Review: Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet

by R.J. Anderson
Book 1 of Ultraviolet

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  4.5 Stars

Official Blurb: (from Goodreads)

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special.
This is not her story.
Unless you count the part where I killed her.

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori -- the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right?

It seemed like it took forever for me to finish this book, but the truth is, once I started getting into it, I pretty much powered through the entire thing in less than ten hours. I had a feeling it wouldn't take me long to finish, especially after reaching the midpoint of the book without even realizing it.

Ultraviolet was pretty amazing. I was hesitant about the rating, but in the end, I felt like the rating doesn't really matter much more than the fact that I genuinely enjoyed every part of this book, even the climactic twist that had me doubting whether or not the transitions made any sense. I just couldn't put it down and I needed, desperately, to see this book to the ending even if I had to lose sleep because of it.

And so here I am, ten hours later, despite the fact that I had tried to start reading the book days ago. Things kept coming up and I kept putting off this reading up until sometime in the wee hours of third shift last night when I made myself continue where I left off in chapter one... and then I just kept on going.

The story was fascinating, the characters were well-developed, the pacing was great, and the ideas were simply excellent. I learned a lot of things as well and I do have plans to look up synesthesia and educate myself a little bit. It sounds extremely interesting. Just as well, I loved the writing -- I loved how the descriptions were present through Alison's narration, with the visuals of how sounds taste and look, and how colors feel... The analogies, the descriptors, the colors and sights and smells... I only regret that you can't really experience those sensations physically, but the writing style was so wonderful that I could try to imagine everything that Alison was feeling, hearing, tasting, and so on.

Yeah. Ultraviolet was pretty amazing.

Again, I didn't quite expect the twist in the ending, but honestly, there's such an open-endedness to the entire telling that it seems appropriate. Otherwise, I loved the way the rest of the book was told and how everything unfolded slowly for us to see and make our own determinations in this whole "There more to Tori Beaugrand's mystery than we'd bargained for" journey.

It was tons enjoyable. I WILL go on to the next book, but even if I don't, at the very least, I'm satisfied with the wrap-up and conclusion of this first one.

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This review was originally posted at Goodreads in September 2013.

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