Review Detail

Survivor Lia Johansen's memory is foggy about her time as prisoner of war. The only thing that she does know is she has a mission to complete and time is literally ticking down. Her mission? To detonate at New Sol Space Station. But then something goes wrong and she malfunctions and her internal bomb is silent. She doesn't know what to think but only one thing is for sure: she needs to find out exactly who she is and why she was set to blow up and kill thousands. Add to this Michael, a childhood friend, who is also on the station. Lia starts to feel for not only Michael but others on this station and this only complicates matters.

What worked: I totally loved this coming of age story of Lia who isn't sure if she is in fact human or not. Face it, it's hard to be sympathetic to a suicide bomber and at the beginning that's all the reader sees of Lia. She's emotionless and driven to complete her task on detonating on the station and killing thousands of innocent civilians. Then she malfunctions and a former childhood friend recognizes her. This is when the tension( her internal time bomb starts ticking on and off again) really begins.

Lia is confused but also a survivor. She's not sure if in fact she is human. Is she a clone of the 'real' Lia? Or a genetically engineering bomb? Lia's memories surface at little things like a smell which only confuses her more.

I loved the suspense, tension, conflict, and even the hint of a romance. Lia feels so many emotions but it's at the climax of the story and a what-the-heck reveal that puts all the pieces of this puzzle together into one amazing conclusion. There's twists and turns throughout this story that just when you think you've figured out what Lia is and what she's fighting against? You find out something new.

Author does a great job of taking an otherwise unsympathetic heroine(in this case readers aren't sure if she's a suicide bomber or not) and digs deep to reveal a mind boggling truth. Mostly though, this is a story of one girl's faith-faith in believing in a cause of saving humanity but mostly in herself. Powerful ending! A total must read! Can't wait to read the next book in this series!