The Revealed

The Revealed by Jessica Hickam
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sometimes a book aims high and hits the middle. That is this book. In the great race of dystopians, The Revealed is hanging with the pack - not in front, and not lagging behind. It's set a nice pace right in the middle.

The premise here is good: X-Men meets Chasing Liberty. It's a good setup for a potentially fantastic story. The writing is not outstanding but certainly readable. The pacing is good and there aren't any lags. There's a great bad guy and an engaging plot. So what is it with this book that makes it just ok?

The main character is inconsistent, immature, and generally annoying. She is being kept safe in a secure compound - so why does she keep getting out so easily? There's a boy who betrayed her back in high school that she suddenly trusts. And trusts again after he gives her reason not to trust him. She herself garners the trust of some people in authority and when she breaks that trust, they give her a slap on the hand and tell her "people's lives are at stake."

There is no weight here, no serious tone, no depth to the action. None of these characters are taking their situations seriously. They're just talking about taking their situation seriously. So why should we care if they all get blown up or shot or generally just killed?

Cue love triangle. Enter cute boy while main character is pining away for other boy she can't trust or figure out. Give readers cause to shoot themselves.

This book is a good story told relatively well. The characters, for the most part, are likable (save the main character). There is a plot twist that isn't readily visible, although it becomes apparent. This book just has so much going for it -

And yet it's just not enough to push it into "great" territory. And that's a shame, because it really could be amazing. This is the beginning of a series and it has great potential to get better and better. Hopefully it will as the main character grows up and gets over herself. It's worth continuing.

But overall? Sadly, it's unremarkable. Hopefully it will gain a large following and distinguish itself. More likely it will hang right there in the middle with all the other dystopian hopefuls. This series has great potential, but it remains to be seen as to whether this author will pull off a hit.

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