Untamed

Librarian: No, I won't be recommending it. I have dozens of books just like this one on my shelves, and quite frankly, there's nothing that makes this one particularly stand out. If anything this one is a little too generic. Not to mention the whole addiction=end of the world thing is a little too on the nose for most teenagers. Very few teenagers appreciate being preached at, and this book is just a little too far on the wrong side of that divide. Reader: I had a lot of trouble finishing this book. If I didn't feel obligated to review it, I would have DNFed it. The story was very slow moving and never really drew me in. I also felt like it was a tad bit to moral driven. It felt like the book was written to support the moral, rather than the moral springing organically from the book. And while drug addiction is an important topic, I felt like focusing on the moral kept the book from feeling as untamed as its title.

There are a lot of dystopian YA novels out there. A lot of them are decent, unique stories, but some are very samey. This was, thankfully, in the former category in my opinion. It's set in a world where 'addiction' to augmenters is the norm; using these turns you into an Enhanced or Chosen One. The augmenters can do almost anything - there are specific ones for calmness, strength, speed, even for altering your height and physical appearance. Taking just one augmenter also changes the appearance of your eyes; the entire eyeball becomes a mirrored silver surface, with no clear pupil or iris. According to the Untamed (the people resisting Enhancement) this new way of life destroys your humanity. You can't feel any negative emotions - it's not right. So these small groups of Untamed desperately try to avoid detection and ultimately conversion, raiding Enhanced cities for necessities. There are several rules the Untamed follow, with one of the most important ones being *don't get converted*. If this happens, it's pretty much impossible to go back. You become dependent on augmenters, addicted. I won't describe too much more of the plot now. Basically, Seven, the protagonist, is turned. But she's rescued, and thus struggles with her newfound love of augmenters. Does she really want to remain untamed? Or is the Enhanced life truly better? There are also Seers in this book - Untamed who can visit the Dream Land to receive warnings from the gods, goddesses and spirits. Seven is hunted by the Enhanced. They want her, bad. Apparently, she's important, but she doesn't know why. Her and her friends face numerous difficulties and problems while trying to keep her safe. Like I said before, this is different. I've not read anything particularly like this before. However, there are some cliches, and I was not fond of the way Seven and Corin's relationship 'developed' at all. I use the word developed very loosely; their attitudes toward each other changed very suddenly, with little character development. I know the whole hate-turned-love thing is popular, but I wasn't overly impressed with how it was written here. I also found it a bit difficult to connect with Seven emotionally, or even sense her emotions a lot of the time. She was weirdly detached. She didn't seem to really care about much at all. Despite the negatives above, I did find myself enjoying reading this. Yes, there were some technical problems and little issues, but it was still a good read. 3.5 stars! *Note: I also read the second book in the series, which I think I enjoyed more!