Review + Giveaway // Anomaly By Krista McGee

// Anomaly //

 

By Krista McGee

 

{Review By Bethany}

 

Title: Anomaly

Series: Anomaly, Book 1
Author: Krista McGee
Source: Review Book from the Publisher
Number of Pages: 312
ISBN: 1401688721
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: July 9th, 2013
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

 

// Book Description //

"Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.

Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels things. She asks questions. And in the State, this is not tolerated. The Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong—and they have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created. Thalli has kept her malformation secret from those who have monitored her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of music to record as her community’s assigned musician, she can no longer keep her emotions secreted away.

Seen as a threat to the harmony of her Pod, Thalli is taken to the Scientists for immediate annihilation. But before that can happen, Berk—her former Pod mate who is being groomed as a Scientist—steps in and persuades the Scientists to keep Thalli alive as a test subject.

The more time she spends in the Scientist’s Pod, the clearer it becomes that things are not as simple as she was programmed to believe. She hears stories of a Designer—stories that fill her mind with more questions: Who can she trust? What is this emotion called love? And what if she isn’t just an anomaly, but part of a greater design?"

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 {Taken From Dictionary.com}

 

// a·nom·a·ly //

1. a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form. Synonyms: abnormality, exception, peculiarity.

 2. someone or something that is abnormal or incongruous, or does not fit in; an anomalous person or thing: With his quiet nature, he was an anomaly in his exuberant family. Synonyms: abnormality, exception, peculiarity.

3. an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.

4. an incongruity or inconsistency.

5. Astronomy . a quantity measured in degrees, defining the position of an orbiting body with respect to the point at which it is nearest to or farthest from its primary.

 

// Bethany's Book Review //

 

Now let me begin by saying that my genre of interest would have to be historical fiction, not dystopian fiction. To be honest, I've not really read a bunch of dystopian novels, and aside from The Hunger Games series, I don't know that I've read any others in this genre. So what perked my interest in reviewing Anomaly, you may ask? Well first let me tell you why I usually don't read a lot of dystopian books: just because they most often aren't clean, much less Christian, and more often than not include language and scenes I'd rather not put in my mind and dwell on. There isn't much Christian values in modern novels in the dystopian genre. Basically, I hadn't been able to find any of these sorts of novels written from a Christian perspective and a Christian author - or ones that at least weren't nasty. But all this changed when I first heard about Anomaly. I had read several reviews on it, and a lot of readers commented on how awesome it was that this book is a Christian one and relates to subjects such as truth, reality, and faith all while being in an exciting dystopian format!

That having been said, I love action novels. Ones that leave you on the edge of your seat and unable to stop reading until you complete the book. So after reading reviews that said this novel has both a Christian perspective and is a page-turner, I was super interested to read this book even though at first sight it didn't look like a book I'd normally pick up and read. But my goodness! Was I in for a surprise! This was my first time to read any of Krista McGee's books, but I'm almost positive it won't be the last. I was just blown away with how wonderful Anomaly was!

The thing that I loved most about this book, aside from the action and adventure, would be how faith and Christianity were strong common threads in this book. Throughout the story, main character Thalli is trying to determine what is real and what isn't since she's been tricked into situations through tests from the Scientists to places that look, and felt legitimately real, only to realize later it was just a computer program that was made to appear real in every sense. She literally doesn't know if certain people are real or figments of the imagination through the computer program that she's been through, and truth and faith are a big deal for her. As she tries to make sense of her life, she realizes that nothing is absolute. Then through a friends help, she comes to know about Christ, who is portrayed as the Designer, and as she puts her trust in Him, she begins a wonderful journey of truth and faith. It had such a powerful message, and on top of that it was super action packed and eventful. It has literally left me on the edge and I simply cannot wait for book two to release next year!

One of my biggest concerns at first with this book was that it would be a bit above my level of tolerance as far as the creepy aspect of a typical dystopian book. Yes, obviously it's science fiction, and that means it's going to be a bit, well science fiction-ish. I mean, from the description, it'd appear to be super creepy, and while there was a mysterious aspect that greatly contributed to the excitement and action in the story, I don't think it ever got to where I felt like it was a too creepy for my taste, but at the same time there was just enough to make it interesting. While this would vary depending on your personal convictions concerning dystopian/science fiction, and how much science fiction you've read in the past, I would highly recommend it to ladies who enjoy fast and exciting fiction with a good dose of Christian influence.

So all-in-all, I loved Anomaly and can't wait for book two, Luminary! {Eeek!} While at first I was a tad bit hesitant about reading this book, I quickly realized that there wasn't a thing to worry about as this book exceeded my highest expectations! It was very well written and the characters were vivid and unique, and the story itself was super original and exciting!

 

N O T E :: I'd like to sincerely thank Thomas Nelson publishers and Krista McGee for providing me with a complementary review copy of Anomaly to read and review. I was not paid to review Anomaly, and all thoughts expressed in my review are completely my own, honest and unbiased.

 

// Favorite Quotes From Anomaly //

 

"No. I will die the way I finally learned to live. Fully aware. At peace. With a heart full of love that even as it slows, it is still full.

Because I know something the Scientists refuse to acknowledge.

Death is only the beginning."

 

"I must pray, I must talk to the Designer. I do not know my purpose, but He does."

 

"I touch the leaf of an apple tree. The Scientists may have developed the technology that allowed this tree to grow here, but they did not create the tree. It is the same with me. I am not created by the scientists. I am created by the Designer. The truth of that fills me with joy."

 

// The Giveaway //

So, guys, today I'm super excited to be able to host a giveaway for a copy of Anomaly courtesy of Thomas Nelson publishers! A huge thank you goes out to the awesome folks at Thomas Nelson publishers for making this giveaway and review possible!

 

N o t e :: This giveaway is open to the US only.

 

So would you like to enter the giveaway for a chance to win your very own copy of Anomaly? To enter, just use the RaffelCopter entry form below, and once the giveaway ends on August 23rd, 2013 we will pick a winner through Random.org and email the winner with details on redeeming their prize! So go ahead and enter, and have a blessed week!

 

~ Bethany for The Literary Maidens

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway