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Anomaly
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❀Abbi, Megan and Melanie❀ Anomaly by Krista McGee
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Ok! I just started so I should have it done tonight!
I finished the first half last night!
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Why don't you go ahead and start Megan?
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It's so sad that John's own son doesn't believe and that John's wife and the rest of his family were killed, but it's amazing how God always keeps someone around to share his word!
I don't know if Asta and the world above is real or a test, but I'm leaning towards a test and that when she is finally asked which world she wants to join that will determine whether she lives or dies. What do you both think?
That is sad. And it is amazing how God always leaves a remnant. A little while ago we were talking about that during family devotions so it was really cool how it came up in the story.I'm leaning toward test too and I hadn't thought about the end result as much but her choice determining whether she lives or dies makes sense.
John is such an awesome character. I love his passion for God and it's so sweet when he talks about his wife and the love they shared. The scene when Thalli is playing Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring for him was so precious. I went found a youtube vid of someone playing it on the violin and played it while I read that scene.
I love how Thalli expresses herself in her music. It's such a perfect way to share what she's feeling without anyone else knowing. I almost wish we could hear her songs.
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Yeah, I think it's a test too - especially after what John said the last couple chapters and Dr. Loudin's conversation with Thalli (it seemed like he was protesting too much).
I agree! John is a great character. I loved that scene - so sweet!!
I love that too! I agree - it's a perfect way to express her emotions without anyone knowing. It would be really cool to hear her songs. :)
I really like Berk. I love how he saved Thalli from being annihilated and how he helped her fake that test. It's wonderful how he is willing to take risks just to protect Thalli.
I loved when Thalli and Berk went on that private picnic and she played the violin for him. Such a great scene! :)
Berk is awesome! It's so cool how becoming a scientist has changed him much. I was a little worried that he would be different but he's not really.I loved that scene too!
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I love that too! I wish we could hear her songs too - I bet they're great!
I like Berk so much! And I agree with both of you, it's great that being around the scientists hasn't changed him that much.
I loved that scene too, but I was laughing when Berk explain that a picnic was "something the ancients used to do"! It was only a little over 40 years ago that they did it, that's ancient - LOL!
I think it's funny how Thalli is always able to get stop the door so she can get out, you'd think they know what she's up to by this point and double check it before they left.
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I know! I was thinking the exact same thing and it's surprising that she is still able to escape that way.
Yeah all of the references to the "ancient" things really crack me up!Me too!
I have to say I absolutely loved how the book started! It was so attention grabbing and beautifully written!
I love when John talks to Thalli about how things used to be and it's so sweet how takes the time to explain everything to her and seems so sad that she doesn't know about these things.
It's funny yet sad how foreign such a little thing like the sniffles is to everyone in the Pods. For us it's almost an everyday occurrence!
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I love that too!
Yeah...
Thalli's reaction to the movie was really interesting - especially how she felt like she was intruding in the characters' lives.
Yeah that was interesting!
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I loved how he so patiently explains everything to her and how he's sad to learn that she doesn't know things that we would consider common knowledge too.
I know! I can't believe they would "annihilate" someone for that!
Her reaction was interesting...and a little comical, but I could understand it...in a way.
I thought it was so cool how Thalli just knew that the song she was asked to record was different from the usual songs she played and that she could hear answers, but she just didn't know the questions. And John's reaction was priceless!
I have to say, I don't particularly care for John constantly referring to God as the Designer, but maybe it's more for Thalli's benefit - since that's probably the only way she can understand the idea of God.
That was cool.Personally I don't have a problem with that. In my mind that is one faucet of who God is and I would put it under the same as calling Him the Redeemer. And I do feel like it is in part for Thalli's benefit.
It's amazing how good Thalli is at hiding her true feelings, I know I couldn't do it that well!
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Yeah, I think he called God the Designer more for Thalli's benefit.
That is amazing! I definitely wouldn't be able to hide my true feelings as well as Thalli does.
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I was surprised how well she was able to conceal her feelings too! Though, I guess she's had years of experience.
