NetGalley -- Thank you!
Just published February 21, 2013!

YA Dystopian / SciFi / Fantasy

QuickNEasy, 240 pages, ages12 and up.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

What a THOUGHT PROVOKING, stand-alone book!  This is NOT your typical dystopian story. Dahlquist's very subtle release of details allows readers to draw their own conclusions about the characters, why they are on the island, and their future. One thing that was interesting to me was how the hints dropped over the course of the book caused my vision of the island girls' physical appearance to change.  It was masterfully done so that my end image was vastly different from when I started reading.  I loved the clever delivery of information instead of the typical in-your-face pages of catch-up and back stories.  Th

The book is dystopian, I think, though it's difficult to tell how far into the future the book is set -- or if it's the future at all.  Dahlquist intentionally leaves this vague, possibly because of the state of our intolerant society and the divisiveness about science "improving upon" humans. 

Impatient readers may find there's not enough action or information to keep them interested, but the careful reader will find much to ponder between the lines.  The story lingers long after the ending.

This would be a great book club choice because there is so much to talk about that's left to the readers' imaginations.  Plenty of points to debate!

CLEAN-O-METER RATING  9 out of 10.  No sex, sexual situations, thoughts, or references. Absolutely no vulgar language (except for "bloody hell"), and what little violence that occurs is mostly implied and not described.

About the cover -- COOL, COOL.  I am all about the covers, as anyone who follows my reviews is aware, and this one is neat. The subtle little button on the girl's ear is a nice tie-in.  Of course, I have a gripe: if redheaded Veronika was the narrator, why isn't she the one on the cover??

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