Friday, April 18, 2014

Shattered by Teri Terry

Shattered is the sequel to Slated and Fractured, and because of that this review contains ***SPOILERS***.  If you prefer to read a series in order then stop reading now until you have read Slated and Fractured.

The past few months have been a blur of discoveries and changes, of love and loss - but Kyla has managed to keep things together, even if she is feeling like she is only holding on by her finger tips.  With the help of MIA she has changed the way she looks and has a new identity and a new life that will take her back to the beginning, back to her life as Lucy.  It is a risky prospect, people are still chasing her and there is still so much about her past that she doesn't know or understand.  Her appearance may have changed, but she is still risking discovery by travelling across country at a time when the Lorders seems to be taking more and more liberties.

Back in the town where she was born Kyla reconnects with her mother, but it is a strange and somewhat strained relationship.  The atmosphere at Waterfall House is tense and the girls who live their rebel against the tough rules Stella Connor enforces with "her" girls - none more than Madison.  Madison and Kyla quickly become friends - although living as Lucy/Kyla/Riley is growing increasingly complicated.  As Kyla digs deeper into her past she discovers some shocking truths - truths that soon see her on the run again.  This time Kyla is going to have to make a stand, but is the price too high to pay?

The Slated trilogy has been an intriguing blend of mystery, science fiction, and social control - it is all too easy to imagine a future where science is used to control the "undesirable" element of society - although being a teenager doesn't exactly make you an undesirable element!  Kyla is an interesting, and inspired, choice to be the "voice" of the story because we discover information and the truth only as she does - there is no voice of god giving you the answers and spoon feeding you the story.  Because we see the world through Kyla's eyes it makes everything more "real" - her terror, her horror, her confusion all bring the story into sharp focus and help forge a strong connection to the story and the conspiracy. 

I have wondered how Terry would finish the trilogy - whether she would take the easy way out and give a "pat" happily ever after ending, whether she would leave the world in disaster and ruin, or whether she would find some other way to provide a satisfying conclusion.  The answer is (without ruining the ending for anyone else) it was a very satisfying ending that ended the trilogy with a sense of understanding and conclusion - although for some readers it may not be the ending they were expecting. 

Overall this series has been well written and has created a future world that is eerily like our own, except the personal freedoms of the population have been stripped away - especially for teenagers.  Kyla provides a unique view of this world, she is a teenager who appears to have lead the life of a pawn - she has been used and shaped into a tool by everyone in her life, lead towards a future of sacrifice and loss.  Kyla breaks free of her future and creates her own, making connections and fighting for not only her future but also the future of other teenagers who share the same fate.  At around 400 pages per book these have also been substantial reads, treating teen readers to a real story rather than watering down the story for a quick read that cheats the audience of some serious reading material.  Terry is similar to Robert Muchamore in this respect, keeping the story real rather than watering it down just because the book is for a teen audience.  I look forward to reading more from Terry in the future as she has a great talent.

If you like this book then try:

Reviewed by Brilla

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