Nobody

When I got the review request for Nobody, I was really excited. I had only ever read one of Jennifer Lynn Barnes's books, Every Other Day, and I LOVED it (read my review HERE). I was super-excited when I received it in the mail, and then I went to Goodreads to mark it as a "Currently Reading" book, and stopped dead in my tracks... There were some downright awful reviews on this book, and many were from bloggers I know and respect. That left me torn. Do I read it because I've already committed to it, even though I really don't want to now? Do I just skip it, and read something else? What to do? Clocking in at 400 pages, it was a book I was really reluctant to bother with if I was going to hate it... Well, the conscientious side of me won out- I accepted the review request, and I was going to keep my word, and at the very least, read it... Well, I'm glad I did, because I really liked Nobody (I also affirmed my policy to not post reviews of 2-star and lower books on my blog for fear of turning off someone who might have loved the book I hated). I didn't love it quite as much as I did Every Other Day, but I thought it was a great, entertaining story that was well worth the time spent, even at 400 pages.

I found the premise of Nobody quite intriguing. Basically, Nobodies are people that go through life without the world around them noticing that they are even there. They aren't physically invisible, but they might as well be. They can even commit murder in a crowd of people without anyone even processing that they were present. No witnesses, which makes them perfect assassins... Nix is a Nobody and has been trained his entire life to be just that. He is unparalleled at what he does, until he is sent to take out Claire. Claire is also a Nobody, although she has gone through life without knowing this. All she knows is that people, even her parents, don't seem to notice her. Then one day she gets this feeling that someone is watching her- a feeling utterly foreign to her- and she sees her would-be assassin, and he sees her. They REALLY SEE each other, and that doesn't happen to either, EVER. Because Nix is so thrown by this realization, he botches the attempt, and the story moves forward from there... We learn there are other types of people besides Nobodies; There are Nulls, who are their opposite- larger than life, charismatic, and can bend anyone to their will without any effort at all. Then there are the Sensors, who are the only ones who can see Nobodies and Nulls for who what they are. The Institute has a long history of using Sensors to keep the normal people, the general public, blind to such abnormalities. The Institute, however, is rife with corruption and secrets, and as things unfold in this book, it becomes a very compulsive read, and I found it nearly impossible to put down for a variety of reasons. The plot moved quickly and made sense of what could have come across as nonsensical if it hadn't been so expertly executed. Claire and Nix were great characters, and both grew on me tremendously as the story progressed. Some reviewers complained about their inability to connect with either of them, but I think that was part of the appeal for me. It's hard to connect with a person who has never really experienced any kind of human connection. That person is going to seem somewhat flat to people who have had the joy of human bonding and the myriad of emotions that go along with it. I found myself really absorbed in the growth both characters showed through experiencing a bond with another human for the first time. I enjoyed seeing things through their eyes, feeling how they felt going through life alone and unnoticed, and then finding one another, and for the first time feeling seen, and more importantly, feeling connected. Normally, I detest insta-love or attraction, but in this case it is more than reasonable. This book isn't all romance though. Not even close. It is action, conspiracy, mystery, and a full on story of survival. Anyone who enjoys a fast-paced sci-fi adventure, that really makes you wonder if things aren't always as they seem, will enjoy Nobody. I honestly can't, for the life of me, figure out why the negative reviews...

I have always been a sucker for assassin books, and so when this one mentioned assassins, I was like "yes!". Unfortunately, the assassin part is not all that prominent, and pretty much the whole book is spent with one of the main characters regretting his time as an assassin.

Okay, so, before I get into anything, let me just explain something. Everyone and everything has this kind of energy. When you see someone, that thing leaves a bit of their energy on you, which is why we remember stuff. There are four kinds of people. Normals, Sensors, Nulls and Nobodies. Normals are exactly what the name says: Normal. They have a normal amount of energy in them. Sensors are people who can either smell, feel, taste, hear or see those who have an overabundance or not enough of this energy. Nulls are the ones who have too much of this energy. They have no feelings, and people adore them. Nobodies don't have the energy at all, so they are always ignored, and even if they are standing right in front of someone, usually they won't register. Sorry if that was confusing.

