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Adaptation (Adaptation #1)

by Malinda Lo (Goodreads Author)

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 · rating details · 1,093 ratings · 268 reviews

Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of tra...more

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published September 18th 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

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YA fantasy/sf novels with major LGBTQ Characters

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Nov 20, 2012 karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya, oh-no-biiiiiiirds

i have got to learn to read the entire dust jacket in the future...

this is what i saw:

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.
Among them are Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David, who are in Arizona when the disaster occurs. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch o...more

58 likes · like · see review

May 17, 2013 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: excellent-ya, saved-by-plot, why-is-there-no-hype, good-books-have-bad-covers, detailed-reviews, aliens, contemporary-sf, biopunk, quiltbag, near-future, sci-fi, action, thrillers, love-triangles

Because my former review was about as accurate to my feelings on this book as the Republican Platform is to my feelings on gay marriage, I'm going to completely re-write the review. (But first, since I'm thinking about it... IRRELEVANT IMAGE TIME!)

But actually, I don't think that image was very irrelevant. (TRANSITION!) Because this novel stars a bisexual character (as of now). Despite the fact that it's science fiction. As little as I want to think about this, I can't help but notice: this is t...more

8 likes · like · see review

Oct 25, 2012 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2012

I have a love for this kind of story and I can't put my finger on why. I like good science fiction but there are certain tropes in the genre that work for me and this is one of them. (view spoiler)

Lo's novel is fast paced up until the end, where I found there was a little bit of a drag as the real information and back story was revealed. It's not problematic, but...more I have a love for this kind of story and I can't put my finger on why. I like good science fiction but there are certain tropes in the genre that work for me and this is one of them. (view spoiler)

Lo's novel is fast paced up until the end, where I found there was a little bit of a drag as the real information and back story was revealed. It's not problematic, but it's a change up in the speed. Reese and David are great characters, and I thought the third person worked very well here. Especially given the subject matter. The writing here and the narrative choices were big strengths.

I love how this is such a human story: aside from the terrifying things going on around them (dead birds, plane crashes, network interruptions, curfews, government cover ups) this is also a story about bigger issues. More specifically, this is a story about sexuality, about questioning the lines of what is and isn't right to feel and experience. Reese has no idea if she's interested in David (even after he rejects and hurts her) or if she's interested in Amber (who makes the first move and shows the first true interest in her). And it all ties back perfectly with the sci fi trope, too. (view spoiler) And then (view spoiler) Oh and then there's the secondary theme encompassing that of sexuality, which is romance and love more generally: Reese's father has a long talk with her about how he feels like he can love more than one person (even though what he's engaged in isn't love but lust but it brings up those questions to Reese even further).

I saw what was coming from a mile away, hoped it wouldn't happen, and then it did. But as much as that disappointed me, I liked this story a lot anyway. The ending was a perfect cliffhanger, but there is a whole story here. It's not simply set up (but it's a set up too!).

(view spoiler)

This is a fun story that'll appeal to readers who like this trope. I'm not spoiling it because I didn't go into this one spoiled and I think that was what made it so fun.

Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/10/a... (less)

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Mar 15, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ana’s Take:

Reese, her debate team partner David and their teacher are at the airport on their way back home from a debate competition in Arizona when reports start to show that across the USA flocks of birds have hurled themselves into planes causing several of them to crash. Fearing terrorism, the government grounds all planes and their flight is cancelled. The trio manages to rent a car and on their drive home, an event of unspeakable violence sets Reese and David on a manic drive along an emp...more

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Feb 13, 2013 urban rated it 4 of 5 stars

Best of Ms. Lo's books thus far. Incredibly fast-paced and enjoyable. I think she does walk you down a path where the story becomes inevitable which is the only reason this isn't five stars. Love the characters, and the fact that her representation of San Francisco is fairly accurate.

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Sep 12, 2012 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, netgalley, arc, danger, friendship, lgbt, romance, science-fiction, secrets, survival, thriller, reviewed, own

Across North America, birds are hurling themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands die, and fearing terrorism, the United States grounds all flights. Reese is in Arizona with her debate partner, and longtime crush, David when the flights are stopped, trying to get home to San Francisco. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On the drive home, on an empty stretch of highway in the middle of the night in Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights and the car...more Across North America, birds are hurling themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands die, and fearing terrorism, the United States grounds all flights. Reese is in Arizona with her debate partner, and longtime crush, David when the flights are stopped, trying to get home to San Francisco. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On the drive home, on an empty stretch of highway in the middle of the night in Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights and the car flips over. When Reese and David wake up, they're in a military hospital, but the doctor won't tell them what happened, where they are, or how their injuries were miraculously healed. Things are even stranger when the pair return home. San Francisco is under a curfew, hazmat teams are collecting dead birds, and Reese thinks something's following her. When she unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in a new direction, and threatens to expose a decades-old secret.

