Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa

by Kristen Lippert-Martin

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Sixteen-year-old Sarah has a rare chance at a new life. Or so the doctors tell her. She’s been undergoing a cutting-edge procedure that will render her a tabula rasa—a blank slate. Memory by memory her troubled past is being taken away.

But when her final surgery is interrupted and a team of elite soldiers invades the isolated hospital under cover of a massive blizzard, her fresh start could be her end. 

Navigating familiar halls that have become a dangerous maze with the help of a teen computer hacker who's trying to bring the hospital down for his own reasons, Sarah starts to piece together who she is and why someone would want her erased. And she won’t be silenced again.

A high-stakes thriller featuring a non-stop race for survival and a smart heroine who will risk everything, Tabula Rasa is, in short, unforgettable.

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Expected Publication: September 23rd, 2014

Received from: Liberty Bay Books

Format: Physical ARC

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My opinion of this one is quite complex and mixed. So don't put too much value in the star rating, you'll get a better idea of my thoughts from the review itself.

I utterly devoured this book! I was less than half way through and loving it. I decided right then and there that this was going to be a flawless five star, rave of a review. I spoke to soon. Don't get me wrong, I still really LOVE it, but I began to realize two issues that really really bothered me, making it not flawless or five star worthy.

Issue number one: The relationship. It was insta love but not really. I loved them as a couple, their relationship developed odly and their friendship and relationship came out no where. They went from one of them threatening the other and barely convincing him to let her stay with him for one night, to besties, totally trusting eachother, and totally at ease together. That went on for a while and then the romance. That romance sneaks up on you! I mean I knew it was coming (we all did) but then it just wasn't happening and nothing was leading up to it. Then there was a little joke thing. Saying I love you to someone before you die.  After that I wasn't sure if that was like a real moment and things were starting or if it was just kind of a mock or fake moment, and then life was going on and they couldn't have moments. And then the end came and it was just like,

I half liked that it kind of snuck up, but not really. In general the pacing of the relationship just didn't work even though they were cute. 

Issue number two: The plot. I actually didn't end up having as big an issue with this as I thought I would. It wasn't bad! I want to establish that now, I didn't really not like it, I just didn't like it. In hindsight, it wasn't really an issue per-say, it just wasn't something to rave about. The pacing and just the way it was put together was a little...interesting. I was sometimes a bit confused because there was SO much going on! It wasn't bad and it wasn't good as I said before the whole plot was just kind of eh, as far as how well it was done, however, it keeps readers hooked for the most part and is suspenseful. 

The Action. This is very much an action book. Really all it is is action. I like action and the action was well done and logical. You couldn't really cut out any of the action they put in but, at times there was just too much action, and it was easy to get a tiny bit lost. Generally speaking though, I thought it was well enough done, and good for an action book. 

The Characters. I loved Sarah. She was strong, fun, kind, and stunning with the perfect amount of snark. Pierce/ Thomas was equally awesome. He was funny sweet, smart and totally swoon worthy. I felt like all of the characters were very vibrant and stayed true to themselves and the personality established for the most part, with the exception of Sarah and Pierce / Thomas when they suddenly became best friends and more. They had some background and such, but I felt like they could have been a touch more developed, but really they were all solid enough characters and you just can't help but love them to pieces. 

The Writing. The writing was ok. It wasn't a shining example of what authors should aspire to write like or anything, but it wasn't awful. It was just kind of there and a smidge bland. The story could have benefited a bit from things like more vivid descriptions, better imagery, stronger and more meaningful wordchoice, ect. but all in all the writing was decent. It didn't hold the story back so I was ok with it. 

The Concept/ Story Line. The concept was really interesting and made for a great story! The idea of a surgery that would help some people, and give others a chance at the real fresh start so many crave is highly intriguing! Then playing upon the other ways such research could be used added depth to the concept. It would have been interesting to see more of the moral issues dug into a bit, but there was already, SO much going on that it probably would have been too much in addition to everything else. 

Last Thoughts: Over all, I liked the book a lot. It definitely had some issues and it wasn't perfect, but it was still a really fun and unique read. The entire thing was a bit of an action packed whorl wind read and that was both good and bad. It's great for a quick and fun read, and I'd recommenced it if it sounds interesting to you. I gave it three (or three and a half) out of five stars.

Add it on Goodreads and buy it through Liberty Bay Books here..

Gif. Consensus: