Ultraviolet (Ultraviolet, #1)

May 27, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Madeleine L'Engle and Ray Bradbury

Shelves: favorite-ya, paranormal-general, read-2011, sci-fi-or-futuristic, young-adult, canadian, ebook-egalley, 2011-favorites, unreliable-narrator, 2011-5-✮-books, 2011-publication, gorgeous-prose, mature-ya, questionable-ethics, supportive-author

Oh! This is so cool.That was my reaction late last night when I finished this book and the feeling hasn't worn off. Ultraviolet is one of those sneaky books that makes you think you're reading one thing and then all the sudden, whoosh, you're off on a different adventure. I think many of us who spend a lot of time in the paranormal genre have come to expect a certain story structure from these types of books, but this one has no problem bending all the rules and leaping out to explore other dime...more Oh! This is so cool.That was my reaction late last night when I finished this book and the feeling hasn't worn off. Ultraviolet is one of those sneaky books that makes you think you're reading one thing and then all the sudden, whoosh, you're off on a different adventure. I think many of us who spend a lot of time in the paranormal genre have come to expect a certain story structure from these types of books, but this one has no problem bending all the rules and leaping out to explore other dimensions. Be careful as reviews start to come in, however, because the less you know about this story, the more you'll enjoy it.

The book starts off with a bang: Alison has been institutionalized in a teen mental facility because she's confessed to killing Tori, a girl from school. The problem is, Ali watched her classmate disintegrate in front of her...and the body has disappeared. Since Ali's also seeing colors and tasting lies, she doesn't know whether she's really going crazy or not. She is isolated from her friends and family, she can't relate to the other kids in the facility, and she's being pressured by the police and her psychiatrist to give up information she knows will hurt her. The only one she can turn to is the handsome Dr. Faraday, who helps her understand her synesthesia, an unusual neurological condition in which she processes certain letters as colors, sees symbols where they don't exist, etc.

The author spends a lot of time carefully easing us into a familiarity with Alison's condition and making us feel for her situation, and for the longest time I wasn't even sure if she was ever going to make it out of the institution since her mother keeps finding excuses to not to see her. It took me a little while to adjust to her condition as well, but once I settled in I really enjoyed seeing the world through Ali's sensations, even though I wasn't sure where the story was going.

And then...just as you're getting comfortable, the author turns everything on its head. Shortly before it happened, I guessed what was going on--but the reveal is so simply and beautifully done that my little heart still fluttered. From that point on, the story kicks into high gear as Alison tries to solve the mystery of what happened to her classmate and to prove--and to believe--that she isn't insane at all.

There is a wondrous moment near the end that made me catch my breath that invokes the same sort of feelings I get from lying in a meadow under a giant nightscape of stars and sky--that awesome, bigger-than-life emotion of gazing up into a beauty and mystery that we will never fully understand. It's hard to go into detail here about what made this book so fantastic for me without spoiling it, but as I was reading this scene, I flashed back to the very best work of Madeleine L'Engle and Ray Bradbury. I've often wondered if those two masters of speculative fiction are as beloved by teens today as they were back in the day, because like Ultraviolet, their work trusted their readers enough to peel back their many layers slowly and patiently.

I'm not sure how this book will be viewed by modern mass audiences, but I do believe (and hope) that it's going to be critically very well received. It's intelligently written fiction with ideas that stimulate the imagination and move you with what's unspoken...as well as the infinite possibilities of a future yet to come.

This review also appears in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher for this review.
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Oct 11, 2011 karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya

tommy has been telling me about A Mango-Shaped Space for a long time now, and after reading this, i both want to read that book and also to have synesthesia myself, please. it's like having a superpower that doesn't require you, morally, to go out and save the world. it is more like being on a mild acid trip all the time, without any of the accompanying backaches and food-aversion.

of course, in this book, her synesthesia is compounded with other special gifts which both complicate her life and a...more tommy has been telling me about A Mango-Shaped Space for a long time now, and after reading this, i both want to read that book and also to have synesthesia myself, please. it's like having a superpower that doesn't require you, morally, to go out and save the world. it is more like being on a mild acid trip all the time, without any of the accompanying backaches and food-aversion.

of course, in this book, her synesthesia is compounded with other special gifts which both complicate her life and also give her additional abilities that regular synesthetes do not get to experience, but i will even take the traditional synesthesia effects, if there is a bored and license-revoked neurosurgeon out there who wants to make a quick ten bucks.i think it would make the world a richer and more entertaining place for me. and when i was stuck in a small-talk situation, i would at least have something to taste and other things to look at while i stood there, instead of feeling frantically trapped as i do.

i liked this book, but i wish i loved it as much as so many other people did.

(view spoiler)

but all of that is just to say i am a terrible book rater. i have book synesthesia - after reading a book, i just "see" the number of stars my purely emotional gut will give it. sometimes i try to be better, more objective, and give a book merit-based stars instead of karen's feeeelings, but then i remember i am not getting paid for this, and my feeeeelings are as good a barometer as any for determining a book's enjoyability to others, and i feel uneasy when i give a star-rating that i don't "feel". it grates on me.

and it is enjoyable - this is a really high three.i liked the pacing and the characters, i liked the storyline; it just didn't punch me in the soul or do for me what i need my fours to do for me.

and i liked the relationship, even though it was inappropriate for at least three reasons. but it's totally understandable. and i would obviously have had a crush on him, too, in her position. or even in my position, as a reader of the book. he sounds like my type, except for the whole, you know, (view spoiler) part. (view spoiler)

i also liked the part at the end, when she is ummm... overtaxed? and she is coming to terms with and understanding the different influences in her life and what she took from each person to become the girl she was. and how she hated all of those influences. or not the individuals, you understand, but that she took the wrong messages from them and became someone she regretted.

it is definitely worth your time, unless you are someone with a much more important job than mine, like AIDS research or immortality studies or a plant that grows brie. you people shouldn't be reading anything at all, so get back to work.(less)

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Sep 23, 2012 Blythe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-favorites, 2012-reads, didn-t-see-that-coming, deserves-the-hype, exceeded-my-expectations, favorites, gimme-the-next-book, hand-me-some-tissues, i-e-i-will-always-love-you, i-totally-saw-that-coming, judge-a-book-by-the-cover, cried-my-eyes-out, read-reviewed, i-will-have-children-with-this-book, this-book-and-i-are-eloping, freaking-brilliant

This book and I are eloping. It's settled and there's nothing you can do to stop it. No, seriously. We've planned the eloping and everything. Go find another book to elope with. Ultraviolet is mine. Forever and ever. But not in a creepy way, or anything like that... *awkward laugh*

It's been three days still I finished Ultraviolet, and I still cannot think coherently. Honestly, it's a miracle I can form full sentences at this point. If my incoherency, eloping, or rating weren't a clear indication...more

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Jun 30, 2012 AH rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to AH by: Wendy Darling

Shelves: young-adult, arc-netgalley, zzread-june-2011, favorites

Awesome!

