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Special
A breathtaking glimpse into our future from the acclaimed author of Darkwater.
I am not Delia Greene. I should not be here. Why haven't they come for me?
Alone in my room, I log onto the Wastelands, the data dump where anonymity is guaranteed, where people go to throw their unfilled hopes and dreams, their despair, their pain, their loneliness, a great tangle and mess of words that cannot be unravelled, and I start to tell this story. The names are changed. So are the locations. As for the rest? It is up to you to choose what you want to believe . . .
Special is a beautifully crafted and atmospheric YA novel set in the not-too-distant future, where corporations control everyone's lives from their DNA to their schooling and career. Where a Lotto Girl – designed from before birth to be Special in every way – can escape the slums and be given every opportunity to shine at an exclusive boarding school. Where the future is bright. Until it all goes wrong . . .
I am not Delia Greene. I should not be here. Why haven't they come for me?
Alone in my room, I log onto the Wastelands, the data dump where anonymity is guaranteed, where people go to throw their unfilled hopes and dreams, their despair, their pain, their loneliness, a great tangle and mess of words that cannot be unravelled, and I start to tell this story. The names are changed. So are the locations. As for the rest? It is up to you to choose what you want to believe . . .
Special is a beautifully crafted and atmospheric YA novel set in the not-too-distant future, where corporations control everyone's lives from their DNA to their schooling and career. Where a Lotto Girl – designed from before birth to be Special in every way – can escape the slums and be given every opportunity to shine at an exclusive boarding school. Where the future is bright. Until it all goes wrong . . .
320 pages, Paperback
First published March 28, 2016
6 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
About the author
Georgia Blain
27 books69 followersGeorgia Blain has published novels for adults and young adults, essays, short stories, and a memoir. Her first novel was the bestselling Closed for Winter, which was made into a feature film. She was shortlisted for numerous awards including the NSW and SA Premiers' Literary Awards, and the Nita B. Kibble Award for her memoir Births Deaths Marriages. Georgia's works include The Secret Lives of Men, Too Close to Home, and the YA novel Darkwater. In 2016, in addition to Between a Wolf and a Dog, Georgia also published the YA novel Special. She lived in Sydney, where she worked full-time as a writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
October 13, 2016
This review originally appears on Happy Indulgence Books. Check it out for more reviews!
Actual Rating: 2.5
Dystopians are one of my favourite genres, because they explore a future that could be possible if the balance of power gets out of hand. Combining extreme poverty on one end, and the pampered lives of the rich, it often provides an in-depth exploration into human nature.
Special explores a harrowing future owned by corporations, where the rich and the privileged can custom design their children using DNA manipulation. BioPerfect construct children based on specific traits, intelligence, charisma and good looks. But to save from everyone looking exactly the same, these people have designs based on their preferred jobs - for example, Fern has been constructed to be perfect for communications. She’s naturally creative, a great communicator and interacts well with people. It was fascinating learning how each person’s design had been put together, although it’s definitely been done before.
I especially liked the design for Miss Margaret, the teacher who has been designed to be the ultimate carer for the kids at Halston. She’s clear, compassionate, great with children, and even her body type is comforting and apparently she smells like baked bread. What could be more comforting than that? She’s also able to withstand illnesses better than most people.
Everyone who has been designed by BioPerfect has to eat their food, be educated in their top class facilities and learn only what they are approved to learn. As a Lotto Girl, someone who was given the chance to be designed from a less privileged family, Fern has a bit of a complex when it comes to her circumstances. After being redirected to ReCorp, which is typically where the defective designs go, she wants to know how she ended up there and questions her circumstances.
I was really sucked into the book at the start, as it’s atmospheric and haunting seeing a future completely owned by corporations. The depths they have gone to make a profit is often questionable, as they’re dealing with human lives. However, unlike most other dystopians, there was no action or strong plot or end goal to keep me entertained. Halfway through, Fern is still describing her circumstances and repeating just how special she and the other Lotto Girls are. She repeats this over and over again and I found myself rather bored at times, wanting to get to the point of the story.
Unfortunately, it never really got there, with the ending left open. There was a twist towards the end of the book which I didn’t see coming.
As the book jumps between the past and the present, I also found the pacing of the book to be quite difficult to get into as the reader has to work out for themselves what is happening in the story. Often, quite a few events would happen in retrospect, to be brought up by Fern in a following chapter. Because of this, I found it quite hard to follow while reading.
Special is a complex and pensive exploration into DNA manipulation, a future owned by corporations and the sociological experiment of BioPerfect people designed by corporations. It explores the nature versus nurture debate, and some philosophical thoughts on science and profit making. While there was an interesting concept, the pacing issues, flat characters and lack of plot didn’t bode well for the rest of the book. I found it quite boring at times and was left unsatisfied at the open ending.
