Control By Lydia Kang

Control
By Lydia Kang
393 Pages
Published on December 26, 2013
By Dial Books for Young Readers
5 Stars 

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren’t like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn't even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.

          First off, glad to finally finished this and got a review out. Control by Lydia Kang is one of the best science fiction books I have ever read. This is one the same level as Divergent and Legend. It has something for everyone in it. There is a action, romance, science, and those one liners that get you every time. Highly recommend it for a fan of dystopian. 

Opening Thoughts
          I was looking forwards to picking up this book once I got the chance. I was told it was really good and had genetics in it. I have been expressing interest in genetics for a while now and read the book for a school english project. So I was really excited to find a science fiction book the revolved around that genetics. Then you have the gorgeous cover! It is amazing and so shiny. I'm really disappointed in the cover for the sequel, Catalyst. It looks nothing like the first cover and is very dry and ugly. The concept of the book was intriguing as well.  I can see some genetic experiment s in our future, hence our research on stem cells. Overall, I was looking forward to reading this book and am glad I did. 

Characters

    Zelia is one of my favorite characters in the book. It was really sweet how much she cared about her sister. I would have done the same thing she did if I were in that situation. She is what Amber might call a Helicopter Sister. (Hence my new nickname) She is always hovering over her sister and making her sure she is on the right path.  Her workaholic trait was a good touch as well. I can see myself locking myself up in a lab for days on end.  It would be awesome to have a lab like the one at the Carcus House. She was a very determined character as well as caring. Her views on situations always kept the story interesting. 
   When I first met Cy I thought he would be a mean, gangster like, jerk. It was all the tattoos that shot me off the first time. Then you got to know him better to the point where he was a cold, smart, and really moody. Yes, that is mostly what he is like, but then I found out how much he cared about his sister and the house. It was really sweet to know that a cold boy like him had a soft spot. Even though most cold people have soft spots his was special to me. It gave me a kind of bashful expression at first. He turned into a sweetheart as the book went on. His character was really special to me. 
    Dyl, at first, was the one I wanted to strangle. In the end, I didn't want to strangle her but she was still not my favorite. Her first attitude was a boy crazy teen. That attitude did carry on through out the book as well though.  I did end up giving her lots of sympathy towards the end still. I did not like the fact she let boys walk all over her , hence the boy crazy part. She should have kept at least one eye open. Now she did kind of remind me of  my little brother. They both have the same too cool for my loser older sister attitude. Nevertheless, she still cared about her sister and her family. 

Plot
     The plot seemed to be one of the things I really liked about this book. I'm usually drawn to a book by it's characters, but this plot is what had me going. I liked how it just jumped right in to the action within the first two chapters. I didn't have to wait for it to pick up. Then  it all happened was so fast that before I knew it I was half way through the book. The action in it and was also what kept me on the edge of my seat.  There were also the phenomenal plot twist.  You can see some coming but then another one sneaks up behind you and smacks you in the back of the head. Now what I really liked was the genetics. I have  expressed an interest in genetics, so I was really glad that there were lots of explications of everything and it was all not just looked over. The world building around it was extremely strong as well. In the first chapter you have magpods  holos, and a magic hair wand. Then it only gets better with the talking walls. Then the references to past technology was a good touch. I couldn't help but smile when they were having their 'char' discussion, and you can not ever get rid of physical books. Overall, this was one of my favorite plot lines. 

   To wrap this up, I really enjoyed the book. I am being forced to read genres out of my category for school, but this was a good change back to what I really enjoyed. This book deserves the five stars I gave it. 

Hope you keep reading!

Grace