Adaptation is unique, an engrossing tale of a girl lost after a near fatal accident and her life afterwards, a life that seems to involve government secrets and being watched constantly. The story draws in readers at the first page, and the tension slowly increases until an explosive and unimaginable climax. Reese's story is very much an exploration of multiple things, the secrets behind her time in the hospital, the cause of the changes in the world around her, and her complicated connections with both David and Amber.

The book is referred to as science fiction, and looking at the summary, readers are left to speculate as to what the science fiction element is. It's not epic science fiction but more of a contemporary and science fiction mix in the vein of Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson, a setting that asks us if there's something more out there right now instead of in the distant future. A combining of the current and the now with the impossible and the unknown.

It's almost common now, a young adult novel where the government is keeping secrets from its citizens. Governments always keep secrets, they believe it's better to keep the people calm and collected, to not rile them or raise their suspicions, but keeping secrets does exactly that. Especially when the world is changing in front of their very eyes and the government provides a weak excuse. Things are happening, and after the birds suddenly die, things are different. Not obviously different, but just a little, just enough for a few eyebrows to lift in curiosity.

Reese is an interesting character, rather capable, and her voice was revealed so wonderfully in the third person limited point of view. The reader still gets the chance to witness all of Reese's troubles, all of her experiences, still gets to feel all of her teenage awkwardness in terms of her relationship with David and her connection with Amber, the change in her environment and how odd she feels, but the third person, the lack of I, allows the reader to follow her, to walk beside her, while still knowing what she is thinking. Everything feels and sounds so immediate, and so the reader is left to travel through the story along with Reese, totally blind and taking everything as it comes.

What initially drew me to this book, beside the science fiction element, is the odd and possibly not exactly triangular love triangle between Reese, David, and Amber. A love triangle where a girl is attracted to and drawn to a guy and a girl. While the world is changing around Reese, while she feels that something might be different with her own body, she's also exploring her own sexuality, at odds with the crush she's had on David and the new and compelling Amber Gray. I want to see more of this in YA in the future, teens in relationships where gender isn't the main factor, where girls can fall in love with girls and boys can fall in love with boys. This is what happens when you're a teenager, you're not just forced to construct a personality and plan out your future but also to determine your sexuality. Teenagers have so much shoved onto their plates during their high school years. Sometimes, it bleeds out into college and even after graduation, but it's all expected to be determined while in high school.

What I got from Reese's relationships and attraction is that gender does not have to be a factor in determining who you're attracted to, not a main factor. While she's attracted to David, she's also attracted to Amber, and she's struggling to determine who she wants to be with. But this is not the main story, this is not an LGTBQ book that happens to have science fiction elements. To me, Adaptation is a sci-fi thriller where a girl is caught up between two different people she might be in love with, and those two just happen to be a guy and a girl.

There's something about books that take place in the present day where something impossible happens and everything changes that draws me in, that makes me think there's something else out there waiting to be discovered. Or revealed. There were questions upon revelations upon questions throughout the book, and the tension continually rose until the ending where everything changed for Reese and David, for everyone. I couldn't stop reading this book, and when it ended, I was frantic for the sequel.(less)

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May 21, 2013 Kylie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this one a lot even though the UFO conspiracy plot is kind of over the top and the writing is not consistently good. What I especially liked was the way that Reese discovers she is attracted to girls, and the way that she reacts to finding out. It's really realistic. She's a girl who has been nursing a crush for a male friend for a year--how can she suddenly be attracted to a woman? She's never even thought about the possibility before. It's confusing to Reese, and being pressured by o...more

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May 14, 2013 Sex in the Library rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teens 13 and older

Shelves: bullying, cussing, death, glbtq, horror, teen-romance, violence, young-adult

The birds plummeted to the tarmac, wings loose and limp. They struck the ground with such force that their bodies smashed into dark slicks on the concrete.