I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Actual Rating: 2.5
Dystopians are one of my favourite genres, because they explore a future that could be possible if the balance of power gets out of hand. Combining extreme poverty on one end, and the pampered lives of the rich, it often provides an in-depth exploration into human nature.
Special explores a harrowing future owned by corporations, where the rich and the privileged can custom design their children using DNA manipulation. BioPerfect construct children based on specific traits, intelligence, charisma and good looks. But to save from everyone looking exactly the same, these people have designs based on their preferred jobs - for example, Fern has been constructed to be perfect for communications. She’s naturally creative, a great communicator and interacts well with people. It was fascinating learning how each person’s design had been put together, although it’s definitely been done before.
I especially liked the design for Miss Margaret, the teacher who has been designed to be the ultimate carer for the kids at Halston. She’s clear, compassionate, great with children, and even her body type is comforting and apparently she smells like baked bread. What could be more comforting than that? She’s also able to withstand illnesses better than most people.
Everyone who has been designed by BioPerfect has to eat their food, be educated in their top class facilities and learn only what they are approved to learn. As a Lotto Girl, someone who was given the chance to be designed from a less privileged family, Fern has a bit of a complex when it comes to her circumstances. After being redirected to ReCorp, which is typically where the defective designs go, she wants to know how she ended up there and questions her circumstances.
I was really sucked into the book at the start, as it’s atmospheric and haunting seeing a future completely owned by corporations. The depths they have gone to make a profit is often questionable, as they’re dealing with human lives. However, unlike most other dystopians, there was no action or strong plot or end goal to keep me entertained. Halfway through, Fern is still describing her circumstances and repeating just how special she and the other Lotto Girls are. She repeats this over and over again and I found myself rather bored at times, wanting to get to the point of the story.
Unfortunately, it never really got there, with the ending left open. There was a twist towards the end of the book which I didn’t see coming.
As the book jumps between the past and the present, I also found the pacing of the book to be quite difficult to get into as the reader has to work out for themselves what is happening in the story. Often, quite a few events would happen in retrospect, to be brought up by Fern in a following chapter. Because of this, I found it quite hard to follow while reading.
Special is a complex and pensive exploration into DNA manipulation, a future owned by corporations and the sociological experiment of BioPerfect people designed by corporations. It explores the nature versus nurture debate, and some philosophical thoughts on science and profit making. While there was an interesting concept, the pacing issues, flat characters and lack of plot didn’t bode well for the rest of the book. I found it quite boring at times and was left unsatisfied at the open ending.
I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
December 18, 2020
3 1/2 stars. It's a YA book, and if I read it as a teenager it probably would have been four stars. Georgia Blain is a beautiful writer, thank you for introducing me to her Tracy D.
September 14, 2017
http://www.leslecturesdemylene.com/20...
14/20 - de bonnes idées et des personnages agréables mais le tout un peu trop brouillon pour que j'ai adhéré totalement
14/20 - de bonnes idées et des personnages agréables mais le tout un peu trop brouillon pour que j'ai adhéré totalement
June 27, 2020
So different from all Georgia's other books, but so good. A dystopian novel of life totally controlled by corporations; democracy, personal rights and freedom of choice no longer a possibility. Our heroine Fern is a Lotto Girl, especially chosen and bio engineered (maybe) for great things for the corporation. With her three Lotto Girl friends Ivy, Wren and Lark, they go to a special training school, where things are not what they seem and eventually adversity and adventure take over. I truly loved the mystery and pace of the writing. Sadly Geogia was taken from us all too soon, but her writing remains, wonderful writing.
December 27, 2015
This book was amazing and wonderful and I couldn't put it down.
But then it just ended and I was disappointed.
If this is the first book setting up a new series then it was perfect and I eagerly await the next one.
If however that was the end of the story then I am disappointed as I feel there is so much left unanswered.
The writing was brilliant and the story thought provoking and intriguing I really hope there is more of this story and world to come. I would love to watch these characters grow further.
But then it just ended and I was disappointed.
If this is the first book setting up a new series then it was perfect and I eagerly await the next one.
If however that was the end of the story then I am disappointed as I feel there is so much left unanswered.
The writing was brilliant and the story thought provoking and intriguing I really hope there is more of this story and world to come. I would love to watch these characters grow further.
January 13, 2018
Dystopian isn't my thing, but I wanted to read a contemporary Australian author. Unfortunately this didn't do much for me.
None of the characters had terribly defining features (except for what they were good at; music, maths, communications etc., but I wouldn't count that), which made the story beige and not connect as much (or at all, really). They were severely underdeveloped and just, well, boring.
The plot had a pretty hackneyed message; watch out for technology, it'll go too far. That's partly why dystopian isn't my thing, so that isn't Blain's fault. It all gets pretty repetitive. Regardless, this particular dystopia was, again, underdeveloped and not fleshed out at all. There was little to no explanation of what certain companies were, why they were there, were they corrupt and why? Perhaps this was an intended 'style', but it didn't work in this case.
