Altered


Is this book worth reading? I just started it and I already think Anna is as stupid as a box of rocks. Doesn't she think its wrong to have boys living in her basement who don't know what the outside world looks like? Morgan Carlson It makes sense when you read more of it. One of my favorite books! Is this a book a young Christian girl should read? See all 10 questions about Altered…. Lists with This Book. Aug 09, Heather Powell marked it as to-read.

My reactions to reading the summary: My reactions to reading the publication date: View all 4 comments. Apr 24, Giselle rated it liked it Shelves: Altered is one of those books that are highly addicting, with action that engrosses you until you become quite satisfied with the read.

But, there are particulars that nagged at me which, individually, are irrelevant, but together, they become a little too bothersome to simply forgive and forget. The whole story in Altered consists of a chase. These modified humans have escaped their prison, and, bringing Anna with them, are on the run from her father's employers. Throughout this run we get clues Altered is one of those books that are highly addicting, with action that engrosses you until you become quite satisfied with the read.

Throughout this run we get clues that were planted to help them find something that is apparently very important. Deciphering these clues were, for the most part, pretty interesting, even clever at times. However, when they stumble upon a "code" that is simply a mix of X V I letters I had to stop reading to take a breath and roll my eyes a little. Even though Anna is home schooled and lacking a life outside the lab, numeral numbers are hardly mystifying.

Especially when she "gets it" after seeing a grandfather clock. This is definitely a very small matter, nonetheless, it got under my skin and made me see the protagonist as a little brainless. That was the first annoyance I stumbled upon. The second came by when they idiotically decide to walk into the enemy headquarters.

I have no clue. It made no sense for them to do so other than to create more plot excitement. Obviously, it went about as well as you can imagine. Seeing as they had no reasoning behind this decision, I got irritated by the stupid factor of it and hoped they got what they deserved. These issues aside, I did quite enjoy the book, especially the scientific notions involved.

I love the idea of genetic modifications, humans with abilities or powers, and Altered is fascinating on that front. I wanted to know more, though. Why it all started; the point behind everything. I'll assume those details are forthcoming.

In this first installment, we're focusing on the boys and learning the ropes along with them. The characters are a fun bunch of charismatic guys. Some charming, some… not. I enjoyed the diversity in their personalities, which made for a great group dynamic. They're all as close as brothers; they're all they've ever known, after all. There is also romance involved, which becomes the source of some controversy between the boys. I thought Rush blended this aspect well with the overall pacing of the book; it will satisfy those who need romance in their books, but it doesn't distract from the intensity of the plot.

Personally, I never felt a true connection between Anna and Sam, though. It was missing that spark. This could be due to characterization issues: With so much happening, being on the run for most of the book, character building is not the book's first priority. This is fine for the type of story it's trying to be, but the authenticity is lacking in the romantic element.

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Altered is not without its flaws, still, the story is engaging with enough excitement to make these flaws a little less consequential. It's an action novel dealing with genetics, abilities, and a messed up government behind it all. Read it when you're in the mood for a fast paced sci-fi thriller, not a science-y dystopian--in which case I'd recommend Partials. For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads View all 7 comments. Dec 26, caren rated it it was amazing Shelves: Except these boys are different. Genetically Altered and suffering from apparent amnesia.

What were four boys doing in our basement? Where were their parents? How long had they been down there? Dad knew exactly how much information to give to feed my curiosity and keep me quiet. I knew about the Branch, of course. Pardon me while I sigh heavily. Throughout the entire book, I found myself wondering what is he thinking right along with her.

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Do you understand me? There are twists and turns and guns and murders and secrets and a young girl discovering her inner badass. Altered was exactly what I needed to renew my faith in the idea that there are still good YA books out there left to be discovered. Dive in and meet Anna and the boys, and enjoy the action, the humor and even the sadness. Oh, and did I mention the swoons? View all 3 comments. I had no idea I'd enjoy this book so much. Anna, our protagonist, lives with her dad in a small New York town called Treger Creek.

Her father, Arthur, works for the 'Branch' and is in charge of a secret project that is located underneath their farmhouse. The project consists of four genetically altered boys men? Sam, Cas, Nick, and Trev. Each of them differ in personality, I had no idea I'd enjoy this book so much. Each of them differ in personality, but all suffer from amnesia. For years now, Anna has been sneaking down to the lab to visit with the boys. She and Sam have a strong connection and Anna is in love with him.