Ultraviolet is so incredibly original. It was an absolute pleasure to read. The writing is well crafted, elegant, colorful, and beautifully descriptive. It has a captivating quality and I was hooked right from the start.

Ultraviolet is the story of a very special teenage girl. Alison finds herself in a psychiatric hospital ward. She believes that she caused a classmate to disintegrate. When the classmate goes missing, Alison confesses to the murder even though no body has been found.

Al...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Emily May rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-na, sci-fi, 2012

3 1/2 stars

I know a whole bunch of my GR friends have heard me say this before but I'm going to say it again for the benefit of any newcomers who stumble across this review: because rating a book can be a tricky process and three stars can mean anything from "I was totally unmoved by it" to "it was pretty good for the most part", I tend to take the GR system literally. By this I mean that three stars is "I liked it" and is a mostly positive rating. Therefore, Ultraviolet hovers somewhere halfway...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi-favourites, ultimate-favourites, mystery

4.5 stars

“I’d killed Tori Beaugrand. Torn her into a billion pieces, disintegrated her, with nothing but the power of my mind.”

It’s been quite some time since I’ve been so genuinely shocked by a book before.

Ultraviolet is, for the most part, a brilliantly written story from the unique perspective of a girl sectioned in a mental institute for teens. It is also, near the end, something completely different - though no less brilliant. Come the last part of the story and R.J. Anderson doesn’t hesit...more

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Jul 02, 2011 Elle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, fantasy-and-paranormal, made-me-think, wait-what, elles-reviews

In the interest of staying fair to R.J.Anderson I will make it clear that Ultraviolet is a five star book.

Or, at least the first 230ish pages are from a five star book and the remaining few chapters belong in WTF Capital City. But more on that later.

Initially, be prepared to be sucked in to the weaving vortex that is Ultraviolet. From the get go we are presented with a puzzle the likes of which I have not experienced in a long time.

There's nothing worse than when a mystery isn't, you know, mys...more

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Jun 09, 2011 Maja rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Maja by: Wendy Darling

Shelves: netgalley, ya, favorites, never-saw-it-coming, postcard-from-outer-space, sci-fi, own-a-dtb, reviewed-in-2011

I'm always a little hesitant to review the books I loved. It seems like nothing I write can ever be good enough. That's exactly the case this time. I'll try to keep it short and very clear: this book blew me away!
It took only about 30 pages for me to fall in love with Ultraviolet. If I remember correctly, I called Anderson's writing unpretentious and rich with emotion when I just started reading, and I stand by my words now that I've finished. What amazed me the most about it was the way she oc...more I'm always a little hesitant to review the books I loved. It seems like nothing I write can ever be good enough. That's exactly the case this time. I'll try to keep it short and very clear: this book blew me away!
It took only about 30 pages for me to fall in love with Ultraviolet. If I remember correctly, I called Anderson's writing unpretentious and rich with emotion when I just started reading, and I stand by my words now that I've finished. What amazed me the most about it was the way she occasionally threw a stunning passage or a breathtaking sentence into what was normally pretty simplistic writing.

Dark chocolate, poured over with velvet: that was how his voice tasted. I wanted him to follow me around and narrate the rest of my life.

I'm not a visual type of person, but words mean the world to me, and R.J. Anderson's words made a strong impression. The way Alison perceives the world made me want to be her, if just for ten minutes, and experience things and people through her eyes (and her mouth). Tasting words sounds like something I would gladly live with for the rest of my life!

I’d been trying to get over my habit of judging people by the color and taste of their names, but it was hard when my instincts were so often right. There seemed no point telling myself that the R in the middle of Kirk’s name didn’t make him untrustworthy when the game had just started and he was already cheating.

And then the major plot twist happened. I was a bit annoyed at first because I really liked the way the story was originally going, but after a while, I started to like the new development too, which only proves how amazing R.J. Anderson really is.

Another small thing I really liked was the lack of Ali's physical description. I know nothing about the color of her hair, the length of her eyelashes or the way she blushes when she's embarrassed and I like it that way. It was very refreshing not to be bothered with unimportant things like that.

Reading Feed has made me reluctant to give five stars as easily as I did before, but they're well deserved this time.
I have such high hopes for this book! I hope people will recognize its beauty and its literary value. R.J. Anderson has gained a new fan - I'm ready to read everything she's ever written, including her grocery lists.
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Jun 09, 2011 Steph Sinclair rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, ebook, mystery, sci-fi, strange, original-and-creative, i-didn-t-see-that-coming, i-loved-it, i-really-enjoyed-it, 2011-reads, young-adult, 2011-favs, e-arc, carolrhoda-lab

Ultraviolet was such a pleasant surprise! I've been thinking about this review for a few days because it's hard to say something about it without giving too much away. It's one of those books that you just have to go in knowing absolutely nothing. So, I will try my best to keep this short and sweet. :)

Ultraviolet is about a girl named Alison who ends up in a mental institute after she has a psychotic break, during which she confesses to murdering a fellow classmate. What makes this book so cool...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: better-than-i-expected, parents-are-evil, romance, sci-fi, weird-world-building, young-adult

Sixteen, almost seventeen, year old Alison wakes up in a psych ward after a mental breakdown during which she claimed over and over again she killed one of the most popular girls in her high school. From page one, Alison attempts to convince herself that her break with reality was a temporary thing, even though she grew up believing she might be insane. Alison has always experienced synthesia although she knows nothing about it beyond her personal experiences. Her mother thinks she's schizophren...more Sixteen, almost seventeen, year old Alison wakes up in a psych ward after a mental breakdown during which she claimed over and over again she killed one of the most popular girls in her high school. From page one, Alison attempts to convince herself that her break with reality was a temporary thing, even though she grew up believing she might be insane. Alison has always experienced synthesia although she knows nothing about it beyond her personal experiences. Her mother thinks she's schizophrenic or something because of the synthesia and has kept her at arm's length ever since she found out.

I can't even begin to tell you how annoying I found Alison's lack of knowledge about synthesia. It was a huge stumbling block for me while I was reading the book. I can't imagine someone thinking they had a mental illness and not researching it thoroughly to help them figure out whether or not they are crazy and, more importantly, how the disease would progress so they could get ahead of it. Yes, I come from a generation of WebMD, but Alison is supposed to be years younger than me. It should practically be in her DNA. When in doubt google! (I mean, come on, every YA paranormal romance heroine googles what the object of her affection is, but now people aren't googling legitimate conditions?) I don't really care that she doesn't like computers. It's not really a valid excuse given how much she fretted about her insanity. I said this in the comments, but I legitimately hit google if I think my pee smells funny... If I thought I had a ticking time bomb in my brain I'd probably be able to write books on mental illness or brain tumors etc etc.

