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The Van Winkle Project #1
Mirror X
I was born more than a thousand years ago. Put into a cryogenic tube at age seventeen, forgotten during a holocaust that decimated the world, I've finally been awakened to a more serene and peaceful future. But things at the hospital are new and strange. And it’s starting to scare me. Everyone is young. Everyone is banded and tracked. And everyone is keeping secrets. The cute geneticist Michael Bennett might be the only good thing in this crazy new world where “life is precious” but no one seems free to live it. The problem is, I don’t think he’s being totally honest with me, either. When I’m told only I can save the human race from extinction, it's clear my freeze didn’t avoid a dreadful fate. It only delayed the horror…
360 pages, Paperback
First published June 30, 2014
38 people are currently reading
2455 people want to read
About the author
Karri Thompson
7 books353 followersKarri Thompson, a native of San Diego, attended San Diego State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in education. When she’s not writing novels and teaching high school English, she can be found nerding out at San Diego Comic-Con and cooking delicious meals for her family. Karri is the recipient of the San Diego Book Awards Best Published Young Adult Novel for 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
January 26, 2015
My thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
*SPOILERS AHEAD!!!*
I got to 35% and couldn't make myself read anymore. The female MC Cassie is super annoying and does stupid things to further the plot. The love interest was lying to her, but it was ok, because she was in lurve with him. He was so dreamy, especially when he spoke and was unable to meet her eyes, which he did almost every time they spoke. (hint hint, he was lying! Shocker!)
And the science in this book is completely far-fetched and unbelievable. 1) Cassie died in 2022. DIED. As in, her body gave up the ghost, she shuffled off this mortal coil, her spirit was no longer connected to her body. But her super grieving family decided to cryogenically freeze her corpse, in the hope that a cure for what killed her would be found. Ummm...as far as I know, there's no cure for death, not even in the year 3000-whatever.
So her frozenly preserved corpse was found and the doctor, 20 year old genius male MC, falls in LOVE with her corpse. I'll repeat that, because it's so strange, it might be hard to process. He falls, into insta-love, with a CORPSE. That he was able to magically bring back to life. Ew.
So after barely two weeks adjusting to the fact that she's 1,000 years in the future and everything she knows is gone/changed/dead (and please note she spent like one minute on grieving her dead family and other loved ones. She spent more time complaining about her planned field of work, archeology, being a dead science than crying over her dead mother. Nice.), the rulers decide to break the news to her that due to a horrible virus that killed off 50% of the human species, it left the women infertile, so everyone is a clone and the clones, despite being inoculated against the virus, are also infertile. But only the women, not the men. So she's the last chance for humanity to survive. And she doesn't want to give up her eggs. To save humanity.
I'll repeat that. She doesn't want to give up the eggs she won't be using to save the human race from extinction. Yes, they also want to force her to have babies too, BUT if she had thought about it, she could have probably negotiated her way out of it. I get that, but dude, really? She could save the ENTIRE HUMAN RACE and she DOESN'T WANT TO?!?!?
And she does a really REALLY stupid job of trying to escape. She has no map, knows NOTHING about the world she woke up to and she tries to run. While wearing a GPS locator bracelet that they could use to track her. Mensa material, no?
Ok, let's back-up a bit. They come across a cryogenically frozen corpse with functioning reproductive organs. Here's how that conversation goes.
"HEY! We just found a dead body with fully functional reproductive organs!"
"SWEET! Harvest the organs when we can move them and use the eggs!"
"What do we do with the body?"
"Who cares, it's dead. Bury it."
"But I fell in love with it, can we try to bring it back to life?"
Uncomfortable silence.
"No." Carefully calls for back-up and get's nut-job in love with a corpse committed.
Humanity is saved, for another few hundred years at least. Or until a disease that is partial to the genes from those eggs wreaks havoc with the progeny. They all lived happily ever after. THE END
The above is not much of a book, but neither is this. There are other issues with this book, mostly revolving around the impossible science and semi tractor trailer sized holes in the plot. And the super annoying and self-centered female MC.
This book is a definite miss. I do not recommend it to anyone. I really wanted to like it too, it had a pretty good premise.
Actually, it shares some similarities with one of my all time favorite books, "The Touchstone Trilogy". The female MC in that book is named Cassandra, which is very close to the Cassie of "Mirror X". Cassandra is also a teenager, and is spirited away to a weird world, where she knows nothing about anything and is pretty close to being a lab rat and super special to the people who find her, who want to control her. That is where the similarities end. Cassandra is strong and smart and while she isn't happy with her situation, she keeps calm and learns about the people, culture and does her best to adapt and fight the battles that matter. Cassie in comparison is just throwing temper tantrums and saying stupid stuff without thinking it through first. She doesn't even say WHY she won't donate her eggs to save humanity. It's just exhausting.
So please, to save yourself the aggravation and your eReader from sailing across the room, skip this one.
*SPOILERS AHEAD!!!*
I got to 35% and couldn't make myself read anymore. The female MC Cassie is super annoying and does stupid things to further the plot. The love interest was lying to her, but it was ok, because she was in lurve with him. He was so dreamy, especially when he spoke and was unable to meet her eyes, which he did almost every time they spoke. (hint hint, he was lying! Shocker!)
And the science in this book is completely far-fetched and unbelievable. 1) Cassie died in 2022. DIED. As in, her body gave up the ghost, she shuffled off this mortal coil, her spirit was no longer connected to her body. But her super grieving family decided to cryogenically freeze her corpse, in the hope that a cure for what killed her would be found. Ummm...as far as I know, there's no cure for death, not even in the year 3000-whatever.
So her frozenly preserved corpse was found and the doctor, 20 year old genius male MC, falls in LOVE with her corpse. I'll repeat that, because it's so strange, it might be hard to process. He falls, into insta-love, with a CORPSE. That he was able to magically bring back to life. Ew.
So after barely two weeks adjusting to the fact that she's 1,000 years in the future and everything she knows is gone/changed/dead (and please note she spent like one minute on grieving her dead family and other loved ones. She spent more time complaining about her planned field of work, archeology, being a dead science than crying over her dead mother. Nice.), the rulers decide to break the news to her that due to a horrible virus that killed off 50% of the human species, it left the women infertile, so everyone is a clone and the clones, despite being inoculated against the virus, are also infertile. But only the women, not the men. So she's the last chance for humanity to survive. And she doesn't want to give up her eggs. To save humanity.
I'll repeat that. She doesn't want to give up the eggs she won't be using to save the human race from extinction. Yes, they also want to force her to have babies too, BUT if she had thought about it, she could have probably negotiated her way out of it. I get that, but dude, really? She could save the ENTIRE HUMAN RACE and she DOESN'T WANT TO?!?!?
And she does a really REALLY stupid job of trying to escape. She has no map, knows NOTHING about the world she woke up to and she tries to run. While wearing a GPS locator bracelet that they could use to track her. Mensa material, no?
Ok, let's back-up a bit. They come across a cryogenically frozen corpse with functioning reproductive organs. Here's how that conversation goes.
"HEY! We just found a dead body with fully functional reproductive organs!"
"SWEET! Harvest the organs when we can move them and use the eggs!"
"What do we do with the body?"
"Who cares, it's dead. Bury it."
"But I fell in love with it, can we try to bring it back to life?"
Uncomfortable silence.
"No." Carefully calls for back-up and get's nut-job in love with a corpse committed.
Humanity is saved, for another few hundred years at least. Or until a disease that is partial to the genes from those eggs wreaks havoc with the progeny. They all lived happily ever after. THE END
The above is not much of a book, but neither is this. There are other issues with this book, mostly revolving around the impossible science and semi tractor trailer sized holes in the plot. And the super annoying and self-centered female MC.
This book is a definite miss. I do not recommend it to anyone. I really wanted to like it too, it had a pretty good premise.
Actually, it shares some similarities with one of my all time favorite books, "The Touchstone Trilogy". The female MC in that book is named Cassandra, which is very close to the Cassie of "Mirror X". Cassandra is also a teenager, and is spirited away to a weird world, where she knows nothing about anything and is pretty close to being a lab rat and super special to the people who find her, who want to control her. That is where the similarities end. Cassandra is strong and smart and while she isn't happy with her situation, she keeps calm and learns about the people, culture and does her best to adapt and fight the battles that matter. Cassie in comparison is just throwing temper tantrums and saying stupid stuff without thinking it through first. She doesn't even say WHY she won't donate her eggs to save humanity. It's just exhausting.
So please, to save yourself the aggravation and your eReader from sailing across the room, skip this one.
November 30, 2015
Fellow San Diegan and young adult dystopian author, Karri Thompson's, novel intrigued me. The concept of a young woman frozen for more than 1,000 years, waking to a new world order is such a fascinating idea, I couldn't wait to dig into it. The story weaves, bends, and twists through more than 350 pages of surprises, danger, and righteous indignation.
I thought it took a little long to really get going, but there are a lot of changes in the world Cassie wakes up in. Cassie, along with the reader, are slowly introduced to these changes, each new piece of information building upon the previous pieces. Just when we think we finally have a grasp of the situation, the author gives us a little more information, challenging everything we thought we knew. One of my favorite parts of the writing is the way Karri Thompson continually changes the playing field, keeping her characters and readers guessing.
Plot
The plot revolves around Cassie's unique role in the world, and whether she'll willingly embrace it, or succumb to it kicking and screaming. She vacillates a lot on exactly how she feels about what's going on. Sometimes, I feel as if she's too quick to give these people a pass and reason away their behavior. Other times, she's the scared seventeen-year-old I expect her to be. There's also a strong romantic plot that weaves through the story and drives many of her decisions.
Characters
I straight up didn't care at all for Michael, the young doctor Cassie is instantly attracted to. He rubbed me the wrong way from the start and never redeemed himself in my eyes. Cassie is pretty believable as the conflicted teen in a Buck Rogers situation, but there were times she didn't seem as overwhelmed by her situation as I thought she should have been. The supporting characters are really my favorites. They're all fascinating and easy to love or hate, depending on their role in the story.
Ending
The ending was yet another twist I never saw coming, but wrapped up the main story of Mirror X well, leaving plenty open for a sequel, without being a cliffhanger. That can be tough to do, but I feel as if the author pulled it off well.
What Didn't Work for Me
1. The romance. It felt forced from the very beginning. When Cassie wakes up more than a thousand years in the future, her immediate attraction to her young doctor seems to overshadow what should be grief over the loss of her family, friends, and way of life. Michael's obsession with Cassie always came across as kind of creepy to me. There wasn't any chemistry between the two of them. And the way Michael continually lied to her makes him completely unredeemable as boyfriend material in my eyes. I kept hoping for something romantic to develop between Cassie and Magnum, though, but their relationship is more like siblings. Too bad, because they have a truckload of chemistry.
2. 31st century Earth. I never fully was able to wrap my head around what the world looked like, particularly the buildings. All I really know is there's not much vegetation, but I had a hard time picturing what this world looked like through the descriptions provided.
3. Cassie's introduction into the new world. As I stated above, she put her attraction to Michael front and center. I would have liked her to struggle more with the new world she's found herself in. I never got a sense of the utter devastation and hopelessness over her situation I was expecting. She's experienced something no one can really relate to, so I would have liked the deeper psychological aspects to have been more thoroughly explored.
What I Enjoyed about Mirror X
1. The surprises. There were so many twists and turns, I never knew what was coming next and that was so much fun to read.
2. The emotions. Where I felt the story was lacking when it came to Cassie's response to the new world she finds herself in, the writing shines when Cassie is dealing with the emotions surrounding her role in the 31st century. Not only is she unique in that she was born in the early 2000s, but she possess an ability no one else in the future has. This ability drives the plot and her reactions to her expected role are raw and palpable.
3. Technology. There is some fascinating technology in Mirror X and Karri Thompson does a great job of helping us understand the role of this technology in the world she's created.
4. The secondary characters. Magnum, Travel, and a whole host of other characters are intriguing and colorful and really brought the story to life.
5. Magnum. The technology whiz kid was easily my favorite character in the book. He's a breath of 31st century fresh air!
Bottom Line
Mirror X is an interesting scifi/dystopian adventure with some unique aspects. I'm interested to see where this series goes.
I thought it took a little long to really get going, but there are a lot of changes in the world Cassie wakes up in. Cassie, along with the reader, are slowly introduced to these changes, each new piece of information building upon the previous pieces. Just when we think we finally have a grasp of the situation, the author gives us a little more information, challenging everything we thought we knew. One of my favorite parts of the writing is the way Karri Thompson continually changes the playing field, keeping her characters and readers guessing.
Plot
The plot revolves around Cassie's unique role in the world, and whether she'll willingly embrace it, or succumb to it kicking and screaming. She vacillates a lot on exactly how she feels about what's going on. Sometimes, I feel as if she's too quick to give these people a pass and reason away their behavior. Other times, she's the scared seventeen-year-old I expect her to be. There's also a strong romantic plot that weaves through the story and drives many of her decisions.
Characters
I straight up didn't care at all for Michael, the young doctor Cassie is instantly attracted to. He rubbed me the wrong way from the start and never redeemed himself in my eyes. Cassie is pretty believable as the conflicted teen in a Buck Rogers situation, but there were times she didn't seem as overwhelmed by her situation as I thought she should have been. The supporting characters are really my favorites. They're all fascinating and easy to love or hate, depending on their role in the story.
Ending
The ending was yet another twist I never saw coming, but wrapped up the main story of Mirror X well, leaving plenty open for a sequel, without being a cliffhanger. That can be tough to do, but I feel as if the author pulled it off well.
What Didn't Work for Me
1. The romance. It felt forced from the very beginning. When Cassie wakes up more than a thousand years in the future, her immediate attraction to her young doctor seems to overshadow what should be grief over the loss of her family, friends, and way of life. Michael's obsession with Cassie always came across as kind of creepy to me. There wasn't any chemistry between the two of them. And the way Michael continually lied to her makes him completely unredeemable as boyfriend material in my eyes. I kept hoping for something romantic to develop between Cassie and Magnum, though, but their relationship is more like siblings. Too bad, because they have a truckload of chemistry.
