Aberrant (Aberrant #1)

I was not expecting to like this so much. I have gotten used to the typical dystopian tale, that is told over and over again with nothing changing but the characters names.

But with Aberrant the story was told a little differently. In the society of Cabal, Olivia Parker lives with her mother. At the age of 18, Olivia is given a "husband" chosen by the government. Luckily, the government chooses Joshua, Olivia's best friend since childhood.

The choosing of a husband in a future dystopian society might remind you a little of Matched by Ally Condie. But don't be deceived. This is much, much different from Matched.

Right after the match is made, the government comes and arrests Olivia, along with her mother. After a little while, the Rebels break them out and take them to their hideout.

Olivia is an amazing main character headstrong,(think Tris from Divergent but better)independent, non-whiny, and dedicated. The love that she shows Joshua, is something that in my opinion for most of the book Joshua didn't deserve. Joshua said some things that I just thought were not the best things to say to Olivia.
But by the end of the book, Joshua had grown to be a reliable, and loving boyfriend for Olivia.

The only characters that remain constant throughout the story are Joshua and Olivia, the other characters come and go so you never connect with characters other than those two.

You might be reminded of other dystopian books while reading this, but they are just hints instead of whole chapters seeming like another book. Ruth managed to take an old dried out topic, and create a fresh new story which in my opinion deserves to take it's place next to Divergent, Cinder, and The Hunger Games.
Right when you think you figured out the whole story, the author would throw in a new plot twist and surprise you all over again.

I really, really liked this. Enough to say that although I am not a huge fan of dystopian, I still enjoyed this.
4.5 stars to this, and I will definitely be checking out any other books that Ruth has to offer.

Aberrant kept me on the edge of my seat! It was like watching a movie when all you want is for a happy ending but there is danger everywhere they go. I think I held my breathe til the very end.
Olivia and her best friend,Joshua, have been lead to believe they are the only city/town left.The government feeds them,shelters them,provides jobs for them,and tells them who they will marry.No worries right?
Well not exactly,Olivia knows she should care who she marries but she does.She has read illegal books with romance in them so she knows there is more to marriage then the picture government has painted.She knows there is another way of making babies besides a lab, but no one is fertile.
when her mother gets caught in an act of treason,Olivia must flee for her life.
To her surprise Joshua flees with her.But just as she feels she is free from the government's control,the rebel forces want to control her.She is humanity's last hope.She has a gift that everyone seems to want to exploit.
After the city they're in is attacked,they must flee again,into the unknown Gravelands. Can they survive on their own? Will they ever be free to live as they choose?

Review copy received for blog tour

In the dystopian society of Cabal, all citizens are equal and required to accept the governent rules without question. People are matched by the government in marriages and children are born to families who win a lottery called "The Day of the Chosen". At eighteen, Olivia Parker has just been matched to her childhood best friend Joshua and is eager to start living with him. Howvere, she's arrested and thrown into jail; her crime is that she was born naturally.

With Joshua's help, Olivia escapes from prison; they flee together to another city, Haven. The government, however, is hunting Olivia down and will stop at nothing to kill her.

Aberrant was an interesting dystopian novel. There is quite a bit of world building, as we need to learn about the government and society in order to understand the plot. Cabal seems to be run by an authoritarian regime which ensures equal living conditions to everyone. Women, however, can't seem to be able to conceive naturally. Each couple can have a child if they win the lottery, but only one;if they win the littery a second time, they are forced to give the baby up. But there's at least one woman who can conceive: Olivia's mother was able to get pregnant, so it's assumed that Olivia would, too.

This partof the plot I found quite confusing. It is stated that women can't conceive naturally, so I thought they had to turn to somethign like in vitro fertilization. However, later it is explained that babies are born in labs rather than in hospitals. So maybe women can't carry out a pregnancy, either? Then how could Olivia's mother carry out hers without being noticed? I suppose it would look very strange to have a woman with a pregnant belly in a society where no other woman is. Or maybe she was able to hide it for this reason, that people do not associate a swollen belly on a woman to a pregnancy any longer? I wish the book had cleared up this point.

The plot is very fast-paced and full of surprises. The characters are not particularly described, except for Olivia and Joshua, the two main characters. Olivia is a young woman thrust into a world she knows nothing about; she is determined to do what it takes to stay alive. Joshua is a sweet, caring friend and boyfriend. In spite of being matched together by the government, they appear to be well suited to each other.

The book is short, so we are left wanting more from the series.

I love dystopian novels. Admittedly, I've shied away from ones that aren't in the mainstream. The world-building is so important in dystopian novels and I've been hesitant to read the less-popular ones because I'm afraid they would be lacking the spark that books like Divergent and Hunger Games have. Aberrant showed me that I just might be missing out after all.