At the same time, however, she's formed bonds of friendship with each of the boys, save for Nick. He has his faults, but don't be so quick to write him off. Cas is just so fun-loving and easy-going. He brings so much comedic relief to the story. With a photographic memory, he's the smartest of the group.

Everything changes, however, when Anna and the boys are forced to run away. After years of being locked away under the farmhouse, the boys are finally free, with a somewhat reluctant Anna in tow. With Sam in charge, they set out for answers, piecing together clues along the way. Altered has so many good things going for it. I felt him watching me. My gaze swept the sky. A white so pure you can—" He stopped midstride and nudged me toward him. With a brush of his finger, he tilted my chin up.

Only the span of a few inches hovered between us. Snow melted on my face. Dear Sam, Anna was a kick-ass heroine.

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Altered is a fantastic debut. View all 6 comments. Jan 24, Wendy Higgins added it. Such a cool premise. And an unexpected twist halfway through the book, which I loved. And four hot guys. I don't really know what to say about this book in a way that might make it clear that I both enjoyed and didn't care for it. The plot is one I've heard a million times and while it was entertaining for the time I was reading it, it wasn't very memorable.

The beginning didn't start out so well, I have to say. Anna, the main character, had a voice that blended with all the voices of typical YA heroines. I wasn't really impressed by her. She seemed a bit dull and not very well characterized I don't really know what to say about this book in a way that might make it clear that I both enjoyed and didn't care for it. She seemed a bit dull and not very well characterized at first, but I guess centering your whole life around a lab does that to you.

I wish her development throughout the book had been more thorough and not just her becoming stronger in the most superficial way. She still remained a dull and uninteresting character during the whole book, despite these little tweaks. What can I say, I'm becoming an utter Grinch when it comes to books lately. I barely enjoy anything anymore. But maybe that's not really my fault, honestly. Sam didn't quite do it for me either.

I never really grew to like him, or even care about him as the story went on. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the idea of Anna being infatuated with him. What she even saw in him remains a mystery so far. There is not a single quality that I can attach to Sam's character confidently.

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Perhaps only him being serious and completely devoid of any emotion. This is why I didn't really understand the romance, or whatever it is Anna and Sam had. No chemistry at all, in my opinion. It was completely annoying to see Anna drool and fantasize about this guy, who barely even noticed her at all. I have to say these two might actually be one of the worst couples I've read about in YA lately.

I liked all the other guys, sort of. Even Nick was more fleshed out than Sam, really. He was obnoxious and a complete jerk but at least he had some spine. Cas was my favorite character in the whole novel, for two obvious reasons: He was hilarious and 2. What more can you ask for, really? The concept of this book was not the most original one ever made but it was interesting enough, albeit not fully fleshed out. A plot about an obscure organization founded by the government, whose projects involve genetically altered boys for equally obscure motives managed to catch my interest but didn't deliver in spectacular ways either.

Despite the fact that I sort of enjoyed this story, I wasn't invested emotionally or in any other way in it because at the end of the day I couldn't care less about any of the characters. This is why this book will remain at the 'it was ok' stage for me. Jan 01, Mitch rated it really liked it. Some people have weaknesses for sparkly vampires, intense longing gazes, and obnoxious bickering bantering. Mine are high octane chase sequences, shoot em up fight scenes, and actually, conspiracy thrillers of any kind - so to say Altered is right up my alley is kinda an understandment.

This isn't the best I've ever read, these are not entirely competent characters and there are scenes that had me muttering 'no no no why the heck would you do that? This is another hard book to review though, because some stuff I initially had problems with are actually explained quite well by later plot twists, so I can say yes this or that aspect bothered me, but I can't say how it's resolved or why I'm satisfied.

Take for example Anna living for years with four guys in her basement, right away that's something I can tell is not normal and at least morally questionable if not criminal, but the way Anna handles it by being the willing participant is Sure, she's home schooled, but even with her blind trust in what her father's doing, I find it hard to believe she wouldn't have second thoughts about the morality of the project. And her naivete not only had me questioning the premise but is also a running theme through the book, even after she and the guys break out and go on the run, she's the innocent character - a bit too innocent given the entire situation for my tastes.

