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A review by tiareleine
The Body Electric by Beth Revis
4.0
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review
When I first heard Beth Revis was writing another full length novel I was beyond excited. I mean, how could I not be? The Across the Universe trilogy is one of my favorite series. Then I entered a giveaway for a review copy, and somehow I was lucky enough to win. Once again, beyond excited. Then I got it in the mail a few weeks before its release date. Do I have to say it again?Beyond. Excited.
Then I started reading it, and it wasn't exactly what I had expected. It was good, don't get me wrong. 4 stars is not a bad rating in the slightest, but I hadn't anticipated how different it would be from Across the Universe.
I know, I know; it's not part of the same series, it's not even a spin-off, but that's how my expectations had set themselves up. I don't want you to fall into the same hole. They are similar in some aspects (they're both science fiction with political drama) but mostly they're very different.
The other thing that gave me kind of the wrong impress was the synopsis, because there were some things I didn't really think lined up with it. This part in particular:
Ella Shepherd has dedicated her life to using her unique gift—the ability to enter people’s dreams and memories using technology developed by her mother—to help others relive their happy memories.
Okay, so the story follows a girl named Ella Shepherd, that part is true. However, she has not dedicated her life to using her "unique gift," at the beginning of the story she doesn't even know that she can do that. The part about the technology her mother developed is true, though. Anyway, it goes on to say that she starts seeing impossible things, and she gets recruited to use thisability technology she has access to in order to spy for the government. A mysterious boy shows up claiming to know her--but she doesn't know him--and he wants her to help fight against the government.
Be honest, as exciting as that sounds, it also sounds pretty cliché, right? I mean, a mysterious boy claiming to know her? A rebel organization fighting against the government? We've all seen these things before.
But you know what The Body Electric has that other dystopian stories don't have?
An unreliable narrator.
That's what sets it apart.
Ella starts off the story being absolutely sure of what she knows, but soon it comes to light that maybe she isn't. Maybe Jack, the mysterious boy claiming to know her, is right. Like the synopsis said, "But if someone else has been inside Ella’s head, she cannot trust her own memories, thoughts, or feelings." I tend not to go for books with unreliable narrators, because it can easily make the story too frustrating for me to stand. However, (because Across the Universe was one of the most frustrating books I've ever read, and yet I still liked it) I trust Beth Revis to make a frustrating story worth reading.
The mysterious boy and love interest, Jack, I actually really like. It's funny, when he first showed up I was sure I was going to hate him. I mean, he came up and claimed he knew Ella, but she didn't know him. He gave her a mysterious warning and then left. That's veering dangerously close to trope territory. Thankfully, his character development managed to take a turn before it crashed into Brooding Jerk ditch, and he revealed himself to be a cocky but lovable good guy.
The setting for the story is Malta, and I really like that. Not Malta specifically (though I'm sure it's a nice place) just the fact that it's somewhere besides generic-post-apocalyptic-America. It's refreshing to get a dystopian set somewhere else.
You may be wondering, with all these positive points, why 4 stars and not 5?
Well, it's because of the beginning. It took me a little while to get into the book, the beginning didn't immediately enthrall me the way the beginning of Across the Universe did (and yes, I'm going to keep mentioning that book, because 1. It was on my mind while I was reading, and I think it's important for reviewers to convey their reading experience honestly because reviews are almost entirely subjective, and 2. It's a good series, you should all go read it). I'll admit the beginning had me worried. It wasn't too long, though, before the heart-wrenching twists began, and then I was hooked; but I couldn't forget the beginning. I had to account for the beginning in my rating.
One last note before I try to put together a coherent conclusion, though it's not part of the Across the Universe series, there are Easter-eggs for AtU readers. I love when authors do that. It's such a simple thing that can make a book a lot more fun for people who have read the author's other work.