2. 31st century Earth. I never fully was able to wrap my head around what the world looked like, particularly the buildings. All I really know is there's not much vegetation, but I had a hard time picturing what this world looked like through the descriptions provided.
3. Cassie's introduction into the new world. As I stated above, she put her attraction to Michael front and center. I would have liked her to struggle more with the new world she's found herself in. I never got a sense of the utter devastation and hopelessness over her situation I was expecting. She's experienced something no one can really relate to, so I would have liked the deeper psychological aspects to have been more thoroughly explored.
What I Enjoyed about Mirror X
1. The surprises. There were so many twists and turns, I never knew what was coming next and that was so much fun to read.
2. The emotions. Where I felt the story was lacking when it came to Cassie's response to the new world she finds herself in, the writing shines when Cassie is dealing with the emotions surrounding her role in the 31st century. Not only is she unique in that she was born in the early 2000s, but she possess an ability no one else in the future has. This ability drives the plot and her reactions to her expected role are raw and palpable.
3. Technology. There is some fascinating technology in Mirror X and Karri Thompson does a great job of helping us understand the role of this technology in the world she's created.
4. The secondary characters. Magnum, Travel, and a whole host of other characters are intriguing and colorful and really brought the story to life.
5. Magnum. The technology whiz kid was easily my favorite character in the book. He's a breath of 31st century fresh air!
Bottom Line
Mirror X is an interesting scifi/dystopian adventure with some unique aspects. I'm interested to see where this series goes.
June 15, 2014
The ending was so hurried and rushed while the middle felt long. It was a great concept, and I thought the implications of a future society unable to replicate were well reasoned. The insta-love was a bit of a turn off. One minute Cassie would be thinking about how to escape, and the next she is kissing one of the doctors who is keeping her confined. It didn't make any sense as most romances written for teens nowadays are written.
I thought the way Cassie's viewpoints from our time frame were completely out of synch with how a future society thought and what they believed was well done. Society is always evolving, and what is widely held conviction in today's world will seem out of place in the past or in the future. Cassie's value on freedom was foreign to Michael's world.
The message that life is special and sacred is an important one. I thought the book really highlighted this well and did so in a non-didactic way. For those women who cannot have children, the message will be especially poignant. I know this was written for teens, but the struggles of a future world who cannot conceive can create an empathy for women who are struggling with the same thing. And really isn't that a great benefit of books - stepping out of our own worldview and into another creating empathy and compassion?
This book was good, but I felt the pacing was off and the romance played way too much of a part in the story. This will make you think about the future of humankind, but it wasn't really a stand out in the field of dystopians.
I thought the way Cassie's viewpoints from our time frame were completely out of synch with how a future society thought and what they believed was well done. Society is always evolving, and what is widely held conviction in today's world will seem out of place in the past or in the future. Cassie's value on freedom was foreign to Michael's world.
The message that life is special and sacred is an important one. I thought the book really highlighted this well and did so in a non-didactic way. For those women who cannot have children, the message will be especially poignant. I know this was written for teens, but the struggles of a future world who cannot conceive can create an empathy for women who are struggling with the same thing. And really isn't that a great benefit of books - stepping out of our own worldview and into another creating empathy and compassion?
This book was good, but I felt the pacing was off and the romance played way too much of a part in the story. This will make you think about the future of humankind, but it wasn't really a stand out in the field of dystopians.
June 24, 2014
I received this book from the Publishers in exchange for an honest review
2.5 stars
This book just really I don't know, I hate that didn't love it. The concept was Holy bat mobile Awesome! I had to get my hands on it, and when I was sent it as an ARC I couldn't have been more thrilled.
Unfortunately for me that "Thrill" was short lived and allhopes I had for this book to be Amazing was washed away.
The book seemed to take forever for me the pace wasn't good, and at times frankly, it was boring. How can A book with a synopsis like that ever get boring?!?! I know, Crazy!
The romance was just not a good romance. That's all I'm saying about that train wreck of a relationship.
Cassie well, Cassie was annoying. As much as I wanted to love her, she was just too annoying for me, which probably ruined most of this book for me. When you have a Heroine you want to just punch in the face to get her to shut up and stop being so naive, you know the book is usually pretty much X'ed.
While I didn't like Cassie, I really enjoyed a lot of the secondary characters.
I loved the Cover/Loved the concept, but unfortunately that is as far as my liking goes and I wish that wasn't the case at all.
2.5 stars
This book just really I don't know, I hate that didn't love it. The concept was Holy bat mobile Awesome! I had to get my hands on it, and when I was sent it as an ARC I couldn't have been more thrilled.
Unfortunately for me that "Thrill" was short lived and allhopes I had for this book to be Amazing was washed away.
The book seemed to take forever for me the pace wasn't good, and at times frankly, it was boring. How can A book with a synopsis like that ever get boring?!?! I know, Crazy!
The romance was just not a good romance. That's all I'm saying about that train wreck of a relationship.
Cassie well, Cassie was annoying. As much as I wanted to love her, she was just too annoying for me, which probably ruined most of this book for me. When you have a Heroine you want to just punch in the face to get her to shut up and stop being so naive, you know the book is usually pretty much X'ed.
While I didn't like Cassie, I really enjoyed a lot of the secondary characters.
I loved the Cover/Loved the concept, but unfortunately that is as far as my liking goes and I wish that wasn't the case at all.
May 21, 2018
I do not think that I have been so frustrated with a book that I had been reading like ever! But it was a good frustrating!!! I could seriously feel my blood pressure rise while reading and had to put it down several times because I wanted to just jump on into the story myself and commit murder on a few characters! This book made me feel something and even though it was anger, it left me with a story that I definitely will not forget due to all the mixed up emotions that I had while reading!
Cassie wakes up 1000 years in the future when she is informed that the world that she knew is long gone and everyone that she loves is no longer alive. This is where I first starting having the heart palpitations but believe me...this was only the beginning! Cassie is literally kept a prisoner that is expected to just do what the government tells her even though their plan is so sinister!
I really enjoyed Cassie as a character and was enamored of her strength. If I had to go through even an ounce of what she did in this book, I definitely would have given up. I also love the fact that even though she didn't want certain things to happen, she welcomed them with open arms because that is just what you are supposed to do and never in the book did she even have a thought of giving that up. (I cannot reveal what I am exactly speaking of because then you will all be spoiled!)
Next we have Michael and I liked him at first but the more the book went on, the more I was not so sure of him???? He had all these secrets that he just kept keeping from Cassie which really was annoying and added to my anger. The biggest ones were revealed right at the end and I wish that Cassie would have given him the boot! I just adored Travel and thought he was the man for Cassie:( He was sweet and really tried to make her happy!
I could probably go on and on about this book but that will deter all of you from reading it....so, go right now and hit up Amazon! I guarantee that you will be as frustratingly happy with it as I am! AND then, come on back and discuss it with me! I am dying to chat with someone about it! I can't wait for the next in the series!!!!
Cassie wakes up 1000 years in the future when she is informed that the world that she knew is long gone and everyone that she loves is no longer alive. This is where I first starting having the heart palpitations but believe me...this was only the beginning! Cassie is literally kept a prisoner that is expected to just do what the government tells her even though their plan is so sinister!
I really enjoyed Cassie as a character and was enamored of her strength. If I had to go through even an ounce of what she did in this book, I definitely would have given up. I also love the fact that even though she didn't want certain things to happen, she welcomed them with open arms because that is just what you are supposed to do and never in the book did she even have a thought of giving that up. (I cannot reveal what I am exactly speaking of because then you will all be spoiled!)
Next we have Michael and I liked him at first but the more the book went on, the more I was not so sure of him???? He had all these secrets that he just kept keeping from Cassie which really was annoying and added to my anger. The biggest ones were revealed right at the end and I wish that Cassie would have given him the boot! I just adored Travel and thought he was the man for Cassie:( He was sweet and really tried to make her happy!
I could probably go on and on about this book but that will deter all of you from reading it....so, go right now and hit up Amazon! I guarantee that you will be as frustratingly happy with it as I am! AND then, come on back and discuss it with me! I am dying to chat with someone about it! I can't wait for the next in the series!!!!
August 24, 2018
"Mirror X" has an interesting premise- Cassie was cryogenically frozen after her untimely death at 17-years-of-age in 2022 and is brought back to life over 1000 years later. Obviously, the world has changed, but how? The description given says she is retrieved from space (which I was interested in), but this was not the case. The description is also very vague in terms of what she finds when she awakes, and with good reason- the book takes a very long time to get to the point.
**Note: The rest of my review may contain SPOILERS, because I don't know how to talk about it in terms of the vague description of the book provided.**
To add to these things, there's some big time instalove between Michael and Cassie. I could appreciate if there was some attraction and then they spent some time together, but they rarely seem to see or talk to each other- a few random conversations here and there, so I didn't really buy into the relationship.
While I think this was an interesting premise (leaping ahead to a different future), I could not buy into all the scientific discrepancies and what they forced Cassie to do. This just wasn't a good book for me, and I would not be interested in continuing with the series.
Please note that I received a copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
**Note: The rest of my review may contain SPOILERS, because I don't know how to talk about it in terms of the vague description of the book provided.**
To add to these things, there's some big time instalove between Michael and Cassie. I could appreciate if there was some attraction and then they spent some time together, but they rarely seem to see or talk to each other- a few random conversations here and there, so I didn't really buy into the relationship.
While I think this was an interesting premise (leaping ahead to a different future), I could not buy into all the scientific discrepancies and what they forced Cassie to do. This just wasn't a good book for me, and I would not be interested in continuing with the series.
Please note that I received a copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
February 16, 2016
3.5 hearts - full review originally posted on BookCrushin Blog on 1/6/2016 in conjunction with the Ascendancy Blog Tour.
“Life is precious.”
Mirror X is one of those books that has been sitting on my TBR shelf for a while, I even purchased the book the day after it’s release, because I absolutely love Entangled Teen releases, and I have come to trust their imprint. But you know how hectic reading schedules can be?! I guess it’s safe to say that I left it on my TBR until I was learning about the sequel and this tour. So I figured since I work best under deadlines and need motivation to read something that isn’t a brand new release, so boom, here I am reviewing book 1 and now I am really looking forward to reading the sequel.
The plot is quite intriguing; Cassie wakes up 1,000 years in the future and she is being reawakened for purposes of saving the human race. No big deal. No pressure. Then it gets even more intense (keeping it spoiler-free, even though if read the synopsis for book 2 this isn’t a spoiler anymore, hint!). I can’t even imagine the weight and pressure that Cassie is dealing with. She has no choices for her future since she isn’t supposed to even be alive anymore, and the geneticists are holding this over her everyday, as she slowly works to regain her strength and mobility.
I enjoyed really the story and I’m looking forward to reading, book 2, Ascendancy! My only real issue with the book was it felt very repetitive during the first half of the book, and I think that had a lot to do with Cassie’s inner-monologue. She flip-flops back and forth as to whether or not she is willing to accept her new fate or if she should just be selfish and live out her second chance at life. Which at times was whiny, but she is 17, lacking physical strength and awoken to a whole new world; where she is being sequestered in a windowless room, so she really has no clue what the truth is about the future world. I think she has every single right to be scared and unsure of everything.
The story moves and twists, as more and more secrets are revealed. Soon, Cassie gains the friendships of many of the employees at the genetics compound. The more she connects to them the more help & knowledge she gains about her real purpose, history, and future. I also love that Cassie suspects that the powerful people have a hidden agenda and when push comes to shove, she isn’t afraid to throw punches! She fights for a simple moment at a window or for a walk outside to the Botanic gardens. She constantly fights for her truth and that is admirable. The outrage that Cassie feels is expressed in a few wrathful outbursts that allow the decision makers to continue to hurt and subdue her, and then use it as an excuse to exert more power over her, since violence isn’t commonplace in the future. However, at every turn she is being manipulated, and even though she trusts her friends, they all happen to be employees of the facility that is trying to control her.
I absolutely loved the side-characters! Magnum, Travel, and Ella. They really were an amazing supporting cast to Cassie. Then there was Michael. He has had a sad life and the weight of the world on his shoulders as the lead geneticist for this new version of north america. He fell in love with Cassie and it causes him to throw his world-view out the window and help Cassie turn this world around. I may take issue with how he fell in love with Cassie but that is my own hang-up and one I will not spoil for you all.
I can see this book being very divisive. If you read it with your opinions and current world view you might not be able to handle the subject matter. However, if you read it like sci-fi, you know we are working with our imaginations on how the world may be and the conflicts that might arise. Overall, I say go into this with an open mind and read it because it can really make you think about your life rights and what would you sacrifice in order help the rest of the world? It is very thought provoking and I definitely recommend if you like YA dystopian reads! I give this 3.5 hearts, it felt like it could have been a little tighter, less repetitive, but love the twists and the plot! Well worth the read & I hope to post a review of the sequel soon!
“Life is precious.”
Mirror X is one of those books that has been sitting on my TBR shelf for a while, I even purchased the book the day after it’s release, because I absolutely love Entangled Teen releases, and I have come to trust their imprint. But you know how hectic reading schedules can be?! I guess it’s safe to say that I left it on my TBR until I was learning about the sequel and this tour. So I figured since I work best under deadlines and need motivation to read something that isn’t a brand new release, so boom, here I am reviewing book 1 and now I am really looking forward to reading the sequel.
The plot is quite intriguing; Cassie wakes up 1,000 years in the future and she is being reawakened for purposes of saving the human race. No big deal. No pressure. Then it gets even more intense (keeping it spoiler-free, even though if read the synopsis for book 2 this isn’t a spoiler anymore, hint!). I can’t even imagine the weight and pressure that Cassie is dealing with. She has no choices for her future since she isn’t supposed to even be alive anymore, and the geneticists are holding this over her everyday, as she slowly works to regain her strength and mobility.