I found the narrator/protagonist incredibly boring and annoying. She, like all the other characters, had no personality and just seemed to do this. Her relationship with Chimo felt incredibly set-up and forced and overall sudden; she'd been in quite a hostile and ever-changing environment, without contact to boys, so why did she suddenly fall in love?
There were mumblings of corruption occasionally, but these led nowhere and ended up making no sense. Given that this world is so corrupt, and we have so many corrupt corporations, it would've made more sense in a dystopia like this. The characters seemed to change their minds very suddenly about which corporations they were trusting, so the reader never really knew who/what to trust and why.
A lot of the problems were a chain reaction. The overarching thing was the underdevelopment of plot and characters, which led to doubt about their choices or motivations, the environment, and the situation entirely.
Toward the end you could see what Blain was trying to touch on - that technology cannot create people, it's a nature and nurture thing - but it was so brief that I was disappointed. She clearly wanted the whole novel to be about it, but it did not come through clearly at all. Perhaps that is partly my bias toward dystopia, but I think that argument/idea is actually pretty good, and somewhat of an original idea in the whole dystopian fiction world. I would've loved to see that a key central player in the novel, and more obviously so.
None of the characters had terribly defining features (except for what they were good at; music, maths, communications etc., but I wouldn't count that), which made the story beige and not connect as much (or at all, really). They were severely underdeveloped and just, well, boring.
The plot had a pretty hackneyed message; watch out for technology, it'll go too far. That's partly why dystopian isn't my thing, so that isn't Blain's fault. It all gets pretty repetitive. Regardless, this particular dystopia was, again, underdeveloped and not fleshed out at all. There was little to no explanation of what certain companies were, why they were there, were they corrupt and why? Perhaps this was an intended 'style', but it didn't work in this case.
I found the narrator/protagonist incredibly boring and annoying. She, like all the other characters, had no personality and just seemed to do this. Her relationship with Chimo felt incredibly set-up and forced and overall sudden; she'd been in quite a hostile and ever-changing environment, without contact to boys, so why did she suddenly fall in love?
There were mumblings of corruption occasionally, but these led nowhere and ended up making no sense. Given that this world is so corrupt, and we have so many corrupt corporations, it would've made more sense in a dystopia like this. The characters seemed to change their minds very suddenly about which corporations they were trusting, so the reader never really knew who/what to trust and why.
A lot of the problems were a chain reaction. The overarching thing was the underdevelopment of plot and characters, which led to doubt about their choices or motivations, the environment, and the situation entirely.
Toward the end you could see what Blain was trying to touch on - that technology cannot create people, it's a nature and nurture thing - but it was so brief that I was disappointed. She clearly wanted the whole novel to be about it, but it did not come through clearly at all. Perhaps that is partly my bias toward dystopia, but I think that argument/idea is actually pretty good, and somewhat of an original idea in the whole dystopian fiction world. I would've loved to see that a key central player in the novel, and more obviously so.
September 30, 2017
[http://laura-passage.com/lotto-girl/]
Lotto Girl est une dystopie qui casse les genres et qui ne séduira que les adeptes d'histoire à double-sens. Ainsi, avec son héroïne contradictoire, Georgia Blain se concentre avant tout sur les notions de vérité, de confiance, et de bien et de mal.
Lotto Girl est une dystopie qui casse les genres et qui ne séduira que les adeptes d'histoire à double-sens. Ainsi, avec son héroïne contradictoire, Georgia Blain se concentre avant tout sur les notions de vérité, de confiance, et de bien et de mal.
November 15, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this book but would have to rate the ending as one of the worst ever. What a shame
January 6, 2022
Bit stressy but alright not the best one I’ve ever read
January 15, 2022
http://www.my-bo0ks.over-blog.com/201...
J’étais vraiment curieuse de découvrir Lotto Girl. Sa quatrième de couverture m’avait vraiment interpellé et lisant peu de dystopie ces derniers temps, j’avais vraiment hâte de découvrir celle-ci.
Fern fait partie des quatre chanceuses, des quatre Lotto Girl de cette année-là. Elles quittent famille, maison, amis pour devenir quelqu’un d’unique.
Lotto Girl a la particularité de jongler entre passé et présent. Notre héroïne, Fern est heureuse dans son environnement. Elle s’estime chanceuse d’être parmi les Lotto Girl et bien décidée à le rester. Pourtant, les doutes sont nombreux et ses amies voient déjà quelques ombres à l’horizon. Jusqu’au jour où elle se retrouve abandonnée, solitaire et en pleins doutes.
