Sep 1, 2011

Review: The Predicteds by Catherine Seifert


Title: The Predicteds
Author: Catherine Seifert
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: 9.1.2011
Pages: 320
Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Contemporary
Series: No
Source:  Finished copy from publisher

Rating: B+

Summary (from Goodreads):
Daphne is the new girl in town and is having trouble fitting in. At least she has Jesse... sort of. He wants to be more than "just friends," but there's something he's not telling her about his past. Something dangerous. When a female student is brutally attacked, police turn to PROFILE, a new program that can predict a student's capacity for drug use, pregnancy, and violent behavior, to solve the case. As the witch hunt ensues, Daphne is forced to question her feelings for Jesse-and what she will do if her first love turns out to be a killer.

Review:
This book is a delicious blend of Sci-Fi and contemporary that I’ve yet to see rivaled.  It took me a few chapters to get into this book, but I was so glad I stuck with it. Catherine Seifert has come up with a plot so ingenious, I couldn’t help but be amazed. It’s fresh and original in every aspect.

Honestly I think the initial problem was that I found the first few chapters somewhat erratic and a bit frustrating because I wanted more detail. I felt like Seifert was bypassing the characters’ backgrounds in order to get to the meat of the story. But once I got past that and Seifert really started digging in and getting into what PROFILE was, I was hooked. Maybe the most powerful part was I could see PROFILE becoming a very real possibility – monitoring the brain and making educated guesses as to how a person will behave. It’s something out of a conspiracy theorists handbook.

Daphne, as the lead character, was a good narrator. She had me scratching my head several times in the beginning, but there was something charming about her snark and wit that made me keep reading. By the middle of the book I truly warmed to her and by the end I adored her. Jesse, on the other hand, I fell for almost immediately. He’s a guy I would love to know in real life, and the way Seifert writes them together is golden. They’re real and magical all at once.

I went into this book thinking I was getting a dystopian (because doesn’t that seem to be the trend nowadays?), and was pleasantly surprised when this book wasn’t that cut and dried. It kinda of caught me off guard—in a good way. There are several twists and turns that literally made my jaw drop. Seifert came up with a dynamite plot and backed it up with fun, vibrant characters. I recommend Sci-Fi fans, dystopian fans, and contemporary fans check this one out ASAP.

Buy: Amazon


8 comments:

  1. Wow great review you sure have me wanting to get my hands on a copy ;o)

    I enjoyed that you have provided a rating index and then further including an overall blurb together with your review! Very informative.

    Just have one request if possible, can you include the EAN number and/or advise if this is available in print or just ebook.

    Thank you,
    Rita de Canha from South Africa
    bitemeash(AT)gmail(DOT)com
    aka - BiteMeAsh

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm honestly a bit tired of dystopian fiction. I went on a reading binge recently and most of what I read in the genre was very disappointing.

    However, I do love sci-fi and enjoy conspiracy theory type suspense/mystery.

    Thanks for the review. I might give this book a try after all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had not heard of this one! It sounds good and I could use a fresh idea. Adding to my amazon wishlist, I think ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I literally had this book in my hands tonight, in the check out line at B&N. But then I thought, "let me go home and see what the blogging world has to say." Now that I've read your review, I'm even MORE interested. Thanks for the insight!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great Review! I can't wait to read it. I'm gonna put it on my must-read books this 2011. Another dystopian that'll rivet the mind of its readers. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great review! I might just check it out even though I've lost some faith in dystopian after reading Across the Universe

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had not hears of this book before. Thanks for the review.

    Squeak - Dorothy
    http://alaskanbookie.blogspot.com/
    Twitter -->> @akchocoholic

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great review. I love dystopians but I also like science fiction. I have never heard of this author or title, so thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

I hope you know that every time you comment, an angel gets its wings.

OK, not really, but thanks for popping by!