Reese (Clarice) and her long-time debate team partner, David, are just back from the disastrous national debate finals when their plane is delayed in Arizona. Reese watches as the birds hit the tarmac. A flock of birds has also hit a plane in New Jersey on takeoff, forcing the plane to crash. Then there are four more strikes. Is this an act o...more The birds plummeted to the tarmac, wings loose and limp. They struck the ground with such force that their bodies smashed into dark slicks on the concrete.

Reese (Clarice) and her long-time debate team partner, David, are just back from the disastrous national debate finals when their plane is delayed in Arizona. Reese watches as the birds hit the tarmac. A flock of birds has also hit a plane in New Jersey on takeoff, forcing the plane to crash. Then there are four more strikes. Is this an act of terrorism? An anomaly? The two with their debate coach opt for renting a car to drive to San Francisco from Phoenix; however, the nation becomes extremely paranoid as even more strikes happen, with people evacuating their homes, buying quantities of food, and finding exits on the freeways closed by the U.S. army. The outrageous fever pitch is reached as Reese and David’s debate coach is gunned down by an enraged local who wants their car at a gas stop. David and Reese escape, driving off through Nevada, only to crash as their car is hit by a bird with “pinpricks of yellow where its eyes should be.” End of chapter 5. Wow!
Reese and David are awake in an experimental hospital facility, whole and sound, but are asked to sign a non-disclosure waiver. This makes no sense. Nor does the fact that the scars they have that cover their body disappear. Even scratches that Reese incurs after a collision with a skateboarder disappear. What did happen to them at the army facility in Nevada? How close were they to area 51?
Things become more complicated when Reese is drawn to the beautiful Amber, even though she still has strong feelings for David. Just what is happening to her? To David? To a conspiracy? How is it all connected to the martial law they are now under at home? Or is it?
This sweet romance is partly X-files, partly predictable, partly just teens growing up. Is Reese a lesbian? Can she be if her stomach flutters every time David is around? The interplay between these two themes is well done, and we believe both of her strong feelings. Three cheers for Reese’s mom who talks with her about safe sex- with any gender. Of course we are left knowing there will be a sequel…
While the science fiction is very limited, one thing we really did like was the fact that David is Chinese, although that is really underplayed. Reese’s best friend is half–Black and gay. This too is underplayed- both are just part of life. Why beat readers over the head with it?

(less)

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May 13, 2013 JJ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Reese has just failed spectacularly at a debate competition and is about to head home with team-mate David and their teacher when all planes in the US are grounded due to birds going nutso and hurling themselves at anything that moves. Eager to get home, Reese and her companions rent a car and set off for San Francisco. They're not even half-way home when panic breaks out and Reese's teacher is caught in the crossfire. Forced to continue on alone, Reese and David are driving through a pretty wel...more Reese has just failed spectacularly at a debate competition and is about to head home with team-mate David and their teacher when all planes in the US are grounded due to birds going nutso and hurling themselves at anything that moves. Eager to get home, Reese and her companions rent a car and set off for San Francisco. They're not even half-way home when panic breaks out and Reese's teacher is caught in the crossfire. Forced to continue on alone, Reese and David are driving through a pretty well-known stretch of desert when one of the aformentioned crazy avians flies straight at their car. 27 days later Reese wakes up in a medical facility in the middle of what may or may not be Area 51 with a bunch of rapidly healing scars and hazy memories of being inside a womb-like chamber. Fun times will be had, obviously.

---

Hmm. Hard to say how I felt about this book, really. It's a fun concept, and the story starts off great, with birds plummeting from the sky and people panicking... and then the main character passes out. I HATE it when the MC gets knocked over the head and misses all the fun. Ruined the last Hunger Games book for me, and it doesn't do this story any favours either. Once Reese comes back to, we're treated to some tantalizing hints concerning something called "the June incident", but neither the author nor the MC seems to have any interest in finding out what actually went down during that particular month, aside form the obvious alien stuff. City-wide curfews have been imposed all over the country, but the MC never feels the need to ask someone "Hey, what exactly went down to warrant such drastic measures? Is everyone okay? Since my teacher was gunned down not 24 hours into the panic, I'd really like to take some time to find out what else happened to my friends, family, community, and country." I know teenagers are really into themselves, but there are limits!

The romance kind of annoyed me, too. Reese and David spend a lot of time accidentally bumping into each other in ways that send shockwaves all the way to Reese's toes. It's pretty constant. Like, drinking-game constant. Quite franky, I feel like Lo could have just combined David with Julian, Reese's conspiracy-addicted BFF, and ended up with a much more interesting character. Reese's other love insterest, Amber, is a bit more compelling - for obvious (spoilery) reasons - and I do like people who can rock pink hair.