Pour tout vous dire, je ressors déçue de cette lecture. Le démarrage m’a paru assez compliqué à comprendre, ayant très peu d’information et d’indication sur le monde qu’à crée l’auteure, Georgia Blain. Un univers intéressant dont il manquait les bases pour bien assimiler la situation. L’alternance entre présent et passé ne m’a clairement pas aidé.
Côté personnages, j’ai eu vraiment du mal avec l’héroïne, Fern, que j’ai trouvé naïve et avec des œillères. J’ai eu cette impression qu’elle se voilait la face pendant la majeure partie du roman. A vouloir ne pas croire aux évènements extérieurs et aux révélations. Habituellement les héroïnes de dystopie sont à son opposé (en prenant les révélations bien vite…)
L’intrigue de base et l’univers ont pourtant de quoi emballer le lecteur. La modification génétique et les secrets autour mettent de suite dans l’ambiance. Le contrôle de la société est intéressant. Malheureusement je n’ai pas accroché à l’histoire.
En conclusion, un univers qui aurait gagné à être développé en quelques chapitres avant d’entrer dans le vif du sujet. Qui plaira sans aucun doute aux adeptes de dystopie.
J’étais vraiment curieuse de découvrir Lotto Girl. Sa quatrième de couverture m’avait vraiment interpellé et lisant peu de dystopie ces derniers temps, j’avais vraiment hâte de découvrir celle-ci.
Fern fait partie des quatre chanceuses, des quatre Lotto Girl de cette année-là. Elles quittent famille, maison, amis pour devenir quelqu’un d’unique.
Lotto Girl a la particularité de jongler entre passé et présent. Notre héroïne, Fern est heureuse dans son environnement. Elle s’estime chanceuse d’être parmi les Lotto Girl et bien décidée à le rester. Pourtant, les doutes sont nombreux et ses amies voient déjà quelques ombres à l’horizon. Jusqu’au jour où elle se retrouve abandonnée, solitaire et en pleins doutes.
Pour tout vous dire, je ressors déçue de cette lecture. Le démarrage m’a paru assez compliqué à comprendre, ayant très peu d’information et d’indication sur le monde qu’à crée l’auteure, Georgia Blain. Un univers intéressant dont il manquait les bases pour bien assimiler la situation. L’alternance entre présent et passé ne m’a clairement pas aidé.
Côté personnages, j’ai eu vraiment du mal avec l’héroïne, Fern, que j’ai trouvé naïve et avec des œillères. J’ai eu cette impression qu’elle se voilait la face pendant la majeure partie du roman. A vouloir ne pas croire aux évènements extérieurs et aux révélations. Habituellement les héroïnes de dystopie sont à son opposé (en prenant les révélations bien vite…)
L’intrigue de base et l’univers ont pourtant de quoi emballer le lecteur. La modification génétique et les secrets autour mettent de suite dans l’ambiance. Le contrôle de la société est intéressant. Malheureusement je n’ai pas accroché à l’histoire.
En conclusion, un univers qui aurait gagné à être développé en quelques chapitres avant d’entrer dans le vif du sujet. Qui plaira sans aucun doute aux adeptes de dystopie.
April 10, 2016
An enjoyable young adult dystopian fiction. It reminded me quite a lot of Never Let Me Go in some aspects, and was quite well-written, however I would've added an extra star for a more fleshed-out ending. It felt like the ending of book one a series, however certain bridges were burned in the conclusion that make me believe this is meant to be a stand-alone book. I think there needed to be more build up to the character choosing the course of action that she did to make it feel more in-keeping with the character's previous behaviour and less rushed. In some ways it felt like the ending was chosen because the author was under pressure to wrap things up quickly rather than because it felt like a believable course of action for the character to take.
I would definitely read future works in this genre by this author. It was nice to read a young adult dystopian work where effort was put into creating atmosphere and setting rather than focusing all on non-stop action. The author also managed to avoid info-dumping, which was refreshing in this genre. I would hope, however, that if the author does continue this as a series a number of loose ties are resolved and more care is taken to ensure that the protagonist stays in character.
I would definitely read future works in this genre by this author. It was nice to read a young adult dystopian work where effort was put into creating atmosphere and setting rather than focusing all on non-stop action. The author also managed to avoid info-dumping, which was refreshing in this genre. I would hope, however, that if the author does continue this as a series a number of loose ties are resolved and more care is taken to ensure that the protagonist stays in character.
May 1, 2016
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I absolutely adore the concept of this novel but feel that we spend most of story being told what was happening rather than seeing was happening around us.
I would love to have another 50 or so pages to explore the ending a little more, or even a second book to explore this world and its characters some more.
I absolutely adore the concept of this novel but feel that we spend most of story being told what was happening rather than seeing was happening around us.
I would love to have another 50 or so pages to explore the ending a little more, or even a second book to explore this world and its characters some more.
March 28, 2016
I am assuming there must be a sequel as the story just ended. This story seemed very similar to so many future YA novels I have read and hence the 3 stars. It was an easy read but it didn't really grip me like other novels I have read!
