My rating is 4.5 Stars
On front cover: QUESTION. FEEL. BELIEVE.
My Review
This is the definition for the word anomaly: deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule. I really like that definition and it fits Thalli so well. Thalli lives in a world that is underground.she has no knowledge of what Earth is like, she has never seen the ocean, and taking turns to see the moon is a rare privilege. She is 17 years old and the underground, called the State, is run by scientists. There are 10 scientists and they in turn are training the next generation of genetically engineered human beings to take over when the time is right. There are no more families, no more children, no dust or sickness, and everything is controlled, measured, or rationed according to each population. There is no more emotions, no more belief system, and no more love. There are different pods separated by age group/generation and each person in these sections has been engineered to master one thing. Thalli is a musician; there is also a dietician, historian, mathematician, horticulturist, etc. She loves music and can play any instrument. She expresses herself through music and analyzes her feelings for others through music.
One night Thallis pod, Pod C, is schedule to view the moon, but something goes wrong and they must be rescheduled. Thalli gets suspicious because nothing ever gets rescheduled, things in her world never go wrong. Thats about to change.
At some point Thalli is sent to the music room to play a piece shes never seen before. While she is playing she loses herself in the music and she is caught sobbing uncontrollably, that is when its decided she will be annihilated. Scientists believe that if anything not engineered shows up within the State, that this could be contagious or cause disorder. Also, once someone no longer serves a purpose for the greater good of the State, they are annihilated. The characters in the plot define anomaly as rushing through lessons, curiosity, arguing, having emotions.
Will Thalli survive what these scientists have in store for her? Will she discover the truth in time? As the scientists realize mistakes that have been made along the way, will Thalli be able to help them find answers?
Thalli herself is kind of childish at first, but there is such an innocence about her and she has an amazing heart for being a genetically engineered person with brilliant potential. Then she meets John and he teaches her about the real Designer and opens her mind to impossibilities beyond what she has been taught or trained to believe.
The main lesson I got from this story is how society trains us to believe untrue concepts that we buy into. Yes, we need authority and to respect order, but we also have to remember that as believers we are not of this world. Were here to fulfill Gods purpose for our lives not to fit in or be like everyone else. Our minds, our bodies, and our purpose are not supposed to be conformed to what the world dictates, thats not where our identity originates from and its not where our destiny is. This is a powerful reminder throughout the book.
I absolutely loved reading this book, but as a reader I also want to point out that nothing in the plot is what it seems. Its easy to read, chapters are short, and it can be read in one or two sittings, but things definitely get intense and the story grabs your heart through Thallis journey. Its truly amazing what she endures, how she is constantly tested, and how callous/uninvolved the scientists treat her as they study her with every response (there is no relationship with these doctors and their patients, only acceptance and duty). Her innocence remains, but her growth and discernment steadily increase with her intelligence throughout the story. That to me was more interesting than all the technology, all the logic, and all that goes wrong with the scientists calculations.
The movie this book reminded me of was The Island with Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor. There really isnt any violence in the story, but Thallis mind gets played with a lot (sometimes that can be worse than violence, but nothing graphic or disorderly happens in the book). I absolutely loved Berk and was amazed at the risks and sacrifices he makes to protect Thalli. My main question for him was, Did you get ANY sleep in this story? I also liked Rhen, she reminded me of a female Spock from Star Trek. I truly look forward to the sequel, Luminary, coming early 2014! Check out this link for other releases coming up next year from Thomas Nelson: http://relzreviewz.com/coming-in-early-2014-from-thomas-nelson-part-2/
I want to thank Booksneeze and Thomas Nelson for the free review copy provided. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
On front cover: QUESTION. FEEL. BELIEVE.
My Review
This is the definition for the word anomaly: deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule. I really like that definition and it fits Thalli so well. Thalli lives in a world that is underground.she has no knowledge of what Earth is like, she has never seen the ocean, and taking turns to see the moon is a rare privilege. She is 17 years old and the underground, called the State, is run by scientists. There are 10 scientists and they in turn are training the next generation of genetically engineered human beings to take over when the time is right. There are no more families, no more children, no dust or sickness, and everything is controlled, measured, or rationed according to each population. There is no more emotions, no more belief system, and no more love. There are different pods separated by age group/generation and each person in these sections has been engineered to master one thing. Thalli is a musician; there is also a dietician, historian, mathematician, horticulturist, etc. She loves music and can play any instrument. She expresses herself through music and analyzes her feelings for others through music.
One night Thallis pod, Pod C, is schedule to view the moon, but something goes wrong and they must be rescheduled. Thalli gets suspicious because nothing ever gets rescheduled, things in her world never go wrong. Thats about to change.
At some point Thalli is sent to the music room to play a piece shes never seen before. While she is playing she loses herself in the music and she is caught sobbing uncontrollably, that is when its decided she will be annihilated. Scientists believe that if anything not engineered shows up within the State, that this could be contagious or cause disorder. Also, once someone no longer serves a purpose for the greater good of the State, they are annihilated. The characters in the plot define anomaly as rushing through lessons, curiosity, arguing, having emotions.
Will Thalli survive what these scientists have in store for her? Will she discover the truth in time? As the scientists realize mistakes that have been made along the way, will Thalli be able to help them find answers?
Thalli herself is kind of childish at first, but there is such an innocence about her and she has an amazing heart for being a genetically engineered person with brilliant potential. Then she meets John and he teaches her about the real Designer and opens her mind to impossibilities beyond what she has been taught or trained to believe.
The main lesson I got from this story is how society trains us to believe untrue concepts that we buy into. Yes, we need authority and to respect order, but we also have to remember that as believers we are not of this world. Were here to fulfill Gods purpose for our lives not to fit in or be like everyone else. Our minds, our bodies, and our purpose are not supposed to be conformed to what the world dictates, thats not where our identity originates from and its not where our destiny is. This is a powerful reminder throughout the book.
I absolutely loved reading this book, but as a reader I also want to point out that nothing in the plot is what it seems. Its easy to read, chapters are short, and it can be read in one or two sittings, but things definitely get intense and the story grabs your heart through Thallis journey. Its truly amazing what she endures, how she is constantly tested, and how callous/uninvolved the scientists treat her as they study her with every response (there is no relationship with these doctors and their patients, only acceptance and duty). Her innocence remains, but her growth and discernment steadily increase with her intelligence throughout the story. That to me was more interesting than all the technology, all the logic, and all that goes wrong with the scientists calculations.
The movie this book reminded me of was The Island with Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor. There really isnt any violence in the story, but Thallis mind gets played with a lot (sometimes that can be worse than violence, but nothing graphic or disorderly happens in the book). I absolutely loved Berk and was amazed at the risks and sacrifices he makes to protect Thalli. My main question for him was, Did you get ANY sleep in this story? I also liked Rhen, she reminded me of a female Spock from Star Trek. I truly look forward to the sequel, Luminary, coming early 2014! Check out this link for other releases coming up next year from Thomas Nelson: http://relzreviewz.com/coming-in-early-2014-from-thomas-nelson-part-2/
I want to thank Booksneeze and Thomas Nelson for the free review copy provided. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