In any other review, I would've left it at that and it'd be part of the reason why the book didn't work for me, but in Altered 's case at least, there's a really good explanation for it! I just can't say, unfortunately, except Anna really grows as a character as she learns more about herself. There are some things though that doesn't come with a good explanation, things that I really feel are like rookie mistakes that should've been caught and edited out. Right off the bat, the guys steal a car from this small town they're in, then use the GPS system to guide them to the location of a safe house.

Uh, not smart, how hard is it for the bad guys to figure out their fugitives are gonna be driving the one car that'll be reported stolen from this small town, then track it down using the GPS? And these guys are supposed to be incredibly good at spy stuff? And they wonder why the bad guys catch up to them? And as Anna and the guys are on the road, chasing down clues Sam had previously planted, there are a couple of times I felt the group was doubling back because they had previously missed obvious clues like having to inspect Sam's tattoo two or three times to get all the information they should've gotten the first go around or not figuring out some very obvious stuff immediately and dismissing it with a 'hey this looks vaguely familiar but I'm not sure how' remark which only made it more frustrating to read.

Despite that, I really enjoyed the chase. Even though the guys all have amnesia and Sam only vaguely knows what the endgame is, at least there is an endgame, so I have to say I really enjoyed myself putting together the pieces of the puzzle as Anna and the guys are searching for clues and doing the same, no matter how inefficiently they do it. And even though head villain Connor's ultimate agenda isn't revealed until the end, enough of it is dropped throughout the book that he and his Branch organization feel like a genuine threat rather than just one of those nameless faceless corrupt government organizations that just wants the protagonists dead for no reason other than just because.

So my reaction whenever his agents pop up and start shooting isn't 'oh come on! Really, that's all you need to keep me entertained - make sure all the twists work. Last and quite surprising thing is that, for a thriller, Jennifer Rush actually takes the time to write four distinct characters. Yeah, they start out being based on generic stereotypes, Sam's the leader, Nick's the bad one, Trev is the smart best friend, Cas is the funny sidekick, and for Nick at least his back story is predictable to the point of being transparent, but it works, and not just because they're a good group.

Anna has four very different relationships with each one, and if I were to say what happens between Nick and Anna or Trev and Anna is predictable and trite, I'd be lying. Because as it turns out, along the way, if one of them lands in trouble or gets shot, I don't even have to ask myself would I care, because I do. And when one of them does something really unexpected, I care too. From the summary, I could imagine Altered going a number of ways, but I really like the way Jennifer Rush takes it - an action packed thriller with a smidge of science fiction.

Definitely an intense ride that totally works its premise. View all 18 comments. I felt as if all of the four guys in this book each had the personality of a Ninja Turtle. Anywho, the ending was a tad too HEA for my taste, and I don't think it warrants a sequel, let alone it being a trilogy.

All in all I thought this book was bad in an unmemorable kind of way. It kinda annoys me that these days a lot of YA novels are automatically shelved as dystopian just because they're sci-fi. Bu kirli bir roman. Jan 06, C. Drews rated it liked it Shelves: How do I review this book! It's like a guilty pleasure read. I kind of had to switch off my logical brain geesh, I need chocolate for that effort and there was so much wrong with the romance. And very very shirtless. There was a lot of shirtless-ness in this book.

Usually for no better reason than a pause to talk about supernatural abs. Don't panic, it's for the good of the government! The problem I have with this is: She understands the program.

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The Rain The Who Was? In this unsettling and creepy thriller, Karen Ilona Elkin , a young nurse who works in a psychiatric ward, boards the last subway train of the night only to have it stop suddenly in the To their surprise, they manage to do so! Kovacs has learned that his sleeve was formerly the disgraced cop Elias Ryker, Ortega's lover, and demands answers. She indulged in the kinds of phrases YA heroines love to bandy about that always make me want to punch everything.

She helps with the paperwork. She plays chess with the boys. Basically she's the most naive narrator ever. I struggle to understand HOW she can be so naive, but whatever. Also the "tests" were never really explained. They did "paperwork", but I don't even know, dudes. It reminded me a heck of a lot of Replication: The Jason Experiment and Monster. The dudes are being altered to be super-soldiers or something Anna doesn't even know. She's just a pretty face apparently. Of all the boys, Anna has this fixation and crush on Sam: Girls always like the guys who a ignore them, b snap at them, c act too good for them, and d ignore them.

I didn't root for the unrequited love because it was like a puppy crush. Sam didn't have the time of day for Anna until, ya know the drill, the end up kissing. Oh yes there are other boys. Obviously the most handsome, scarred, and totally suffers from backflashes of his painful past but he has a memory wipe, so who knooooows about his painful past.