I enjoyed really the story and I’m looking forward to reading, book 2, Ascendancy! My only real issue with the book was it felt very repetitive during the first half of the book, and I think that had a lot to do with Cassie’s inner-monologue. She flip-flops back and forth as to whether or not she is willing to accept her new fate or if she should just be selfish and live out her second chance at life. Which at times was whiny, but she is 17, lacking physical strength and awoken to a whole new world; where she is being sequestered in a windowless room, so she really has no clue what the truth is about the future world. I think she has every single right to be scared and unsure of everything.
The story moves and twists, as more and more secrets are revealed. Soon, Cassie gains the friendships of many of the employees at the genetics compound. The more she connects to them the more help & knowledge she gains about her real purpose, history, and future. I also love that Cassie suspects that the powerful people have a hidden agenda and when push comes to shove, she isn’t afraid to throw punches! She fights for a simple moment at a window or for a walk outside to the Botanic gardens. She constantly fights for her truth and that is admirable. The outrage that Cassie feels is expressed in a few wrathful outbursts that allow the decision makers to continue to hurt and subdue her, and then use it as an excuse to exert more power over her, since violence isn’t commonplace in the future. However, at every turn she is being manipulated, and even though she trusts her friends, they all happen to be employees of the facility that is trying to control her.
I absolutely loved the side-characters! Magnum, Travel, and Ella. They really were an amazing supporting cast to Cassie. Then there was Michael. He has had a sad life and the weight of the world on his shoulders as the lead geneticist for this new version of north america. He fell in love with Cassie and it causes him to throw his world-view out the window and help Cassie turn this world around. I may take issue with how he fell in love with Cassie but that is my own hang-up and one I will not spoil for you all.
I can see this book being very divisive. If you read it with your opinions and current world view you might not be able to handle the subject matter. However, if you read it like sci-fi, you know we are working with our imaginations on how the world may be and the conflicts that might arise. Overall, I say go into this with an open mind and read it because it can really make you think about your life rights and what would you sacrifice in order help the rest of the world? It is very thought provoking and I definitely recommend if you like YA dystopian reads! I give this 3.5 hearts, it felt like it could have been a little tighter, less repetitive, but love the twists and the plot! Well worth the read & I hope to post a review of the sequel soon!
August 10, 2014
My original review got eaten by the site, so my review won't be as long as it would have been as I didn't save it nor can remember all that I said.
With that said, Mirror X fell very short of what it was trying to accomplish. I truly don't know what it was supposed to accomplish, what its point was.
In Mirror X, Cassie and her archeologist family are caught up in a storm. Cassie got fatally injured and for no reason given, was put into a cryogenic capsule even though no one would have done that. Cassie was pronounced brain dead, her other injuries too great. Yet she was put in a cryogenic sleep. Why?
I had a lot of questions while reading. A lot of them centered on this setting because it made no sense. And because the story focuses on romance up until the very end, a lot of things are left unexplained.
Why was Cassie put into a cryogenic chamber when no one would've done that?
Why are there only three regions?
Why is LA the representative region for 1/3 of the planet?
Why not some more historical state like D.C. or P.A.?
Why were the regions lead by an American, a Asian, and a Russian?
The US would not be the leader of one third of the world. That's what I feel at least. Not when it's superiors are Canada, Europe, and France. Most likely Europe would've taken Canada and US and made them colonized nations again and took France at well.
other problems I had aside from the focus of the story being in the wrong place and unanswered questions is that the story and the synopsis doesn't match up. Maybe it's just me, I don't know. But in the book it is explained that Cassie was found in a warehouse as the sole survivor from every single cryogenic program from the 21st century. She wasn't in space, she wasn't retrieved from space. It's further told that this futuristic world doesn't have a space program and didn't have one for six hundred years.
Another thing this futuristic world doesn't have that's unbelievable that it doesn't have is organic life. Aside from humans there is no organic life. No trees, no flowers, no grass. Nothing. Without these things our planet would not be able to continue to survive. I feel that the author should've researched that more, as there was truly never a reason why plant life was a rarity in their world.
Speaking of their world, is it truly a futuristic world? I wouldn't be able to say so. This book's focus is primarily on setting up Cassie with her doctor Michael and further worsening it by giving a love triangle and giving her Travel. Why is his name Travel? I don't know, but it's a stupid name. Nothing in it really shows the science fiction genre, nor a post apocalyptic genre as I wouldn't say the world in Mirror X was post apocalyptic. It only is on a technicality. There was a plague that killed over 50 percent of the world but that was six hundred years ago, it's hardly in the post apocalyptic stage anymore.
And finally, on to the characters. The best was saved for last.
All the characters felt flat. They felt like caricatures of the people they were supposed to be. Cassie is described as naive and desperate but there's a fine line between naivety and being really gullible. Cassie is too trustful towards her love interests but wary of others who tell her the same thing and withhold the same information from her. Cassie immediately latches onto her doctor Michael as a source of comfort and affection, yet when Dr. Love treats Cassie the same way Dr Bennett does - with kindness-, she gets a barrage of questions and wariness. Cassie is completely too trusting for someone who would be in a situation like this, which irked me.
For me, this book was a let down. It felt rushed and needed more corrections. With the ending that it had one would think that that plot would've been focused on more, that the world would've been shown a bit more gritty than it was. But it wasn't. It was too focused on the bad romance and not nearly focused enough on the world around it. Which sucked.
July 4, 2014
Thank you to Entangled Teen for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review
Imagine waking up from an accident and discovering that you have woken up 1000 years later, would you be excited for the future or sad for the people you never got to grow old with back in your past.
Cassie has these exact feelings when she finds herself woken up from a cryogenic stasis chamber, following an accident back in the 21st century she is frozen by her grandfather. We revived she find herself unable to move by herself and incredibly weak following the time spent in stasis. As she becomes aware of her surroundings in the hospital she finds it strange that everyone is so young, the doctor who is treating her Dr Michael Bennett looks like he is only a couple of years older than her, plus there are robots everywhere and everyone has to wear a band to interact with any sort of technology. It is all a total culture shock to her but she gradually learns more about her surroundings but some of what she learns is almost too much for her to deal with.
The world has been ravaged in the last 1000 years, a plague killed millions of people and left the survivors changed for the worst, the female population have been unable to reproduce so scientists have been working to find a way to procreate, whilst they struggle to make this happen they turned to plan B, cloning, everyone on earth has been cloned from old DNA left in human remains that have been taken from graves. Some of the clones Cassie recognises as people from the 20th century (I won't spoil it for you by telling you who they are!), Cassie is shocked to find this out but as the only person from the 21st century as no other stasis chambers has been found she is all alone so she starts to make new friends and finds Dr Bennett not only very friendly but very attractive but of course the path of young love never runs smoothly!
Cassie learns that she is the only fertile female on the planet and they have big plans for her at the hospital, they want her to kick start the human race and as she in only 17, needless to say the idea of being artificially inseminated does not come high on her list of things to do especially as she finds her self getting closer to the handsome Dr Bennett.
Mirror X is a look at a future gone wrong, Cassie is basically held captive by the hospital, will she help them or will she run in a world were she has no place to be.
I can't quite pigeonhole this one, I suppose it is part dystopia part utopia, yes the futures kinda bleak but society is still surviving. It is well written and the characters are very well brought to life on the pages, my only complaint is that the ending was very abrupt, I hope there is more coming!
Mirror X is awarded 4 out of 5
Imagine waking up from an accident and discovering that you have woken up 1000 years later, would you be excited for the future or sad for the people you never got to grow old with back in your past.
Cassie has these exact feelings when she finds herself woken up from a cryogenic stasis chamber, following an accident back in the 21st century she is frozen by her grandfather. We revived she find herself unable to move by herself and incredibly weak following the time spent in stasis. As she becomes aware of her surroundings in the hospital she finds it strange that everyone is so young, the doctor who is treating her Dr Michael Bennett looks like he is only a couple of years older than her, plus there are robots everywhere and everyone has to wear a band to interact with any sort of technology. It is all a total culture shock to her but she gradually learns more about her surroundings but some of what she learns is almost too much for her to deal with.
The world has been ravaged in the last 1000 years, a plague killed millions of people and left the survivors changed for the worst, the female population have been unable to reproduce so scientists have been working to find a way to procreate, whilst they struggle to make this happen they turned to plan B, cloning, everyone on earth has been cloned from old DNA left in human remains that have been taken from graves. Some of the clones Cassie recognises as people from the 20th century (I won't spoil it for you by telling you who they are!), Cassie is shocked to find this out but as the only person from the 21st century as no other stasis chambers has been found she is all alone so she starts to make new friends and finds Dr Bennett not only very friendly but very attractive but of course the path of young love never runs smoothly!
Cassie learns that she is the only fertile female on the planet and they have big plans for her at the hospital, they want her to kick start the human race and as she in only 17, needless to say the idea of being artificially inseminated does not come high on her list of things to do especially as she finds her self getting closer to the handsome Dr Bennett.
Mirror X is a look at a future gone wrong, Cassie is basically held captive by the hospital, will she help them or will she run in a world were she has no place to be.
I can't quite pigeonhole this one, I suppose it is part dystopia part utopia, yes the futures kinda bleak but society is still surviving. It is well written and the characters are very well brought to life on the pages, my only complaint is that the ending was very abrupt, I hope there is more coming!
Mirror X is awarded 4 out of 5
July 10, 2014
Mirror X is the type of book that would make a great addition to a teen or even adult book club reading list. There is plenty of topics to discuss, and it would probably lead to an enlightening discussion. I did not think when I started Mirror X that it would be a book that would stick with me, but this one got me thinking, and it is going to stay with me for a while. Although with Mirror X, I can see it becoming a book that either you hate it or you love it, depending out your own opinions, and the way you take in Cassie’s situation.
I love when a storyline makes me feel connected to the main character, even if that shared connection is anger. This story made me feel outraged for Cassie, and maybe not everyone will feel that way, but that is the strongest feeling I felt while reading Mirror X. I do not want to get on the topic of the story, because I really do not want to give it away for other readers, and I tend to try to avoid spoilers if I can. I just warning you if you have a blood pressure problem, you may want to keep a supply of medication nearby during reading, mine was defiantly elevated from time to time.
Cassie is a bit unsure of her new situations, and feels like everyone is keeping her hidden from the world for some unknown reason. This does make Cassie feel uneasy, and I will agree the her quick infatuation with her doctor was a little hard to take, but she is also a 17 years old woken up in the far future away from everything she knows, so I gave her a break. She also wanted to be a paleontologist when she grew up so that is a win in my book. While the first part of the story is bit slow as everything is being revealed, the middle to last half of the book is quite packed, and fast paced. The ending did feel kind of a bit quick, and easy, so I am hoping that book two show what happens next for Cassie.
This may not be an easy book for some people to read, there is some upsetting scenes throughout the book. Mirror X really touches upon so tough topics that even we face in certain ways today, and it really got me thinking of what I would do in Cassie’s situation. I like books that make me think in the end, so Mirror X was a remarkable book in that aspect. I will defiantly pick up book two, and see where Cassie’s story leads next.
**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book, in exchange for an honest review**
I love when a storyline makes me feel connected to the main character, even if that shared connection is anger. This story made me feel outraged for Cassie, and maybe not everyone will feel that way, but that is the strongest feeling I felt while reading Mirror X. I do not want to get on the topic of the story, because I really do not want to give it away for other readers, and I tend to try to avoid spoilers if I can. I just warning you if you have a blood pressure problem, you may want to keep a supply of medication nearby during reading, mine was defiantly elevated from time to time.
Cassie is a bit unsure of her new situations, and feels like everyone is keeping her hidden from the world for some unknown reason. This does make Cassie feel uneasy, and I will agree the her quick infatuation with her doctor was a little hard to take, but she is also a 17 years old woken up in the far future away from everything she knows, so I gave her a break. She also wanted to be a paleontologist when she grew up so that is a win in my book. While the first part of the story is bit slow as everything is being revealed, the middle to last half of the book is quite packed, and fast paced. The ending did feel kind of a bit quick, and easy, so I am hoping that book two show what happens next for Cassie.
This may not be an easy book for some people to read, there is some upsetting scenes throughout the book. Mirror X really touches upon so tough topics that even we face in certain ways today, and it really got me thinking of what I would do in Cassie’s situation. I like books that make me think in the end, so Mirror X was a remarkable book in that aspect. I will defiantly pick up book two, and see where Cassie’s story leads next.
**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book, in exchange for an honest review**
May 14, 2020
This started with an interesting premise, but just went downhill from there. I might have enjoyed this more if I'd read it when it was first published (2014), the problem being that I have read so much truly great dystopian books that the fact that this one really fell short was very apparent.
Popsugar 2020 Challenge: Starting Over / New Life (Pick a Challenge from a previous year)
Popsugar 2020 Challenge: Starting Over / New Life (Pick a Challenge from a previous year)
February 10, 2017
Probably more of a 3.5 but the ending was great soo....
September 9, 2018
***Received an Advanced Readers Copy during blog tour with InkSlingerPR in exchange for an honest Review***
Can you believe it comrades? I have finally found myself back in the YA world - crazy I know, step aside romance porn, we are going in. But lets face it, it is romance based mixed with one of my favorite duel genres, science fiction and dystopian, hell with a synopsis like this can you really expect me not to read it?
Though I love the synopsis I will say this once, the thing about dystopian, sci-fi mixed genre is that depending on the storyline it can either be believable or it can be far-fetched. MIRROR X is definitely a far-fetched scenario. Between the possibility of preserving a dead body for more than a thousand years, the description of the 31st century and the advancement in technology (though really nifty) it is nonetheless not on my radar of believable imaginary realty. So if you go into this thinking, 'hey I can probably throw myself into the book', as a reader you would be going in with a very incorrect view. I personally enjoy far fetched story plots, I think that is the point of fiction and I liked where Thompson took the backbone of Cassie in the science world.