Alison spends a lot of time scheming to get out of the hospital and ignoring her prescribed anti-psychotics. Her memories of Tori, the popular missing girl she claimed to kill, begin to surface. She thinks she disintegrated Tori, which nicely brought back around the idea that she might actually be insane for those of us who knew what synthesia was from page one.

I enjoyed her journey of self-discovery despite thinking she should have used the power of google. Some people might find the descriptions of what she experiences a little purple, but if there was ever an excuse to get a little purple in your descriptions writing about synthesia was it. The author did an excellent job of helping the audience peek into Alison's world, with vivid descriptions of taste, smell, sight, and hearing.

The person who helps Alison discover what synthesia is happens to be an adult (view spoiler) researcher who specializes in it. The tentative romance between Sebastian and Alison... did not make me happy. I'm beating a dead horse here. Hell, I'm really beating the contents of a dead zoo really, but I'm never happy when YA fiction portrays a relationship between a teenage girl and a significantly (even he acknowledges he's too old for her) older man in a positive light. I'm even less happy that he was supposed to be staff at her psychiatric ward. She opened up to him more than she ever did to her therapist and the way the romance developed from there always felt more than a little icky to me because of it.

I also didn't whole-heartedly buy... (view spoiler)

The plot twists were, however, really great. The story took an interesting direction instead of treading in genre clichés, for that alone it deserved four stars. I will happily read the next book whenever it comes out.(less)

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Aug 08, 2011 Ashleigh Paige rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-great-shelf-of-awesome

Also appears on my blog, The YA Kittenr!

When Alison wakes up in St. Luke's, she can hardly remember anything from the past two weeks or how she got in the hospital in the first place. Over the next few days, it all comes back to her: the fight with school golden girl Tori Beaugrand and how Tori disintegrated into nothing. Confined to Pine Hills and forced to take medication she doesn't need to (or does she? Her mother always feared this would happen and her perceptions of seeing sounds and tasti...more Also appears on my blog, The YA Kittenr!

When Alison wakes up in St. Luke's, she can hardly remember anything from the past two weeks or how she got in the hospital in the first place. Over the next few days, it all comes back to her: the fight with school golden girl Tori Beaugrand and how Tori disintegrated into nothing. Confined to Pine Hills and forced to take medication she doesn't need to (or does she? Her mother always feared this would happen and her perceptions of seeing sounds and tasting words aren't exactly normal), Ali just wants to go home and have everything be normal again. Sessions with Dr. Faraday, a neuropsychologist, enlighten her on her condition, properly known as synthesia, and show her that there's far more to the world than what she knows.

Before I begin, let me just say this is one book that I think desperately needs an audiobook. Reading it was an emotional enough for experience for me, but self-spoken readings of Ali's perceptions and one specific segment at the book's closing reduced me to tears. The written version is amazing in and of itself, but a proper audiobook with a good narrator behind it would make the experience out of this world.

Alison's character and situation is very sympathetic. Long fascinated with the disorder thanks to an article I read as a child, I recognized her synthesia immediately. How horrible for her to be led to believe it was a bad thing! Her descriptions of the world around her viewed through the lens of her synthesia were usually lovely, though the descriptions had a few flubs or were just strange even considering her disorder. The events surrounding what happened between her and Tori and what actually happened unfolded slowly--not so slow that I became frustrated, but enough that it made Ultraviolet a quick read.

While I loved how Alison handled what happened with Kirk, I wish she or some other character could have taken a moment out of their day to call Kirk out on his casual gay jokes. The way he used it made it seem as though being gay would be a bad thing wasn't that funny and I'm sick of word "gay" being used as an insult to something. I get enough of that from my brother (and I don't want to get into how many kinds of -ist he is) and I'd like to avoid seeing it in my books without objections to the word being used that way.

YA authors who have difficulty characterizing their minor characters with anything other than "mean girl," "best friend," "mean mom," and other such short labels (I could name them, but that would be rude; I don't think they deserve that respect for multiple reasons, but I'll give it to them because I'm supposed to Be Nice(tm) or some crap like that) ought to be given a copy of this book and forced to study it until their own works show some improvement. Side characters such as Tori, Micheline, and Alison's mom are all deeper than they first appear. Just because a character seems to be filling a "mean girl" role or another role doesn't mean they're actually what they're first cast as or that they don't have depth.

If you're expecting this to be only a YA contemporary novel about a girl put in a mental institution, be warned that it's a genre-bender. A little over halfway through, it's suddenly revealed that BAM!--new genre. I had a small case of "seriously?" when I summed up one major subplot in my head, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good. It was actually very good (my concerns about their relationship dynamic because of how they came to know each other aside). I just have that reaction when I think about certain things in plain terms. I reacted the same way when I heard about Rampant by Diana Peterfreund, which is about killer unicorns, and then it turned out to be an awesome book. Basically, it seems silly or ridiculous, but it's much better than it sounds.

Am I actually going to tell you what inspired that reaction? Nope! I'd like to keep this review spoiler-free, thank you (or as spoiler-free as I can get).

If you pick this book up for yourself and read it all the way to the end, do what I did and read the last section of the last chapter to yourself, the one in italics. See if that doesn't make your eyes tear up even a little. Or maybe I'm just being an emotional weirdy because my hormones are all crazy. Whatever. Ultraviolet was a welcome chance of pace and I want to learn a little more about Faraday's world since there was no time to learn anything about it. I hope the author decides she wants to write a companion novel expanding on that.(less)

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Jun 18, 2011 Jo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: gorgeous-prose, e

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Enjoyable… but I kind of wish we could’ve read t’other story mentioned at the beginning with the girl with the odd-shaped birthmark. No offense Alison, you’re cool and all but… yeah. Also, can you say ‘sequel’? I’d be OK with that, I think.

High Points.
What an opening! Highly visual writing that did not provoke a single eye-roll (OK, there was a little towards the end but I’ll discuss that later). A strong heroine who only gets a bit annoying towards the end. Realistic...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, fantasy, sci-fi, arcs-read, netgalley

A copy of Ultraviolet was provided to me by Orchard/Netgalley for review purposes.

'I realized then that even though I was a tiny speck in an infinite cosmos, a blip on the timeline of eternity, I was not without purpose. And as long as I had a part in the music of the spheres, even if it was only a single grace note, I was not worthless. Nor was I alone.'

