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lildrinkwater's review against another edition
1.0
Very difficult to follow, especially with the 3rd person narrative. The immunity had very little to do with the story and did not take the path you would expect, there was much less to the plot that expected. There was very little character development and it was very shallow. Huge disappointment.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
2.0
Written in 2015 this book depicts a near future where an Ebola like pandemic where everything gone insane. The 1% against the 99 % kind of destopian. This had potential to be an entertaining enough read but I feel like the story was flat as a pancake. The story nor the characters was as intriguing as the premise.
bstephens0515's review
1.0
the plot was nonsensical, the characters unlikable, everything about this book was just such a huge letdown. i expected a medical/bioterrorism version of 1984, and instead got the most convoluted disappointment ever. i’m actually angry that i wasted time on this book.
conlamo's review
2.0
Fast paced but not in a suspenseful or thrilling way. It gave me whiplash. Event after event happening with little to no explanation. Chapters are about 5 pages long so if you like just reading tons of mini scenes where a bunch of nonsense happens with nothing to fill in the blanks or build up momentum or suspense, go ahead and read it. If you expected a tense medicial/dystopian thriller, don't bother. Could be better if there was some substance between major scenes.
baoluong's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book by pure chance because of the gorgeous cover. That florescent orange and the gold embedded title kidnapped me like the promise of rainbows and unicorns. Thinking back, I usually research books before reading and would not have given this book as second thought, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. I would go even further to say that the book should have been longer.
I didn't hate any of the characters, in fact, I was intrigued. You could say that I'm a hipster simply going against the grain but honestly I want more people to read this book. Let's get this clear. By no means is this book perfect. It's illogical at times and lagging the rest. Normally I would have considered the main protagonist to be completely selfish and the plot confusing, but looking back it's not as if Catherine wants my sympathy or the cure is actually a cure. It doesn't try to sell me the idea that people like Mercer are saints because they're not. They are the 1% and they are above the law or conventional societal norms. They are at the top of the social Darwinism hierarchy. Survival of the fittest and in turn they are immune.
I haven't the faintest inkling that this is the hidden message underneath. This is what I choose to take away from any book: my own interpretation. Ultimately, the ending was loose and there were so many plot holes that it would scare those with trypophobia. I don't necessary consider this book to be a medical thriller seeing that the thriller part is lacking despite a chase that should have ended in Catherine being shot down instead of neatly escaping. I just want people to know what they're getting into because if you have patience and willing to over analyze books as if this is some high school English class then you're in store for something good.
I didn't hate any of the characters, in fact, I was intrigued. You could say that I'm a hipster simply going against the grain but honestly I want more people to read this book. Let's get this clear. By no means is this book perfect. It's illogical at times and lagging the rest. Normally I would have considered the main protagonist to be completely selfish and the plot confusing, but looking back it's not as if Catherine wants my sympathy or the cure is actually a cure. It doesn't try to sell me the idea that people like Mercer are saints because they're not. They are the 1% and they are above the law or conventional societal norms. They are at the top of the social Darwinism hierarchy. Survival of the fittest and in turn they are immune.
I haven't the faintest inkling that this is the hidden message underneath. This is what I choose to take away from any book: my own interpretation. Ultimately, the ending was loose and there were so many plot holes that it would scare those with trypophobia. I don't necessary consider this book to be a medical thriller seeing that the thriller part is lacking despite a chase that should have ended in Catherine being shot down instead of neatly escaping. I just want people to know what they're getting into because if you have patience and willing to over analyze books as if this is some high school English class then you're in store for something good.
glitterandtwang's review against another edition
3.0
Compelling, well written, and a little scary. The ending left me cold, though.
carissa230's review against another edition
2.0
In a not so distant future, there is a break out of TX aka the Texas Flu. It is highly deadly and highly contagious. There is no cure for it once you have it you go to quarantine to die.
Catherine Duvall is a socialite with absolutely nothing going for her. She has zero personality, and zero friends which makes her the perfect idiot to test an implant that makes you immune to TX. It also has tracking capabilities of some sort and it paralyzes you if you get TX or if someone breaks into your back and tries to take it out (not really explained that well).
Her mother was a rich woman that did nothing and therefore Catherine did nothing (apparently trying to impress her mother). They of course partied and wasted all their money but offered nothing.
There is also the story of the rich people that can pay a company called Pursuit to get anything they want. Even if they want to shoot people with plastic bullets, to injure only, that is no problem (this would have made a better story I think).
I almost forgot to mention the fact that she could not be friends with a man without having to sleep with him. Mercer is oh everything will be fine don't worry...and then we had sex. (He is only sleeping with you so you will quit your bitching, idiot!) Then she sleeps with Laird because they were alone together for a while. Not to mention that both of these men were sleeping with her friend Frances before she came along.
Catherine was terrible Mercer was terrible, and the ending was absolutely pointless.
Catherine Duvall is a socialite with absolutely nothing going for her. She has zero personality, and zero friends which makes her the perfect idiot to test an implant that makes you immune to TX. It also has tracking capabilities of some sort and it paralyzes you if you get TX or if someone breaks into your back and tries to take it out (not really explained that well).
Her mother was a rich woman that did nothing and therefore Catherine did nothing (apparently trying to impress her mother). They of course partied and wasted all their money but offered nothing.
There is also the story of the rich people that can pay a company called Pursuit to get anything they want. Even if they want to shoot people with plastic bullets, to injure only, that is no problem (this would have made a better story I think).
I almost forgot to mention the fact that she could not be friends with a man without having to sleep with him. Mercer is oh everything will be fine don't worry...and then we had sex. (He is only sleeping with you so you will quit your bitching, idiot!) Then she sleeps with Laird because they were alone together for a while. Not to mention that both of these men were sleeping with her friend Frances before she came along.
Catherine was terrible Mercer was terrible, and the ending was absolutely pointless.
ranaelizabeth's review
2.0
Decent plot but it falls apart with transitions between scenes. It's too easy to see the framework of the story, like the author has index cards with each scene on it and then just jumps from one index card to the next. All the reader's getting is the index cards with no development or building of momentum.
And I don't normally blink at pretend science but holy moly, ...it was novel too, a sort of genetic medley of influenza and Lassa, with the ability to persist in the blood like HIV, that's just stupid. Just make it a really bad flu and nobody blinks. But a combination of two completely different viruses? Yeah, no.
But, I will say that my favorite part of the book?The device that is implanted, it doesn't actually give you immunity but that causes temporary paralysis when you become infected and thus, decreasing the ability for the virus to spread? That's totally mind-blowing.
And I don't normally blink at pretend science but holy moly, ...it was novel too, a sort of genetic medley of influenza and Lassa, with the ability to persist in the blood like HIV, that's just stupid. Just make it a really bad flu and nobody blinks. But a combination of two completely different viruses? Yeah, no.
But, I will say that my favorite part of the book?
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