Aberrant was a short and fast-paced. It was an engrossing read filled with lots of drama and the totally effed-upedness that I've come to expect from dystopian novels. The author jumped right into the drama with both feet. There's very little build-up to the story, and that's not a bad thing. It grabbed me from the start and held on through the cliffhanger at the end.

Olivia and her childhood best friend, Joshua, are assigned to marry each other by the government. They're both relieved with this arrangement. Their relief is short-lived, however, as Olivia is arrested and Joshua helps break her out of prison. They go on the run and encounter one messed-up set of circumstances after another in this strange dystopian land. I won't give anything away because the drama is so good, the situations so bizarre, that you just need to experience them for yourself.

The relationship between Olivia and Joshua is one of my favorite types: the friendship-first, slow-burn. (Or as slow of a burn as you can have in 250 pages.) They have been friends for years, but begin to see each other differently after their marriage and their time on the run. It's sweet and real. I was able to connect pretty well with both Olivia and Joshua. I wish there had been a little more character-development though. I know it's difficult to fully-develop an alternate world and characters in 250 pages, but I wanted a little more on the character end of things. That's the only thing I found lacking about the novel.

All that said, I'm really glad I requested this book from NetGalley - and that I was approved. I have an ARC of Moirai, the second novel in the series, that I'll be reading this week to review for a blog tour at the end of the week. I can't wait to read it and see where Olivia and Joshua's story goes next.

I received this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

MY REVIEW
I received an e-copy of this book via Girls Heart Books in exchange for my honest review and blog tour participation. Well what can I say about the two different covers for this book. The one pictured to the left with the city pictured on it is the e-book cover, and the one pictured on the right is the paperback cover. I do like them both. I suppose the e-book cover is perhaps more dystopian-esque having the remains of a town on it with the smoke from the devastation still rising into the air. the paperback cover has a female on the front cover. I'd say the female is the main character in the book Olivia Parker, she is standing alone with what looks like devastation all around. I think the e-book cover will appeal to those bigger dystopian fans where as the paperback cover may attract those who perhaps aren't such big dystopian fans or maybe wanting to try something new and different.
I have to say I would pick up either of these covers to learn more about the book. I do truly like both covers.
The book really starts with a marriage ceremony, there's five boys and five girls standing on a stage waiting to be told who the government has paired them up with. The girls all wear white dresses, its the only time they will ever wear white in their lives for their marriage ceremony. They know who the boys are as they have been at school and all come from the same neighbourhood, but they haven't been dating or anything. Olivia stands fourth in line watching three other pairings made hoping she doesn't get paired with the disgustingly smelly Levi. If she does get paired with him she'll just have to make the best of it, as what the government says and decrees is law. Olivia lets out a breath of relief when her match is called as Joshua. They have been childhood friends so at least they know each other a little. they go to their house, given them by the government, with its government issued furniture and food. Everyone has the same, no one is allowed to be different. Relationships are different in Cabal, as you do not have "personal relations" there is a lottery called "the day Of the Chosen" if you are "lucky2 and your number comes up you are allowed to have a child. You are taken away to the clinic to be inseminated. no one has children naturally anymore . . . . . or do they? Olivia's mum say's she needs to speak with Olivia and Joshua after their marriage ceremony, it is something of utmost importance . . . but that secret meeting doesn't happen, first Olivia is arrested, then her mother. Why? Well Hmmm I'll say Olivia is "different" in such a way it makes her a rather valuable commodity.
There's lots going on there's a secret journal written by Olivia's father. There's the fact that Olivia and how she is "different" has become somewhat of a myth to those in other settlements. There's action, drama, conspiracy, mystery, intrigue and a little bit of romance too. I think there's a bit of something for everyone in this book. I'd definitely put it high on my favourite dystopian book list.
Olivia and Joshua escape but seem to go to one situation where they will be used to another. I don't want to say much more to you as you really do need to read this book. I'd say most people will enjoy it. I don't think you need to be a big dystopian fan like me to love this book.
So did I enjoy the book? Loved it! Would I read Bk#2? Definitely as soon as it's available for me to read! Would I recommend the book? Yes I do highly recommend it, like I said I think you don't need to be a big dystopian fan to love this book either! Would I read more by Ruth Silver? I would do yes, I like her style and pace of writing, there's never a dull moment there's always something happening or the scene being set for the next big happening.

Dystopian novels are all the craze these days and with so many out there I was hesitant to start another. However, I couldn't put this down, I read straight through the night. This book is a great mix of The Hunger Games, The Matched Series, and the Delirium Novels. There are fights, a guy risking it all for a girl, and forbidden love. Of course, there are the usual dystopian aspects like some sort of rebellion, a broken down way of life, and someone always fighting for their life. I am so glad I picked this book up because it is a darn good dystopian tale.