Right off the bat this reminded me of ‘My Soul to Lose’ – girl wakes up in mental institution with no idea how she got there. Luckily that’s wh...more A copy of Ultraviolet was provided to me by Orchard/Netgalley for review purposes.

'I realized then that even though I was a tiny speck in an infinite cosmos, a blip on the timeline of eternity, I was not without purpose. And as long as I had a part in the music of the spheres, even if it was only a single grace note, I was not worthless. Nor was I alone.'

Right off the bat this reminded me of ‘My Soul to Lose’ – girl wakes up in mental institution with no idea how she got there. Luckily that’s where the resemblance stopped. Ultraviolet is about 16 year old Alison Jeffries who is placed in Pine Hills, a psychiatric treatment center, with no idea at first of why she’s there. Slowly the memories start coming back to her of an altercation she had with popular girl Tori Beaugrand the same day the police are now claiming she disappeared and hasn’t been seen since.

Alison’s been placed in a mental institution because its believed that something is mentally wrong with her. When just the opposite is true. She has an extremely rare and special ability. Her ability reminded me of the girl off of the TV show Heroes who could see the colors that sounds created, Emma? Anyways, the story was good and and despite the fact that I'm not that big of a sci-fi fan this was hugely enjoyable.

The story builds off of Alison's gift and you slowly learn more and more about it. She has synesthesia and is such an interesting and eye-opening neurological condition, I highly recommend googling it and reading more about it. Yep, it's a real thing. By the time the end rolls around the story explodes and becomes something so much more than you could have even begun to anticipate. You finally realize what's been going on all this time and what actually happened to Tori. Huge shockers... it was fantastic and nothing like what I was expecting.

I ended up editing this review after finding out that this is in fact a part of a series and that more information/answers can be expected. The one thing that I discovered upon editing this review (over a year after reading) was that this was still extremely clear in my head. I read so many books that I find most of them just get lost in the 'shuffle' and similar story lines and they all just inevitably blend together. Ultraviolet is still completely clear in my hand and stands in a category on its own in my opinion. This was fantastic and I'm so glad that we have more story to look forward. Highly recommended.(less)

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Jun 21, 2012 Angela rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: annoying-protagonist, netgalley, confusing, not-really-contemporary, almost-dropped, female-pov, wtf-ending

Read via NetGalley.

Ultraviolet is a novel unlike any other, I have to admit. But the plot was rather slow. You already know what is so special about Alison, if you know about some physical phenomenons. But it takes at least half of the book just for someone to reveal Alison's special senses. It is pretty common known knowledge that there are some people in the world who can see the colors in numbers. Those people (well some of them) are pretty famous or had news coverage of them on television or...more Read via NetGalley.

Ultraviolet is a novel unlike any other, I have to admit. But the plot was rather slow. You already know what is so special about Alison, if you know about some physical phenomenons. But it takes at least half of the book just for someone to reveal Alison's special senses. It is pretty common known knowledge that there are some people in the world who can see the colors in numbers. Those people (well some of them) are pretty famous or had news coverage of them on television or online. But in this book, no one realizes anything, until Dr. Sebastian Faraday reveals them to Alison. Alison has (view spoiler)

Pretty much, this book is irrelevant to Tori's death/disappearance. It just covered what bothered Alison the psychotic ward. It goes on about Alison's depression, her crush on Faraday and the psychotic ward's patients until the last fifty pages. That is when we find out about what happened to Tori. This whole story is supposed to be about Tori's death/disappearance, but why does it only really matter at the end and not the rest of the book. This book definitely had suspense and mystery, but not the greatest suspense. I was a little bored while I was reading this book.

Those were my few complaints about this book, but what I loved about this book was the writing style. R. J. Anderson managed to make the story descriptive and had me hooked to this book. Even if I was annoyed by the plot, I was sucked into the story. There, I felt like a real witness to everything that was happening, rather than just a person who heard about it. I hope R. J. Anderson writes more YA novels, just with a better plot.

Now, the characters? Hm............ Alison, she's the protagonist (no duh). I did not like her much. She was rather selfish in a way. Always thinking about herself first and everyone else last. Nothing really mattered to her but herself. Faraday was a cool character. He had much mystery about him. As soon as I met him in the story, I knew he was a mysterious weirdo. His tone, his manner, his interest in Alison. But the mystery of who he is was rather sad, I admit. It was so abrupt and insanely weird with no hints of his past until that very moment.

The climax of this book....... There was none! You could consider the climax was when Alison found out what really happened to Tori, but that was a really short and pathetic climax. You cannot consider a climax without a proper antagonist. The real antagonist was only in the picture for 20 pages. Those twenty pages consisted of Faraday describing him, Allison watching him do his business and him actually talking. It was really irritating because what kind of antagonist has that short of a limelight!!!

I give this book two stars because of its terrible plot. I would have given this book a one star. But since the writing was amazing, I had to give the story another star.(less)

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Apr 25, 2013 ☆Jessie☆ (Ageless Pages Reviews) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural-fiction, netgalley-arc, sci-fi, young-adult-fiction, best-of-2011, reviewed, series-ongoing, 2011-reads, 2011-reviews, arc, i-love-you-for-your-words, we-are-all-mad-here, you-clever-girl, five-stars-for-you-glen-coco, owned-copy, to-infinity-and-beyond, 2013-reads, inventive-and-original, curious-and-curiouser, this-is-how-to-write-a-series, the-best-of-the-best

Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!

This uniquely imaginative and intelligent novel was a terrifically melded blend of mystery, science fiction, fantasy and young-adult genres. Told through the eyes and life of Alison Jeffries, a seventeen year old girl, Alison is both a very unreliable narrator and a hugely sympathetic character. R.J. Anderson truly achieved the voice, and attitude of a sullen, hurting young woman. Alison is a living, breathing, three-dimensional character filled wit...more Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!

This uniquely imaginative and intelligent novel was a terrifically melded blend of mystery, science fiction, fantasy and young-adult genres. Told through the eyes and life of Alison Jeffries, a seventeen year old girl, Alison is both a very unreliable narrator and a hugely sympathetic character. R.J. Anderson truly achieved the voice, and attitude of a sullen, hurting young woman. Alison is a living, breathing, three-dimensional character filled with flaws, virtues and humanity. As Alison, the narrative is filled with passion and viable emotions and thoughts. Her wry (and often self-deprecating) humor were dead on the mark for a teenager who has been taught to be ashamed of all she is and can do.