Speaking of Cassie she was an interesting breed of character. Cassie is just a person who is learning the world again from a thousand years later, she very much embodies her personality of an adolescent teenager. One minute she is attempting on escaping yet all the while kissing young doctors and being a teenage girl. Very back and forth. I definitely understand that aspect, I definitely wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, she has been 'asleep' all these years and well shit, that is enough to make any kid crazy - but at a point she still felt immature. There was no growth, no depth there beyond that of her personality from previously. It at many points irked me. More importantly I felt she ultimately adjusted to her situation all too quickly, though I think this is more a convenience of plot to get things jump started.
Obviously I mentioned kissing doctors - oh young mister Michael. Not going to lie, he was also a bit off for me. Something about his personality and plot dynamic rubbed me a certain way and I am not sure how I really feel towards him as a character, I think this more so because I did not like how he lied to Cassie or the fact that he was overly obsessed with Cassie, it was almost cryptic.
And on top of this, there is a huge romantic dynamic that is strong. Cassie and Michael are just... well they are just all revolving. I think that is the word I want to go with, Cassie bases many of her life altering decisions around her romance. Because Cassie seemed to have this insta-attraction factor with Michael, it more seemed to overshadow the rest of the plot and quite honestly made Cassie feel inferior.
Probably my favorite dynamic is the secondary characters - you cannot top some of these characters. Some were more of the lighter side of the romance and main characters that really made the plot of the story a real treat.
Overall I really enjoyed a great deal of aspects within the novel, especially with MIRROR X as book one, there is definitely potential here. The biggest issue I had was the pacing, bottom line there was too much drag on one aspect and then we would shift to a more rushed situation only few pages over. It was too much yet too little all at the same time. For me, as a reader it created a huge disconnect on the characters verses the plot. I will also admit that because the romance (though I love a good dystopian romance) overshadowed majority of what I felt really needed more depth, again just gave a lack luster feel.
I am curious as to where this series will go - really interesting concept, I do like the characters and I really hope for more development in the future.
Can you believe it comrades? I have finally found myself back in the YA world - crazy I know, step aside romance porn, we are going in. But lets face it, it is romance based mixed with one of my favorite duel genres, science fiction and dystopian, hell with a synopsis like this can you really expect me not to read it?
Though I love the synopsis I will say this once, the thing about dystopian, sci-fi mixed genre is that depending on the storyline it can either be believable or it can be far-fetched. MIRROR X is definitely a far-fetched scenario. Between the possibility of preserving a dead body for more than a thousand years, the description of the 31st century and the advancement in technology (though really nifty) it is nonetheless not on my radar of believable imaginary realty. So if you go into this thinking, 'hey I can probably throw myself into the book', as a reader you would be going in with a very incorrect view. I personally enjoy far fetched story plots, I think that is the point of fiction and I liked where Thompson took the backbone of Cassie in the science world.
Speaking of Cassie she was an interesting breed of character. Cassie is just a person who is learning the world again from a thousand years later, she very much embodies her personality of an adolescent teenager. One minute she is attempting on escaping yet all the while kissing young doctors and being a teenage girl. Very back and forth. I definitely understand that aspect, I definitely wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, she has been 'asleep' all these years and well shit, that is enough to make any kid crazy - but at a point she still felt immature. There was no growth, no depth there beyond that of her personality from previously. It at many points irked me. More importantly I felt she ultimately adjusted to her situation all too quickly, though I think this is more a convenience of plot to get things jump started.
Obviously I mentioned kissing doctors - oh young mister Michael. Not going to lie, he was also a bit off for me. Something about his personality and plot dynamic rubbed me a certain way and I am not sure how I really feel towards him as a character, I think this more so because I did not like how he lied to Cassie or the fact that he was overly obsessed with Cassie, it was almost cryptic.
And on top of this, there is a huge romantic dynamic that is strong. Cassie and Michael are just... well they are just all revolving. I think that is the word I want to go with, Cassie bases many of her life altering decisions around her romance. Because Cassie seemed to have this insta-attraction factor with Michael, it more seemed to overshadow the rest of the plot and quite honestly made Cassie feel inferior.
Probably my favorite dynamic is the secondary characters - you cannot top some of these characters. Some were more of the lighter side of the romance and main characters that really made the plot of the story a real treat.
Overall I really enjoyed a great deal of aspects within the novel, especially with MIRROR X as book one, there is definitely potential here. The biggest issue I had was the pacing, bottom line there was too much drag on one aspect and then we would shift to a more rushed situation only few pages over. It was too much yet too little all at the same time. For me, as a reader it created a huge disconnect on the characters verses the plot. I will also admit that because the romance (though I love a good dystopian romance) overshadowed majority of what I felt really needed more depth, again just gave a lack luster feel.
I am curious as to where this series will go - really interesting concept, I do like the characters and I really hope for more development in the future.
November 24, 2018
Innovative and imaginative “Mirror X” the first novel in the “Van Winkle Project” opens with seventeen-year-old Cassie Dannacher being resuscitated from a S.T.A.S.I.S. cryogenic chamber in a hospital over 1,000 years in the future. Cared for by a team of medical staff including twenty-year-old geneticist Michael Bennett who has taken a special interest in her, Cassie quickly learns of her importance to mankind in a world of cloned humans.
Set in the future after a plague decimated the population globally, the world is divided into three geographical regions governed by three Presidents and monitored by police and hidden cameras. Clasped to each person’s wrist including Cassie’s is a “Liaison Band (L-Band)”, a combination communication device and locator.
Well-developed and darkly disturbing with the deception, and control of Dr. Little, his staff and the President over Cassie’s life, the story heats up when she begins to ask questions about her presence in a genetics hospital, refuses to be involved in a breeding program and meets Travel Carson, who’s familiarity has her remembering a boyfriend in her past. Twisting and turning, creating a tense, unpredictable atmosphere, the intensity and suspense quickly build.
Skillfully Karri Thompson brings the story to life with complex and compelling characters that infuse it with depth, passion and excitement. Cassie Dannacher after dying in a helicopter accident in 2022, her body cryogenically- preserved suddenly finds herself thrust into the technologically- advanced world of 3025 where life is considered precious. Feisty in personality, longing for those she left behind, and lonely in a world she has little in common with, Cassie is immediately attracted to the stoic, poised and gentle genius Dr. Michael Bennett, the young doctor overseeing her care at first.
The cast of haunting personalities also includes the charismatic hacker, Magnum with his endearing laugh, loyalty, and rebellious nature; the optimistic, passionate surgeon Dr. Susanne Love; and the good-natured and protective Travel Carson. Yet it’s the arrogant smugness of President William Gifford and the cruel, cold and callous Dr. Little who add a dark chill to the plot.
Filled with questions about the world around her while trying to unravel the lies and secrets that threaten Cassie’s future, “Mission X” is a page-turner that progresses quickly to an ending that promises an exciting sequel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Set in the future after a plague decimated the population globally, the world is divided into three geographical regions governed by three Presidents and monitored by police and hidden cameras. Clasped to each person’s wrist including Cassie’s is a “Liaison Band (L-Band)”, a combination communication device and locator.
Well-developed and darkly disturbing with the deception, and control of Dr. Little, his staff and the President over Cassie’s life, the story heats up when she begins to ask questions about her presence in a genetics hospital, refuses to be involved in a breeding program and meets Travel Carson, who’s familiarity has her remembering a boyfriend in her past. Twisting and turning, creating a tense, unpredictable atmosphere, the intensity and suspense quickly build.
Skillfully Karri Thompson brings the story to life with complex and compelling characters that infuse it with depth, passion and excitement. Cassie Dannacher after dying in a helicopter accident in 2022, her body cryogenically- preserved suddenly finds herself thrust into the technologically- advanced world of 3025 where life is considered precious. Feisty in personality, longing for those she left behind, and lonely in a world she has little in common with, Cassie is immediately attracted to the stoic, poised and gentle genius Dr. Michael Bennett, the young doctor overseeing her care at first.
The cast of haunting personalities also includes the charismatic hacker, Magnum with his endearing laugh, loyalty, and rebellious nature; the optimistic, passionate surgeon Dr. Susanne Love; and the good-natured and protective Travel Carson. Yet it’s the arrogant smugness of President William Gifford and the cruel, cold and callous Dr. Little who add a dark chill to the plot.
Filled with questions about the world around her while trying to unravel the lies and secrets that threaten Cassie’s future, “Mission X” is a page-turner that progresses quickly to an ending that promises an exciting sequel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
July 3, 2014
Mirror X left me speechless...for a while. Having finished this thrilling Dystopian novel late into the night, I stayed awake for quite a while thinking about it. This was truly different for me, all in a good way, and left me wishing I had more of the story.
Mirror X was full of surprises, each one, something I wasn't able to predict. The main character, Cassie, from our time, has been frozen and reawakened 1000 years later. Of course this being included in the synopsis, I expected her to find the world quite changed, and boy was it ever.
She awakens to find herself in a genetics hospital that turns out to be far more sinister than what's on the general surface. We immediately meet Michael, a young doctor, who has been with Cassie throughout her dormant phase and now is with her as a guide into this new world.
It doesn't take long before the author kicks Mirror X into full gear. We find out that this new world was plagued with a deadly disease that left women infertile and the current population is 100% made up of clones. This shocking revelation creates a serious burden for Cassie as she is able to assimilate on her own that she is the only woman on earth who is fertile.
I applaud the author for creating such a moral dilemma and then tackling it beautifully. Of course Cassie is only 17 and is now faced with having to save to world by repopulation where the hospitals intentions are to use every single last one of her eggs to produce daughters who will grow up and face the same expectations that is being placed into Cassie's lap now.
At first the expectation is offered to Cassie with the hope she will comply and understand the world's dilemma, but for a 17-year-old girl, that is frightening and expecting too much. Cassie feels the pains of the world's current issue, but having woke up 1000 years later, she is also left to grieve after everyone she's lost.
We soon find out that Cassie really has no choice and was actually already artificially inseminated while she was comatose. Now discovering she is 3 months pregnant, Cassie is faced with having to become a mother. When she meets the father of her child, she finds the boy she liked 1000 years ago, now cloned, Travel, willing to raise a family with her. Oh, this part was so tragic. While having formed an attachment with the Dr. Michael, being presented the one boy from her past as the new father of her child...it was tragic on so many levels.
Travel was a wonderful boy and it broke my heart when Cassie has baby Victoria only to realize the truth depth of the hospitals horrific intentions. Mirror X made me think of what I would do in Cassie's shoes. Being the only female on the planet would I willingly turn myself into a baby mill?
These characters had such depth to them, all believable making me devour this novel in a few sittings. There are so many things to go over and review, but I cannot say enough how Mirror X is a novel that needs to be read and experienced for yourself.
I loved the way the author introduces Michael in the very beginning and how it's obvious that Michael love's Cassie but to find out at the very end why he's so strongly connected to her...that's where the speechless part comes in and I won't give any spoilers on that. It was truly a shock for me and I did not see the connection coming.
The novel leaves off with Cassie, Michael and baby Victoria escaping into a different region under the more sympathetic care of a different president. But there is so much more to the story I can't wait to find out where Cassie and Michael's story will go.
Mirror X was such a wonderful novel to read. I would highly recommend this to lovers of YA Dystopian novels. It was fresh, original, moving, and left me thinking of the fate of all the characters long after I read the last page.
Mirror X was full of surprises, each one, something I wasn't able to predict. The main character, Cassie, from our time, has been frozen and reawakened 1000 years later. Of course this being included in the synopsis, I expected her to find the world quite changed, and boy was it ever.
She awakens to find herself in a genetics hospital that turns out to be far more sinister than what's on the general surface. We immediately meet Michael, a young doctor, who has been with Cassie throughout her dormant phase and now is with her as a guide into this new world.
It doesn't take long before the author kicks Mirror X into full gear. We find out that this new world was plagued with a deadly disease that left women infertile and the current population is 100% made up of clones. This shocking revelation creates a serious burden for Cassie as she is able to assimilate on her own that she is the only woman on earth who is fertile.
I applaud the author for creating such a moral dilemma and then tackling it beautifully. Of course Cassie is only 17 and is now faced with having to save to world by repopulation where the hospitals intentions are to use every single last one of her eggs to produce daughters who will grow up and face the same expectations that is being placed into Cassie's lap now.
At first the expectation is offered to Cassie with the hope she will comply and understand the world's dilemma, but for a 17-year-old girl, that is frightening and expecting too much. Cassie feels the pains of the world's current issue, but having woke up 1000 years later, she is also left to grieve after everyone she's lost.
We soon find out that Cassie really has no choice and was actually already artificially inseminated while she was comatose. Now discovering she is 3 months pregnant, Cassie is faced with having to become a mother. When she meets the father of her child, she finds the boy she liked 1000 years ago, now cloned, Travel, willing to raise a family with her. Oh, this part was so tragic. While having formed an attachment with the Dr. Michael, being presented the one boy from her past as the new father of her child...it was tragic on so many levels.
Travel was a wonderful boy and it broke my heart when Cassie has baby Victoria only to realize the truth depth of the hospitals horrific intentions. Mirror X made me think of what I would do in Cassie's shoes. Being the only female on the planet would I willingly turn myself into a baby mill?
These characters had such depth to them, all believable making me devour this novel in a few sittings. There are so many things to go over and review, but I cannot say enough how Mirror X is a novel that needs to be read and experienced for yourself.
I loved the way the author introduces Michael in the very beginning and how it's obvious that Michael love's Cassie but to find out at the very end why he's so strongly connected to her...that's where the speechless part comes in and I won't give any spoilers on that. It was truly a shock for me and I did not see the connection coming.
The novel leaves off with Cassie, Michael and baby Victoria escaping into a different region under the more sympathetic care of a different president. But there is so much more to the story I can't wait to find out where Cassie and Michael's story will go.