February 25, 2016
Clever, assured, and tense.
January 6, 2018
Lotto Girl a été ma toute dernière lecture de l’année 2017. Je l’avais demandé en service de presse car plusieurs personnes m’en ont parlé sur le salon de Montreuil et que l’histoire m’intriguait. Je dois avouer que je ne m’attendais pas à autant apprécier ma lecture. J’ai vraiment été véritablement surprise par rapport à une lecture que je m’attendais à trouver simplement agréable, alors que c’est quasiment un coup de cœur ! Si vous aimez les histoires futuristes, les modifications génétiques et les dystopies, ce roman est fait pour vous.
On y suit Fern Marlow, une jeune fille dont les parents ont été tirés au sort pour voir leur enfant génétiquement modifié. Dans cette société post apocalyptique, la plupart des gens n’ont rien. Et sans être génétiquement modifié, il est presque impossible d’être éduqué, de vivre dans un quartier correct, d’avoir un travail ou encore même de se marier. Cela semble donc une chance unique de faire partie des quatre Lotto Girls, tirées au sort tous les cinq ans. Sauf que ce concours est loin d’être un simple cadeau de l’état et Fern va vite le comprendre.
Le récit est très bien ficelé en trois parties entremêlées : le présent, l’enfance de Fern et les événements qui ont conduit l’héroïne là où elle en est. Cela peut sembler compliqué, mais le récit à la première personne est brillamment écrit et très clair. Je n’ai été perdue à aucun moment. Le suspense est à son comble grâce à cette structure originale, car on veut absolument savoir comment Fern en est arrivée là !
Je me suis énormément attachée aux personnages, même s’ils ont tous des rôles secondaires et que certains n’apparaissent que très peu dans le récit. Ils sont tellement bien développés, avec des traits de caractère et une histoire tellement personnelle, qu’ils sont faciles à mémoriser. Ce que j’ai vraiment apprécié, c’est que l’univers est hyper bien construit et que l’on ne manque jamais d’information alors que le livre est relativement court et qu’il n’y a qu’un seul tome. L’histoire est vraiment menée de main de maître en un one shot et je dois avouer que je suis complètement impressionnée.
On part d’une réalité presque trop belle pour être vraie, et la vérité change à plusieurs reprises. On ne sait plus qui croire, quoi croire, ce qu’il faut comprendre, ni à quel côté on appartient vraiment. Sans être complètement déboussolé, le lecteur va devoir changer de perspective à plusieurs reprises et on ne peut faire confiance à personne, tout comme l’héroïne ne peut faire confiance à personne.
J’ai passé un excellent moment avec ce livre que j’ai dévoré et que je ne peux que recommander vivement ! Mon petit cœur a été mis à rude épreuve et mon cerveau bien retourné. Un roman explosif aux nombreux retournements de situation. Je suis à la fois ravie qu’il s’agisse d’un one shot et déçue qu’il n’y ait pas plus à lire encore.
On y suit Fern Marlow, une jeune fille dont les parents ont été tirés au sort pour voir leur enfant génétiquement modifié. Dans cette société post apocalyptique, la plupart des gens n’ont rien. Et sans être génétiquement modifié, il est presque impossible d’être éduqué, de vivre dans un quartier correct, d’avoir un travail ou encore même de se marier. Cela semble donc une chance unique de faire partie des quatre Lotto Girls, tirées au sort tous les cinq ans. Sauf que ce concours est loin d’être un simple cadeau de l’état et Fern va vite le comprendre.
Le récit est très bien ficelé en trois parties entremêlées : le présent, l’enfance de Fern et les événements qui ont conduit l’héroïne là où elle en est. Cela peut sembler compliqué, mais le récit à la première personne est brillamment écrit et très clair. Je n’ai été perdue à aucun moment. Le suspense est à son comble grâce à cette structure originale, car on veut absolument savoir comment Fern en est arrivée là !
Je me suis énormément attachée aux personnages, même s’ils ont tous des rôles secondaires et que certains n’apparaissent que très peu dans le récit. Ils sont tellement bien développés, avec des traits de caractère et une histoire tellement personnelle, qu’ils sont faciles à mémoriser. Ce que j’ai vraiment apprécié, c’est que l’univers est hyper bien construit et que l’on ne manque jamais d’information alors que le livre est relativement court et qu’il n’y a qu’un seul tome. L’histoire est vraiment menée de main de maître en un one shot et je dois avouer que je suis complètement impressionnée.
On part d’une réalité presque trop belle pour être vraie, et la vérité change à plusieurs reprises. On ne sait plus qui croire, quoi croire, ce qu’il faut comprendre, ni à quel côté on appartient vraiment. Sans être complètement déboussolé, le lecteur va devoir changer de perspective à plusieurs reprises et on ne peut faire confiance à personne, tout comme l’héroïne ne peut faire confiance à personne.
