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usnebojemesa's review
4.0
and in the end, Ben isn't the traitorous one, hah. so I can predict where the books will be going, no, I know what will happen (it is the last sentence, hah) - Kyla searching for Ben.
Nico/Hatten guy is weird, and um uh, she is like 16?? and the age totally doesn't match her life before the slating, she should be older. and this guy is like few years older but he winks at her and does weird stuff.
and slating makes no sense, because it is done on people younger than 16 and is done because they're criminals (but none of the slated characters were (well, besides kyla. maybe. probably.) criminals. as we know off. well, we know amy's story), but many of them are slated so they can live a normal life after a tragedy or something. and we are not even given a single example of a slated child criminal. maybe I missed it (doubt it, tho).
it's a bit slow paced, and most of the something that happens is near the end, like in most books, I guess. but there are still a lot of questions left unanswered, I was especially interested in how where they keeping track of people who were taken by the loders and the idea of slated as spies. that's why I believed ben was a "traitor", kyla told him everything and he was absent in periods and ya. but it could be her 'dad' (do they even have names??? I forgot lmao), he is acting especially sketchy, and it's really annoying. he also thinks he has to control everything. don't get me started on the 'things you should/things you shouldn't do kyla'. after anything, she would be called aside and 'you can't have lunch/you can have art/don't run/don't run with ben/don't be with ben/don't definately be with ben'. I would punch somebody in the face after awhile.
the narrating is a bit weird, different from the other books I've read, reminds me of THG and Imaginary Girls and Catcher in the Rye - there are no big descriptions about people's appearance and stuff like that, so it is a bit harder to create an image of them. or maybe it isn't even that. ugh. dunno. I am bad at this, the explaining, hah.
the cover is ultra-pretty and it is done by nirrimi and her work is gorgeous, trully. and her pictures are on all covers of the trilogy. yey !
Nico/Hatten guy is weird, and um uh, she is like 16?? and the age totally doesn't match her life before the slating, she should be older. and this guy is like few years older but he winks at her and does weird stuff.
and slating makes no sense, because it is done on people younger than 16 and is done because they're criminals (but none of the slated characters were (well, besides kyla. maybe. probably.) criminals. as we know off. well, we know amy's story), but many of them are slated so they can live a normal life after a tragedy or something. and we are not even given a single example of a slated child criminal. maybe I missed it (doubt it, tho).
it's a bit slow paced, and most of the something that happens is near the end, like in most books, I guess. but there are still a lot of questions left unanswered, I was especially interested in how where they keeping track of people who were taken by the loders and the idea of slated as spies. that's why I believed ben was a "traitor", kyla told him everything and he was absent in periods and ya. but it could be her 'dad' (do they even have names??? I forgot lmao), he is acting especially sketchy, and it's really annoying. he also thinks he has to control everything. don't get me started on the 'things you should/things you shouldn't do kyla'. after anything, she would be called aside and 'you can't have lunch/you can have art/don't run/don't run with ben/don't be with ben/don't definately be with ben'. I would punch somebody in the face after awhile.
the narrating is a bit weird, different from the other books I've read, reminds me of THG and Imaginary Girls and Catcher in the Rye - there are no big descriptions about people's appearance and stuff like that, so it is a bit harder to create an image of them. or maybe it isn't even that. ugh. dunno. I am bad at this, the explaining, hah.
the cover is ultra-pretty and it is done by nirrimi and her work is gorgeous, trully. and her pictures are on all covers of the trilogy. yey !
jesenice's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
iyaa's review
3.0
Unique premise but lacked in execution and was too slow-paced for me to enjoy it. Still a nice read though.
katykelly's review
4.0
3.5 but averaged upwards for the idea and world created.
Kyla has no memory of herself and her life, is a Slated, and is placed with a new family after her memory is wiped by the government.
It's not the first time this idea has been seen, buts it a good version for teenager readers, talking about identity, society, morality (lots of ities in fact!).
Julia is a strong lead, Ben a bit of a drippy love interest unfortunately (I just didn't like him) and Kyla's new mum a good support (who we assume will play a role in later books). This is a series and ends on a cliffhanger with nothing resolved. I didn't mind this, though I don't know if I've been sufficiently tempted to continue with the next book.
I liked the theme of trust. Kyla starts as almost a baby, with no knowledge of the world, but soon learns that she can't trust everyone, though even as readers we are also guessing.
Nice idea, good execution, I'm sure it'll hit the spot with the target market.
Kyla has no memory of herself and her life, is a Slated, and is placed with a new family after her memory is wiped by the government.
It's not the first time this idea has been seen, buts it a good version for teenager readers, talking about identity, society, morality (lots of ities in fact!).
Julia is a strong lead, Ben a bit of a drippy love interest unfortunately (I just didn't like him) and Kyla's new mum a good support (who we assume will play a role in later books). This is a series and ends on a cliffhanger with nothing resolved. I didn't mind this, though I don't know if I've been sufficiently tempted to continue with the next book.
I liked the theme of trust. Kyla starts as almost a baby, with no knowledge of the world, but soon learns that she can't trust everyone, though even as readers we are also guessing.