Mirror X was such a wonderful novel to read. I would highly recommend this to lovers of YA Dystopian novels. It was fresh, original, moving, and left me thinking of the fate of all the characters long after I read the last page.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2014
The beginning of Mirror X was slow and infuriating. It's main character, Cassie, was a little hard to stomach, her overcharged emotions and instant distrust of everything and everyone around her making her unlikable therefore making it hard for me to connect to her. The world building is flimsy, even though we get a sense of how the world is built much like Cassie we are kept in the dark about not only the outside view but the governmental structure. Overall Mirror X was a hard one to get through, but for some the second half of the novel (which is filled with elaborate escape plans, emotions that match the situation, and actual excitement) will make up for it's clunky start.
"This was a society that wanted to forget its past. I was a part of the past, a new plague in this world."
While I have to admit Cassie was put in an impossible situation I have to say I thought she could have been a more gracious character. She wakes up in the future and instead of being grateful that she is alive, or even grief stricken due to the loss of everybody she ever loved, the first thing she starts to do is complain. About... everything. Why can't I have a window? Where are the trees? I NEED GRASS AND THE SUN! She was an outdoorsy girl in the past but it was still annoying to hear her complain about these inconsequential things while she was recovering from being in a comatose state of over one thousand years. Oh, and immediately upon awakening she already had her eyes set on the cute doctor, I swear she gave him more page time than she gave her old family. I didn't really feel she was mourning the death of the ones she loved until much later in the story. But then, she gets better. Finally toward the half of the novel her emotions start making sense and matching the scenarios. She becomes less superficial I guess and starts to really think about not only herself but the entire world. Kudos, took you TOO FRICKING LONG.
The world... The parts I have trouble with I cannot discuss it without really giving away some of the juicy bits of the story. I just have to say that I had questions. First off, everywhere for every other thing there was a robot doing the job. There were basically almost no nurses, no janitors, etc. What do the people living in this society do for a living? Second... Third, the whole story was riddled with coincidences. Too many, making it hard for me to keep myself from rolling my eyes.
The moral and ethical concerns tackled on this book were one of the things I most enjoyed. The question of thinking about sacrificing one person so that the rest of the human race may survive, the issues concerning privacy which led to a more safe society but which wasn't really free... Overall it was interesting the way the main character reacted to some of these issues versus the way that I would have reacted in her stead.
Overall Mirror X failed in its execution. Cool ideas, really. It could have easily been a stand alone novel and I am not even sure I will be picking up the second novel really. The second half of the book might have been better than the beginning but the second book will need to improve upon plot, world building, and character development. I just don't see myself willingly picking up the sequel.
"This was a society that wanted to forget its past. I was a part of the past, a new plague in this world."
While I have to admit Cassie was put in an impossible situation I have to say I thought she could have been a more gracious character. She wakes up in the future and instead of being grateful that she is alive, or even grief stricken due to the loss of everybody she ever loved, the first thing she starts to do is complain. About... everything. Why can't I have a window? Where are the trees? I NEED GRASS AND THE SUN! She was an outdoorsy girl in the past but it was still annoying to hear her complain about these inconsequential things while she was recovering from being in a comatose state of over one thousand years. Oh, and immediately upon awakening she already had her eyes set on the cute doctor, I swear she gave him more page time than she gave her old family. I didn't really feel she was mourning the death of the ones she loved until much later in the story. But then, she gets better. Finally toward the half of the novel her emotions start making sense and matching the scenarios. She becomes less superficial I guess and starts to really think about not only herself but the entire world. Kudos, took you TOO FRICKING LONG.
The world... The parts I have trouble with I cannot discuss it without really giving away some of the juicy bits of the story. I just have to say that I had questions. First off, everywhere for every other thing there was a robot doing the job. There were basically almost no nurses, no janitors, etc. What do the people living in this society do for a living? Second... Third, the whole story was riddled with coincidences. Too many, making it hard for me to keep myself from rolling my eyes.
The moral and ethical concerns tackled on this book were one of the things I most enjoyed. The question of thinking about sacrificing one person so that the rest of the human race may survive, the issues concerning privacy which led to a more safe society but which wasn't really free... Overall it was interesting the way the main character reacted to some of these issues versus the way that I would have reacted in her stead.
Overall Mirror X failed in its execution. Cool ideas, really. It could have easily been a stand alone novel and I am not even sure I will be picking up the second novel really. The second half of the book might have been better than the beginning but the second book will need to improve upon plot, world building, and character development. I just don't see myself willingly picking up the sequel.
June 24, 2014
Mirror X is set in what is supposed to be a utopian, technologically and societally advanced world. But in reality, it is a dystopian in which horrible things may be done for altruistic reasons. In many ways, this book reminded me of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Humanity was lost in the face of science, hidden behind an agenda that, on the surface, would seem positive.
This book was difficult for me to read at times, the issues at hand often reminding me too clearly what I have recently lost. Women in similar circumstances may find these themes particularly poignant, even meaningful, even as it is hard to read. But there is also a level of empathy to be had for many of the characters.
Cassie was an interesting character, our heroine. She died in Arizona in the year 2022 and wakes up 1,003 years later in a hospital in Los Angeles. Not only is everyone in her life long gone, the world as she knew it is also gone, mostly without a trace. She is surrounded by people she doesn't know, people who will not give her straight answer about her future, setting the stage for a life filled with secrets and distrust. This is worsened when the only people she does feel close to also lie to her and withhold vital information. True, many times it was for her own protection, but lies are lies and I could empathize with her feelings. There is a level of empathy that seems to be largely mission in the society of 3025 and it makes those from that time unable to understand or relate to Cassie's personality and emotional reactions. So much of treatment made me bristle, so much that I felt like my blood pressure was going to go through the roof!
The characters in this book all evoked emotion, which is something I love to find. Michael irritated me throughout most of the book. Lies, lies, more lies. There were reasons, reasons that made a certain amount of sense. The result was a character that I still don't entirely trust. He spent much of his time fawning over her and whining about their situation, but for most of the book he spent little time actually doing a whole lot about it. Mentioned in the blurb, I thought Travel was going to be a more central character in the novel. He does have a major role, but his story line went in places I did not expect. I am still not sure how I feel about that. I think Magnum may be my favorite, the tech rebel who goes above and beyond. He rocks!
There was some insta-love, too, which I generally hate. But in this case, I thought it really worked. She has been thrust into a world that makes no sense to her, forced into situations that are violating and rather reprehensible. It was Cassie, grasping to have some kind of true human connection with someone in this weird world that she felt no connection to.
The ending was the only part that I questioned. It was very hurried and seemed to tie things up too easily and too neatly. I don't know if this was purposeful, but, with all of the betrayal and distrust throughout the novel, it could just as easily be a setup for the next novel.
Things to love...
--The imagery. This is a world set more than a thousand years in the future, so imagery was important in order to visualize a world so different than our own.
--Twists and turns. There were so many unexpected moments that totally turned the story on edge.
--The premise. Harsh and disturbing it may be, but it is gripping.
My Recommendation: I will definitely be reading the next book in this series. I couldn't put this one down, even through the parts that most disturbed me! I gave it 4.5 mugs!
This book was difficult for me to read at times, the issues at hand often reminding me too clearly what I have recently lost. Women in similar circumstances may find these themes particularly poignant, even meaningful, even as it is hard to read. But there is also a level of empathy to be had for many of the characters.
Cassie was an interesting character, our heroine. She died in Arizona in the year 2022 and wakes up 1,003 years later in a hospital in Los Angeles. Not only is everyone in her life long gone, the world as she knew it is also gone, mostly without a trace. She is surrounded by people she doesn't know, people who will not give her straight answer about her future, setting the stage for a life filled with secrets and distrust. This is worsened when the only people she does feel close to also lie to her and withhold vital information. True, many times it was for her own protection, but lies are lies and I could empathize with her feelings. There is a level of empathy that seems to be largely mission in the society of 3025 and it makes those from that time unable to understand or relate to Cassie's personality and emotional reactions. So much of treatment made me bristle, so much that I felt like my blood pressure was going to go through the roof!
The characters in this book all evoked emotion, which is something I love to find. Michael irritated me throughout most of the book. Lies, lies, more lies. There were reasons, reasons that made a certain amount of sense. The result was a character that I still don't entirely trust. He spent much of his time fawning over her and whining about their situation, but for most of the book he spent little time actually doing a whole lot about it. Mentioned in the blurb, I thought Travel was going to be a more central character in the novel. He does have a major role, but his story line went in places I did not expect. I am still not sure how I feel about that. I think Magnum may be my favorite, the tech rebel who goes above and beyond. He rocks!
There was some insta-love, too, which I generally hate. But in this case, I thought it really worked. She has been thrust into a world that makes no sense to her, forced into situations that are violating and rather reprehensible. It was Cassie, grasping to have some kind of true human connection with someone in this weird world that she felt no connection to.
The ending was the only part that I questioned. It was very hurried and seemed to tie things up too easily and too neatly. I don't know if this was purposeful, but, with all of the betrayal and distrust throughout the novel, it could just as easily be a setup for the next novel.
Things to love...
--The imagery. This is a world set more than a thousand years in the future, so imagery was important in order to visualize a world so different than our own.
--Twists and turns. There were so many unexpected moments that totally turned the story on edge.
--The premise. Harsh and disturbing it may be, but it is gripping.
My Recommendation: I will definitely be reading the next book in this series. I couldn't put this one down, even through the parts that most disturbed me! I gave it 4.5 mugs!
July 15, 2014
Why I Picked It Up
I’ve been trying to expand my reading horizons and this sounded like something that I haven’t read before.
Plot
Mirror X was a real let down for me. I actually debated multiple times just putting it down, but it was something that I told the publisher I would read so I figured I’d give it a chance. Cassie wakes up over one thousand years in the future, finding out that she had died, been frozen, and was reanimated. This brings me to my biggest problem with this novel: it was very unrealistic. Cassie was immediately at ease with Doctor Michael Bennett, almost the moment she wakes up. I mean, you wake up a thousand years into the future and are calmed right off the bat by a random doctor? No. And then things just got a lot more interesting with the introduction of the baby issue. You see, the citizens of this world are infertile and they want to use Cassie was a breeding mare to help their population. She put up a fight a little at first. Then gave up. Realistic? No. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there was a plethora of things in this novel that just tickled me the wrong way. It was too unrealistic, even for a dystopian/sci-fi novel. It seemed as if Thompson was just trying to pile on drama with all the babies and secrets and stuff. It was a great try, but it didn’t hit the nail on the head. In addition to that, the pacing was bad. The entire novel was rushed and it had one of those abrupt endings. It completely messed with the flow of events in the novel. The outcome was too simple and easy. I couldn’t believe that they were hit with everything under the sun and then everything working against them just vanishes within like, five pages? Again, unrealistic.
Leading Lady
Cassie was just a really one dimensional character. She was too trusting, kind of stupid, but tried to play herself as a strong heroine. I just didn’t see it. I couldn’t get over her stupid, brash decisions, and I couldn’t stand her rolling over for the people who were using her. She was just a character that I couldn’t stand reading, couldn’t relate to, and couldn’t root for. Her character made this novel even harder for me to get through.
Leading Male
Michael Bennett was the doctor that reanimated Cassie. He was just as bad of a character as Cassie. He was constantly lying to her and rolling over to the hospital coordinators. He had absolutely no back bone, wasn’t trustworthy, and I never liked him from the beginning to the end of the novel. I really couldn’t find a redeeming quality in him, regardless of what he did at the end of the novel.
Romance
The romance in this novel was a joke. It was creepy, there was no build up, and it messed with the flow of the plot. There was no time for the things that they were trying to make time for and there were too many secrets between them for it to be realistic. It wasn’t enjoyable at all.
World Building
The world building in this novel was okay. Compared to the plot and character development, it was great. Thompson did create an interesting world with interesting problems and I give her props for that. I’ve read a few dystopian novels in my time and none of them were like this. She explained the world pretty well even though it happened mainly through info-dumping. Regardless, it was a bit interesting to discover the history of their world.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, Mirror X was an overall sucky novel that I could barely get myself through. Unless you enjoy rushed pacing, an unrealistic plot, and flat characters, I wouldn’t recommend this one.
I’ve been trying to expand my reading horizons and this sounded like something that I haven’t read before.
Plot
Mirror X was a real let down for me. I actually debated multiple times just putting it down, but it was something that I told the publisher I would read so I figured I’d give it a chance. Cassie wakes up over one thousand years in the future, finding out that she had died, been frozen, and was reanimated. This brings me to my biggest problem with this novel: it was very unrealistic. Cassie was immediately at ease with Doctor Michael Bennett, almost the moment she wakes up. I mean, you wake up a thousand years into the future and are calmed right off the bat by a random doctor? No. And then things just got a lot more interesting with the introduction of the baby issue. You see, the citizens of this world are infertile and they want to use Cassie was a breeding mare to help their population. She put up a fight a little at first. Then gave up. Realistic? No. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there was a plethora of things in this novel that just tickled me the wrong way. It was too unrealistic, even for a dystopian/sci-fi novel. It seemed as if Thompson was just trying to pile on drama with all the babies and secrets and stuff. It was a great try, but it didn’t hit the nail on the head. In addition to that, the pacing was bad. The entire novel was rushed and it had one of those abrupt endings. It completely messed with the flow of events in the novel. The outcome was too simple and easy. I couldn’t believe that they were hit with everything under the sun and then everything working against them just vanishes within like, five pages? Again, unrealistic.
Leading Lady
Cassie was just a really one dimensional character. She was too trusting, kind of stupid, but tried to play herself as a strong heroine. I just didn’t see it. I couldn’t get over her stupid, brash decisions, and I couldn’t stand her rolling over for the people who were using her. She was just a character that I couldn’t stand reading, couldn’t relate to, and couldn’t root for. Her character made this novel even harder for me to get through.
Leading Male
Michael Bennett was the doctor that reanimated Cassie. He was just as bad of a character as Cassie. He was constantly lying to her and rolling over to the hospital coordinators. He had absolutely no back bone, wasn’t trustworthy, and I never liked him from the beginning to the end of the novel. I really couldn’t find a redeeming quality in him, regardless of what he did at the end of the novel.