J’ai passé un excellent moment avec ce livre que j’ai dévoré et que je ne peux que recommander vivement ! Mon petit cœur a été mis à rude épreuve et mon cerveau bien retourné. Un roman explosif aux nombreux retournements de situation. Je suis à la fois ravie qu’il s’agisse d’un one shot et déçue qu’il n’y ait pas plus à lire encore.
September 29, 2017
Blain has created a not-too-distant-future that is very bleak. She has used many current technologies and extended them to the extreme. Children are now created by design; those who can afford it can pay for any modifications for their offspring they choose, be they aesthetic or intellectual, like purchasing a product from an online catalogue. However, for the poorer members of society, there is a lottery and a chance for their child to escape the slums.
Fern is a Lotto Girl: designed from pre-birth to be Special. She will be trained at an elite boarding school to then be part of the privileged class. However, when we meet her, she has had her identity wiped, and is now known as Delia Greene. She is alone and struggling to survive in the harsh world of the slums. And she can trust no-one.
There is a lot of dystopian YA fiction on the market. I felt this was a cut above many others in this genre. Fern is not perfect, she can be selfish and naive, confused and needy, and I feel this makes her more real for the intended audience. Also, this dystopian novel is suitable for readers from Year 7, unlike others that contain more explicit material.
I’m not sure if Georgia Blain intended to continue Fern’s story, and I know others found the ending abrupt. I liked the ending! I feel very confident in recommending this book to readers from Year 7+ looking for a one-off dystopian novel.
Fern is a Lotto Girl: designed from pre-birth to be Special. She will be trained at an elite boarding school to then be part of the privileged class. However, when we meet her, she has had her identity wiped, and is now known as Delia Greene. She is alone and struggling to survive in the harsh world of the slums. And she can trust no-one.
There is a lot of dystopian YA fiction on the market. I felt this was a cut above many others in this genre. Fern is not perfect, she can be selfish and naive, confused and needy, and I feel this makes her more real for the intended audience. Also, this dystopian novel is suitable for readers from Year 7, unlike others that contain more explicit material.
I’m not sure if Georgia Blain intended to continue Fern’s story, and I know others found the ending abrupt. I liked the ending! I feel very confident in recommending this book to readers from Year 7+ looking for a one-off dystopian novel.
November 30, 2021
L’histoire avait énormément de potentiels ! Malheureusement son univers, qui aurait pu être vraiment chouette, n’était pas assez expliqué et il manquait de détails pour me permettre de me plonger pleinement dans l’histoire… j’ai eu beaucoup de mal à visualiser et comprendre les « flux » d’images etc et ça m’a vraiment bloqué dans ma lecture et je n’avançais donc pas vite du tout. Paradoxalement l’écriture est vraiment fluide !
De plus, j’ai trouvé Fern, le personnage principal, insupportable… et je ne me suis attachée à aucun personnage.
Enfin, tout s’accélère quand il ne reste qu’une petite centaine de page donc sur moins de 330 pages c’est vraiment lent mais j’ai tout de même été surprise plus d’une fois ! J’ai dévoré les 100 dernières pages pas parce que j’ai aimé mais parce que c’était mieux et surtout j’avais hâte d’en finir. 😅 Et j’étais très déçue de la fin ⚠️spoiler alert⚠️ car on n’a aucune réponse !!
Si vous aimez les livres où vous ne savez pas où vous aller il est fait pour vous ! @elenie_book
De plus, j’ai trouvé Fern, le personnage principal, insupportable… et je ne me suis attachée à aucun personnage.
Enfin, tout s’accélère quand il ne reste qu’une petite centaine de page donc sur moins de 330 pages c’est vraiment lent mais j’ai tout de même été surprise plus d’une fois ! J’ai dévoré les 100 dernières pages pas parce que j’ai aimé mais parce que c’était mieux et surtout j’avais hâte d’en finir. 😅 Et j’étais très déçue de la fin ⚠️spoiler alert⚠️ car on n’a aucune réponse !!
Si vous aimez les livres où vous ne savez pas où vous aller il est fait pour vous ! @elenie_book
February 12, 2017
I really enjoyed this. One of the best YA books that I've read in ages and it's a shame that it's not more popular.
Fern is a teenager living in a dystopian world where she is currently in hiding and has to perform menial labour just to survive.
But what the people around her don't know is that Fern is special because she is a Lotto girl. Her parents were prizewinners who won the chance to design their own perfect child. Yet she has been taken away from that life. How and why did she end up in the impoverished ReCorp area?
I usually have trouble reading dystopian fiction because it's too out there, too exaggerated or just unrelatable but this was different. It explores themes of identity, fitting in, morals, science and nature vs nurture.