This is a novel that was crafted with delicacy and much planning. It is laden with clues, subtle hints, and hidden meanings deep in the imagery-heavy, sensory-rich prose. I do not feel that revealing Alison has synesthesia as a spoiler -- it's out mentioned in the in the ads. Words, numbers, sounds all have personalities, colors, smells thanks to her possessing five different kinds of the phenomenon. Alison, while driving in a car states, "[...]I wanted to hear the landscape, taste its contours, and smell its hues," as only she can. Her amazingly vivid condition fits the lush style of the writing well: it's as close as the reader will ever get to experience life the way Alison does. I was so interested in this very real condition that I researched it online and I am beyond impressed with the depth of research and history Anderson went to in order for this story to work on the levels it does.

I enjoyed the fresh scenery: I've not read ~~any~~ hardly any novels set in Canada and the change of scene was a nice harbinger of the individuality to follow. The atmosphere of the story was completely enveloping. Even necessary the parts of the novel (for example Part One was The Scent of Yesterday, chapters are titled Zero(Is Translucent), One (Is Gray), Ten (Is Vulernable), etc.) are subtle reminders that hearken back to the most fascinating aspect of the novel: Alison's abilities. The first part of the novel focuses much more on the mystery aspect of Alison's story: what exactly did happen to Tori, and was Alison in any way responsible for Tori's death/disappearance. Part one was intense and impossible to extract myself from as the pieces were slowly revealed. The more Alison pulls herself and her memory together, details about the mysterious event are doled out like nuggets of gold. The true events of the mystery are parceled out so stingily, for the first hundred pages I genuinely could not decide if I believed Alison was sane or not. Now that's an unreliable narrator: one who does not even trust herself or her recollections. Part two (Present Sense) suffers just a bit from a rushed, slightly uneven tempo, but happily the problem was short-lived: part three (Touching Tomorrow) managed to be well-rounded, nicely executed and soulful conclusion to a delightfully surprising novel. The ending is more bitter than sweet, but is entirely appropriate and fitting for Alison's journey. There are a few opportunities and plot-lines left open for exploration in a possible sequel, one I can only hope is written soon.

his is definitely more of a plot-driven novel. The rush to figure out what happened to Alison, to Tori, to be placed under her own cognizance, moves the characters more than romance or friendship. There was a deft touch with the tension in the novel: it builds slowly, marginally and then ratchets up to 11 in the final scenes. I hardly minded the plot-focus because I was entirely caught up in the uniquely creative language and prose. Descriptions like "his hair was the color of a thunderstorm reflected in a mud puddle" will win me over any day of the week., especially if interpersonal interaction is not a strong point of the author's. And, to be honest, some of the love/emotional scenes were a bit too saccharinely sweet for my taste. However, I do love creative, innovative writers than can make their words and ideas pop: R.J. Anderson is definitely one such author.

This is a novel that more than lives up to its advertising byline: Everything You Know Is Wrong. But you'll only know why if you read this novel. Its unique premise, gorgeous prose, full of quotes to love, and more than helluva twist more than recommend it.

"I heard the universe as an oratorio sung by a master choir accompanied by the orchestra of the planets and the percussion of satellites and moons. The aria they performed was a song to break the heart, full of tragic dissonance and deferred hope, and yet somewhere beneath it all was a piercing refrain of glory, glory, glory. And I sensed that not only the grand movements of the cosmos, but everything that had happened in my life, was a part of that song. Even the hurts that seemed most senseless, the mistakes I would have done anything to erase--nothing could make those things good, but good could still come out of them all the same, and in the end the oratorio would be no less beautiful for it."

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Jun 21, 2011 Crowinator rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, ya, 2011-reads, arcs, paranormal, science-fiction, unreliable-narrators, aliens-spaceships-space, books-i-own-kindle, favorites-read-in-2011

I love me an unreliable narrator, particularly when you can’t identify what kind of unreliable he or she is. Is he sincere in his beliefs but crazy? Is she a pathological liar? Is he a con man intentionally deceiving his audience? Is she just out of the loop, a narrator who thinks she knows what’s going on but is actually being tricked by others? I stayed up until almost midnight to finish this in a marathon reading session, and I found it an incredibly addictive genre-bender.

Alison is set up as...more I love me an unreliable narrator, particularly when you can’t identify what kind of unreliable he or she is. Is he sincere in his beliefs but crazy? Is she a pathological liar? Is he a con man intentionally deceiving his audience? Is she just out of the loop, a narrator who thinks she knows what’s going on but is actually being tricked by others? I stayed up until almost midnight to finish this in a marathon reading session, and I found it an incredibly addictive genre-bender.

Alison is set up as suspect right from the start, from the moment she wakes up in a sterile hospital room, arms covered in self-inflicted scratches, missing a bunch of memories and pressed with the uncomfortable feeling that something’s gone terribly wrong. The fact that she’s been involuntarily committed after a psychotic episode doesn’t surprise her as much as it should, and the policeman who escorts her, hand-cuffed, to her new home in a private psych ward for teenagers seems to think she knows something about a classmate’s disappearance. The missing girl, Tori, had an argument with Alison just before disappearing, and it was no secret they disliked each other – but did Alison do something to warrant this suspicious treatment? And do her family and friends and the doctors at the institution really want to help her, or do they all have ulterior motives?

Alison has always worried about being a little crazy because of the different way her mind perceives things: letters, numbers, names, and sounds have colors and emotions and even tastes associated with them. Telling lies taste bad and make her sick; hopefulness in someone’s voice tastes like powdered sugar; the ringing sound dishes make while washing make stars burst before her eyes; people’s names hold clues to their personality, based on the qualities of the letters. It gives her narrative an unusual sensory rich quality without being overdone or unreadable, and Anderson does an amazing job using language to convey how Alison experiences the world. Plus, being so firmly in Alison’s head makes it hard to doubt her – everything is colored by her odd perceptions, and she seems so sincere and honest – but also impossible to fully believe she knows the true story, either.

She’s been taught by her mother to keep her unusual perceptions a secret, to be ashamed of it, but it’s a real condition (and I don’t feel this is a spoiler, because even the publisher’s marketing mentions it) called synesthesia. Because I already knew this, I was predisposed to think that Alison wasn’t really crazy – she just didn’t know that there was a real explanation. But then, the more she starts remembering the events of the night Tori disappeared, the more unstable she seems, especially when she flat out admits to herself that she disintegrated Tori with the power of her mind.

Right at that moment, this book took me in wholly, because that’s when I had to admit I had no idea where Anderson was going to take this story. The best part of reading this book is trying to figure out, as Alison sorts through her memories and gets drawn into the lives of the other patients in the ward, what really happened that night. Did Alison kill Tori? And did Tori disintegrate, or is Alison just crazy? If she did disintegrate, what the hell does that mean? There is honestly no way to predict, for sure, where the story is going to go without spoilers. This is coming from someone who considers it her particular superpower to make those predictions and be right 98% of the time (what, even someone with superpowers can’t be right ALL of the time).

