Twinmaker

Twinmaker

by Sean Williams

You can be Improved....

In a near-future world in which technology can transport you anywhere instantly, can a coded note enable you to change your body—to become taller, stronger, more beautiful? Clair is pretty sure the offer is too good to be true. But her best friend, Libby, is determined to give it a try, longing for a new, improved version of herself.

What starts as Libby’s dream turns into Clair’s nightmare when Libby falls foul of a deadly trap. With the help of Jesse, the school freak, and a mysterious—but powerful—stranger called Q, Clair’s attempt to protect Libby leads her to an unimagined world of conspiracies and cover-ups. Soon her own life is at risk, and Clair is chased across the world in a desperate race against time.

That pretty much sums up my feelings about this book. It's really amazing. I was a bit skeptical to start, I didn't really know what I was getting myself into and it was large and had the potential to be horrible. I was judgmental and I am disappointed in myself.

Anyways Twinmaker is pretty darn epic and was totally worth it. This is kind of totally irrelevant to the quality of the book, but I noticed today that  the author's photo on the back was taken by...wait for it...Scott Westerfeld. How awesome is that! Anyways back on track...

The storyline was very original and interesting and the plot was epic. I was hooked from the first page and I don't really know why, but I am totally ok with it. The best part about the story line was that there was enough history and how the setting was set up made it so that it wasn't too futuristic. It was far enough advanced that it fit the time period and it still made sense, it was foreseeable and realistic., which engaged the reader even more it made you care about what was happening to that society. The plot had a tasteful amount of twist and turns and was well paced.

The writing wasn't anything special necessarily, but it was good, solid, and a lot better than some other authors'. The one thing I felt it lacked was description. I was frustrated that I couldn't better visualize characters and some of the setting. Characters throughout the book lacked vivid descriptions and so I had nothing to picture, just vague human things. That was quite frustrating to me but the book was still awesomesauce.

Speaking of characters... I loved the characters. They were very real and had really deep personalities and relationships that reflected real life. They were lovable and relateable and so real. Even though their problem was crazy and that doesn't happen to people today (yet) the deeper issues and motives were exactly what happen in real life. Every reader could relate to everything that was happening, making them become emotionally invested. The character development was pretty swell as well.

Sidenote: I totally ship Jess and Clair. So hard.

Jesair/Claess for life. 

 (Highlight to view) MILD SPOILER: I was disappointed with how their relationship went down but that's ok. Yes it was kind of instant, but at the same time it didn't really happen...I felt it was pretty realistic too so. Eh.

The characters created the opportunity for Williams to challenge beliefs, moral and social issues, and convey messages in a way that didn't really feel like you were being preached at (for the most part). You learned along with the characters, and the whole thing made you think and examine your life and society. I think that's pretty amazing. There aren't a ton of YA books out there that do that. (I'm not saying there aren't others, just the majority of the genre and age group don't. At least not how he does it.) It was brilliant. 

Just read it. That's all I have to tell you. Just go. Right now. Go Read it. 

Buy it right here right now!

I know I should be done by now but I just want to take a moment to point out how awesomesauce Sean Williams is as an author. That depth and realistic-ness, seriously, and get this, THIS IS HIS TEEN DEBUT IN THE US!

It get's four to four and one half stars from me!