I did enjoy this book, and I'll definately grab the sequel, but I couldn't help feeling like the story struggled somewhat to come together, jumping from the very tip of one iceberg to the next. What happened in June? Why did people panic so quickly, to the point of murdering each other in an attempt to get out the area Reese and David were in? Why oh why do Reese and David think that involving the media is a solution to their government vs alien troubles? Won't announcing to the entire world that the US government is close to being in possession of some seriously volatile alienesque weapons trigger World War 3? Also, why are aliens always way more talented/fit/evolved than us humans? (less)

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May 06, 2013 Jill rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a young adult scifi novel that combines some familiar tropes with some new twists.

Reese Holloway and David Li, juniors at Kennedy High School in San Francisco, are in Arizona for a national debate competition when planes start falling out of the sky. All of them allegedly crashed because of bird strikes. Reese, texting her BFF Julien, finds out that there are theories of a government cover-up of even more crashes than have been publicized, combined with a suspicious media blackout. Thus,...more

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May 02, 2013 Tammy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 18, 2013 Maggie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: whats-new-in-ya-lit-2013

This science fiction novel is going to appeal to teens who are looking for something more "down on earth." The beginning caught my attention - birds flying into airplanes causing crashes throughout North America. Then, as news media outlets begin to report the news, things begin to get very weird - reports begin to disappear and the news stops reporting anything about the birds causing crashes. Very interesting!

Main characters Reese and David just finished competing in a national debate contest...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Spark740 rated it 2 of 5 stars

I actually did not read all of this. There, the disclaimer is out of the way.

Although stereotypes are generally negative in that they form prejudices and don't encourage new experiences, I promptly stereotyped this book after 1.5 chapters. Why? Because I took note of these three things in what I did read:

1) Insta-typical female main character in love with guy trying to keep her alright life in order meh-ish infodump!
2) Insta-simile-overload trying to make you superficially start fangirling the m...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Ginny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, library

I'm consistently pleased by Lo's writing. The beginning of Adaptation is quite scary and I admit to being relieved when it leveled out to a level of excitement that I'm more used to for sci-fi conspiracy YA. This is the first time I've read a modern take on teenage sexuality by Lo (the content doesn't proceed beyond heavy snogging and a single scene with some reference to mutual shirtlessness) but I find her portrayal of it realistic enough to feel natural and subtle enough that it doesn't take...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Cindy Hudson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Reese is on her way home from a debate competition with her teammate and teacher when a strange phenomenon occurs: bird strikes across North America bring several airplanes down and all air traffic is suspended. When they try to get from Arizona to their home in San Francisco in a rental car, there’s an accident in the desert. Twenty-eight days later Reese wakes up in an isolated military hospital where she’s told she had advanced, top-secret treatment to save her life.

But when Reese starts to h...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Kendall {Book Crazy} rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really wanted to give this book more than 3 stars but something about it stopped me from giving it an extra star! The cover initially drew me into this book and then I read the synopsis and I thought that it sounded really good and the book was good up until a certain point! The plot of this book was actually really good! It had me drawn in as soon as I started reading and it continued really well but it did run a bit dry in the middle and I sort of hard to force myself to keep reading! It was...more

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Dec 07, 2012 Anjelica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-releases, cover-love, sci-fi-dystopia, ya

When the story opens we meet Reese just as she sees birds fall dead out of the sky. Reese is in the Phoenix airport with her debate partner and crush David. Well, on their way to San Francisco in a rental car a bird runs into their headlights, veering them off the road, causing the car to flip over. 27 days later, they wake up in a military hospital and they can't tell anybody anything that has happened to them and to make matters worse, Reese and David are both experiencing weird things happeni...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Robert rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

There are great problems with this book. Firstly it is far too long for what it reveals. Easily a hundred pages could have been sheared and maintained the overall plot quite nicely. I say plot, but I mean story. There is no plot here just a story. All evidence to the contrary, this is the story of a girl who is afraid of rejection. She falls into a series of circumstances that propel her from on scenario to another.