Over all, I really enjoyed The Body Electric, it's an interesting story with likable characters and realistic politics. I recommend it for fans of sci-fi, but for those of you who read and loved AtU, The Body Electric really stands on it's own. It is a very different story. Remember that.
When I first heard Beth Revis was writing another full length novel I was beyond excited. I mean, how could I not be? The Across the Universe trilogy is one of my favorite series. Then I entered a giveaway for a review copy, and somehow I was lucky enough to win. Once again, beyond excited. Then I got it in the mail a few weeks before its release date. Do I have to say it again?
Then I started reading it, and it wasn't exactly what I had expected. It was good, don't get me wrong. 4 stars is not a bad rating in the slightest, but I hadn't anticipated how different it would be from Across the Universe.
I know, I know; it's not part of the same series, it's not even a spin-off, but that's how my expectations had set themselves up. I don't want you to fall into the same hole. They are similar in some aspects (they're both science fiction with political drama) but mostly they're very different.
The other thing that gave me kind of the wrong impress was the synopsis, because there were some things I didn't really think lined up with it. This part in particular:
Ella Shepherd has dedicated her life to using her unique gift—the ability to enter people’s dreams and memories using technology developed by her mother—to help others relive their happy memories.
Okay, so the story follows a girl named Ella Shepherd, that part is true. However, she has not dedicated her life to using her "unique gift," at the beginning of the story she doesn't even know that she can do that. The part about the technology her mother developed is true, though. Anyway, it goes on to say that she starts seeing impossible things, and she gets recruited to use this
Be honest, as exciting as that sounds, it also sounds pretty cliché, right? I mean, a mysterious boy claiming to know her? A rebel organization fighting against the government? We've all seen these things before.
But you know what The Body Electric has that other dystopian stories don't have?
An unreliable narrator.
That's what sets it apart.
Ella starts off the story being absolutely sure of what she knows, but soon it comes to light that maybe she isn't. Maybe Jack, the mysterious boy claiming to know her, is right. Like the synopsis said, "But if someone else has been inside Ella’s head, she cannot trust her own memories, thoughts, or feelings." I tend not to go for books with unreliable narrators, because it can easily make the story too frustrating for me to stand. However, (because Across the Universe was one of the most frustrating books I've ever read, and yet I still liked it) I trust Beth Revis to make a frustrating story worth reading.
The mysterious boy and love interest, Jack, I actually really like. It's funny, when he first showed up I was sure I was going to hate him. I mean, he came up and claimed he knew Ella, but she didn't know him. He gave her a mysterious warning and then left. That's veering dangerously close to trope territory. Thankfully, his character development managed to take a turn before it crashed into Brooding Jerk ditch, and he revealed himself to be a cocky but lovable good guy.
The setting for the story is Malta, and I really like that. Not Malta specifically (though I'm sure it's a nice place) just the fact that it's somewhere besides generic-post-apocalyptic-America. It's refreshing to get a dystopian set somewhere else.
You may be wondering, with all these positive points, why 4 stars and not 5?
Well, it's because of the beginning. It took me a little while to get into the book, the beginning didn't immediately enthrall me the way the beginning of Across the Universe did (and yes, I'm going to keep mentioning that book, because 1. It was on my mind while I was reading, and I think it's important for reviewers to convey their reading experience honestly because reviews are almost entirely subjective, and 2. It's a good series, you should all go read it). I'll admit the beginning had me worried. It wasn't too long, though, before the heart-wrenching twists began, and then I was hooked; but I couldn't forget the beginning. I had to account for the beginning in my rating.
One last note before I try to put together a coherent conclusion, though it's not part of the Across the Universe series, there are Easter-eggs for AtU readers. I love when authors do that. It's such a simple thing that can make a book a lot more fun for people who have read the author's other work.
Over all, I really enjoyed The Body Electric, it's an interesting story with likable characters and realistic politics. I recommend it for fans of sci-fi, but for those of you who read and loved AtU, The Body Electric really stands on it's own. It is a very different story. Remember that.