The book starts off as a realistic story taking place in a mental institution, but evidence stacks up, in a subtle way, that something supernatural is going on; the problem is, since we’re reading from Alison’s point of view, there’s no way of knowing if her gathering evidence that points to something otherworldly is legit. There are a lot of promising clues that turn out to be red herrings, and little moments that turn out in retrospect to be clues, while characters you like turn out to be skeevy and vice versa. The later piece of the novel, where the slow-building tension pays off and turns to straight-up action, is surprising and will put off some readers and make others squee with delight (I am one of the second ones). I did feel the transition was a little abrupt, but maybe that’s because it doesn’t get a lot of expansion compared with the rest of the story, which takes up more than half, and because it moves super fast in comparison; I think these later developments will be more focused in on book two.

I feel like I can’t discuss the plot anymore without ruining it, even though I’m leaving out a major character/love interest. Of course just saying there’s a major tonal shift is sort of setting up new readers for the experience, but that can be a good thing, too. Still, this genre-bender wouldn’t be nearly so successful without Anderson’s great writing. There are so many quotable descriptive moments, like Alison’s descriptions that are spot-on and often hilarious (for example, she introduces Tori by saying, “And where the new girl had curves, I had angles and despair”; and she introduces another person by describing his clothes as “exciting shades like Old Filing Cabinet and Dryer Lint”).

Another plus is the ensemble cast – while this book is really all about Alison for most of the time, her fellow patients, her mother and father, the doctors and nurses and orderlies, and a certain potential love interest, all have enough depth to hint that there’s more going on with them than Alison realizes. They are believable background players, and when a few of them move into the spotlight, they become as complex as Alison.

Sheer curiosity kept me turning the pages -- I had to know what really happened to Alison and Tori -- but the writing made it worthwhile, and I admire Anderson for really going there with the ending. (view spoiler) Can't wait to read the next one!
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May 03, 2013 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Tom by: Maria M. Elmvang

I'm going to try to do this review with minimal spoilers. But if you want to go in with absolutely zero preconceptions, stop reading here.

The first two-thirds of this book are phenomenal, positively five stars. It's the last third that will, I expect, give most people pause. Without spoiling for anything, the book basically flips from an introspective psychological thriller/mystery to another genre entirely.

Is that okay? Well... I feel like Rebecca Anderson does give her readers fair warning. A...more I'm going to try to do this review with minimal spoilers. But if you want to go in with absolutely zero preconceptions, stop reading here.

The first two-thirds of this book are phenomenal, positively five stars. It's the last third that will, I expect, give most people pause. Without spoiling for anything, the book basically flips from an introspective psychological thriller/mystery to another genre entirely.

Is that okay? Well... I feel like Rebecca Anderson does give her readers fair warning. After all, our synaesthete protagonist Alison believes she disintegrated school rival Tori. Either she's completely insane or there are forces at work that are not of this world. So I don't think the reader can protest that they've been completely hoodwinked.

That said, the first two thirds of the book do such a fine job skating that 'what is reality?' line that it's a pity that the author couldn't keep that going until the end. Her exploration of the way people's subjective experience of the physical world might differ is extremely fascinating.

Sixteen-year-old Alison experiences the world differently from most people: letters and sounds have colors and personalities; words have tastes. When Alison hears bells she sees golden stars. And when she sees the new girl in school, Tori Beaugrand, she hears a buzzing in her head that drives her crazy.

Literally, because the story opens with Alison waking up in the psych ward of a mental hospital. She's been out of it for two weeks, there are gaps in her memory and Tori has gone missing - and Alison was the last person to see her alive. Did Alison kill Tori? Is she insane or did her unusual senses allow her to witness something that is impossible? And in a mental institution, surrounded by troubled kids and skeptical shrinks, who can Tori trust?

Enter Dr. Sebastian Faraday, a scientist studying Alison's condition. Dr. Faraday may be the only one who can help Alison - if she can just avoid screwing things up by falling in love with her therapist.

Overall I liked the book a lot. The prose is very strong (I love the line: "And where the new girl had curves, I had only angles and despair."). The characters are complex and interesting. And though more psychological than action-packed, the plot keeps you turning pages. I am definitely interested in reading more from this author.(less)

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Jan 10, 2012 Kelly Leigh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, young-adult

Wow! Just wow! Not only did I love, do love, this book, but the subject matter has absolutely fascinated me. For a while I thought this novel wasn't going to veer away from Girl, Interrupted territory. And had the subject matter of synesthesia not have fascinated me so, I might have given up on this awesome book. So, so glad I didn't. In a nutshell, Ultraviolet is absolutely delicious in every way, shape, and form!

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Jan 31, 2012 Sherwood Smith added it

I have been hoping to get away from the formulaic sketchily-designed dystopia centered around one badass girl who is in love with two guys (whether they are angel and devil, vampire and werewolf, or whatever) and wow, so far, this book smashes the formula to pieces.

Starting with a heroine who is a synaesthete.

Okay, I simply gobbled this book down. It would be criminal to spoil it, so let me just observe that this is a genuine YA book, that is, not an adult book disguised as YA. I think it can be...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Lisa O. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-lit, fantasy

In every novel worth its name there is an abundance of figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, oxymoron. They are part of the texture of the narration and are employed to enforce the first rule of Writing 101, which is to show and not to tell.

I remember quite distinctly having studied rhetorical figures during my high school years in Italian classes and I knew synesthesia from such classes. I still remember one example quite distinctly taken from a poem by Pascoli: “un pigolio di stelle” – a...more In every novel worth its name there is an abundance of figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, oxymoron. They are part of the texture of the narration and are employed to enforce the first rule of Writing 101, which is to show and not to tell.

I remember quite distinctly having studied rhetorical figures during my high school years in Italian classes and I knew synesthesia from such classes. I still remember one example quite distinctly taken from a poem by Pascoli: “un pigolio di stelle” – a chirping of stars. In a synesthesia you juxtapose two terms which belong to two different sensorial plains, ex. “a bitter smell”.
I never, ever knew it could be – actually, the figure of speech probably comes from – a neurological condition.
In this book, at least in the first part, such figures of speech not only abound, but are the foundation on which the whole novel is based.

Alison wakes up in a mental ward. She barely remembers what led her to being committed, except that she’s had a mental breakdown and that she probably has murdered her high school nemesis by…. disintegrating her.
With the help of Faraday, a fascinating therapist, she will discover the truth behind her unlikely condition and what really happened the night she does not remember.