Romance
The romance in this novel was a joke. It was creepy, there was no build up, and it messed with the flow of the plot. There was no time for the things that they were trying to make time for and there were too many secrets between them for it to be realistic. It wasn’t enjoyable at all.
World Building
The world building in this novel was okay. Compared to the plot and character development, it was great. Thompson did create an interesting world with interesting problems and I give her props for that. I’ve read a few dystopian novels in my time and none of them were like this. She explained the world pretty well even though it happened mainly through info-dumping. Regardless, it was a bit interesting to discover the history of their world.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, Mirror X was an overall sucky novel that I could barely get myself through. Unless you enjoy rushed pacing, an unrealistic plot, and flat characters, I wouldn’t recommend this one.
did-not-finish
August 16, 2015Mirror X Review on K-Books <- Review goes live in July 18th 2015
I am such a huge fan of Entangled Teen books. It may be weird to be a fan of a publisher but I feel like they publish some of the best in YA books. So when I heard about this one I was really looking forward to reading it. It's an Entangled Teen book and it's a YA Dystopia book. That sounds like the perfect book for me. And I started off really loving this book. It captured my interest and made me want to keep reading. Considering I had been in a massive reading rut prior to this that was big thing. But then as I got further in the book there was something in the storyline that I just didn't like at all and it changed my whole opinion of the book.
First of all let me just start of by saying that Karri is a fantastic author. Her writing style really grabbed me right from the start. Her storytelling skills are fantastic and I would definitely pick up more of her books. Unforunately there's just parts of this storyline that I just cannot read and that's why I had to end up DNF'ing this book.
Be warned there may be spoilers in the coming paragraphs so read on at your own risk!
My initial thought was that this storyline was interesting and unique. Cassie, our main protagonist is suddenly woken up thousands of years in the future. She was in a major accident and her family hoping one day we would develop the technology to save her get her body frozen. Jump ahead over 1000 years and the world has drastically changed. Humans have been replaces by clones and all of the female clones are infertile. Which means they are dying out. Which leaves 16-year-old Cassie their only source of help. (This is where it starts to get Icky) At this point of the book I was a little bit reserved thinking this was a bit strange. Then I read on...
Cassie is basically told that she has no choice but to have children. They won't make her have sex since she is still a virgin but will artificially impregnate her. Cassie does not want this and they basically say they will force her... not only that they will make sure genetically that she only has girls so that then they can do the same 'duty' for the world. At this point I felt sick. All of the other reviews I have seen on this book state how selfish Cassie is for not wanting to have children and help save the world. What an honour. Well I'm sorry guys but I'm 24 and if someone said that to me I'd act exactly the same as Cassie. No way would anyone be forcing me to have children. If I have children that'll be my decision not anybody elses.
Then it got too much for me... we found out that Cassie was already pregnant because they had already artificially impregnated her while she was still asleep and frozen... without her consent. That was it for me. I couldn't read on. It made me so flipping angry and it's disgusting for anyone to think they can do that to anyone. Especially a teenage girl.
So yeah I just couldn't handle that storyline. It was disgusting me and making me feel physically ill so I ended up not reading it.
I know many people who loved this book but I just couldn't do it. I ended up really hating the storyline because it's just too much in terms of my beliefs.
I am such a huge fan of Entangled Teen books. It may be weird to be a fan of a publisher but I feel like they publish some of the best in YA books. So when I heard about this one I was really looking forward to reading it. It's an Entangled Teen book and it's a YA Dystopia book. That sounds like the perfect book for me. And I started off really loving this book. It captured my interest and made me want to keep reading. Considering I had been in a massive reading rut prior to this that was big thing. But then as I got further in the book there was something in the storyline that I just didn't like at all and it changed my whole opinion of the book.
First of all let me just start of by saying that Karri is a fantastic author. Her writing style really grabbed me right from the start. Her storytelling skills are fantastic and I would definitely pick up more of her books. Unforunately there's just parts of this storyline that I just cannot read and that's why I had to end up DNF'ing this book.
Be warned there may be spoilers in the coming paragraphs so read on at your own risk!
My initial thought was that this storyline was interesting and unique. Cassie, our main protagonist is suddenly woken up thousands of years in the future. She was in a major accident and her family hoping one day we would develop the technology to save her get her body frozen. Jump ahead over 1000 years and the world has drastically changed. Humans have been replaces by clones and all of the female clones are infertile. Which means they are dying out. Which leaves 16-year-old Cassie their only source of help. (This is where it starts to get Icky) At this point of the book I was a little bit reserved thinking this was a bit strange. Then I read on...
Cassie is basically told that she has no choice but to have children. They won't make her have sex since she is still a virgin but will artificially impregnate her. Cassie does not want this and they basically say they will force her... not only that they will make sure genetically that she only has girls so that then they can do the same 'duty' for the world. At this point I felt sick. All of the other reviews I have seen on this book state how selfish Cassie is for not wanting to have children and help save the world. What an honour. Well I'm sorry guys but I'm 24 and if someone said that to me I'd act exactly the same as Cassie. No way would anyone be forcing me to have children. If I have children that'll be my decision not anybody elses.
Then it got too much for me... we found out that Cassie was already pregnant because they had already artificially impregnated her while she was still asleep and frozen... without her consent. That was it for me. I couldn't read on. It made me so flipping angry and it's disgusting for anyone to think they can do that to anyone. Especially a teenage girl.
So yeah I just couldn't handle that storyline. It was disgusting me and making me feel physically ill so I ended up not reading it.
I know many people who loved this book but I just couldn't do it. I ended up really hating the storyline because it's just too much in terms of my beliefs.
July 6, 2014
Title: Mirror X
Author: Karri Thompson
Publisher/Year: Entangled Publishing 6/30/14
Length: 320 Pages
Series: The Van Winkle Project #1
Overview
I was born more than a thousand years ago. Put into a cryogenic tube at age seventeen, forgotten during a holocaust that decimated the world, I've finally been awakened to a more serene and peaceful future. But things at the hospital are new and strange. And it’s starting to scare me. Everyone is young. Everyone is banded and tracked. And everyone is keeping secrets. The cute geneticist Michael Bennett might be the only good thing in this crazy new world where “life is precious” but no one seems free to live it. The problem is, I don’t think he’s being totally honest with me, either. When I’m told only I can save the human race from extinction, it's clear my freeze didn’t avoid a dreadful fate. It only delayed the horror…
My Thoughts
I don't know why it took me so long to actually read this since i got the copy care of NetGalley, but i'm glad that i finally did. I"m a sucker for all things dystopian, and well, this one was a nice new twist on things.
As the overview hints, we meet Cassie when she's been awakened about 1000 years in the future, at a time when the population is dwindling fast because a plague had killed off 50% of the pop and left all women infertile. They are surviving on cloning people, but they are quickly running out of fresh DNA.
It's only when the medical staff comes across the cryo pods from STASIS that they find Cassie and find that she's fertile and able to be awakened. What we get in this first installment of the series is a story about Cassie trying to come to terms of where she is in the future, with no one she knows and trying to adapts to a new technology and way of life.
She's also forced to work through what the staff at the hospital want from her - for her to be a breed mare of sorts - to give birth as many times as she can in her life - with only girls so that she can help repopulate the world.
Of course things are never quite as they seem and it's only the very last twist that Michael - one of her doctor tells her that makes things really interesting. I think that i was fully expecting most of the story to be as it was, but the twist was nice.
I'm not familiar with our author Ms. Thompson, however i think that she did a great job of beginning to show us the world and giving us some good supporting characters. I like Dr Bennett - Michael, and i hope that he and Cassie get their happy ending. I also really like Magnum - and his heritage which we learn from this story. I guess the question just becomes what will he be able to do for them, since he's a tech genius and things aren't going exactly as planned when this story ends.
So many questions and so many things to see if they get answered in the next installment. What is Tasma and what will the idea mean for Cassie and Michael and VIctoria? Will Magnum be able to help save them? Will they figure out a way to make the VWP work in a way that they are comfortable with?
Since i don't know when book 2 will be out, i'll have to wait quietly and patiently, but i hope that you guys get your hands on this book now that it's out. Enjoy!
Author: Karri Thompson
Publisher/Year: Entangled Publishing 6/30/14
Length: 320 Pages
Series: The Van Winkle Project #1
Overview
I was born more than a thousand years ago. Put into a cryogenic tube at age seventeen, forgotten during a holocaust that decimated the world, I've finally been awakened to a more serene and peaceful future. But things at the hospital are new and strange. And it’s starting to scare me. Everyone is young. Everyone is banded and tracked. And everyone is keeping secrets. The cute geneticist Michael Bennett might be the only good thing in this crazy new world where “life is precious” but no one seems free to live it. The problem is, I don’t think he’s being totally honest with me, either. When I’m told only I can save the human race from extinction, it's clear my freeze didn’t avoid a dreadful fate. It only delayed the horror…
My Thoughts
I don't know why it took me so long to actually read this since i got the copy care of NetGalley, but i'm glad that i finally did. I"m a sucker for all things dystopian, and well, this one was a nice new twist on things.
As the overview hints, we meet Cassie when she's been awakened about 1000 years in the future, at a time when the population is dwindling fast because a plague had killed off 50% of the pop and left all women infertile. They are surviving on cloning people, but they are quickly running out of fresh DNA.
It's only when the medical staff comes across the cryo pods from STASIS that they find Cassie and find that she's fertile and able to be awakened. What we get in this first installment of the series is a story about Cassie trying to come to terms of where she is in the future, with no one she knows and trying to adapts to a new technology and way of life.
She's also forced to work through what the staff at the hospital want from her - for her to be a breed mare of sorts - to give birth as many times as she can in her life - with only girls so that she can help repopulate the world.
Of course things are never quite as they seem and it's only the very last twist that Michael - one of her doctor tells her that makes things really interesting. I think that i was fully expecting most of the story to be as it was, but the twist was nice.
I'm not familiar with our author Ms. Thompson, however i think that she did a great job of beginning to show us the world and giving us some good supporting characters. I like Dr Bennett - Michael, and i hope that he and Cassie get their happy ending. I also really like Magnum - and his heritage which we learn from this story. I guess the question just becomes what will he be able to do for them, since he's a tech genius and things aren't going exactly as planned when this story ends.
So many questions and so many things to see if they get answered in the next installment. What is Tasma and what will the idea mean for Cassie and Michael and VIctoria? Will Magnum be able to help save them? Will they figure out a way to make the VWP work in a way that they are comfortable with?
Since i don't know when book 2 will be out, i'll have to wait quietly and patiently, but i hope that you guys get your hands on this book now that it's out. Enjoy!
September 21, 2015
4.5 Stars
'Mirror X' is an unique and fascinating first book in a new young adult dystopian trilogy. The story follows main character Cassie as she wakes up in a strange hospital and is told that she was cryogenically preserved - and it's now over 1,000 years later. Cassie tries to digest all this seemingly impossible information and is determined to find her place in this new world. However, things are incredibly different in the 31st century and Cassie's finding it hard to live under all the constraints the government has placed on the population. She finds solace in the hospital where she's being treated - a genetics hospital - and with the lead geneticist Dr. Bennett. Cassie begins to question things when she meets several people who seem oddly familiar to her - especially a guy named Travel. What exactly is happening at the genetics hospital and what do they want from Cassie?
This is one of my favorite dystopians to date. While most other books in the genre start out in the new world with a brief mention of things that happened beforehand to bring them to this state, the way this book starts out makes the whole situation seem plausible - which I found to be both creepy and wonderful. The author uses a world that we can relate to and then spins a tale of how the main character was injured and then brought back to life in this new world. The way Cassie behaves and speaks - and what she remembers from her old life - is told in a way that I could easily relate to. I could shut my eyes and basically switch places with Cassie. The development of the new world from the old was detailed and written in a way that made it feel realistic. I really liked that the author used this writing style for the book - I was able to immerse myself completely into the story, which I usually can never do with other dystopias.
Cassie was a realistic main character who showed her determination, strength, and intelligence to figure out what was actually happening around her. I liked Cassie from the very beginning of the book and I loved watching her character grow throughout the book. The story is told from Cassie's point of view, in first person, and was conversational in style. This technique also made it easy for me to lose myself in the book and to be able to feel as if I were there. The other characters were well written, but without as much detail as Cassie. The plot wasn't completely original, but the author made it unique by the intricate details and the intriguing mystery behind the hospital. I loved the writing style with the vivid imagery and detailed descriptions of everything from the characters to the setting. The book was fast paced and had me eagerly reading as fast as I could to find out what was going to happen. I'm incredibly glad that this is the first book in a series and I can't wait for the next book to find out what will happen next. I very highly recommend this book to fans of YA science fiction and dystopias, as well as those readers looking for something different and thought-provoking.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
'Mirror X' is an unique and fascinating first book in a new young adult dystopian trilogy. The story follows main character Cassie as she wakes up in a strange hospital and is told that she was cryogenically preserved - and it's now over 1,000 years later. Cassie tries to digest all this seemingly impossible information and is determined to find her place in this new world. However, things are incredibly different in the 31st century and Cassie's finding it hard to live under all the constraints the government has placed on the population. She finds solace in the hospital where she's being treated - a genetics hospital - and with the lead geneticist Dr. Bennett. Cassie begins to question things when she meets several people who seem oddly familiar to her - especially a guy named Travel. What exactly is happening at the genetics hospital and what do they want from Cassie?
This is one of my favorite dystopians to date. While most other books in the genre start out in the new world with a brief mention of things that happened beforehand to bring them to this state, the way this book starts out makes the whole situation seem plausible - which I found to be both creepy and wonderful. The author uses a world that we can relate to and then spins a tale of how the main character was injured and then brought back to life in this new world. The way Cassie behaves and speaks - and what she remembers from her old life - is told in a way that I could easily relate to. I could shut my eyes and basically switch places with Cassie. The development of the new world from the old was detailed and written in a way that made it feel realistic. I really liked that the author used this writing style for the book - I was able to immerse myself completely into the story, which I usually can never do with other dystopias.
