Review: Slated by Teri Terry

Slated

Author: Teri Terry  
Series: Slated #1
Publisher: Orchard Books
Genre: YA Dystopian
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Release Date: May 3, 2012
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries
Rating: 3.5 Stars
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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Kyla’s memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?

My Review:

The concept of this book is extremely original. Criminals get their memories wiped and are given a second chance to start over. They get a new family and a completely new life. They must wear Levos on their wrists that shock them if they become too angry or upset. One thing I didn’t understand: they can only do the Slating procedure on people under the age of sixteen. I just kind of wondered what they did with the criminals over that age. I feel like the vast majority of people that commit crimes are over sixteen.

This was my only issue with the world-building. Other than that, it was excellent. The world-building is nicely spaced out throughout the novel and Teri Terry drops little dollops of information in that fit perfectly. You never got a huge chunk of information thrown in your face which I liked. Sometimes when authors do that, I get bored and skim over and then am left with questions about the world. But the way Teri Terry did it was perfect, giving us enough information without being overwhelming.

The main character, Kyla, was very enjoyable. She’s been Slated and it was interesting to see her readapt and relearn everything about life. She’s like a child at first. (Literally, they have to relearn how to walk and talk.) Kyla was very analytical. She saw things for exactly what they were. She wasn’t like the other Slateds in their blissful happiness. Kyla was scared. A lot. Which was completely understandable. I would be.

There are people called Lorders that look for crime and take people away. To where? Who knows? But they seem to be taking more and more people for silly reasons like just speaking their minds or even getting too friendly with a Slated. If Kyla doesn’t succeed this time (as in not make any mistakes, reintegrate herself into society), she will be Returned. And now she’s too old to be re-slated. So you can imagine what they will do to her. Yeah, I think the girl is allowed to be scared. Kyla kind of bugged me towards the end though when she knew what was right, but refused to act. I can’t say more than that because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it felt selfish and juvenile to me.

The relationship was meh. I didn’t really care for Ben. I thought he was kind of bland and boring (but that could have been because he was also Slated). But then towards the end, when he figures out how to think for himself, he becomes rash and stupid. It was better than bland and boring, but it felt a bit extreme.

One of my favorite characters was Kyla’s new mom. I was constantly trying to figure out whose side she was on. The scenes with her mom were interesting and provided for lots of awesome world-building.

I wish there had been more action in this book. This one was really discovering who Kyla is and I think we will see a lot more action in the second book, but there were times reading where I was kind of bored. It felt kind of repetitive at times. At one point I was like, “Okay, we get it. Can we move on?” I think what happened with this book was hype. There are a couple bloggers who have just raved about this book. They love it. And I was so excited to read it. I had such high expectations that I just don’t think it was possible for this book to live up to them. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. I did. It was very enjoyable. I liked it and am looking forward to reading Fractured, but unfortunately, it didn’t blow me away like I thought it would. Happy reading all!  

Betty and Cassie, two wonderful book blogging ladies that I follow, are hosting a virtual book club and Slated is this month's book! The talk will take place on September 30th at 3pm eastern time on Twitter. Use #dinerchat and don't forget to link up here!

Have you read this book? What did you think? Leave me a comment below!