Alterations in Code

"'I know some Trekkies who would probably love to go out with you,' 

I say without thinking.

The laughter rings out of her.

'Oh, god,' she says. 'Geeks?'

'Geeks are cool. Anyway, who doesn't want to be a superhero, 

or at least date one?'"

--A.D. Croucher

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Publisher: Darren Croucher, paperback 219 pages

Release Date: July 16th, 2012

Find on Goodreads 

Source: Print copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review

I was SO excited to start reading this! The premise sounded really good, and I was not disappointed in the result of the book. Again, I started this book while on my work week and I was still able to finish it in a few days. Altered definitely kept me on my sci-fi swing and I have been feeling geek-tastic for quite awhile.  But I'm getting ahead of myself...as always...:)

So Altered is about a boy named Reese whose story begins in the midst of a car jacking...obviously I was immediately intrigued...but also a little confused. They're stealing a car? Oh wait, 2 cars? Aren't they teenagers....? Who are these delinquints?...Wait, what? They live in Detroit? OH!! Ok, this all makes sense now...totally normal. But seriously, my weirded out threshold did definitely go down after learning they were living in Detroit. Sorry Detroit, no offense, but you've got 8 Mile, I'm not surprised by kids jackin' cars, in fact, I totally enjoyed the entire opening of the novel. So for reasons you will have to read about, Reese flees the scene and when his Dad finds him he tells Reese they have to go back to the doctor who cured Reese of a disease when he was younger. Reese has been experiencing...unique symtpoms as of late, to say the least. They go to this doctor and from there Reese is subjected to tests of various natures and really, from there you've gotta pick it up yourself. :)

Not my best summary but this is one of those books that I think authors love to write and readers hate to love. This reason being that so much is kept in secret. You horribly mean authors you, you are hoarding all the secrets and me as a greedy and impatient reader want to know everything! Why must you toy with my mind and emotions like this!? Because I am a geek, I loooooved the genetic, scientific and medical aspect of the story. All the talk of different diseases and cures was so interesting! Why was Reese sick? How was he cured? What is going on now? ALL of these answers I HAD to know but as good writers do, we only got a little bit piece by piece. Great storytelling, awful for the impatient reader :) I looooved the piece by piece info we did get and I looooved thinking about it and trying to dissect the meaning and medical rationale behind it all. 

I adored Reese's character! His self-deprecating humor had me laughing out loud because it was totally realistic. The dialogue and the internal monologues were great. Humorous yet honest and emotional. The moments of Reese remembering his mother were heartfelt and some of my favorite parts of the book. Erika's characterization felt so real as well. Without ruining the story, Erika is doubtful as first (legit) and doesn't immediately jump to believe the cute boy in front of her. She waits, investigates on her own and makes her own decisions. LOVE this about her. Her loyalty was also completely unquestionable. She stood strong and stuck by those she cared about. I also totally loved the juxtaposition of the fact that Reese's side effects were mental whereas Erika's were physical. It is almost always the opposite. The male is physically strong and the female is mentally superior. I love love loved that it was the opposite in this book!

This book was very fast-paced and definitely a quick read! The sci-fi elements unravel throughout the book and getting little bits of information here and there definitely helps build the momentum and suspense of the story. My only problem was I would have really liked to see the relationship with Erika and Reese build a little bit more but this is the first book in the series and I have a feeling this is just the beginning for them :) Again, this is my problem with being a greedy reader! I am anxious to see what happens next and where Reese's story goes from here! I definitely have a few unanswered questions that I can't wait to see what the next book has in store for our characters!

That's not all! Check back tomorrow for a guest post by A.D. Croucher themselves where they talk about their inspiration for their sci-fi young adult novel that I just talked about :)

You can purchase Altered at
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Find the authors on 
Twitter @darrenwriter
Their Blog Dreaming Between The Lines