While I'm always apprehensive about picking up a series I got into in my early teens, I'm really glad I circled back to this one. Not to put down YA Sci-fi/Dystopia as a genre, but this one honestly feels different. It has a fascinating, unique-as-far-as-I-know premise and avoids a lot of the tired tropes that exasperate me (including

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Chosen One, Face/Underqualified Leader of the Rebellion, Save Yourself at the Cost of Others [because, again, Chosen One], Boy Next Door vs. Mysterious New Boy Love Triangle

).

Though perhaps I'm biased because several elements —

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the broad strokes of plot development, the workings of the clinic, even some of the dialogue

— almost feel like something I would've written when I was younger and as avid a storyteller as a reader. (Not that I ever managed as imaginative or cohesive a novel as this one!) I don't really know how to explain it, beyond that the flow of the narrative just feels right to me?

I particularly appreciated that you can tell the protagonists are all in over their heads — they're kids, and they're scared, and the world actually is out to get them, and everything they've been told is a lie, and they don't know who they can trust, and they have no idea what to do next but they know they have to do something. So they're pushing past fear to do what they think is right, to stand up for themselves and others ... how could you not root for them?

The characters and relationships really shine, which makes sense given their importance to the premise. The understandings between Eva and Addie,

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Hally and Lissa, Devon and Ryan, and all the rest

, as well as their individual personalities, are definitely a huge part of what made this book memorable for me. And it doesn't hurt that there's just a hint of romance towards the end.

Zhang has clearly given a lot of thought to the implications of the whole born hybrid but the recessive soul goes away setup, including socio- and geopolitical relations. Many smart questions are raised in this book; I look forward to seeing how they're developed and answered as the series continues.

content warnings:

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past genocide, xenophobia, death of children, medical testing on kids, government conspiracy, gaslighting

rep:

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biracial (possibly Asian-coded) major characters

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CONVERSION: 11.6 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5