Plot:
Claire is a teenage girl, but no one seems to notice her. No matter if she's yelling in their face, or bumping into them, they just never seem to look at her. Even her parents need sticky notes to remind themselves of her existence.

Nix has been raised by the society. He's been trained to kill Nulls, and has taught that no one will ever remember him, or love him, or anything. One day he meets Claire, who can see him, which is really weird because he's a Nobody, and he's not meant to be seen. So Nix decides that she is not a Nobody and together they start to uncover the darkest secrets of the Society.

It seemed to me that the author tried a little too hard to remind us that Nobodies are not meant to be loved. We get it, ok? No need for the constant repetition.

I quite liked Claire. She was ok, except sometimes she had some pretty dumb thoughts. But I get her. I could understand her frustration of never being remembered, and all that.

I did not connect with Nix. I don't know why, I just didn't. He seemed too... bipolar. "I shouldn't touch her" then "I want to touch her" then "but touching in the fade is different". Would. You. Make. Up. Your. Mind. Already! And then he kept thinking "Oh, but nobodies can't be loved" and all that, and I was just thinking, "You idiot."

Onto the romance part of the story. I didn't really like this part. Insta-love, much? I mean, okay, if you had never had someone look you in the eye before and then suddenly this hot boy can see you, you are allowed to be curious. You are allowed to fall in love with said hot boy. It's kind of logical. But you don't fall in love with them five minutes after 1. he tried to kill you and then 2. tried to get you to kill him! It's not supposed to go from killing to laughing to making out to "don't touch me". And I hate it when someone *coughcough* Nix *coughcough* tries to push the person they love away "for their own protection" or because they "don't deserve the other person" or something like that. Ugh.

All in all, this was a pretty good book although there were a few parts that I think could've been done better.

Nobody is nothing like I thought it would be - this is definitely something that I would not have picked up. I am so very happy that I agreed to review it.
I did struggle with the first part of the book, and even though there were things that made me cringe and not understand, it kept me intrigued enough to get through the first 18 chapters, which in my opinion, is when it started to finally flow, connect and got really, really interesting.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes' spin on sci-fi has really blown me away. The realistic secret-organization and characters that she created are like no others that I have ever read before.

First, here's a brief description of what a Nobody is...
a Nobody is a person that has a DNA glitch that allows them to go unintentionally undetected. No one remembers them; they are easily forgotten and no one cares for them. If aware of their abilities, Nobodies can make themselves invisible, enough to be able to walk through things. Nobodies are rarely ever spoken to, acknowledged, touched... or loved.

Claire is your typical teen trying to get by. But no matter what she does, every one seems to forget about her. And she doesn't understand why. What did she ever do to the world? Why is she ignored? Forgotten? To the point that her parents have to leave sticky notes around the house in order to remind themselves to inquire about her. She is left alone all the time. Maybe they never wanted to have a child.
But Claire tries to keep an upbeat attitude full of hope. Her books are her solace, her escape, her friends. She daydreams of a day that something will happen to her and no one will be able to look away.
My heart broke for Claire. Her loneliness rips into you. Why would people not take the time to speak to this smart and pretty girl? Claire has her moments, but only allows herself small periods of self-pity. She's hopeful of something happening to change things for the better.
Until she meets Nix.

Nix.
Nix grew up under the secret-organizations trainers and tutors. From his first memory, he was constantly told that he was nothing and that no one would ever care for him. That he is unlovable because he is a Nobody. He was raised to be an assassin. To kill Nulls. Nulls are soulless people - they can't show emotion, they don't care nor love. Nulls are very selfish and they have the ability to manipulate everyone around them to do their bidding. Nix has to keep the Normals, regular humans, safe. The Sensors, humans with one or more special sense (heightened sense of smell, hearing, etc.) track them down and only Nix is able to get rid of Nulls.
His newest Null assignment is Claire.