Cassie was a realistic main character who showed her determination, strength, and intelligence to figure out what was actually happening around her. I liked Cassie from the very beginning of the book and I loved watching her character grow throughout the book. The story is told from Cassie's point of view, in first person, and was conversational in style. This technique also made it easy for me to lose myself in the book and to be able to feel as if I were there. The other characters were well written, but without as much detail as Cassie. The plot wasn't completely original, but the author made it unique by the intricate details and the intriguing mystery behind the hospital. I loved the writing style with the vivid imagery and detailed descriptions of everything from the characters to the setting. The book was fast paced and had me eagerly reading as fast as I could to find out what was going to happen. I'm incredibly glad that this is the first book in a series and I can't wait for the next book to find out what will happen next. I very highly recommend this book to fans of YA science fiction and dystopias, as well as those readers looking for something different and thought-provoking.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
July 11, 2014
I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.
What would happen to the human race if a plague killed over half of the world's population? None of the possibilities I've thought of before compare to what happens in Mirror X. I was surprised and even shocked at how creative this novel is in mixing light science fiction with a dystopian theme. I'm a little jealous, too, but the great news is, I got an awesome book to read.
First of all, I must confess I'm never going to get tired of reading dystopian novels. I love how this genre jump starts my thinking about society, human nature, and social and political issues. Mirror X reminds me of 1984 with the heavy surveillance and monitoring of the citizens - in what I felt to be a nod to the classic novel, Cassie, the main character, mentions it when she finds out more about the society she's woken up in.
When Cassie wakes up from her frozen state, it's the 31st century, over a thousand years after an accident that caused her to be brain dead. She finds out her grandfather had her cryogenically frozen in case future technology developed to regenerate brain function.
I felt her intense frustration at waking up in a society vastly different from the one she lived in. I felt her loneliness at the realization she's the only one who has survived from her time - everyone she knew and loved have been long dead. I felt her longing for her family and her intense sadness knowing she would never see them again. I think I'd be angry, at least at first.
Society has changed in many ways from the one she remembers. After a plague swept the planet and killed over half the population, the survivors rebuilt as best they could. But no one studies history any longer, space exploration has been abandoned, the phrase "life is precious" is constantly repeated, and everyone is expected to wear a bracelet that pretty much does everything, including allowing the government to track your every movement.
I don't want to tell you what it is the geneticists want from Cassie in case you don't already have an idea. In my opinion, it would give away too much of the shock value once you do find out. I will say that Mirror X had me thinking about the lengths people will go to in order to avoid death and how scary it would be if the human race died out. Some think death is the end of everything, others see it as one of many stages, and yet others believe it's only the beginning.
Deep down, I think we all fear the end of our species. It's why we keep reproducing and doing our best to make the world a better place for our offspring. Mirror X is engaging, thought provoking, and relevant to the society we live in. Mirror X could very well end up being a novel listed as a choice to read in high school classrooms right alongside classics such as 1984 and Brave New World.
What would happen to the human race if a plague killed over half of the world's population? None of the possibilities I've thought of before compare to what happens in Mirror X. I was surprised and even shocked at how creative this novel is in mixing light science fiction with a dystopian theme. I'm a little jealous, too, but the great news is, I got an awesome book to read.
First of all, I must confess I'm never going to get tired of reading dystopian novels. I love how this genre jump starts my thinking about society, human nature, and social and political issues. Mirror X reminds me of 1984 with the heavy surveillance and monitoring of the citizens - in what I felt to be a nod to the classic novel, Cassie, the main character, mentions it when she finds out more about the society she's woken up in.
When Cassie wakes up from her frozen state, it's the 31st century, over a thousand years after an accident that caused her to be brain dead. She finds out her grandfather had her cryogenically frozen in case future technology developed to regenerate brain function.
I felt her intense frustration at waking up in a society vastly different from the one she lived in. I felt her loneliness at the realization she's the only one who has survived from her time - everyone she knew and loved have been long dead. I felt her longing for her family and her intense sadness knowing she would never see them again. I think I'd be angry, at least at first.
Society has changed in many ways from the one she remembers. After a plague swept the planet and killed over half the population, the survivors rebuilt as best they could. But no one studies history any longer, space exploration has been abandoned, the phrase "life is precious" is constantly repeated, and everyone is expected to wear a bracelet that pretty much does everything, including allowing the government to track your every movement.
I don't want to tell you what it is the geneticists want from Cassie in case you don't already have an idea. In my opinion, it would give away too much of the shock value once you do find out. I will say that Mirror X had me thinking about the lengths people will go to in order to avoid death and how scary it would be if the human race died out. Some think death is the end of everything, others see it as one of many stages, and yet others believe it's only the beginning.
Deep down, I think we all fear the end of our species. It's why we keep reproducing and doing our best to make the world a better place for our offspring. Mirror X is engaging, thought provoking, and relevant to the society we live in. Mirror X could very well end up being a novel listed as a choice to read in high school classrooms right alongside classics such as 1984 and Brave New World.
September 11, 2016
I was so excited to read this, the premise sounded fascinating and I can’t get enough of far-future stories.
Except this may as well have been set in 2014.
Right from the start, Cassie understands everyone perfectly. English is not only unchanged but for a few slang terms, but good news! Everyone on Earth speaks it. Technology has apparently stagnated because while they have medical advances to bring Cassie back to life, they cannot master basic biology and everything from the new incarnation of the internet to modes of travel are just faster versions of what we have now. There is no imagination here.
Let’s not fool ourselves, science fiction has always been a “setting” genre. If we’re talking Nancy Pearl’s gateways, scifi appeal is almost always firmly rooted in setting. And this just… doesn’t have one. I could excuse Mirror X for having an underdeveloped world if the focus was shifted to the characters or plot but those fall flat as well. Even with my suspension of disbelief, Cassie was unbelievable. I’m sorry, but if you wake up a thousand years in the future and have to process the fact that you are going to be used without your consent to “save” the human race, that everyone you ever loved or knew is long dead, and you are being monitored and tracked 24/7, the first thing on your mind is not going to be how hot your doctor is.
And then there’s the language. For the most part, the writing didn’t bother me. But every once in a while I’d have to re-read a phrase several times to make myself believe that yes, someone actually left this in the book.
“The door opened and another female of the future entered my room…”
“His words were melodic, his breath well-seasoned with peppermint…”
I almost felt the need to viciously highlight and rout out all such instances of sudden purple prose or awkward phrasing but in the end I had to let it go or I would never be able to finish the story.
Ah, the story. Riddled with plot holes, it will make you want to pull out your hair if you have the smallest background in science. I thought there was going to be an intriguing theme about humanity’s connection to the past and future - especially because Cassie, an aspiring archeologist (palaeontologist? the book is confused about the difference), is surrounded by a culture that has no use for or patience with the past. But no. Don’t get your hopes up for meaningful commentary, this is only briefly even mentioned as one more annoyance about the future and then we’re back to the ill-planned plot line about reproduction.
It’s not utterly terrible. But there other books out there that tackle the “wake up in the future” idea much better.
Except this may as well have been set in 2014.
Right from the start, Cassie understands everyone perfectly. English is not only unchanged but for a few slang terms, but good news! Everyone on Earth speaks it. Technology has apparently stagnated because while they have medical advances to bring Cassie back to life, they cannot master basic biology and everything from the new incarnation of the internet to modes of travel are just faster versions of what we have now. There is no imagination here.
Let’s not fool ourselves, science fiction has always been a “setting” genre. If we’re talking Nancy Pearl’s gateways, scifi appeal is almost always firmly rooted in setting. And this just… doesn’t have one. I could excuse Mirror X for having an underdeveloped world if the focus was shifted to the characters or plot but those fall flat as well. Even with my suspension of disbelief, Cassie was unbelievable. I’m sorry, but if you wake up a thousand years in the future and have to process the fact that you are going to be used without your consent to “save” the human race, that everyone you ever loved or knew is long dead, and you are being monitored and tracked 24/7, the first thing on your mind is not going to be how hot your doctor is.
And then there’s the language. For the most part, the writing didn’t bother me. But every once in a while I’d have to re-read a phrase several times to make myself believe that yes, someone actually left this in the book.
“The door opened and another female of the future entered my room…”
“His words were melodic, his breath well-seasoned with peppermint…”
I almost felt the need to viciously highlight and rout out all such instances of sudden purple prose or awkward phrasing but in the end I had to let it go or I would never be able to finish the story.
Ah, the story. Riddled with plot holes, it will make you want to pull out your hair if you have the smallest background in science. I thought there was going to be an intriguing theme about humanity’s connection to the past and future - especially because Cassie, an aspiring archeologist (palaeontologist? the book is confused about the difference), is surrounded by a culture that has no use for or patience with the past. But no. Don’t get your hopes up for meaningful commentary, this is only briefly even mentioned as one more annoyance about the future and then we’re back to the ill-planned plot line about reproduction.
It’s not utterly terrible. But there other books out there that tackle the “wake up in the future” idea much better.
July 20, 2014
Shades of Kirk and Spock: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one. That is the logical way of looking at things but, sometimes, it doesn’t seem like the human way. What if you were put in a situation in which you had to make a truly serious choice? Taking it a step further, suppose your decision would mean either the end of humanity or a new beginning? Given those parameters, the choice would appear to be pretty straightforward—I think most people would opt to sacrifice themselves if it meant life could go on for our species—but things are never that simple, are they?
Cassie is an odd mix of maturity and childish rebellion but most 17-year-olds would be much like her in similar circumstances. That dichotomy made connecting with Cassie a little difficult for me at least in part because she flips and flops and seems to give in much too easily. Michael, on the other hand, seems to be a poor choice for a romantic lead because the man never stops lying. As for the other characters, well, quite a few were deliciously despicable and I took pleasure in wishing harm would befall them sooner rather than later. If I have a favorite, it has to be Magnum but I won’t say why lest I influence you unfairly.
So, if I don’t like most of the players, does that mean I think Ms. Thompson’s character development is faulty? No, not at all, because the hallmark of good characterization is that the reader reacts to them and that I did in spades. With very few exceptions, this is Cassie against the world and the potential outcome is as critical as it can possibly be. My attention was on this book even when I was away from it.
Ms. Thompson does a good job with worldbuilding and, even though most of the story takes place in a limited area, I could easily visualize the surroundings. If there’s any weakness in this element, it’s that things are remarkably similar to our own time other than the robots and the L-bands and a few other things while I would expect much more technological advance in a thousand years, plague or not.
With regards to the ending, I really felt it was a bit rushed and was one of several areas when things seemed to happen too neatly but I also enjoyed the way this first of the trilogy wraps up with a sense that Cassie’s life is about to change dramatically. I’m already anticipating meeting up with her again, hopefully not too far in the future, pun intended ;-)
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, July 2014.
Cassie is an odd mix of maturity and childish rebellion but most 17-year-olds would be much like her in similar circumstances. That dichotomy made connecting with Cassie a little difficult for me at least in part because she flips and flops and seems to give in much too easily. Michael, on the other hand, seems to be a poor choice for a romantic lead because the man never stops lying. As for the other characters, well, quite a few were deliciously despicable and I took pleasure in wishing harm would befall them sooner rather than later. If I have a favorite, it has to be Magnum but I won’t say why lest I influence you unfairly.
So, if I don’t like most of the players, does that mean I think Ms. Thompson’s character development is faulty? No, not at all, because the hallmark of good characterization is that the reader reacts to them and that I did in spades. With very few exceptions, this is Cassie against the world and the potential outcome is as critical as it can possibly be. My attention was on this book even when I was away from it.
Ms. Thompson does a good job with worldbuilding and, even though most of the story takes place in a limited area, I could easily visualize the surroundings. If there’s any weakness in this element, it’s that things are remarkably similar to our own time other than the robots and the L-bands and a few other things while I would expect much more technological advance in a thousand years, plague or not.
With regards to the ending, I really felt it was a bit rushed and was one of several areas when things seemed to happen too neatly but I also enjoyed the way this first of the trilogy wraps up with a sense that Cassie’s life is about to change dramatically. I’m already anticipating meeting up with her again, hopefully not too far in the future, pun intended ;-)
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, July 2014.
July 9, 2014
READ IN ENGLISH
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
Mirror X is the first book in the Van Winkle Project series.
Finally! It's been a while since I actually liked a Dystopian YA, but this was a very interesting story. A weird side note though, the description in the blurb (at least on GR) is incorrect, as she doesn't come from 'space'...
When Cassie wakes in a hospital, she never expected to be in the 31st century. She died a thousand years ago in a helicopter crash and her body was frozen, in hopes she could once be restored back to life. But if that's what is best for Cassie?
The 31st century isn't unlike the 21st, but with some robots, no trees/grass and a mandatory iPad. Medicine has obviously invented new stuff, as they can now bring people back from the dead (by regrowing all neurons in the brain; how can she still has her memory?). Everyone is wearing a L-band, which can track people down and also is a telephone and a key. No one seems to have problems in this Brave New World...
That's not where the comparison ends. Babies are grown in artificial wombs, as a great plague that killed half the population left all women infertile. Their solution was cloning, but a flaw caused all women to have under developed ovaries and therefore no eggs. Cloning a clone isn't a success either, so the world's population is running on it's last legs. Until that is, Cassie is awakened, with her perfectly fine ovaries...
I had to search Van Winkle, as I had never heard of it. It turns out to be a short story by Washington Irving about a man who falls asleep and wakes twenty years later to find the world a completely different place (as in the US are no longer part of Great Britain). Nice touch.
What did annoy me was the love *insert some kind of geometrical shape*. I could for once understand why everyone would fall in 'love' with her, as she is the only person on the planet who can bear children. But there are too many mentions that she's so beautiful, making it just plain old insta-love.
However, it was very hard for me to put this novel down. The story has something refreshing even though it's far from perfect. I'll check out the next book in this series...
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
Mirror X is the first book in the Van Winkle Project series.