This book was intriguing and thoughtful and easy enough to follow. I'd recommend to people looking fora fantasy novel that makes you think about what makes a person who they are.
Fern is a teenager living in a dystopian world where she is currently in hiding and has to perform menial labour just to survive.
But what the people around her don't know is that Fern is special because she is a Lotto girl. Her parents were prizewinners who won the chance to design their own perfect child. Yet she has been taken away from that life. How and why did she end up in the impoverished ReCorp area?
I usually have trouble reading dystopian fiction because it's too out there, too exaggerated or just unrelatable but this was different. It explores themes of identity, fitting in, morals, science and nature vs nurture.
This book was intriguing and thoughtful and easy enough to follow. I'd recommend to people looking fora fantasy novel that makes you think about what makes a person who they are.
June 21, 2018
I was enticed by the blurb but when I read the book I was a bit disillusioned. I preferred Dan Brown's Origin for a book talking about when technology takes over. The main character Fern seemed kind of underdeveloped and her fling with Chimo was too sudden and unexpected. The story was confusing in parts when talking about corrupt corporations. I liked the idea of two designed girls versus two undersigned ones but even this description isn't certain. The premise of the book is interesting but it didn't quite do it for me.
October 8, 2017
3,5/5 malgré les réflexions intéressantes sur l'eugénisme, le monde crée par l'auteure m'a semblé trop brouillon pour y être suffisamment immergée. Une dystopie mais pas assez développé et une fin pas à la hauteur de mes espérances.
Chronique à venir sur le blog
Chronique à venir sur le blog
October 27, 2024
Science fiction (possibly Y.A.) is not a normal preference of mine, but the author is. An interesting look at a future where some children are designed. A bit confusing at times but overall worthwhile.
7/10
7/10
November 7, 2017
Une ambiance ensorcelante et énigmatique, mais qui suscite aussi de la frustration à cause du dénouement hâtif et confus.
http://blogclarabel.canalblog.com/arc...
http://blogclarabel.canalblog.com/arc...
April 13, 2020
I was disapointed
April 26, 2023
Easy read, a bit repetitive. Would make a good TV series. Not a fan of the ending.
May 25, 2023
What a starkly terrifying future Blain has written, beautifully rendered and one where I definitely do not want to live.
February 29, 2024
Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Death of a character
Score: Three points out of ten.
Looking back at this book I'm surprised that I once gave this book four stars but this book misses the mark in terms of dystopian science fiction novels. The plot itself lost its intrigue as it got more boring as I read through the book and there were some unexplained questions in the worldbuilding as well. It was essentially about a genetically made and enhanced girl called Delia Greene but she said that that isn't her real name I don't know what it is yet so that was confusing. I think the reason why she was made was because she wasn't one of those elite genetically engineered people and the company who made her didn't want her so instead she was a prize for whoever got her hence the name Lotto Girl which was strange. Delia was working in a factory when someone died and then she escaped to some orphanage to live there for a while and live her life there and then she goes back to the recycling factory because she likes working there and that is it. The world in the book is slightly intriguing but not enough for me to fully immerse in it since all I remember is the genetically engineered people, the screens in the sky and the equivalent of using the Internet with a virtual private network but I forgot what they called that in that book which was a shame since the author could have done a much better job on that but instead, it was underutilised. If you like an obscure book this one is for you but there are better ones similar to this like Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Selection by Kiera Cass.
Trigger warnings: Death of a character
Score: Three points out of ten.
Looking back at this book I'm surprised that I once gave this book four stars but this book misses the mark in terms of dystopian science fiction novels. The plot itself lost its intrigue as it got more boring as I read through the book and there were some unexplained questions in the worldbuilding as well. It was essentially about a genetically made and enhanced girl called Delia Greene but she said that that isn't her real name I don't know what it is yet so that was confusing. I think the reason why she was made was because she wasn't one of those elite genetically engineered people and the company who made her didn't want her so instead she was a prize for whoever got her hence the name Lotto Girl which was strange. Delia was working in a factory when someone died and then she escaped to some orphanage to live there for a while and live her life there and then she goes back to the recycling factory because she likes working there and that is it. The world in the book is slightly intriguing but not enough for me to fully immerse in it since all I remember is the genetically engineered people, the screens in the sky and the equivalent of using the Internet with a virtual private network but I forgot what they called that in that book which was a shame since the author could have done a much better job on that but instead, it was underutilised. If you like an obscure book this one is for you but there are better ones similar to this like Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Selection by Kiera Cass.
July 6, 2016
Just ok teen dystopian. The story occurs in media res as Fern describes how she has ended up as a sort of rubbish sorter in a futuristic world in which data is money. She describes her childhood at a slightly sinister boarding school as a "lotto" student, her parents having won a lottery to have her genetically designed. Basically the dynamic is that she is a scholarship student in a school of snobs. However, rebellion is on the horizon...