But Claire sees Nix. And she knows what he's about to do. But, he's looking right at her.
Nix sees Claire. He must do what he was assigned to do. But she's looking right at him.

I do not consider this an insta-love situation at all. The shock of having eye-contact with someone - something that has never happened in their entire lives - this will bring on a huge amount of curiosity A connection of familiarity, understanding. Jennifer Lynn Barnes' writing really impressed me - the way she was able to break Nix down. Build Claire up. Make them stronger, and weaker. Claire and Nix's relationship is undeniable. The fact that they are similar and quite possibly the only one's to exist draws them together, but can also tear them a part.

What if there are other Nobody's out there?
What about Nix's other assignments? Were they all Nulls?

SO many questions! So many twists and turns! It turned into a page-turner for me and I enjoyed it very much! I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking to read something out of their comfort zone, who likes sci-fi, suspense and mysteries.
I do have to warn you, there are a few graphic descriptions to some of Nix's assignments and past that made me cringe and squirm a bit. But overall, a great read indeed!

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published by: EgmontUSA
On Shelves Now
Reviewed by: Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say: Assassins. Romance. Conspiracy. Need I say More?

Assassins. One of my favorite topics in YA! We’ve been seeing more and more books focusing around assassins in the YA genre, and I love that each one of them is unique in their own way. In Jennifer’s book, nobodies make good assassins because they lack “energy,” which in turn, keeps them from making any lasting mark on anyone. Even further, they are almost invisible to everyone and everything around them. So, of course—perfect assassins.

This book started out with a bang when Nix and Claire see each other in a very intense situation. From there, it does slow down a bit, which was a bit depressing because that beginning was amazing. However, it didn’t slow down so much that I was bored or frustrated. I still kept flipping those pages at a quick pace because I wanted to see what was going to happen next. So, push through the parts that drag because it’s definitely worth the read.

I loved the world that Jennifer created, mainly because I love conspiracies. JFK, Bermuda Triangle, Roswell—they fascinate me, and the organization that Jennifer has created in her book is just like a giant government conspiracy. They have tons and tons of power, and they use that power to manipulate politics to help them. If something doesn’t go their way, enter Nix, seemingly invisible super-assassin. Nobody knows people like Nix and Claire exist, and that makes it all the more intriguing!

I really like Claire as a main character. I felt so sorry for her, seeing the pain and loneliness that she suffered, but she didn’t let it bring her down. On multiple occasions she would start to feel sorry for herself and then straighten up and tell herself, “No pity.” I loved her strength to persevere through that pain, and then when Nix finds her, the world seems to open up. Immediately, they are drawn to each other, and no matter how hard Nix pushes against her, she pushes right back. She takes ahold of this gift of friendship and love, and she doesn’t let it go. It was great to watch her become even stronger in the face of danger.

I really liked Nix, too, because—I mean, hello, assassin! He was one of those guys that can kill you with one punch, so power—he has tons of it (which I love). He did bug me at times because he did let himself fall to pity whereas Claire resisted it. But, those moments didn’t last long. I liked that he was willing to give his life for those that he cared about, even after the organization had brainwashed him into thinking that he would never be loved in return. I kind of wish we would have seen more kick butt and less somberness, though.

The only thing that really bugged me was the dragging pace, like I said before. The book was long, 400 pages, and I think it could have easily been in the 300-325 range had they cut out some of the slower moments. Those moments felt a bit repetitive, so I really think they could have easily been cut out.

Overall, it was a fun and interesting read and I’m looking forward to what’s next. I enjoyed the world and characters that Jennifer created. I would recommend this to actions fans, with a warning that you might have to push through some parts to get to the goods.