Book Review: Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Title: Adaptation

Author: Malinda Lo

Pages: 400

Publication: September 18, 2012

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary taken from goodreads:

Reese and David don’t remember what happened to them after a bird flew into their headlights on the Extraterrestrial Highway--not the resulting car accident and certainly not a bit of the 21 days of care at the military hospital in Nevada. It’s a good thing, the doctors and colonels tell them, that they crashed on a military base, but they won’t tell Reese and David what the extent of their injuries were, or how they were healed. They do tell them they’re not going home, though, until they sign a confidentiality agreement. 

When they get home, Reese can’t help but find everything a little weird. Worldwide bird strikes resulting in plane crashes have grounded air travel, David won’t talk to her, and she could swear she’s seen her military doctors around the neighborhood. It’s only when she meets Amber Grey that things in her life begin to really fall apart, and the mysteries of the bird strikes, the military, and her own treatment come together. Reese realizes that she must find out what they did to her in that hospital, but her search for the truth threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.

What if we aren’t alone in the universe? What if the alien is inside us?

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT 

MY REVIEW:

Wow. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but Reese and David's whole experience definitely captivated me.

The beginning sucked me in. I loved the atmosphere and tension and reading about the slow decay of society as the world was suddenly thrown into chaos because of the bird strikes. It felt like the beginning of an apocalypse, something that I always enjoy watching or reading about.

Unfortunately, after Reese and David get into an accident, the mood changed, and the pace of the book lulled. It took a while before the pace picked up again, and I was surprised by the whole journey that the characters went through by the time I reached the end of the book; the book seamlessly interchanged from apocalyptic to contemporary to science fiction, which, in my opinion, was quite awesome. I love it when genres cross.

I had read Malinda Lo's first book, ASH, when it first came out, so I wasn't surprised that ADAPTATION also is LGBT. I was just glad that the romance (and Reese's coming out) did not detract from the story. The romance played a big part for a while, but it wasn't the only thing that was happening.

Overall, ADAPTATION was an enjoyable read.