Book Review and #BlogTour @The_WriteReads – The Unadjusteds (#1 The Unadjusteds) by Marisa Noelle (4 stars)

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Title: The Unadjusteds (#1 The Unadjusteds)

Author: Marisa Noelle

Published: 1^st of November 2019 – Write Plan

Format: Digital – 274 pages

Hello Hello! How are you?

Today I’m thrilled to bring you my review of The Unadjusteds by Marisa Noelle as my tour stop on the blog tour organised by Dave from @The_WriteReads. When Dave announced this one, I was quick to sign-up as I love dystopias, and this was a great choice for me. Keep on reading for my thoughts!

Thank you so much to Dave and the author for letting me be part of this blog tour and for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS

Sixteen-year-old Silver Melody lives in a world where 80% of the population has modified their DNA. Known as the altereds, those people now possess enhancements like wings, tails, and increased strength or intelligence. Although Silver’s parents created the nanite pill used to deliver these genetic modifications, Silver is proud of her unadjusted state.

However, when the president declares all unadjusteds must take a nanite, Silver has no choice but to flee the city with her father and some friends to prevent the extinction of the unadjusteds.

With Silver’s mother in prison for treason, Silver’s father is the unadjusteds’ only hope at finding a cure. But time is running out as Silver’s father is captured by the president’s almost immortal army. Vicious hellhounds are on Silver’s trail, and her only chance to recover her father involves teaming up with a new group of unlikely friends before all humanity is lost.

MY REVIEW

The Unadjusteds by Marisa Noelle is the first book in the YA science fiction dystopian series of the same title. I’m glad that I decided to read this book because I love dystopias, and it had been a while since I had read one.

As soon as I started this book, I was hooked and I’m a little sad that I’ve been so tired lately because I think I would have been able to read it in one or two sittings!

SETTING

This book is set in a kind of future version of the U.S. where nearly the entire population has been “adjusted” or “altered” by taking a nanite pill, which can give people anything from super strength, intelligence, speed, or fish gills, wings, and fur!

I found the world-building to be really well executed and thought out as I was completely immersed in it and I could see everything that was described. The author doesn’t have a very descriptive writing style (which is my preference), but it didn’t bother me here because it made the book fast to read and had me hooked.

This is a scary plot to read about at the minute, it didn’t bother me in the least, but with the events happening currently in the U.S., it’s probably not the best choice as it’s vivid, it portrays angry people and the fight for freedom. Or, on the other hand, it could be the kind of book that gives motivation.

CHARACTERS

I won’t go over every single character as I usually do, because I think it would be better to go into this book fairly blind. I read the blurb a long time ago and by the time I got to it, I had nearly forgotten what it was about and anything I had read about the main character in the blurb. I think this was the right choice because I got to meet Silver Melody and all the other characters while I was reading it, and it was a great experience.

There were a lot of characters in this book, and my favourites were definitely Silver, Matt, Claus, Paige and Kyle. Some of these we don’t see much of, but Silver is the main character and Matt is a very strong secondary character. Silver is a strong young girl who believes in freedom and she wants to find her mother above all else. She is determined, strong-willed, courageous. I really liked her as a character and I feel that, even if at one point she was a little bit limp, she quickly grew, she learned about things happening around her, and she didn’t really give herself time to think over things because she was just so determined to save everyone.

I also really liked Matt, he is quiet and very loyal to Silver and even though he is not adjusted, he has a lot of skills and is a prominent part of the team. I liked that Matt had no superpowers because it shows us that even though we don’t have strength, speed, animal DNA or any other alteration, we can all achieve things if we put our minds to it.

The other side characters such as Kyle, Paige, Joe, Hal, Claus, Francesca, Erica and more, were interesting and I liked reading about them. It was really interesting to see how they all came to the second setting (I won’t say more) and how they all grew to become a team, to understand and respect one another. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of these characters in the next book!