I would hate to have to live in the pods, having monitors not only watching my every move but being able to listen to every conversation - how horrible! I wouldn't be able to stand it! And I wonder, do the monitors have monitors???
Yeah I would HATE that I am very much a fan of privacy! The way that they get down the mountain sounds like such fun, I'd love to do something like that!
So I couldn't find anything else to discuss-you two?
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That did sound really fun!
I can't either...
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I haven't got anything either. So, on to the next half! :D
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I haven't been able to get to it yet-sorry! I will probably have it done tonight though!
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:) Thanks! I have about 50 pages left which I shall read after I finish rewatching The Angels Take Manhattan with my fam! Feel free to start the discussion and I'll just join in when I finish!
I'm done too!WOW! This book was so good!
Ok the part where Dr. Loudin was operating on Thalli's brain while she was awake was so creepy! I would have totally freaked out especially when she lost her sight! The idea of someone messing with your brain while you are still awake is such a freaky thought!
I have to say I did not see the epilogue coming at all! That it was all part of The Scientist's plan never even occurred to me!
I could not believe that they just annihilated the entirety of Pod C except for Thalli, Rehn, and Beck! To kill off a whole generation seems so extreme and it was horrible how it was actually in vain since it didn't change anything!
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That was creepy! Oh, I would have too! I know - it makes me shudder just to think about someone messing with my brain while I'm still awake! :/
I was surprised that it was all a part of The Scientist's plan too! Didn't see that coming!
Completely agree!
It was very cool how Berk was able to get Thalli to see the conversation he had with Dr. Loudin. It was really funny how he did that so she wouldn't have a million questions and then she said she still had a million questions, but that what he did stopped her from having two million!
Rhen's simulation was so different! It was intriguing how she rearranged the music notes in a way Thalli never would have considered and it still created beautiful music . :)
I was really happy to learn that there were survivors from the nuclear war! Maybe John's family survived?? It would be so wonderful if they did! :D
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That was so creepy!
I didn't see that part coming either. And I can't believe how callously Dr. Loudin says that once the four help bring the lost scientists back, they will be annihilated! What gives him the right to do that?!? I really can't stand that guy!
I can't believe they did that either! Especially since it didn't even helped! They are just way too quick to kill off people, except themselves of course. Why should people who are younger be killed off so that the older generation, who are so much closer to death, be allowed to live? I not for any kind of genocide, but this is just such a difference from the norm, where the older generation will try to save the younger one at the risk of losing their own.
I loved that too! But I was so not trusting of things I was doubting whether it was real. It was so funny when she told him that she still had a million questions. :)
It was! I thought it was great how she was able to make music that sounded beautiful. I wonder if she would have created an exit for herself if Dr. Loudin had told her to do it.
I was too! I'm so hoping that someone from his family will have survived - that would be perfect!!! But I hope that if his wife survived the war that she's still alive, 'cause I can't imagine how hard it would be on John if he found out she survived that, but died from old age.
I thought it was pretty presumptuous of Dr. Loudin to assume that the five scientists that left wouldn't be capable of creating some sort of technology for themselves - to help make life easier. I wonder what it was that made them leave and how they knew it would be safe to leave. I'm sure these things will be covered in the next book, but I hate that we have to wait a whole year to read it!
I can't imagine being so programmed to not care if you are killed! When Rhen was going to turn herself in because of her sickness, which to me sounded just like a runny nose, and knew that they would more than likely kill her I can't believe how calm she was! I was glad that Thalli stopped her earlier in the book, but when I learned that she had been taken and they had given her medicine that made her better I could not believe that they were still planning on annihilating her - WHAT?!?
I also loved Berk's way of letting Thalli hear the conversation and her comment about a million questions!It was so cool! And I too wondered if she would have created an exit if she'd been told to do so.
Me too! It would be so cool if some of John's family survived!
That was rather presumptuous! I was wondering the same things and I really don't want to wait for book two!
Yeah I couldn't imagine that either. And I had the same reaction to them still planning on annihilating Rehn!
I was so glad that Berk came up with a plan that included both Thalli and Rehn. It would have been easy for him to just focus on saving Thalli but I was glad he found a way to help Rehn too!
