Ashley Stoyanoff Review: The Assimilate by Emily Jack Hayden.

★ASHLEY STOYNAOFF'S REVIEW★

The Assimilate.

Title: Assimilate

Author: Emily Jack Hayden

Number of Pages: 325

Publication Info: Emily Jack Hayden (December 2012)

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi

Shelf: Books I Bought

Rating: ★★

Summary from Goodreads

I've come to like people, the ones I've gotten to know so far at Buena Vista High School.  I even love some of them.  This is probably what made the killing possible for me.    

What I feel bad about now is not the killing I did, so much as the killing I didn't do.  My family and friends and everyone in our society considers us heroes- me, Nick, and Andy.  And I would wholeheartedly agree with the Nick and Andy part.  But not me.  I have failed miserably, and only I know it.

This weighs on me, of course, and I think it's only a matter of time before I'll have to come clean- expose myself for the coward I really am, and for the danger I've placed us all in.  Because choosing not to act is a choice all its own, and it's the one I made at the time.  I accept that- I do.  I own it.  So now if the world ends for humankind, any or all, it will be me who is to blame.-Excerpt from ASSIMILATE, by Emily Jack Hayden 2012.

My Review 

I really wanted to love this book.  The excerpt used as the back cover story gripped me right away and I was super excited to jump into this story.  

The overall plot was interesting.  Genetically enhanced people living in an underground society, trying to merge into the real world.  It was kind of cool, especially the explanation of the gene manipulation.  

The first chapter was great.  It gives a little bit of everything: nervous tension, suspense, mystery.  It was a perfect start, but then…it slows, and even though it was interesting, at 43% done I still felt like nothing had really happened.  The main character, Tan, wasvery methodical, with little emotion, and I found him very hard to care about.  

The second half of the book was much more gripping, and so was Tan.

 The plot thickens, and the action starts.  Tan makes friends, falls in love, and he begins to show some emotion.  

His supporting characters were well developed and they really helpedbring out his stand up morals and his charm.

Here’s the thing, it wasn’t until about the 70% mark, that I really got into this book and, that is why it lost stars for me. 

But, when the action hit and things started to pull together, the book was awesome.  

Overall, this book was okay. The idea was great, the secondary characters weresplendid, but the overall pacing and action was lacking.  

If you like sci-fi with splashes of romance and mystery, and you don’t mind a slower pace then check this one out.