Remake: A Book Review

I am so excited to be a part of the iRead Book Tour for Remake!  After reading this book, I really hope that you decide to check it out as it is a very interesting and unique world that Ilima Todd created; also I believe it is a stand alone dystopian novel … so that’s like literally never been done.  LOL.

Title: Remake

Author: Ilima Todd

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Publication Date: October 14, 2014

Pages: 288

Out in Paperback?: No

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My Rating: 4/5

Review:

Goodreads Summary:

Male or Female?

Nine is the ninth female born in her batch of ten females and ten males. By design, her life in Freedom Province is without complications or consequences. However, such freedom comes with a price. The Prime Maker is determined to keep that price a secret from the new batches of citizens that are born, nurtured, and raised androgynously.

But Nine isn't like every other batcher. She harbors indecision

and worries about her upcoming Remake Day -- her seventeenth birthday, the age when batchers fly to the Remake facility and have the freedom to choose who and what they'll be.

When Nine discovers the truth about life outside of Freedom

Province, including the secret plan of the Prime Maker, she is

pulled between two worlds and two lives. Her decisions will test

her courage, her heart, and her beliefs. Who can she trust? Who does she love? And most importantly, who will she decide to be?

Characters:

Our main character Nine receives her name because she is the ninth female born in the batch this month.  Now that she is nearing her 17^th birthday, she must decide what and who she wants to become.  As her trip to the Remake facility nears, Nine must decide on her looks, her job, and even her gender (as she has been taking hormone suppressants for years to prevent maturing into her biological gender).  With all these decisions to be made, we get to really know the character of Nine and see what she wants out of life as she deliberates her choices.  Although there were times when she could get a bit annoying with her indecision or lack of independence, Nine is discovering a whole new world outside of Freedom Province of which she is unaware exists.  Despite these few issues, I felt that Nine was an overall fairly likeable and realistic character.  I loved the times that she was with Theron, her best friend born of the male batch during the same month.  Theron truly cares for Nine as they are the closest thing to family that exists in Freedom, a province where families are nonexistent.  Other characters that come into play when Nine is out of the Freedom Province are equally likeable and provide a necessary contrast to those born in Freedom.

Plot:

As I mentioned earlier, on everybody’s 17^th birthday, the batch that was born each month heads to the Remake facility to determine how they wish to look, what job they want, and ultimately what gender they wish to be.  Nine struggles with some of these decisions, but on their way to the Remake facility, something happens that releases Nine into the outside world, outside of Freedom Province.  Overall, I really enjoyed the plot because I don’t believe I have read anything like it before; it was a very unique dystopian novel.  I did have a few issues with the plot, however.  I felt that the storyline didn’t truly suck me in, as other dystopian novels (or other novels in general) have, and I think this is because I felt that the plot was too predictable at times.  I just didn’t find myself completely engrossed in the story.

Writing Style:

Overall, I thought that the writing style was very well done!  I thought that there was a good mix of description, although I personally could have used a bit more description in regards to the world-building, as well as dialogue.  I think that more description and world-building could be added, especially in Part 1 of the novel where the characters are exploring Freedom Central, to help readers visualize the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend for those interesting in dystopian novels!  Will you go check it out?

Author's Biography:

Ilima Todd was born and raised on the north shore of Oahu and currently resides in the Rocky Mountains. She never wanted to be a writer even though she loves books and reading. She earned a degree in physics instead. But the characters in her head refused to be ignored, and now she spends her time writing science fiction for teens. When she is not writing, Ilima loves to spend time with her husband and four children.

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FTC Disclaimer:

This book was sent to me for review from iRead Book Tours.  This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.  No affiliate links were used.