The idea that these scenarios somehow embed you deeper into her tale, that would...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Scott Neigh added it

I very much enjoyed Malinda Lo's first two books, a pair of queer fairytale-type stories set a few centuries apart in the same world. This book, her third, is a bit of a shift -- still queer, but young adult-focused sci-fi. I still like her storytelling and her characters. I don't even particularly mind the ways in which this seems to be deliberately positioned to take advantage of some relatively hot themes in young adult writing these days, including the intense love triangle (a la Twilight an...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Cat Lazaroff rated it 4 of 5 stars

I hadn't read Malinda Lo before. It's important to say that up front, because I see several reviewers unfavorably comparing Adaptation to her earlier works, which sound quite different.

As a stand-alone, or (as I understand it to be) the first book of a trilogy, Adaptation works quite well. It held me in a "just-off-normal" world from its startling beginning to its tantalizing end. I say just-off-normal because the book's events could happen tomorrow - they could have happened yesterday. They're...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Rachel Brown rated it 4 of 5 stars

Malinda Lo’s latest novel opens with birds falling dead from the sky. Teenage Reese Holloway and her crush object/debate partner, David Li, are caught in a strange near-apocalypse as all over the world, flocks of birds crash into airplanes. Unable to get a flight home from their debate, they rent a car and try to drive back. After adventures which I won’t spoil, they make it back to San Francisco, where life has gone more or less back to normal… except for their strange new abilities, gaps in th...more Malinda Lo’s latest novel opens with birds falling dead from the sky. Teenage Reese Holloway and her crush object/debate partner, David Li, are caught in a strange near-apocalypse as all over the world, flocks of birds crash into airplanes. Unable to get a flight home from their debate, they rent a car and try to drive back. After adventures which I won’t spoil, they make it back to San Francisco, where life has gone more or less back to normal… except for their strange new abilities, gaps in their memories, and the men in black who keep following them around. Reese meets a cute, mysterious girl, Amber, and finds that she isn’t as straight as she had thought. But that’s only the beginning of her discoveries…

Adaptation is quite different from Lo's Ash, a fairytale retelling, and Huntress, a quest fantasy. I liked it the best of the three, partly because so many elements of Adaptation suit my tastes, but more because it has an emotional immediacy that the other two didn’t quite reach. The setting, from apocalyptic freeways in Nevada to a lesbian club in San Francisco, is as vividly depicted as the characters’ feelings. The structure is distinctly three-act: action-packed beginning, long leisurely slow build of a middle, action-packed climax. I enjoyed all three, but you will probably like the book more if you know going in that the whole thing isn’t the wild ride of the beginning.

It’s old-school science fiction given new life by Lo’s gift for depicting moment-to-moment physical and emotional sensations, especially those of sexual attraction, and by her likable cast of characters, who are diverse in a natural-feeling, realistic way. Adaptation is built from familiar tropes, though ones currently extremely rare in YA, but is executed beautifully. Imagine an episode of the X-Files – an early one, back when it was still good – done as a sensual YA novel with a bisexual heroine and a love triangle that doesn’t make you want to throw things. If that sounds good to you, you will almost certainly enjoy this novel immensely.

It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, exactly, but it’s definitely one half of a complete story. The sequel will be out next year. I intend to buy it in hardcover.

(view spoiler)(less)

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Nov 03, 2012 Rachael rated it 4 of 5 stars

All across North America, birds are plummeting from the sky, a perplexing and dangerous phenomenon that’s causing planes to crash. For safety, the United States government has delayed all flights for the near future until they can complete a thorough investigation—leaving Reese and her debate partner David stranded in Arizona. They don’t really know what’s going on, but they’re desperate to get home to San Francisco any way they can. But things go wrong, and they’re in a terrible car accident. W...more All across North America, birds are plummeting from the sky, a perplexing and dangerous phenomenon that’s causing planes to crash. For safety, the United States government has delayed all flights for the near future until they can complete a thorough investigation—leaving Reese and her debate partner David stranded in Arizona. They don’t really know what’s going on, but they’re desperate to get home to San Francisco any way they can. But things go wrong, and they’re in a terrible car accident. When they finally wake up, they’re in a strange medical facility and neither can remember anything that happened in the last twenty seven days. All that they know is that they’ve been miraculously healed—and that they’re not allowed to tell anyone what’s happened to them. When they return home, everything is different. The city enforces a strict curfew, dead birds are treated as biohazardous waste, rumors of government conspiracies are circling, and Reese seems to be developing some strange and disturbing abilities. What really happened to Reese and David during those twenty seven days? And how is it connected to the government cover up of the birds?

