Book Review: Acid by Emma Pass

Acid
Author:  Emma Pass
Publisher:  Corgi Children's Books, 431 pages
Publication Date:  March 11, 2014

From Goodreads:
The year is 2113. In Jenna Strong's world, ACID—the most brutal controlling police force in history—rule supreme. No throwaway comment or whispered dissent goes unnoticed—or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a horrendous crime she struggles to remember. But Jenna's violent prison time has taught her how to survive by any means necessary.

When a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed, and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID, and try to uncover the truth about what really happened on that terrible night two years ago. They have taken her life, her freedom, and her true memories away from her. How can she reclaim anything when she doesn't know who to trust?

Strong, gritty writing, irresistible psychological suspense, and action consume the novel as Jenna struggles to survive against the all-controlling ACID.

Review:
This book hooked me from the very beginning.  Jenna is in an all-male prison for murdering her parents.  She's tough, with a shaved head, scars on her face, and a tattoo on her neck.  How different is that from the usual female MC?  A doctor at the prison helps her escape and she gets a new face, hair, and is moved to a different part of London where she has to pretend to be married.  Why?  She doesn't know, they won't tell her.  Then she meets a certain guy and they're on the run from ACID.

There was a lot to like in this book.  The world was interesting, with cognitive realignment (basically wiping your memories and giving you new ones), LifePartner program (where your spouse is picked for you and people marry really young), and England being completely separated from the rest of the world.  Jenna is a strong character, and I love when characters are on the run, hiding out, etc.  But this book didn't wow me, for a couple of reasons.  One reason is the love story.  I just felt like we didn't get to know the guy at all.  He was nice, but sort of meh.  

And then there were so many coincidences.  The way they met, seeing something on the computer, and so many other things.  Just didn't buy it at all.  And then the pacing was uneven.  There's one part where the action completely stops, new characters are introduced, and there really wasn't any reason for it.  The book then gets back on track and the last part is filled with action, but Jenna makes so many bad decisions it just gets a bit ridiculous.  My understanding is that it's a stand-alone, which I liked, and everything does wrap up, except for one thing, which annoyed me.  What was the point of that?  The book was pretty good, I enjoyed it and I was entertained, but I just felt like it could have been so much better.  

Posted by:  Pam