This book is, without a doubt, the weirdest I have read in a long time. It starts off as one genre and then, three quarters into it, completely turns into something else. And when I say weird I mean that it’s like you’re reading a scene from Wuthering Heights and Martin McFly on the Delorean comes stealing the scene. That kind of weird.
But I’d rather not talk about the plot or the characters any more because it’s really better if you go into this book by not knowing anymore than what I already said.

I am still not sure I completely appreciated the plot twist and probably never will make up my mind. I really, really liked the first part and for me it was a 5 star all the way but all of a sudden… the plot takes a weird turn, the register drops, the figures of speech disappear and… you might or might not like it. It still deserves a solid four stars in my opinion, the writing is extremely good, well worth reading this original story but I have to confess that to me it kind of stopped making sense from a certain point on.
In fact, the question that was in my mind while reading and that honestly I still haven’t completely discarded is: is Alison an unreliable narrator?
To me this question is still open, and since I am pretty sure there is going to be a – or maybe multiple – sequel/s to this YA book which certainly deserves a special attention and that deviates from “the usual”, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.

Definitely recommended, the writing is exceptional.
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Jul 28, 2011 Vivian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011, arc

Don't pick up this book unless you have a block of uninterrupted reading time because once you start, you will not be able to put it down. The book is truly addicting.

Ultraviolet starts off with Alison, a teenage girl, who winds up in a mental institution with the memory of killing the most popular girl in school, Tori, and no idea how she did it. The story that follows is not only about answering the questions behind the murder, but answering the questions about the strange abilities that Aliso...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Wendy F rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, paranormal, young-adult

Ultraviolet is one of those types of books that once you begin reading you're hooked. It definitely made me think about it all the time. It was one of those reads that makes it hard to fall asleep because you have a million thoughts in your head.

I could pick apart the things about the book that bothered me, because there were a few things that prevented me from moving it into a 5 star. But instead I'd rather focus on how beautifully I feel it was written. The way she described the world through...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Rayne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, psychological, stand-alone-novel, there-s-romance-in-there-somewhere, sci-fi, young-adult, mystery, wth-just-happened, 2012-favorites

-_- I need to think this one through, but I think it is, at the very least, a 3.5. I loved it so much, but the super plot twist kind of ruined it a little bit for me.
First 80% : Amazing! Well on its way to the Favorites shelf.
Next 4%: O_O Please tell me you are kidding.
Following 15%: Oh God. You are not kidding.
Last 1%: This is me, pretending none of that happened.

---------Edit 6/03/2012

Okay, this book, in all honesty (and personal preferences aside), is amazing. The whole concept is ridiculou...more

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Mar 19, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: notable-reads-of-2011

Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers

"Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. This is not her story. Unless you count the part where I killed her."

So begins Alison's strange, mind-bending tale of mystery and madness. At nearly seventeen years old, Alison has always been reserved and cautious around her family and her peers because she has always had a secret to hide. While others experience reality through regular senses, Alison has the ability to taste colors and feel the trustwo...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Laura Newcombe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, arc, favorites, what-just-happened, priority-buys, not-expecting-much, memorable-covers, inspirations-what-you-are-to-me, bring-forth-the-hype, best-titles, 2011-reads

More reviews at A Work of Fiction!

Have you ever finished a book and wondered, “How has this been hiding here all this time? Pages away, a masterpiece was waiting and I held it all this time, oblivious.”?
That was my initial thought when I finished Ultraviolet. I never thought a book whose opening line is; "Once upon a time there was a girl who was special." could claim my heart and leave me speechless.
I thought this was a book to pass the time with, something that would distract me while I waited...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Flannery rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Wha-wha-wha-whaaaa?

Recommended to Flannery by: Wendy Darling

Shelves: arc-galley-or-first-reads, read-in-2011, young-adult-teen, reviewed-2011, wishlist-for-books-to-keep

Ultraviolet is a genre-bender, there’s no doubt about it, and I don’t think I’ve been this surprised about the direction a book took in quite some time. What I find particularly intriguing is the fact that all of us who’ve read it seem equally stumped as to how to write a review of a book whilst still leaving out half of the plot so as to preserve the experience for other readers--talk about a mighty task. When I originally wrote a placeholder for this review, it basically just said that I wish...more Ultraviolet is a genre-bender, there’s no doubt about it, and I don’t think I’ve been this surprised about the direction a book took in quite some time. What I find particularly intriguing is the fact that all of us who’ve read it seem equally stumped as to how to write a review of a book whilst still leaving out half of the plot so as to preserve the experience for other readers--talk about a mighty task. When I originally wrote a placeholder for this review, it basically just said that I wish I could somehow warn off the subset of readers that might not be on board for the plot twist in this one. It would truly be a shame if the ratings for the book go down due to the alienation. (view spoiler) Then again, I myself was THAT reader who went apeshit at a genre change in I Am Not A Serial Killer. Let’s just say that the setup for the genre switch in Ultraviolet actually has quite a bit of buildup and since I knew we were in a psych ward and things could get trippy, I was game for whatever this author was going to toss my way.

I’ve already read two YA books set in psychiatric treatment situations this year—Sisters in Sanity and Suicide Notes. Turns out, I really like the genre so if you know of any more good ones, shoot the recs to me in the comments. At the onset of this novel, Alison Jeffries wakes up in a psych ward after she fought with Tori, a classmate from school of whom Alison has always been a little suspect. Tori is missing and Alison thinks she might’ve killed her but she’s finding it hard to recollect the details from the event because she suffered some sort of mental overload during and directly afterward. She remembers disintegrating Tori, but that can’t be right, can it?

The prose in Ultraviolet is saturated with imagery, and it didn’t bother me too much because there was a reason for it. I don’t want to spoil Alison’s diagnoses but the language and stylistic choices are deliberate and effective at giving readers a glance into what life might be like in Ali’s world. She keeps most of her experiences under tight wraps and that aspect of the book was both fascinating and frustrating. It was fascinating to me to see what it might be like to “fake it”—to completely pretend that the experiences you are having aren’t happening. I can’t pretend to know what it would be like but it must be awful to have no idea if what you are experiencing might be normal. I was happy to see Alison finally open up—it was rough going for a bit there.

I truly loved the first half of the book and frankly, I am surprised at myself that I found the second half to be a little weaker because it is right in my wheelhouse. I think I just got so wrapped up in the self-analysis and the murder mystery that when the book turned heavy on the action, my brain just shut off. I still kept fiendishly turning the pages (well, on my Kindle), but I was rather flabbergasted at what was going on. And I hear there’s a sequel in the works? I am happy/sad about that-- happy because I rather enjoyed this one and it will be interesting to see where Ali (and Tori? And maybe even Sebastian?) goes from here, but sad because I thought this was a standalone.

