An Un-Calibrated Centrifuge

I started this book thinking I would give up on it after 50 pages. I almost did. There was nothing so offensive about it, but there wasn't anything particularly compelling about it either. When I was reading it, it held my interest, but when I stopped reading it I didn't feel any real pull to keep reading (unlike when I was reading The Hunger Games).

There are so many dystopian YA novels out there that none feel original. What's Left of Me is no exception. Every element reminded me of another book (The Host, Adaptation, Legend, even HDM in places). That's not terrible, but it's not great either.

Probably the most annoying thing was the world building. It just doesn't make sense. Why would Hally and Devon draw suspicion for having darker skin when really the people to be wary of are foreigners? Dark ≠ foreign. These weird, unlogical racial politics are what almost made me quit the book.

The plot is so dystopian 101 that if you've read any other dystopian novel you will see every "twist" (I use the term lightly) coming. It's a very easy read, and Zhang isn't a terrible writer, so if you love YA distopian novels you'll probably like this one. There's no love triangle in this book, but there are hints at romance drama in future books. Since the plot was so basic and the ending of this book didn't leave me wanting more, I think I'm going to leave the series here.