THEMES

Family: As we meet Silver, she is trying to escape from the city in which she lives with her dad and try to find her mum. I don’t want to spoil anyone, so I will just say that Silver’s mum has not been living with her husband and daughter for two years because of something that happened with the nanite pills, and Silver is determined to bring her family together again. All of the characters in this book are determined to find their family or friends and reunite with all their loved ones that are still alive. This is an important message and one I like to read about in YA books.

Friendship and teamwork: Friendship and teamwork are obviously also a really strong part of this book and another theme that I really enjoy reading about! I’m glad that the author added such importance to friendship because the characters in this book need one another to keep moving forward. I loved seeing them all get to know one another and work together, learn who could do what and how it could help. Although Silver is the biggest part of this book (you’ll know why if you decide to pick it up), all the characters are equally important in the team.

Abilities and no abilities – discrimination: When starting this book, it’s clear to see that there is a lot of discrimination between people who are adjusteds and altered and those who are unadjusted or unaltered. Through this book, the author is able to bring forward the message that even if you do not have powers, strengths or abilities, you are still worthy and you can do whatever you want. I liked this message and I think it was important to counteract the intensity of “I am adjusted and therefore the best” which we get a lot from President Bear (he reminded me a lot of President Snow in The Hunger Games books).

Freedom: There are a lot more themes in this book, but the final one I wanted to talk about was freedom because it is maybe the MOST important one we read about. Silver writes and sings a song about freedom and it kind of becomes the anthem for the people who are with her. It got me tearing up a few times because it’s message is the one that all of us believe in, which is that we all deserve freedom. I’m sure this is going to be an even bigger theme in the second book and I can’t wait to read it!

Trigger Warnings: death, torture, injuries, bullying, fighting, threats, weapons, war, violence, imprisonment, discrimination.

MY THOUGHTS AND RATING

Overall, this was a unique, fast-paced and very enjoyable YA science fiction dystopia that had me hooked from start to finish. It was a very fun book to read and I loved a lot about it. There were a few little moments where I lost a little bit of interest, but I’m putting that down to my level of tiredness.

The writing style was very simple, there were few descriptions and this made the book read fast and easily. I think this is the kind of book you can easily read when tired or if you are searching for a binge-read. I have read a lot of dystopias and I found this to be unique, I hadn’t read about anything like this. Of course, the fight for freedom and war is a big theme in dystopias, but the actual science side of things with the nanite pills and adjustments to people was a plot that I had not read before.

I gave this book 4 stars and I really enjoyed it! I think that a lot of dystopia fans will like this. I am not scientific, so I don’t know how accurate the science in this is, and I was kind of lost about it, but I hope it will be accurate enough for scientists to enjoy! You can find my full ASPECTS rating down below! I would recommend this book to science fiction and dystopia fans, but please be aware of the trigger warnings because it is not always an easy book to read!

Thank you once again to Dave and the author for this tour and for sending me a book, I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to have time to pick up the second book in the series.

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post, see you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – MARISA NOELLE

Marisa Noelle is the writer of MG & YA SFF & mental health novels which include The Shadow Keepers, The Unadjusteds, The Rise of the Altereds, The Reckoning and The Mermaid Chronicles – Secrets of the Deep at the end of 2019. When she’s not writing or reading or watching movies, she enjoys swimming. In the pool, she likes to imagine she could be a mermaid and become part of some of her make-believe words. In the water, she can ignore the real world and focus on the plots of new novels and scenes. She lives in Woking, UK with her husband and three children.

Marisa’s Links: Website – Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest – Instagram – Goodreads

ASPECTS RATING

Atmosphere – 7.5

Start – 6.5

Pacing – 7

Ending – 7.5

Characters – 7

Theme – 8

Style – 7

Total = 50.5

This list includes some affiliate links. If you decide to purchase a book from one of my links, I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

If you would like to purchase this book, you can find it here:  Amazon UK  – Amazon FR – Amazon US – AbeBooks – The Book Depository – Waterstones – Barnes and Noble – BetterWorldBooks