The bodies we wear by Jeyn Roberts

Six years ago Faye and her best friend Christian were given a fatal dose of the drug Heam - Faye was brought back to life, but Christian was gone for good.  For years Gazer has supported and protected Faye, providing her with a roof over her head and the chance for a future.  Her life is governed by a series of strict rules imposed on her by the only school that would accept her, a harsh glimpse into a future where Heam addicts marked with scars like Faye's have no future and no rights.  

The only spark that has kept Faye going, helped her fight the addiction is the chance at revenge.  For years Gazer has helped her hone her body and mind, training her to defend herself.  In Faye's mind he been training her to seek revenge, giving her the skills and the strength to find the men who hurt her and Christian and kill them.  Gazer hopes she will give up on her plans for revenge and focus on her plans for the future instead, and for the first time they are arguing and Faye is keeping secrets.  

When a stranger enters her life Faye is suspicious, especially when Chael seems to know things about her and when he seems naggingly familiar.  It is a puzzle that she doesn't really have time to solve, not when she is so close to achieving her goal, but it is also a suddenly dangerous time.  For the first time people are starting to notice Faye, and being noticed is not a good thing when you depend on the shadows to hunt and to stalk.  All of her training and planning is finally coming to fruition, but sometimes the world works in mysterious ways and what Faye is about to discover will change her life forever.

I picked up The bodies we wear because of a book review I saw on the Unshelved digest I get once a week and I am really glad I read it - it is original, gripping, and had me hooked from the start.  Faye is a complex and intriguing character, completely well rounded with her faults, her flaws, her passions, and her anguish.  The world built around Faye is full of despair and decay, yet the relationship she has with Gazer is an anchor and source of hope.  
Not wanting to ruin any of the major plot points for people planning to read The bodies we wear, there is a lot here to like.  While the main protagonist is a girl, which can turn male teens readers off, there is a lot of action and thriller elements that will provide that hook - there is also a touch of romance for those that enjoy a little romance in their stories.  The world building is well thought out and the dreary and constantly raining world seems the perfect fit for a time and place where the "perfect" drug has become such a major problem that it affects people forever once they are identified as addicts.  This is a bleak world that seems without hope and I couldn't help rooting for Faye to get her revenge, but the ending was very satisfying (if a teeny bit rushed).  A very satisfying read and a great addition to the edgy futuristic, science fiction genre.

If you like this book then try:

• ACID by Emma Pass
• Reboot by Amy Tintera
• The testing by Joelle Charbonneau
• When we wake by Karen Healey
• What's left of me by Kat Zhang
• Inside out by Maria V. Snyder
• The murder complex by Lindsay Cummings
• Breathe by Sarah Crossan
• Legend by Marie Lu
• Stung by Bethany Wiggins
• XVI by Julia Karr
• Proxy by Alex London
• Slated by Teri Terry
• In the after by Demitria Lunetta
• Free to fall by Lauren Miller
• The 100 by Kass Morgan

Reviewed by Brilla