Review: The Glimpse By: Claire Merle

Title: The Glimpse

Author: Claire Merle

Published:  June 7th, 2012

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

 Once you've seen into the future, can you change your destiny?

In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell.

Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.

Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not interfere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society and into the pits of the human soul. And as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper's abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before.

My Thoughts:

I received this book from net galley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

                First of all, I need to take a second to breathe after reading this dystopian novel, it was complicated, heavy, and intense read for me. I wasn't sure what to expect when I began reading this book but, it took my on one wild and crazy ride. In the beginning of the book I was so sure I wasn't really going to like it and I was beginning to get bored, thinking just another dystopian novel where the little details were changed to make it different from another on the shelf. But, I was so wrong and I loved how in depth, creative and layered the whole plot of the book was, coming together at the end with all these culminating events. 

                Some of my favorite aspects of this book were the future historical events that were talked about in the book. For example, The U.S. Petrol Wars. I liked how Merle came up with these historical facts by using current events and things I could actually see happening in the future of our world, which made the story that much believable. I also slowly but surely fell in love with our main character, Ariana Barber. She is one of the most interesting characters I have read in a while because I felt she grew immensely throughout the book and took on so many challenges that were very intense and sometimes hard for me to read. (Warning there is some events in this book that are somewhat violent and  may be hard for some people to read about) What Ana goes through to find out what happened to Jasper and uncover the truth about her world is something that I hope no person real or fictional has to go through in their lifetime. Also, the romance aspect of the book really surprised me and I didn't expect it to go where it did and I didn't expect her to fall in love with the boy she did. The book takes place in London which I really liked and gave a different feel to the story. 

Overall, this book was so much more than I expected it ever would be. It was such a roller coaster to read.  I highly recommend that you read it, although it is a dystopian novel, it had a different feel then many of the dystopian novels I have read focusing on the dystopian world as much as the mystery of Jasper's abduction that Ana has to unravel. Sorry, if throughout this review I have been very vague describing what goes on but, it's hard to write about it without giving too much of the plot away  because I don't want to ruin it for you guys! People who love mystery and dystopian will definitely enjoy this read, Check it out! 

Happy Reading!

Kristin