Finally! It's been a while since I actually liked a Dystopian YA, but this was a very interesting story. A weird side note though, the description in the blurb (at least on GR) is incorrect, as she doesn't come from 'space'...
When Cassie wakes in a hospital, she never expected to be in the 31st century. She died a thousand years ago in a helicopter crash and her body was frozen, in hopes she could once be restored back to life. But if that's what is best for Cassie?
The 31st century isn't unlike the 21st, but with some robots, no trees/grass and a mandatory iPad. Medicine has obviously invented new stuff, as they can now bring people back from the dead (by regrowing all neurons in the brain; how can she still has her memory?). Everyone is wearing a L-band, which can track people down and also is a telephone and a key. No one seems to have problems in this Brave New World...
That's not where the comparison ends. Babies are grown in artificial wombs, as a great plague that killed half the population left all women infertile. Their solution was cloning, but a flaw caused all women to have under developed ovaries and therefore no eggs. Cloning a clone isn't a success either, so the world's population is running on it's last legs. Until that is, Cassie is awakened, with her perfectly fine ovaries...
I had to search Van Winkle, as I had never heard of it. It turns out to be a short story by Washington Irving about a man who falls asleep and wakes twenty years later to find the world a completely different place (as in the US are no longer part of Great Britain). Nice touch.
What did annoy me was the love *insert some kind of geometrical shape*. I could for once understand why everyone would fall in 'love' with her, as she is the only person on the planet who can bear children. But there are too many mentions that she's so beautiful, making it just plain old insta-love.
However, it was very hard for me to put this novel down. The story has something refreshing even though it's far from perfect. I'll check out the next book in this series...
July 22, 2014
**I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review**
Solid 3 ½ stars!!
When 17 year old Cassie Dannacher awakens in a strange room filled with doctors – people she’s never met before, she’s in shock…but that shock is escalated when she is told that everyone she ever knew has been dead and gone for over a thousand years, she is scared and numb. Even after everything is explained, she still can’t believe that after the helicopter crash that left her brain dead, she was cryogenically preserved and is now several years in the future and alive – with the assistance of the adorable (and young) Dr. Michael Bennett.
But when it is explained to Cassie that she is the be the savior of the world, as she is the only fertile female in the world after a plague wiped out over 50% of the population and left all the women left in the world sterile, she starts to see that this new world is not all sunshine and rainbows. Especially with people like Dr. Simon Little heading up the “re-population” that is expected from Cassie and her children. But when Cassie finds out that she was artificially inseminated (against her will) while she was still in the medically induced coma while she was recovering, she now has not just her life to worry about. And the news continues to get worse for Cassie and her female offspring, as Dr. Little expects them to basically be the saviors at repopulating the world, but at the expense of freedom and choice. Cassie can’t live with that and upon the birth (and Dr. Little’s kidnapping) of her daughter Victoria, she and Michael decide that what’s best for the is to run…as far away as they can get. But of course it is never as simple as it sounds; but with the help of their techy friend Magnum, they may just make it our – alive and free.
I really liked the plot of the story, but I felt like it fell a little flat at times. Cassie really wants to be strong, but as she feels so along without her family and friends, it’s a hard road for her. I loved all the technology and robots that were throughout – they had really creative names and purposes. But what bothered me is sometimes I felt a little lost at how I got from one page to the next – it was just little gappy for me. Overall, and enjoyable story, but could have been cleaned up a little to have been really outstanding!
Solid 3 ½ stars!!
When 17 year old Cassie Dannacher awakens in a strange room filled with doctors – people she’s never met before, she’s in shock…but that shock is escalated when she is told that everyone she ever knew has been dead and gone for over a thousand years, she is scared and numb. Even after everything is explained, she still can’t believe that after the helicopter crash that left her brain dead, she was cryogenically preserved and is now several years in the future and alive – with the assistance of the adorable (and young) Dr. Michael Bennett.
But when it is explained to Cassie that she is the be the savior of the world, as she is the only fertile female in the world after a plague wiped out over 50% of the population and left all the women left in the world sterile, she starts to see that this new world is not all sunshine and rainbows. Especially with people like Dr. Simon Little heading up the “re-population” that is expected from Cassie and her children. But when Cassie finds out that she was artificially inseminated (against her will) while she was still in the medically induced coma while she was recovering, she now has not just her life to worry about. And the news continues to get worse for Cassie and her female offspring, as Dr. Little expects them to basically be the saviors at repopulating the world, but at the expense of freedom and choice. Cassie can’t live with that and upon the birth (and Dr. Little’s kidnapping) of her daughter Victoria, she and Michael decide that what’s best for the is to run…as far away as they can get. But of course it is never as simple as it sounds; but with the help of their techy friend Magnum, they may just make it our – alive and free.
I really liked the plot of the story, but I felt like it fell a little flat at times. Cassie really wants to be strong, but as she feels so along without her family and friends, it’s a hard road for her. I loved all the technology and robots that were throughout – they had really creative names and purposes. But what bothered me is sometimes I felt a little lost at how I got from one page to the next – it was just little gappy for me. Overall, and enjoyable story, but could have been cleaned up a little to have been really outstanding!
June 13, 2014
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.nikihawkes.com
I want to start off by saying that I love the initial concept for this story – it got me thinking: what if characters like Katniss or Tris had grown up in our day and age before being thrust into their futuristic, dystopia societies? How they viewed the world around them would’ve been a lot different, that’s for sure. Well, that’s exactly what happens to Cassie in Mirror X, and that culture-shock was enough to grab my attention right away.
Granted Katniss and Tris had advantages Cassie did not – having been immersed in a society from birth does give one a deep understanding of how things work and, even more importantly, how to fight back. Cassie had to discover everything on her own. That discovery process, in which she got to see and explore this futuristic world, is what I was most looking forward to reading about. The trouble is, aside from its few advances in technology and medicine, there wasn’t as much exploration of this new world as I was hoping for. The plot was structured to give the story a very narrow focus, making it really difficult for the character to see much of anything (heck, most of the book took place in a single setting). I think this was a shame because the possibilities for world-building were endless.
I also thought the story’s pacing could have been a bit stronger – that is, having the character discover things a little faster. There were plenty of the drop in hints and allusions to what was really going on, but nothing concrete driving the story until about a third of the way in. There were even a couple of scenes that I thought could have been comfortably combined early on that would have helped move the story along quicker. The pacing wasn’t a deal breaker, however, it just made the book a lot more character and dialogue driven than action driven.
Overall, Mirror X had a great concept and a killer cover (which was enough to get me to read it) but I unfortunately didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It wasn’t written poorly or anything, but my expectations were a bit different than what the author delivered.
I want to start off by saying that I love the initial concept for this story – it got me thinking: what if characters like Katniss or Tris had grown up in our day and age before being thrust into their futuristic, dystopia societies? How they viewed the world around them would’ve been a lot different, that’s for sure. Well, that’s exactly what happens to Cassie in Mirror X, and that culture-shock was enough to grab my attention right away.
Granted Katniss and Tris had advantages Cassie did not – having been immersed in a society from birth does give one a deep understanding of how things work and, even more importantly, how to fight back. Cassie had to discover everything on her own. That discovery process, in which she got to see and explore this futuristic world, is what I was most looking forward to reading about. The trouble is, aside from its few advances in technology and medicine, there wasn’t as much exploration of this new world as I was hoping for. The plot was structured to give the story a very narrow focus, making it really difficult for the character to see much of anything (heck, most of the book took place in a single setting). I think this was a shame because the possibilities for world-building were endless.
I also thought the story’s pacing could have been a bit stronger – that is, having the character discover things a little faster. There were plenty of the drop in hints and allusions to what was really going on, but nothing concrete driving the story until about a third of the way in. There were even a couple of scenes that I thought could have been comfortably combined early on that would have helped move the story along quicker. The pacing wasn’t a deal breaker, however, it just made the book a lot more character and dialogue driven than action driven.
Overall, Mirror X had a great concept and a killer cover (which was enough to get me to read it) but I unfortunately didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It wasn’t written poorly or anything, but my expectations were a bit different than what the author delivered.
June 28, 2014
Mirror X is the story of american teenager Cassie, who wakes up to a new and scary world as a result of being cryogenically frozen for over a 1000 years. The society she wakes up to is a sort of sci-fi/dystopia crossover. This new world is a sort of mixture of the worlds seen in 1984, The Hunger Games, Divergent and Fated, with a stronger sci-fi twist.
Cassie soon discovers her entire life has changed and not only has society moved on, but also the rules have completely changed. Her hospital is more like a prison and she's not sure who to trust in a world with a very different viewpoint.
Cassie meets the hot and talented, young Doctor Michael, who goes all out to help her. He seems to have a never-ending amount of patience because Cassie is kinda petulant at times. I liked Michael, although I really wanted him to open up to her and tell her everything rather than dodging her questions (and mine). Even though I really liked him, I was always slightly suspicious of him - I'm not entirely sure why. I wasn't always convinced by the insta-attraction thing, but I enjoyed seeing them get to know each other. Travel was a great addition to the book, I have to admit I was suspicious of him too but then again I think the idea was to doubt everybody like Cassie herself does.
I did find the ending a bit quick and it could have been developed a bit more. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions as it seemed there we're a few plot points which I hope will be addressed in the next instalment. I really loved the concept behind Mirror X because it's both clever and kinda scary. Thompson analyses the value of life and she takes her readers on a morality tale (albeit with a fun YA sci-fi twist). She has created a clever concept and good starting point for her series which has a lot of potential.
4 Stars in my Sky!
I received a copy from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review!
Also reviewed on my blog Zili in the Sky
November 10, 2014
Reviewer for Paranormal Romance and Authors that Rock
5 Fangs
Cassie awakens after a thousand years of being in a cryogenic tube. She was in a helicopter accident that left her brain dead. Her grandfather paid to have her placed in the tube in hopes that one day they would be able to make Cassie healthy again. When she awakens a very young Dr Bennett is there to help her in her recovery. Cassie finds out that things are very different a thousand years later. A plague killed half the population about 600 years ago. The world is set up in three regions now. Every one is banded and tracked. There is no privacy and freedom anymore. The world no longer looks to the past to study and learn but focuses on the future. Cassie finds out they only awakened her so that she can save the human race from extinction. Everyone seems to be keeping secrets from Cassie about why she is really there.
This was a great book. Very well written. I liked Cassie's character. I can understand her frustration with not being able to leave her room or look out a window. You felt bad for her every time they told the truth on something they either kept secret from her or lied to her about. Dr Bennett was the one person she really wanted to trust and he kept things from her. I understood her mixed feelings on saving the human race. You would want to do that but under your own terms not someone else's. You would want control over your own life and not be used like an object. This book makes you think about the what if's and how you would feel being put in that predicament.
I would recommend this book to YA readers who enjoy Sci-Fi.
5 Fangs
Cassie awakens after a thousand years of being in a cryogenic tube. She was in a helicopter accident that left her brain dead. Her grandfather paid to have her placed in the tube in hopes that one day they would be able to make Cassie healthy again. When she awakens a very young Dr Bennett is there to help her in her recovery. Cassie finds out that things are very different a thousand years later. A plague killed half the population about 600 years ago. The world is set up in three regions now. Every one is banded and tracked. There is no privacy and freedom anymore. The world no longer looks to the past to study and learn but focuses on the future. Cassie finds out they only awakened her so that she can save the human race from extinction. Everyone seems to be keeping secrets from Cassie about why she is really there.
This was a great book. Very well written. I liked Cassie's character. I can understand her frustration with not being able to leave her room or look out a window. You felt bad for her every time they told the truth on something they either kept secret from her or lied to her about. Dr Bennett was the one person she really wanted to trust and he kept things from her. I understood her mixed feelings on saving the human race. You would want to do that but under your own terms not someone else's. You would want control over your own life and not be used like an object. This book makes you think about the what if's and how you would feel being put in that predicament.
I would recommend this book to YA readers who enjoy Sci-Fi.
July 4, 2014
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
My first thought on this novel is that it's very different from anything I've read recently. Mirror X is a journey. The reader follows Cassie from the moment she wakes up through every event. The novel is written in first person, so we only know what Cassie knows. We learn things and experience her emotions and feelings as she does.
This is another one of those novels in which I can't go into detail without spoilers. I found many of the characters, including the baddies intriguing. Cassie is well-written, and I think (given her circumstances) she would be a very difficult character to write. Her reactions are in line with what I'd expect and similar to how I think I would react were I thrust into her situation.
Ms. Thompson builds the suspense slowly, with amazing reveal after amazing reveal. My only complaint is that the pacing was a touch slow at times. However, I thought she did a great job creating her world with minimal information--i.e. Ms Thompson doesn't inundate the reader with too much information at any one time.
While this is book one in a series, it ends at a satisfying point for the reader. I feel like I got some closure, yet I still can't wait to read more. Personally, I found the characters and the world fascinating. This is one of those novels I really want to talk about, but I won't spoil it for you. I know I'll be thinking about the characters even though I've finished the book.
My first thought on this novel is that it's very different from anything I've read recently. Mirror X is a journey. The reader follows Cassie from the moment she wakes up through every event. The novel is written in first person, so we only know what Cassie knows. We learn things and experience her emotions and feelings as she does.
This is another one of those novels in which I can't go into detail without spoilers. I found many of the characters, including the baddies intriguing. Cassie is well-written, and I think (given her circumstances) she would be a very difficult character to write. Her reactions are in line with what I'd expect and similar to how I think I would react were I thrust into her situation.
Ms. Thompson builds the suspense slowly, with amazing reveal after amazing reveal. My only complaint is that the pacing was a touch slow at times. However, I thought she did a great job creating her world with minimal information--i.e. Ms Thompson doesn't inundate the reader with too much information at any one time.
While this is book one in a series, it ends at a satisfying point for the reader. I feel like I got some closure, yet I still can't wait to read more. Personally, I found the characters and the world fascinating. This is one of those novels I really want to talk about, but I won't spoil it for you. I know I'll be thinking about the characters even though I've finished the book.
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