REVIEW - The Unidentified by Rae Mariz

The Unidentified by Rae Mariz


Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Book Type: Library


Summary: (from Goodreads)
Kid knows her school’s corporate sponsors not-so-secretly monitor her friendships and activities for market research. It’s all a part of the Game; the alternative education system designed to use the addictive kick from video games to encourage academic learning. Everyday, a captive audience of students ages 13-17 enter the nationwide chain store-like Game locations to play.

When a group calling themselves The Unidentified simulates a suicide to protest the power structure of their school, Kid’s investigation into their pranks attracts unwanted attention from the sponsors. As Kid finds out she doesn't have rights to her ideas, her privacy, or identity, she and her friends look for a way to revolt in a place where all acts of rebellion are just spun into the next new ad campaign.


First Sentence: If reality TV cameras were installed in my high school, they would be focused directly on the Pit. 


Review:
I have to admit: I did not even think that I would like any dystopian, futuristic, si-fi-ey novels like this one, but I also have another thing to admit: I was actually pretty astonished with this book. It was a good first dystopian book that hopefully will launch me into a mad craving for those types of books. (I still need to read The Hunger Games trilogy because I'm so far behind.) 


Let's see. OH YES! The characters. We have the main character: Katey, but you should call her Kid. She's the socially awkward teenager that feels sort of out of place, (even if you're not shy, admit it, you have one of those locked up inside of you SOMEWHERE) and she attends The Game: a "school" (I use that term very loosely.) that teenagers those days attend where instead of sitting down for ninety minutes for four periods roam around the place (that once was an abandoned mall) to play games relevant to the core subjects. Yes, at first glance, you would love to attend a school like that.


But think again. (I can't really give much away without explaining how the book ended, so you'll have to read it yourself (; )


Overall, this book was a very enjoyable read. The only elements that I didn't particularly like was the fact that the author basically told you who was in the exclusive, rebellious group The Unidentified and didn't attempt to make it a mystery. It was basically like this logic: "Oh. He looks suspicious, and he's associating with this girl for a few seconds, so he must be a member of that rebel organization that wants to kill The Game. Okie dokie. Now let's play Buy, Sell, and Destroy." (<< That's an actual game in the book. Sounds fun.) Another is that the author sort of lacks detail in some areas where I thought detail would be a very important aspect to create the scene. 


Other than that, this book is filled with a strong (well, she develops within the book) main character, hateable (Yes, I made up a word. Deal with it.) characters that you want to punch in the face, and all the ingredients that are used to create an action-packed sci-fi story. 


Cover: B+
Yes, it's not the prettiest cover, and most sci-fi, futuristic books aren't really suppose to have attractive covers, but hey! I like it. It has a bar code thingy (which represents basically the technological background of Kid's school and main theme of the story) which I really like. The rest is up to you to decipher!