I recommend this book to those who are ready for a surprise and those who, whether they like tons of description or not, are willing to give it a chance when it actually has a purpose other than indulgence.
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Jul 27, 2011 Laura Lulu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, human-plus, arc, coming-of-age, contemporary-fiction, sci-fi

4.5 stars

Wow. Really cool book. I don't know where to begin. I feel like anything I write in this review will be a bit of a spoiler in one way or another, so I'll try to be vague.

The story is told in first person from the POV of Alison, a 16 year old girl who can see sounds and smell emotions and taste lies. Numbers each have a color, names have a personality, and the stars make music. And she has hidden this extra side of herself since she was 6 years old and shared it with her mother, who proc...more 4.5 stars

Wow. Really cool book. I don't know where to begin. I feel like anything I write in this review will be a bit of a spoiler in one way or another, so I'll try to be vague.

The story is told in first person from the POV of Alison, a 16 year old girl who can see sounds and smell emotions and taste lies. Numbers each have a color, names have a personality, and the stars make music. And she has hidden this extra side of herself since she was 6 years old and shared it with her mother, who proceeded to freak out and tell Alison to never say anything like that ever again.

So Alison keeps it to herself, which of course turns her into a distant person, never really sharing any of herself. How can she, when she needs to keep secret so much of what makes her her?

So, on to our story. Things happen, and Alison ends up in a mental institution for teens. Alison doesn't remember what happened, all she knows is that a girl from school is missing, a girl Alison hated, and the last thing Alison remembers is getting in a fight with said girl, and the girl disintegrating. Huh? People don't disintegrate. Do they?

What proceeds is a wild ride of mystery, self-discovery, and craziness. And because the book is written in first person and you're in Alison's head, you're never sure what is TRUTH. I questioned stuff right up to the end. Is this really happening? Is she crazy and imagining this? And that adds to it's awesomeness.

This books does some crazy genre jumping. The genres involved are right up my alley, so it totally worked for me, but I'm concerned that the ratings for this book might end up being a bit lower, just based on people reading along, thinking they were reading one thing and all of a sudden--WTF??? I myself am a big fan of WTF when done nicely, and this was done nicely.

But my absolute favorite part of this book was the prose. The unbelievably extensive way Alison senses things--and the beautifully descriptive way Anderson writes those impressions--just made this book for me.

An advance copy was provided by the publisher for this review. (less)

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Jan 22, 2012 Dawn rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Jessica B., AJ, YA lit fans

Recommended to Dawn by: Wendy

I really enjoyed this book. The reader is drawn to the heroine despite her strange and desperate situation. I applaud her courage as she struggles to find the truth and to do what is right. In this story, the author helps the reader feel what it might be like to be mentally ill or to fear that you are. The view from inside a mental hospital for teens feels very real. The people are real and complex and not so different from me and you. I appreciated the author's blend of empathy and clear-sighte...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Synesthesia.

Tasting numbers, seeing music; the world of a synesthete is nearly impossible to comprehend. In R.J. Anderson’s “Ultraviolet”, we’re immersed in the sensory experiences of sixteen-year-old Alison, who awakens in a mental institution with only hazy memories of why she’s been locked away. What happened to her beautiful, popular classmate Tori? Worse, was Alison responsible? Did Tori really..disintegrate?

Anderson writes with evocative prose, illuminating both the beautiful and horrific...more Synesthesia.

Tasting numbers, seeing music; the world of a synesthete is nearly impossible to comprehend. In R.J. Anderson’s “Ultraviolet”, we’re immersed in the sensory experiences of sixteen-year-old Alison, who awakens in a mental institution with only hazy memories of why she’s been locked away. What happened to her beautiful, popular classmate Tori? Worse, was Alison responsible? Did Tori really..disintegrate?

Anderson writes with evocative prose, illuminating both the beautiful and horrific aspects of Alison’s sensory wiring. Alison is a conflicted character whose mental instability rings authentic. Convinced at a young age to hide her condition, her reactions are continually misunderstood. She struggles against doctors, parents, fellow patients, and the numbing deprivation of medication. Desperate to unravel the truth of Tori’s disappearance, her only relief is the friendship of a visiting scientist, Dr. Faraday.

It’s refreshing to see a science fiction novel that is neither dystopian nor supernatural. Indeed, Ultraviolet deftly avoids most of the tropes that typify modern YA fiction. The narrative convincingly wends its way through Alison’s perceptions so that each epiphany is matched by the reader. Alison is a determined, mostly likeable character with enough flaws to make her realistic. Unfortunately, the other characters are largely one-dimensional, as is often the case in institutional settings. While the potential for greater depth is there, the book’s focus is so strongly on Alison that her fellow patients are cardboard cutouts. Here is the manic-depressive; here is the anorexic; here is the schizophrenic.

A second weakness is the book’s uneven pace. Although it quickly and compellingly establishes the central mystery, the narrative drags a bit during the middle before suddenly changing tone and hurtling rapidly towards the finish. Though the shift is a bit jarring, the ending provides a satisfactory sense of closure. Still, it seemed over too soon. Perhaps this is simply because of the interesting questions it raised, but a bit less in the middle and a bit more at the end would have been preferable.

However, neither of these problems are severe enough to detract from the novel’s strength: a wholly original, vividly realized story that allows you to see the world in a completely different way. A sequel (Quicksilver, due in 2012) has already been announced, and I look forward to reading it.
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Jun 11, 2011 Catie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Catie by: Wendy Darling

Shelves: paranormal, read-in-2011, sci-fi, series, ya, for-review

3 1/2 stars

Raise your hand if you’ve ever read a passage like this in a young adult novel:

”Comet trails of indigo and violet streaked through my inner vision, and electricity sparked all over my skin. Our breaths mingled, quick and shallow, while my lips melted open and the blood pounded through me in a pleasure so intense it was only a shade away from pain.”

Now raise your hand if you’ve ever given yourself eye strain from frequent eye rolling at passages like that. Guess who has two hands raise...more

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Evil Book Worms!: Ultraviolet	1	3	Nov 26, 2012 08:09pm
BOOK LOVERS!: Ultraviolet Discussion	15	41	Nov 22, 2012 09:37pm
Mrs. Gallagher's ...: Rose Nixon	1	8	Nov 17, 2012 07:38pm
Book Giveaways: Giveaway: YA Book Ultraviolet	3	58	Apr 30, 2012 12:01pm

title link	preview: Ultraviolet
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BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8843789-ultraviolet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1338688532l/8843789.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8843789-ultraviolet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson[/url]

Ultraviolet (Ultraviolet #1)

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