Nice idea, good execution, I'm sure it'll hit the spot with the target market.
dembury's review
3.0
(There are very minor spoilers in this review)
I've had this on my TBR list for a couple years- the premise sounded like an intriguing YA read. I read the whole book in about a day because of that fact; since I had finally checked "Slated" out of the library I figured I might as well just read it! And my thoughts? I think my the 3-star rating is accurate: "liked it". It was good. Nothing great, or even super creative, but I thought it was a decent YA dystopian novel.
The premise behind the events of the book are that teen terrorists can be "slated"; that is, have their mind wiped blank and then are taught EVERYTHING new, with no memory of who they used to be. These Slated teens are given a new name, taught how to walk, talk, read, and then after 6 months, they are given to a new family. But quite a few questions arose for me, and they were never answered. For instance, if being Slated only works for those under the age of 16, then what about the adult terrorists? In the time this book is set (about 2050, I believe) are there really THAT many 14-year-old terrorists? Also, Terry never really expounds on why the Rebel group in this book are so hell-bent against the Government and Slating. It just seems to be a cliche "Big Bad Govt vs Freedom Fighters" thing.
Don't get me wrong: in this day and age, I think a YA book that explores the topic of terrorism is a really good idea. In the second half of the book, Kyla's mother explains to her that in the 30s (that's the 2030's) the terrorism became so bad that people didn't leave their house, and the riots and chaos was off the charts. Honestly, that really hit home, because the exploration of "what happens to us next?" is an important one, and it was very interesting to see how Terry wrote about it. But I felt as if there were some loopholes in this plot.
I also think the pace of the book was too slow, especially the first half. Kyla barely learns anything until well until the second half of the book. The first part is a lot of running, nightmares, more running, cute-boy-plot, running, and more nightmares. It got a little tedious.
The characters themselves were pretty good (except Ben- he just got really annoying). I like how Kyla is slowly learning things about herself and the reader really gets to see some character development, even in minor ways. I was SUPER happy to see the relationship between Kyla and her mother progress! I thought it was going to be one of those "evil stepmom, dad is the nice guy" deals, but I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVED solid family relationships, and again, it was so so nice to see Kyla grow to love Amy and her mom.
I'm interested to read the next book in the series, but I hope the pace picks up and that Terry incorporates more details of the world and the events that led to people being Slated.
I've had this on my TBR list for a couple years- the premise sounded like an intriguing YA read. I read the whole book in about a day because of that fact; since I had finally checked "Slated" out of the library I figured I might as well just read it! And my thoughts? I think my the 3-star rating is accurate: "liked it". It was good. Nothing great, or even super creative, but I thought it was a decent YA dystopian novel.
The premise behind the events of the book are that teen terrorists can be "slated"; that is, have their mind wiped blank and then are taught EVERYTHING new, with no memory of who they used to be. These Slated teens are given a new name, taught how to walk, talk, read, and then after 6 months, they are given to a new family. But quite a few questions arose for me, and they were never answered. For instance, if being Slated only works for those under the age of 16, then what about the adult terrorists? In the time this book is set (about 2050, I believe) are there really THAT many 14-year-old terrorists? Also, Terry never really expounds on why the Rebel group in this book are so hell-bent against the Government and Slating. It just seems to be a cliche "Big Bad Govt vs Freedom Fighters" thing.
Don't get me wrong: in this day and age, I think a YA book that explores the topic of terrorism is a really good idea. In the second half of the book, Kyla's mother explains to her that in the 30s (that's the 2030's) the terrorism became so bad that people didn't leave their house, and the riots and chaos was off the charts. Honestly, that really hit home, because the exploration of "what happens to us next?" is an important one, and it was very interesting to see how Terry wrote about it. But I felt as if there were some loopholes in this plot.
I also think the pace of the book was too slow, especially the first half. Kyla barely learns anything until well until the second half of the book. The first part is a lot of running, nightmares, more running, cute-boy-plot, running, and more nightmares. It got a little tedious.
The characters themselves were pretty good (except Ben- he just got really annoying). I like how Kyla is slowly learning things about herself and the reader really gets to see some character development, even in minor ways. I was SUPER happy to see the relationship between Kyla and her mother progress! I thought it was going to be one of those "evil stepmom, dad is the nice guy" deals, but I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVED solid family relationships, and again, it was so so nice to see Kyla grow to love Amy and her mom.
I'm interested to read the next book in the series, but I hope the pace picks up and that Terry incorporates more details of the world and the events that led to people being Slated.
inook_u's review
3.0
4 stare? Maybe not to sure atm!!! In gonna do a full video review on this book. Watch this space.
readwithkiekie's review
5.0
Slated is one of those books that completely take you by surprise and instantly becomes one of your favourites. Slated isn't your normal Dystopian. The writing style is a little...different, but I fell in love with it from page one. Slated is filled with twists and turns that I couldn't predict and I just wanted more and more and more of. It had me on the edge of my seat. Literally.
The thing about Slated that left me so mind blown was the fact that it's not just set in a futuristic UK, but it's a realistic futuristic UK that could become us. And that's fucking scary!
The thing about Slated that left me so mind blown was the fact that it's not just set in a futuristic UK, but it's a realistic futuristic UK that could become us. And that's fucking scary!