I’ve been very into science fiction of late, mostly because there are just so many possibilities in this genre, so I was very excited to see where Lo would take the idea of birds falling from the sky. I was initially so intrigued by this premise and rather anxious to figure out what was really going on in this near-future. However, I found that Lo did not sufficiently develop this concept for my tastes; as more details pertaining to the conspiracy were revealed, I had more questions than I received answers. And unfortunately, there was a point at which I could no longer suspend my disbelief, and I found it hard to buy into the overarching explanation that Lo gives. This was rather frustrating to me because I quite enjoyed the rest of the story, particularly the way in which Lo develops Reese’s relationships with those around her. In the end, I still found Adaptation an interesting read, but I was disappointed by what I felt to be inadequate worldbuilding.

Adaptation will still be enjoyed by fans of Skinned by Robin Wasserman, Tankborn by Karen Sandler, and The Lab by Jack Heath.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com (less)

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Oct 30, 2012 Topaz Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Malinda Lo has captured my imagination again, and I imagine in what will be a more satisfying ways, with her first installment of her new Adaptation trilogy. I love YA fantasy/sci-fi novels because authors tell their stories through the filter of raw human emotion and impulse that most adults spend their adulthood trying to suppress. Lo's first two books, Ash and The Huntress, both retellings of story book fairy tales, provided me with stories through a queer girl emotional filter, which I revel...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Lynne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbt

It was only a few years ago now that I was eagerly anticipating the release of Malinda Lo’s first book, Ash. I had read some of her posts on a blog that she was an editor for, and with news of a queer Cinderella, there was just so much to look forward to. Both Ash and the subsequent release Huntress, are two of my favorite books, and have been forced onto almost all of my friends (who then thanked me later). So it should go without saying that I was counting down to the release this book. There...more It was only a few years ago now that I was eagerly anticipating the release of Malinda Lo’s first book, Ash. I had read some of her posts on a blog that she was an editor for, and with news of a queer Cinderella, there was just so much to look forward to. Both Ash and the subsequent release Huntress, are two of my favorite books, and have been forced onto almost all of my friends (who then thanked me later). So it should go without saying that I was counting down to the release this book. There was only a slight niggle of fear, Adaptation would be set roughly in the here-and-now (more sophisticated people might say it is happening in a contemporary setting) and would be more of a science-fiction book; would she still be able to entrance me without the fantasy element?

Obtaining the book was a more difficult journey than I had expected. By chance, I was stateside for a visit when it was to be released. With one day between the release of the book and my return flight, I could not rely on a pre-order in case it came too late. But since the tragic end of the Border’s bookstore, there is really only one bookstore in my area (about 20-30 minute drive that is). I am not a fan of this store, its return policy, and most of all I HATE that I cannot access a computer to check where/if a book is in stock. (I have always been able to find my way around a book store, and the computers that Border’s had had around the store meant I could see if they carried the book, what section it should be in, and even what cover it had.) But once I made it to my bookstore, I tried in vain to find Adaptation. I was unsure what section they would put it in and searched most of the store. In the end I had to flag down a worker, wait as she had to do multiple, very slow computer searches as she asked me a ton of questions about the book (which made it clear she had never heard of Malinda Lo), and then instead of telling me where it was, I had to follow her like a lost puppy while she found the ONLY copy on the shelf. Obviously, I was not amused by the whole experience, and my friend who was with me was not able to buy the book as there had been only that one copy.

The plot is rather involved, but it starts with the main character seeing a flock of birds fall dead from the sky. This was actually happening around the world, and crashed an unknown number of airplanes. Reece, the main character, and her debate partner are stranded at the airport and decided to drive home, but on the way they are in horrible car crash. They wake up 27 days later at a military facility with no memory of those days or awareness of what has been happening in the world. The rest of the book is them trying to unravel what has happened to them, what is going on with the world (which is a strange mix of current life and Cold War era men in black suits and curfews), and who is on their side. All this while having to deal with being high school students on summer holidays.

The book more than made up for all the discomfort that I had to go through to obtain it. It is a book of substantial length, but a fast read. The chapters are short and the plot really moves along, and you have to keep reading to find out what happens next. The beginning is defiantly the best part, the second half is not as fast paced, and starts to hit the more science fiction end of the spectrum with much less of the thriller aspect that made the first half so engaging.