Blain's use of language is very strong. Unfortunately, the preoccupations of this book are boring and a slightly dated. The sinister boarding school owes a lot to Never Let Me Go . The parvenu genetic under-dogs plotlines owes a lot to Gattaca She writes well, but I found the sort of distance Fern's voice takes on detracts from some of the plot-boiling elements of the story, and is not terribly believable for a teenager -- this sort of tone is far more effective in something like The Handmaid's Tale because it is very explicitly spelled out that time and distance exists between the events of the story and when the narrator is telling the story. Here, Fern's tone seems very out of touch with her actions.
This is not a bad book. However, there are some cliched elements, and there are some tonal issues with it.
Blain's use of language is very strong. Unfortunately, the preoccupations of this book are boring and a slightly dated. The sinister boarding school owes a lot to Never Let Me Go . The parvenu genetic under-dogs plotlines owes a lot to Gattaca She writes well, but I found the sort of distance Fern's voice takes on detracts from some of the plot-boiling elements of the story, and is not terribly believable for a teenager -- this sort of tone is far more effective in something like The Handmaid's Tale because it is very explicitly spelled out that time and distance exists between the events of the story and when the narrator is telling the story. Here, Fern's tone seems very out of touch with her actions.
This is not a bad book. However, there are some cliched elements, and there are some tonal issues with it.
August 14, 2018
Une dystopie sous fond d’eugénisme dont le propos aurait pu être intéressant mais qui est peu exploité. L'auteure nous perd d'une époque à l'autre en flash back et présent et on a du mal à comprendre le monde dans lequel évolue Fern. On comprend aisément que l'hyper mondialisation a gagné et que les nantis ont le pouvoir mais pourquoi doivent ils échanger des données ? Dans quelle mesure internet est devenu une monnaie ? Pourquoi ce culte de la manipulation génétique ? Quel choix fait Fern à la fin du roman ?
Les personnages sont tout aussi superficiels, on ne comprend pas leurs motivations qui ne sont pas approfondies, les relations entre les personnages sont assez bien décrites mais certaines sont hors propos comme Marcus/Miss Margaret. On ne connait pas la vérité sur la fournée de Lotto Girl et la fin est plutôt plate
Ce que j'aime : le propos sur l'eugénisme qui aurait pu être passionnant s'il avait été plus poussé
Ce que j'aime moins : l'univers mal travaillé et expliqué, les motivations des personnages qui ne sont pas assez creusées
En bref : Un dystopie qui aurait pu être intéressante sur le papier mais la platitude du scénario rend l'ensemble inutile
Ma note
5/10
Les personnages sont tout aussi superficiels, on ne comprend pas leurs motivations qui ne sont pas approfondies, les relations entre les personnages sont assez bien décrites mais certaines sont hors propos comme Marcus/Miss Margaret. On ne connait pas la vérité sur la fournée de Lotto Girl et la fin est plutôt plate
Ce que j'aime : le propos sur l'eugénisme qui aurait pu être passionnant s'il avait été plus poussé
Ce que j'aime moins : l'univers mal travaillé et expliqué, les motivations des personnages qui ne sont pas assez creusées
En bref : Un dystopie qui aurait pu être intéressante sur le papier mais la platitude du scénario rend l'ensemble inutile
Ma note
5/10
April 6, 2016
My final rating is probably closer to 3.5 to 3.75 stars, but whatever, I like to round up.
This was a really interesting read, though the ending was quite abrupt and left more questions than answers.
I really liked the differences in the various environments in this book, from the clean, easy living of BioPerfect to the cesspit like conditions of ReCorp where everyone scrapes by on little to nothing, even if it does resemble other dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games trilogy (The Capital vs. the Districts). It may be a recycled YA trope, but it's one that doesn't bother me much.
The protagonist, Fern, is a likeable character. Although she's been genetically designed to have specific traits to ensure her (and BioPerfect's) success, she's not without flaws. She's not perfect, she's a bit naive and she questions herself, which makes her a vulnerable and relatable character. I'm glad she's not all strength, all the time.
I don't know if there is going to be more to this story but I'd like more, just to clear up those questions I was left with.
This was a really interesting read, though the ending was quite abrupt and left more questions than answers.
I really liked the differences in the various environments in this book, from the clean, easy living of BioPerfect to the cesspit like conditions of ReCorp where everyone scrapes by on little to nothing, even if it does resemble other dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games trilogy (The Capital vs. the Districts). It may be a recycled YA trope, but it's one that doesn't bother me much.
The protagonist, Fern, is a likeable character. Although she's been genetically designed to have specific traits to ensure her (and BioPerfect's) success, she's not without flaws. She's not perfect, she's a bit naive and she questions herself, which makes her a vulnerable and relatable character. I'm glad she's not all strength, all the time.
I don't know if there is going to be more to this story but I'd like more, just to clear up those questions I was left with.
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