Review: Acid by Emma Pass

What they say: 2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID – the most brutal, controlling police force in history – rule supreme. No throwaway comment or muttered dissent goes unnoticed – or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a bloody crime she struggles to remember.

The only female inmate in a violent high-security prison, Jenna has learned to survive by any means necessary. And when a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID – and to uncover the truth about what really happened on that dark night two years ago.

I was given a copy of Acid as part of the Goodreads 'First-read' scheme in exchange for a honest review!

What I say: Acid is a modern dystopian story, mixing fun characters with an unpredictable plot!

I liked the main character, Jenna, because she is a good mixture of strong fighter and vulnerable teenager - she is both totally bad ass and completely misunderstood. Without giving too much away I will say that I honestly had no idea what had happened to her or where the story was going.

 

Acid is set in a future world, in a fictional version of the UK where people live in highly controlled areas and have little say over their lives. It's very like The Hunger Games in terms of the class system; the rich are super rich and the poor live in absolute poverty.

Acid begins with Jenna in prison for murdering her parents! Yep, I was shocked too! A LOT happens in Acid and at times I felt almost too much happened as the plot got slightly muddled, but I still really enjoyed the story. A few times I didn't know whether I wanted to help Jenna or hit her?! There is a love story element, but it's neither mushy nor all encompassing and there were other important story elements. Again to say much more is a pretty big spoiler, but I will say how sweet I found the love story.

I liked the notion of the non-fixed identities i.e. the extreme cosmetic surgery which screams sci-fi movie! The book was very visual and interesting to read. I would have preferred a slightly tighter focus in terms of the overall plot, but I enjoyed Acid and found it a good debut novel by Emma Pass.

3.5 Stars in my Sky!

My fav non-spoilery quotes:

• I lean down until our faces are so close we could kiss. "I killed my parents," I murmur, and watch his eyes go wide.
• "I'd love to know why you're setting me up with a new life for apparently no reason whatsoever."
• The feelings I have for him are nothing like that...obsession. Instead, I have a sense of rightness, of something fitting into place without anything having to be given up to make room for it.