One of the most important things to realize about this book is that it not a standalone book. Adaptation 2 will be coming out later in the year, in 2013 (according to Lo’s blog/twitter posts). So while the book ends the first arc of the story, not everything is explained and there is a bit of a cliffhanger. But I think there is enough of a story that you can read this book without feeling short-changed.

I admit, I may not be the most unbiased person to review this story. I have loved Lo’s other two books, and read Ash at least once a year. I have also had several interactions with her on Twitter, which have only helped my belief that she is a really great person on top of being a good author. While I really enjoyed the book and will be passing it amongst my friends as with her previous books, I can see a couple things that might make it not as enjoyable for others. The first being that while her other books have had lesbian characters, Reese is most defiantly somewhere on the bi-spectrum. This is nice in that you are not sure who she is going to end up with, and even at the end of the book, I think there is room for interpretation. But for anyone expecting a straight or lesbian character, you are in for a surprise. Also, there is a distinctive X-Files type feel to this story, which at certain points may come across as a bit cheesy or farfetched. But I think this works with the overall themes, and especially with the heavy government involvement in the story.

Probably my favorite part of the story is just how real Reece is. I can identify with her because she is a confused high school student. She loves her parents, but there are things that are not easy to talk to them about. She is still figuring out who she is, and her place in the world. Her love of her town, her interactions with those around her, and her strength in the tough situations make her feel so human. The background characters are fascinating and entertaining. I especially liked some of the government agents assigned to her.

Final Verdict: Take the Plunge. If you don’t like conspiracy theories and a little sci-fi give it a pass, but everyone else should run and get it!
(less)

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Oct 18, 2012 Dorothea rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'd love to hear the thoughts of someone who is better qualified to discuss this kind of book -- YA near-future science fiction of the teenage-protagonist-gets-involved-in-a-massive-conspiracy variety is just not my cup of tea.

Appealing to me: the heroine, Reese is (as per usual, I understand) torn between two love interests who symbolize conflicting forces in her life, but in this case one love interest is a boy and one is a girl.

I also liked Reese's relationship with her mother, and the way Lo...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Kara Cardwell added it

It wasn’t until I started reading this that I realized this was my first book I’ve reviewed that dealt with area 51 related controversies/we are not alone related topics. Which excited me.

In Adaptation we have a big problem that has to do with birds. Then we have a seemingly small problem (but it’s actually pretty big too) involving Reese and David. As you continue to read, assumptions and theories of what happened to them are proven (or disproved).

And although there were parts of this story wh...more It wasn’t until I started reading this that I realized this was my first book I’ve reviewed that dealt with area 51 related controversies/we are not alone related topics. Which excited me.

In Adaptation we have a big problem that has to do with birds. Then we have a seemingly small problem (but it’s actually pretty big too) involving Reese and David. As you continue to read, assumptions and theories of what happened to them are proven (or disproved).

And although there were parts of this story where I needed to really suspend disbelief, there were various aspects of it that seemed hauntingly real. Like the birds. The birds freaked me out because it reminded me of how it felt when that was actually happening in real life. And I was almost as freaked out during the occurrences in the book as when it was really happening.

It’s not that Adaptation is scary, like Halloween movie scary (actually some of those are just funny). But some passages did make me feel uneasy. For instance, I could relate to a lot of Reese's inner dialogue right after she starts discovering things (she's not supposed to) because I know what it feels like to be watched but not know who is actually watching me. It’s freaky! But these are the kind of books I like to read in October. Plus I was sick (still am) while reading this; so it reminded me of when I’d be in bed with a box of tissues, chicken noddle soup, and goldfish watching the X-files. Good times (except for the sick part).

As for the rest of the story, it was an easy read with an interesting plot. I just feel like I really didn’t get to know the characters that well. In fact, even though a lot happens in the story, it felt like it was just touching the surface as far as what was in this peculiar world. Which is why I’m hoping we’ll get to know everyone/thing better in the sequel.

My only real issue that kept bugging me was that Adaptation ended in a way that had me wondering where book two would start. I think it’s a pacing issue. It felt like I was being led to expect more, then dropped at a not quit random but not quite expected place. Other than that one issue, the book was very entertaining. And I’ll definitely read the next book when it comes out… Now all I need to do is find some episodes of X-files online.(less)

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Oct 06, 2012 Berni rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this. Malinda read the opening at Mythcon and I put it on my "books to look for" list. It's a change from her fantasy novels. It's science fiction and faster paced than ASH or HUNTRESS.

