DEV1AT3 (Deviate)

By: Jay Kristoff

Narrated by: Erin Spencer

From bestselling author Jay Kristoff comes the second installment in the LIFEL1K3 trilogy--hailed by Marie Lu as "a breathless, action-packed exploration of what humanity really means."

In the wake of a climactic battle in the ruined city of Babel, two former best friends suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the same quest. Eve is torn between the memories of the girl she was, and the synthetic she's discovered herself to be. Together with her lifelike "siblings," Eve sets out to find the real Ana Monrova, whose DNA is the key to building an army of lifelikes. Meanwhile, Eve's best friend, Lemon, is coming to terms with a power that she has long denied--and that others want to harness as a weapon. When she meets a strange boy named Grimm, he offers to lead her out of the horror-ridden landscape and to an enclave of other abnorms like herself. There, Lemon quickly finds a sense of belonging--and perhaps even love--among the other genetic deviates. But all is not what it seems, and with enemies and friends, heroes and villains wearing interchangeable faces, Lemon, too, will join the race to locate Ana Monrova before her former best friend can get to her.

Great sequel!

Wow this book is crazy! So much is going on and when it ended I couldn't believe it was over. I loved the multiple points of view, especially Lemon Fresh and Cricket. It was cool having them be main characters and seeing into their thoughts and experiences. I'm glad we got less of Eve since she's gone crazy and I don't like her as much now. I liked that Lemon found people like her and was able to work on her abilities and Cricket found a new human he can take care of and made a friend. The narrator did a great job with all the voices! She made the story smooth and I was completely sucked in. Can't wait for book 3!

A heading is required.

Read the first book, listened to the 2nd. I prefer this narrator's voice. She kills it, really brought the characters to life.

Are there still swear jars after the apocalypse?

Yes, gentle reader, there are... or, there’s at least one swear jar, resulting in a funking good time. Even without the swear jar, Lemon Fresh (the absolute best of this crazy cast) gives us plenty of fizzy slang... true-cert, she’s absolutely brillaful!

On the plus side: The apocalypse makes strange bedfellows. This results in some fun pairings, like Ezekiel and Preacher, Cricket and the Brotherhood, and Lemon Fresh and Hive’s Hunter. We also get the story through more POVs, including Cricket, the noblest (and no longer little) robot.

On the negative side: This book splits the main cast from book 1 onto separate paths for most of the book, as well as places them amidst (or in the crosshairs of) five different factions: (1) Lifelikes, (2) Brotherhood, (3) Daedalus, (4) Biomaas and The Hive, and (5) Homo-superior. This brings the humor and action down a bit, as all plots work towards a penultimate battle in the last hour before setting up book 3... which is spectacular.

This is the Empire Strikes Back middle of this trilogy. Fair warning: it ends in similar “to be continued” fashion, so you’ll want to wait until you have book 3 before starting. Also, second warning: if you are new to this author, know that he likes to turn the good guys bad... and not anti-hero, but actually bad, evil, mean, and often beyond redemption... get the picture? The formerly good guys kill a lot of innocents, and it can cut deep. Third, and final, warning: though the first ten minutes of this book recaps the story thus far, you really need to listen to all of book 1 for this to be meaningful. But, for a pulpy, apocalyptic good time, it’s worth it!

Can I Have Some More?

Duuuuuuuude, make me this movie. Love the writing, the story, the characters, the imagery. Whatever made me not pick up on the heavy religious tones in the first book, definitely seeing them here along with the storyline of what differentiates seeing people as equals.

And if I ever can afford this narrator for a book, I hope she’s willing.

holy cliffhangers

I love this series and I have to wait months for the next. tis the life of a reader.