I loved how when they were walking past John's room Berk pretend to need to check his pad so that John and Thalli could see that each other was ok!
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I also can't imagine that!
Completely agree!
Oh, I loved that too! Berk was definitely one of my favorite characters in this book. :)
I loved how John knew exactly what to say to Berk to get him to see that the things happening to Thalli weren't his fault and how he said that death is only the beginning.
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I loved that too! It was so sweet of him to do! :)
I loved how John did that!
How did you guys like that the second to last chapter (beside the epilogue) was a repeat of the prologue? I had a feeling this was going to happen, but I never would have thought it would be so close to the end!
John's character also shows the importance of memorizing scripture, since I'm fairly certain he wasn't allowed to have a Bible. I loved how he quoted scripture to them and explained what it meant too. I'm going to like it if in book two he plays an even bigger role - I really like him!
It was really cool how John did that for Berk!Yeah I thought it would come a lot sooner than it did too. It was cool to read it again knowing what had led to the event!
I loved his knowledge of the Bible! Really makes you want to memorize more scripture! I'm hoping he plays a bigger role in book two too! He's such a great character!
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I can't seem to find anything else to discuss! How about you two?
No I couldn't think of anything else either!
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It does show the importance of memorizing scripture and makes me want to be more diligent in doing that. John is a great character. :)
I'm out of things to discuss too. This was such a fun buddy read! Thanks for reading/discussing it with me, Abbi and Megan! :D
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Yeah it was great fun and we definitely should do more with the three of us!
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She Walks In Beauty
Princess of the Midnight Ball
This Fine Life
Sushi for One?
Unforgettable
A Wedding Invitation
The One Who Waits for Me
Look to the East
Lonestar Sanctuary
Invasion
Masquerade
Healer
Secret Letters
Bees in the Butterfly Garden
Entwined
On Distant Shores
Into the Whirlwind
The Ryn
If the Shoe Fits: A Contemporary Fairy Tale
Do you have/want to read any of these?
Have on Kindle:
Should be getting for review:
Could borrow from my sisters:
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I should be getting this one for review too:
Have on Kindle:
Own or can borrow:
So, all the ones you selected out the ones Melanie suggested sound good to me :D
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Sounds good to me! I'm fine with whatever!
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❀Abbi, Megan and Melanie❀ Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden
❀Abbi, Megan and Melanie❀ If the Shoe Fits: A Contemporary Fairy Tale by Sandra D. Bricker
❀Abbi, Megan and Melanie❀ Bees in the Butterfly Garden by Maureen Lang
❀Abbi, Megan and Melanie❀ The Ryn by Serena Chase
❀Abbi, Megan and Melanie❀ This Fine Life by Eva Marie Everson
❀Abbi, Megan and Melanie❀ Sushi for One? by Camy Tang
❀Abbi, Megan and Melanie❀ Entwined by Heather Dixon
❀Abbi, Megan and Melanie❀ On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin
I'm fine with starting with Entwined, but I'd like to wait until the end of the week...if that's okay? Are we going to break it in halves?
End of the week and halves is fine with me!
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Books mentioned in this topic
If the Shoe Fits (other topics)The Ryn (other topics)
Bees in the Butterfly Garden (other topics)
Into the Whirlwind (other topics)
On Distant Shores (other topics)
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Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.
Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels things. She asks questions. And in the State, this is not tolerated. The Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong—and they have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created. Thalli has kept her malformation secret from those who have monitored her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of music to record as her community’s assigned musician, she can no longer keep her emotions secreted away.
Seen as a threat to the harmony of her Pod, Thalli is taken to the Scientists for immediate annihilation. But before that can happen, Berk—her former Pod mate who is being groomed as a Scientist—steps in and persuades the Scientists to keep Thalli alive as a test subject.
The more time she spends in the Scientist’s Pod, the clearer it becomes that things are not as simple as she was programmed to believe. She hears stories of a Designer—stories that fill her mind with more questions: Who can she trust? What is this emotion called love? And what if she isn’t just an anomaly, but part of a greater design?