It has in common with them that it is a coming-of-age story about which includes (but is not the focus) teens becoming aware of their sexuality, and not necessarily a straight heterosexuality. Lo handles this with much grace.

Fans of the old Roswell TV show would love this as much of the plot takes p...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Vernieda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction, lgbtq, characters-of-color, poc-author, favorites

Such an enjoyable read. Once I started, I didn't want to put the book down.

- Definitely a book I rec to X-Files fans! It has government conspiracies, aliens, genetic manipulation gone awry, and human experimentation! What more can you ask for?

- I loved how diverse the cast was -- from the main characters to the supporting characters to the walk-ons who only appear for a scene. I feel like this is how it should be done. The diversity (in race, gender, sexuality & religion, along with intersec...more Such an enjoyable read. Once I started, I didn't want to put the book down.

- Definitely a book I rec to X-Files fans! It has government conspiracies, aliens, genetic manipulation gone awry, and human experimentation! What more can you ask for?

- I loved how diverse the cast was -- from the main characters to the supporting characters to the walk-ons who only appear for a scene. I feel like this is how it should be done. The diversity (in race, gender, sexuality & religion, along with intersectional identities!) wasn't forced or artificial. It didn't read like someone was trying to fulfill some imaginary quota. It just was.

- Reese grappling with her sexuality was very real. She already has a lot of baggage thanks to her parents' disastrous marriage and had no desire to pursue any relationship. Add to that her realization that she's not exactly straight, along with the specialized confusion that comes with being bisexual. ("Wait, does this mean I'm a lesbian now? But I still like guys, don't I?") Also props for the acknowledgement of the social landmines that come with being bisexual -- to quote the book: "Straight guys can be weird about bisexual girls." Yes. Yes, they can.

- Interesting take on the now-classic (also cliche) YA love triangle. You know, the trope where the heroine has to choose between the good boy she's been friends with for a while and the mysterious supernatural stranger who comes into her life and rocks her world. Except here, the good boy is a hot Asian boy and really, how often does that happen in fiction? Lord knows fictional narratives love to desexualize Asian guys almost as much as they love to oversexualize Asian ladies. And the mysterious stranger is a sexy, bad girl. So I liked that. (Note: It's also not actually a love triangle.)

- I find it rather disturbing to think that 9/11 was over a decade ago and that the target audience of this book, and books like it, don't really have a clear memory of what happened that day and in the weeks to follow. The opening chapters of the novel really recalled those times, and I actually think it's a case where older readers will get more out of those scenes than the target audience. The panic, the anxiety, and the paranoia were really easy to imagine, and that's a really terrible truth to admit given what happens to Reese and David's poor debate coach.

I want the next book now!(less)

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Sep 30, 2012 Sineala rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, fiction, lesbian, queer, science-fiction, young-adult, romance

Having really enjoyed Ash and Huntress, I was excited to read this, because finally someone is writing the kind of queer YA SF/F I wish had been around for me to read as a teenager -- but hey, at least I can read it now. As opposed to her previous books, this one's definitely SF; our main characters are stranded at an airport when birds begin to fly into planes all over the country, and decide to drive home to SF. (That would be San Francisco, not science fiction.) They end up detouring into Are...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Breanne rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm torn between whether to give this one or two stars. The very beginning was pretty good, so I'm going to leave it at 2. But... mehhh. After the opening action (view spoiler), all of the momentum was completely lost, there wasn't a clear direction that we were moving in. That was really hard to read through. I almost put the book down again and again but such a good premise had been set up in the first 50 pages that I wanted to know what happened w...more

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About Malinda Lo

Hi Goodreads! I've only created this profile to claim my name here, and I don't check messages here or add friends. I invite you to follow me on Twitter or Tumblr if you want to chat, or visit my website at malindalo.com.

BIO: Malinda Lo's first novel, Ash, a retelling of Cinderella with a lesbian twist, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Fantasy...more

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Quotes from Adaptation

“People are always going to think something about you that isn't real. It doesn't matter what they think.” — 8 people liked it

“Kissing Amber was like falling into the sea: Her body surrendered to the pull of the tide, buoyed by the saltwater, every breath tasting like the ocean. Reese lost all sense of where the surface was. All there was, was this. Amber’s lips, her tongue, her hands stroking back Reese’s hair, curling around her head and holding her steady. If their first kiss had been a bit awkward, that was gone now.” — 3 people liked it

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