Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

Title: Altered

Author: Jennifer Rush

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 1.1.2013

Pages: 336

Genre: SciFi

Series: Yes (Altered #1)

Source: eARC from publisher

Rating: A-

Summary (from Goodreads):

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them. 

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Review:

Jennifer Rush’s Altered is a breathless thrill-ride that I can’t get enough of. I finished it in a day and am anxiously awaiting the next installment to see what happens with these characters. This novel is intense and dramatic, with a healthy dose of romance thrown in for good measure.

Have to admit—the beginning sort of rubbed me the wrong way. I did not for the life of me understand how a teenage girl could just be OK with there being four human beings (hot guys or not) locked in cells in her basement that she helped her dad experiment on. Home-schooled or not, this is anything but OK. Once I made the decision to suspend reality a bit and enjoy the ride Rush provides, it was smooth sailing.

I loved journeying through Anna’s eyes. She is such a sweet, resilient girl. I think what I loved most, however, was that while things were going to hell, she had the good sense to be scared and question things. It gets tiring when a heroine just jumps in and can solve all the issues thrown at her—Anna is very much the weak link in a group and accepts that. Yes, she is strong and capable, but she also makes mistakes.

I cannot remember the last time I had so many yummy boys in one novel. Sam, Cas, Nick, and Trev are all awesome in their own right, but some of my favorite scenes are where they are acting as a unit. They all have very different personalities, but I have to say I’m especially intrigued by Nick. What can I say? I have a thing for the broken bad boy.

This is a fantastic start to what is sure to be an amazing series. I can’t wait to see what twists and turns Rush throws at us in the future (because there were several turns in this one that left me reeling). Altered is an adrenaline-junkie’s novel of choice.

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