violetpeanut
Written on Oct 21, 2014
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 of empty highway in the middle of the Nevada night, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won't tell them what happened, where they are--or how they've been miraculously healed.
Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction-and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.
Adaptation is a bold contemporary science-fiction thriller from the acclaimed author of Ash.
- ISBN10 0316197963
- ISBN13 9780316197960
- Publish Date 18 September 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 14 August 2024
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Little, Brown & Company
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 400
- Language English
Reviews
laughingrachel
Written on May 6, 2014
Jo
Written on Apr 21, 2014
I have been intrigued by Adaptation for a while, but after not really enjoying Malinda Lo's Ash, I have been wary about picking up. I recently saw a few reviews really singing it's praises, so finally decided to give it a go. Although it starts of promising, the rest of the book was really disappointing.
When birds start hurtling themselves at planes, causing multiple plane crashes, all flights are cancelled, fearing a terrorist attack. Out in Phoenix with her debate partner David, and their coach, Reese has no other way to get back to San Fransico than to drive. But on route, they're in a car accident, and Reese and David wake up in a military medical facility. They have undergone advanced treatment, and are sent home after signing a non-disclosure agreement forbidding them to talk to anyone about where they were or the treatment they received. Then strange things start happening to Reese and her body Reese, like super healing. Confused by what's happening to both of them, her feelings for David, and the arrival of the magnetic Amber, Reese's life just got complicated. With conspiracy theories flying left, right and center, Reese is determined to find out the truth.
I was originally intrigued by Adaptation when I first started reading it.. First quarter of the book was awesome, with the birds, and the road trip, and the car accident. All the conspiracy theories about what was happening were really interesting, and kept me turning the pages, wanting to know what was really happening. But after everything has happened, and after Reese meets Amber back home, there are no surprises. You keep reading because it feels like you'll find out more, but you never do.
Adaptation is also very predictable. As I said, the conspiracy theories kept me turning the pages, wanting to know the answers, wondering where the story was going, but the big reveal... well, it was pretty obvious what happened to them because of those conspiracy theories. A whole book went by for no reason, it seemed. Sure, the characters had to find out, but really? It took that long, and that's all there was to this story? About a quarter of the way into the book, you, as the reader, know what happened, because it's that obvious - the hints couldn't be more obvious. So when the rest of the book is all about them getting to the point when they find out themselves, it just felt like a waste of time.
The attraction between David and Reese was sweet and felt very natural. However, Amber and Reese... not so much. It just felt cheesy and over the top. As the story progresses, you could say some of this is maybe explained, but not completely. It just didn't feel real to me, and fell kind of flat. There was a lot of eye-rolling on my part. I didn't mind Amber as a person, but the two of them together just didn't work for me.
Really, by the time I finished the last page, I was so disappointed. Adaptation did keep me reading, and did have me wanting to know what would happen, but I was expecting more than what I got. It's a page-turner, for sure, but just didn't give me what I wanted. That's two books by Malinda Lo that I haven't enjoyed now; I'm not sure I'll be reading anything by her again. Do read some other reviews before deciding based on my review alone, you might really enjoy Adaptation.
Thank you to Hachette Children's Books via NetGalley for the eProof.
Angie
Written on Mar 10, 2014
Adaptation is super weird, but quite awesome! It took awhile for me to get into it, but once I did, it was a strange and exciting ride! It all starts with an abnormal amount of plane crashes caused by birds. Something is causes mass amounts of geese, pigeons and other birds to fly straight into airplanes. Reese and her debate partner, David, are at the airport with their coach when the news hits. They decide to rent a car and drive home, but the roads are either blocked or congested due to evacuations. What in the world is going on? Soon the two teenagers are on their own after a carjacker shoots their coach, but they get into an accident. A month later, they wake up in a military hospital and they've healed much faster than they should have.
After the accident and secret medical facility--complete with a nondisclosure agreement--Adaptation slows down quite a bit. Reese and David are back home, and they both feel strange. Reese keeps having strange dreams and sometimes she swears she can hear what her mom is thinking. Is she going crazy, or did the doctors at the military hospital do more to her than they let on? Reese spends a lot of time worrying, but then she meets Amber, and the focus of the story shifts a bit.
While I did want to get on with the awesomely bizarre science stuff, and desperately wanted to know what happened to David and Reese, I loved the romance that was introduced in Adaptation. Reese was immediately drawn to Amber, but it isn't until Amber kisses her that she realizes that she may like girls. It's very confusing for Reese, since she's never dated before and being gay has never crossed her mind. Plus she had a secret crush on David, and doesn't feel comfortable with the bisexual label. Instead of trying to categorize herself, she just goes with it, and there is one seriously hot scene of her and Amber! I also loved how Reese's mom gave her "the talk" after walking in on her and Amber. Safe sex for the win!
Back to the Sci-Fi stuff. The truth doesn't come out until very close to the end and it was a doozy! I don't want to give too much away, but I loved that twist. The government appears to be split on what's going on, and there's a whole mess of lies and truths that must be untangled. It did get a little confusing, since there's a lot going on, but I'm definitely eager to learn more!
Adaptation was a great read! It's certainly reinforcing my new found love for all things Science Fiction, and I loved that it featured LGBT characters, as well as a racially diverse cast. I think the San Francisco setting helped a lot, too. The story is slow in places, but I think it's worth it, because there's a lot of detail that becomes important later on. I need to know what happens next!
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.