But she doesn't likey-like him. She's just super nice to him, they have awesome conversations, he's really sweet Always eating, always saying dumb stuff.

He gets shot at one point and everyone is probably relieved. The like extremely dark, bitter, caustic JERK, that everyone hates but they keep him around 'cuase he's pretty. So what about this book did I actually like? Lemme write you a list. It reminded me of the Bourne movies.

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You know, memory wipes, but your muscle memory is still awesome. They punch and shoot and leave a trail of bloody corpses. I was surprised that it actually got good and violent. They work as a team, they're mildly attractive, they're protective of Anna, and they get bashed up.

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I always like plots like that. Keeps me interested and on my toes as things unwind. I mean, so wonderful and kick-butt awesome. I didn't realise the subtlety of how they always did what she said. The reveal of Anna being part of the project though? There was no other reason she was so dumbly naive. It was kind of lame, but kind of awesome at the same time. I had a good time reading it! I didn't want to put it down, but at the same time, my eyebrows were constantly rising with disbelief. It had a lot of awesome going for it, buuuuut.

Which is always disappointing when a book is too predictable. So I totally recommend it, but just not for a sensible, hardcore read. Which is always awesome. But to be fair, Sam has a tattoo on his back which is also a map. Dec 27, Taschima rated it really liked it. And when I mention Maximum Ride I am talking about the series' glory days and not about the last few horrid adds.

Anyways, I dived into Altered with no expectations what so ever. I mean, the summary seemed cool but the cover made my stomach turn over on itself. It is just not pleasant. Ever since she was a little girl Anna has known about them. The boys that live in her secret basement lab. The boys are Sam, Nick, Trev and Cas. Sam is the leader, Nick is the asshole, Trev is the smart one, and Cas is the funny one with the bottomless stomach. Anna considers them friends, family. That is until one day when the Branch decides to take the boys away from the lab and the boys come out of their cages, escaping and killing every single one who dares to block their path.

Anna's father begs the boys to take Anna with them, and so the mystery begins. Sam is determined to uncover his past, and he is taking everybody along for the ride. The characters were all very endearing. Specially Cas and Trev. I just really liked them. Sam was all broody and obsessed with discovering his hidden memories, Anna was pretty much just along for the ride. She was pretty cool too, artistic and at times unexpected.

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The romance in this novel is a little, hard to believe? It's like yeah this girl has a crush on this guy, but said guy doesn't seem very into this girl, but then they are kissing and you are supposed to believe he digs her? The L word was never explicitly exchanged between the guilty parties, thank god because that would have been ridiculous. But this is a series so the hopes for a more elaborate romantic story line are still high! The twists and turns? I didn't uncover anything before the time was due. Every time a secret was revealed was like a bomb was dropped on us and you just go "wow!

As for the second novel the end was pretty tight up with no unresolved issues, not really. Though I could see where a second novel could develop I think the author didn't want to leave too many things unexplained just in case the second novel didn't happen. I think it should happen. Heck I'd definitely read it! This is one I recommend. Full of originality which is sorely lacking in other YA novels these days, and definitely worth every cent.

Sep 04, Angela rated it really liked it. But then again I'm a girl and anything with tattooed hotties is my kryptonite so I became weak and caved into reading Altered. The main character Anna seems like your average home schooled jungle freak that has no friends or really any social life at all. The effectiveness of the Envoy Corps' training is such that Envoys are banned from holding government positions on most worlds.

Kovacs is persistently wracked by his memories of the action taken by the Envoy Corps in a battle on the planet Sharya and especially by the military debacle on Innenin, in which the Corps suffered extensive casualties after their stacks were infected and driven into self-destructive insanity with Rawling , a virus that corrupts digital information. Kovacs, killed in the novel's prologue and stored in digital form, is downloaded into a sleeve formerly inhabited by Bay City policeman Elias Ryker. The plot unfolds through Kovacs' narrative. Kovacs eventually solves the mystery, but only after a great deal of violence, including torture in virtual reality, which he is able to bear only because of his Envoy training.

Describing the book, Kirkus Reviews said that "The body count is high, the gadgetry pure genius, the sex scenes deliriously overwrought, and the worn cynicism thoroughly distasteful: The book won the Philip K. Dick Award for Best Novel in A television adaptation was announced in An initial episode season had been ordered by Netflix.

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