by Jennifer Rush
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published January 1st 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN 0316197084 (ISBN13: 9780316197083)


Blurb

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev … and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

The Good

  1. The boys.  Trev, Cas, Sam, and Nick all had unique, well-developed personalities that I immediately fell in love with. Their jokes, fights, and overall interactions with one another and Anna were well-written and genuine.

  2. The back-stabbing.  Without giving away one of the most surprising parts of the book, the back-stabbing that occurs in the book truly knocked me off my feet. Once the clues pointing to the betrayal were pointed out, they seemed obvious, but as I was reading I honestly had no suspicions at all as to the loyalty of the characters. VERY well done.

  3. The twists and suspense.  Going along with the back-stabbing, the twists and suspense in the book overall were constructed very well. Even the mystery the group sets out to solve is well laid out and fairly unpredictable.


Overall Rating

Two things made this book absolutely wonderful: amazing characters and a well-constructed, suspenseful, unpredictable plot. I really loved this book and will be picking up the next one in the series as soon as I can get my hands on it!