Altered

By: Jennifer Rush

Narrated by: Casey Holloway

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

When you can't trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna's life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There's Nick, solemn and brooding; Cas, lighthearted and playful; Trev, smart and caring; and Sam...who's stolen Anna's heart. Reserved and always controlled, Sam does everything with purpose.

When the Branch decides it's time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them. Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to go, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There's just one problem. Sam and the boys don't remember anything before living in the lab - not even their true identities.

Now on the run, her father's warning in her head, Anna begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about herself. She soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they're both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

©2013 Jennifer Rush (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Great story!

Loved that this wasn't like any other book I have read! However the lady who narrates sounds robotic and not very fluid in her reading. That bothered me a little.

Loved the suspense!

I really enjoyed the storyline to this book. I was on edge the whole time waiting for what came next. The character building was excellent, giving me great personality traits of each one.

BUT..... I couldn't deal with the Narrator! I'm sorry, I usually am pretty good at ignoring bad narrations, but there were several things that got to me. First, Casey's voice seemed way too young for the main character. I kept imagining a 12-year-old, not 17. Second, she was way. too. Choppy. and. Monotone. I read to my kids more smoothly than that. I hate giving negative reviews to narrators, but I felt this listen could have been really great if not for the narrator.

What.Is.Up.With.The.Robot.Voice?

I'm conflicted about writing this review because while I liked the story, the narrator was terrible. I don't really think it was Casey Holloway's fault though, I think she was given some extremely bad direction on how this story should sound because the choppiness seemed extremely deliberate and consistant (beginning to end unfortunately) For the record, who ever thought a monotoned, robotic voice was a good idea, made the wrong call. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say he/she is in the WRONG.LINE.OF.WORK. Making sure the narrator's diction is crisp and precise shouldn't get in the way of the story itself, and it did here. I'm not being harsh or mean, I'm just being truthful. I almost cringe at how the other reviewers are going to react.

Now, the story itself was great and exactly the kind of audiobook I look for. Action, fight sequences, romance, puzzles -- this book has it all. But, word of warning, you may want to read this one rather than listen to it.

Good story, but the narrator was terrible

Would you try another book from Jennifer Rush and/or Casey Holloway?

Jennifer Rush, yes. Casey Holloway, no.

What didn’t you like about Casey Holloway’s performance?

She sounded like the automated voices that companies have tried to make sound human, but they're obviously not. She over-enunciates every word, and she had several unnatural breaks in EVERY SENTENCE! It's was so distracting that I couldn't really lose myself in the story, which is rare for me. I listened to samples of other books she narrated, and they weren't quite as bad, but they were still grating. I really hope they get another narrator for any sequels.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Sure, it seems like it would make a good film.

On the Move ...

Any additional comments?

Anna is a brilliant character always trying to problem solve. Her intense relationship with Sam draws you into the book. I really enjoyed her transformation from a shy girl to a fierce woman. I am all about girl power books, in this book it is the awe that she inspires in her actions. Anna is always portrayed as smart.

As for the boys, I love how each character has his own unique qualities and that they are all very respectful of Anna. The plot is somewhat predictable, but I have to admit I got a few things wrong that intrigued me to want more. It is worth reading. I only hope that is the story line is continued into other books, that Trav will be back (he was my favorite character in the beginning of the book).

story good, reader was not so good

Would you consider the audio edition of Altered to be better than the print version?

I don't know

How could the performance have been better?

the reader added punctuation in the middle of the sentence. She read 3 words and paused. It was like reading to small children who are a little slow. I thought it was very distracting. Also she pronounced some words wrong which was also distracting.

The Story is good but....

The narrator was horrible. Everything was monotone and robotic. The story is good. It has some great twists.

Story line ok, but bad narrator

Narrator sounded like a 15 year old girl robot. Bought the book on sale, but don't waste your credit on it.

Great Story, Robotic Reader

If you could sum up Altered in three words, what would they be?

It is a lot like The Bourne series for teens.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Altered?

The moments when Anna finds out who she is and who she isn't.

How could the performance have been better?

The reader was robotic, a great annoyance that I only put up with because the story was so good. One of my friends walked into the room when I was listening and commented how horrible the reader was after listening for 10 seconds. The pacing and inflection was monotone. I started wondering if I could be a reader if people with so little feel for the characters could be hired.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, it was fun escapism.

Couldnt get past narration to get into book

Would you ever listen to anything by Jennifer Rush again?

Possibly.

Would you be willing to try another one of Casey Holloway’s performances?

NO! I couldn't even stand to listen long enough to get into the story. Her reading drove me insane. It was the first book I turned off for this reason. Very sad.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Annoyance

Any additional comments?

I might buy this book and read for myself. It sounds like one I would have loved.