This books starts out running without a page wasted with filler, just pure goodness. Olivia's entire existence is illegal and only hours after being "matched" with Joshua she almost loses everything. Joshua runs to her rescue and together they depart for Haven; a city just as promising as District 13. However, it is not as pleasant or safe as they thought. Joshua and Olivia's love is tested in Haven and it broke me to pieces wondering how it would all end. With the last set of working ovaries in the world, Olivia's life might not end happily after all. AHH dystopian novels.

I would recommend this book to anyone that loves dystopian novels and any YA readers! Ruth Silver created a dystopian world that is unique, twisted, and just so darn intriguing. The way the book ends leaves you hungry for more!

I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.

Olivia lives in a world where the government provides all of your needs for you. They give you your home; the food you put on your table; the clothes you put on your back. They even tell you who you are going to marry and spend the rest of your life with and when and how many children you are going to have. Yes, no one has to worry about where they're going to live, work or if they will have enough to eat or where it is coming from. This would be a great life since we all know how to build houses (no one would be homeless), we all know how to grow food (no one would go hungry) etc.... but to have your life controlled by the government or anyone would not be right. In Olivia's world when you reach the age of eighteen you are matched up with a mate and you are married that day. You aren't given a choice as to who you want to spend the rest of your life with. Well that is not exactly true you do have a choice, you can refuse the match the government picks for you that is if you want to be banished from your life and thrown outside the walls to live with the thieves, murderers and rapists.

Also in Olivia's world no one can have children except in a lab. Each year the government holds a lottery and if you are chosen than you go to the labs and impregnated. If your name comes up again then the government takes your baby from you and given to a family outside the walls. You are only allowed to have or keep one child.

On Olivia's eighteenth birthday she dresses in the white dress that she has been provided with and heads out to the marriage ceremony. She is very scared and nervous about whom she will be matched with. She hopes with all her being that she will be matched up with her best friend, Joshua Warren. Olivia and Joshua have been best friends since the first day they laid eyes on one another the day they started school at the age of five. Olivia gets her wish she is matched up with Joshua. After they are married, they head to their new home provided by the government. They are not there long when the police come and arrest Olivia. She has no clue as to why they are arresting her and putting in a cell with no lights. Joshua helps her to escape and they have to go outside the walls to live where the rapist, murderers and thieves all live.

In Aberrant you are hit up one side and down the other with so many twist and turns. Throughout the whole book you are trying to figure out what is going on. You are always asking yourself how two people can be treated the way they are in every place they end up. Why is it everyone thinks now that the world is so missed up they can be the boss? But you know what if the world ever did end up like this then that is how it would be; everyone wanting or thinking they are the boss. I can actually see Olivia and Joshua mature little by little as they have to deal with each person they run into and all the things that they have to endure.

Aberrant kind of leaves you with this great big cliffhanger with a lot of unanswered questions. Which is a good thing though don't get me wrong. The ending leaves you with the want or need to read the next book. It does answer a lot of questions about how the world ended up like it was. But answering some question and not answering others is what makes a great writer. One who can keep you hanging on with the old adrenaline pumping and keeping the story in the back of your mind wanting and waiting for the next book.

Aberrant takes place in the future, the dystopian society of Cabal. It is a world that seems ideal on the surface, the premise of absolute equality for everyone. But it is soon clear that perhaps it isn't so ideal, with very little free will and free choice. One of the most fundamental changes is the ability to have families in the traditional, the ability to conceive a thing of the past. With it went the basic forms of intimacy. Instead, marriage is less about love and more about being "matched" by the government. Children are given to selected families through lottery, not choice. And this is where the fun begins...

There are not enough words for me to describe how much I loved this book. I fell into it immediately, loving Olivia from the very beginning. She was a bit of a rebel, a spark in her that I instantly related to. Joshua was equally wonderful as a main character, and I think I adored him as much as I did because Olivia clearly adored him. I felt every emotion right along with Olivia, frequently being angry with other characters as they seemingly used her for their own reasons. The mystery and intrigue of the book made just about every other character more than a little suspect, which truly added to the suspense and the anticipation of the book.

The world that the author created was phenomenal, from the physical side of it to the people that lived in it. It blended the future with the contemporary in a way that made it entirely believable. The pacing was perfect, with twists and turns that I never saw coming. Questions were left unanswered, leaving me begging for the next book!

Things to love about Aberrant...

--Olivia. I loved her, absolutely. I wanted to stand up and yell on her behalf. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to be her best friend. She was strong, a rebel, and fiercely loyal to those she chose to trust.

--The intense emotions. This book really drew me in and made me feel, a whole range of emotions. I often felt like I was in the middle of the story right along with Olivia and Joshua.

Things I wanted more of...

--Aberrant!!

My recommendation: A fantastic read that you won't be able to put down!