Out of the Blue

E-galley received for review from Netgalley.

I've had the opportunity to read a galley of this YA title which is to be published next June. It's a YA dystopia, and the cover is extremely pretty; these were reasons enough for me to jump at the chance to read it. I wasn't disappointed, but the book left me very perplexed on some points.

This is the story of Ana Barber, a 17-year-old girl who lives in 2041 London. The society has been divided into two sections after a DNA test: the Crazies, those that because of their genetic makeup will suffer from some sort of mental illness, and the Pures, the privileged ones who will not fall ill. Pures live in a secluded Community, while Crazies in the chaotic, dangerous City. Ana, the daughter of a famous scientist who developed the test, has been raised as a pure even though she's actually a Sleeper - she will likely develop some mental disease during the course of her life. She risks being thrown out in the streets when they learn of her being a Sleeper. However, the government grants her a reprieve because her boyfriend Jasper, who comes from a rich, influential family, wants to be "bound" to her even after learning of her defective DNA.

Jasper and Ana are close to get permanently "bound" when he disappears. While searching for him, and worried that he might be involved with the rebels who plot against the government and the DNA tests, Ana leaves the Community and gets to know handsome, dangerous Cole, who is linked to the rebels.

The love triangle is actually quite unbalanced in favour of Cole and the attraction Ana feels for him. The romance was my favourite part of the novel. It made me pretty excited. The whole word-building, however, I wasn't such a fan of. It strikes me as pretty unlikely that scientists could design a test for mental illness, (especially schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, which are called "the big three" diseases) when theyr are not hereditary. How can they be detected in your DNA? Also, many people experience periods of anxiety and/or depression in their life, but these don't last their whole life. Why would Crazies need to be segregated when mental illness is not contagious? Why don't medicate them? All these points left me quite perplexed as a whole.

The Pures also consider religion a signal of mental illness, as it has the potential to destroy all civilization. I found this point actually quite believable. Of course, there is some sort of paranormal-religious feeling the whole "Glimpse" theory that the rebels have.

I read online that the author has a two-book deal, so there will be a sequel for this. I didn't know this when reading the book, and I thought the story was finished with the ending. It seemed a good point to stop, not a big cliffhanger, even though, of course, there are a few questions left unanswered. I might want to read on and see where the author goes with the sequel, but I don't feel any hurry, really. (Would you believe this is actually very much appreciated).

Cover attraction: it's very pretty, but it doesn't really refer to anything in the book, so it's slightly disappointing. The heart in a barbed wire reminds me of Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. Uhm.