Linked (Linked)

by Imogen Howson

Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. Now, all she has is nightmarish visions and unexplained bruises. Finally, she’s promised a cure, and a surgery is scheduled. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the truth behind her visions: She’s seeing the world through another girl’s eyes. A world filled with pain and wires and weird machines. Elissa follows her visions, only to find a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl—Lin—who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. A twin she never knew existed.

Elissa helps Lin evade the government agents who are ruthlessly tracking her down, but they’re struggling to avoid capture, and soon Elissa is forced to turn to the only person who can help: Cadan, her brother’s infuriating, arrogant best friend, and new graduate of the SFI space flight academy. Cadan is their one chance at safety. But Lin is too valuable to let go, and Elissa has knowledge that is too dangerous. The government will stop at nothing to get them back.

• ISBN10: 1442446579
• ISBN13: 9781442446571
• Publish Date: 11 June 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

"But just because no one strapped you down and plugged a machine into your head, it doesn't mean you don't have scars too." (Lin to Elissa)

Linked has an it's-me-not-the-book problem. This book had decent characters, plot and pace, but I just wasn't feeling it.

Lissa has hallucinations that involve pain and bruises for three years. The one thing that can cure these hallucinations is a brain surgery, but a few days before the surgery, Lissa finds someone who looks exactly like her, her twin.

I'm a character-centred person. One-dimensional characters or characters that I can't relate to or understand have the potential to ruin a book that I'm reading. In Linked, I couldn't connect with anything in this book, including the characters. I didn't wince when they were in pain. I didn't smile when they were happy. I wasn't angry at the torture that the Spares faced. I didn't worry about the characters when they were in danger. I didn't even care what happened to them when they were in danger. I wasn't screaming at the universe to make things right in the world. Ellisa and Lin are just flat characters who evoke no emotions out of me.

The second thing that didn't evoke any emotion from me is the romance. The romance is supposed to be a slow-burning-hate-to-love romance, but it feels quite abrupt. Due to my lack of care for the characters, I wasn't shipping the romance. Nothing in this book managed to melt my ice cold black unemotional heart!

The world-building is also non-existent. For a futuristic, sci-fi world, that's not okay. In the beginning of this book, I was so confused about the structure of the planets and the towns and when I completed Linked I was still confused. I don't know if this was a me-being-stupid thing, but whether it is my stupidity or not, it did stop me from enjoying Linked. Not much is explained about the Spares and what happened to them or Lin's electricity power (I forgot what it's called). I wanted to know the origins about this ability and whether the other Spares had it, but none of these questions are answered.

Linked had such an interesting premise and plot relating to twins and the bonds between them that I should have enjoyed, but I couldn't care less about what was happening in this book. Linked a bland read.

[kimbacaffeinate]

2.5 I was drawn to Linked by the cover and the concept of twins being connected enough that when one is harmed the other suffers too. Usually I have a good idea going into a novel what the story is about, and Linked surprised me. Yes, it’s about twins but its futuristic, we are talking Firefly here peeps! Despite a few issues, I enjoyed this original tale and the creative world-building. Three word review: interesting, original and entertaining.

We meet Elissa at the hospital and are quickly given her back history. She has been suffering from phantom pains, unexplained bruises and horrifying visions or hallucinations. Medication and therapy have failed and doctors want to take the next step and remove part of her brain. The weekend before her procedure she discovers her visions are true and the tale that unfolds has Elissa on the run to save herself and the twin she never knew existed.

I had a hard time connecting to Elissa and Lin her twin. While the author shares Elissa’s fears and thoughts something about her just kept me from truly connecting. Lin was the same way, while I knew when she was afraid; I never truly connected with her. This isn’t to say that the girls aren’t likeable, I just felt they weren’t fleshed out enough. They bicker amongst themselves, struggle with who to trust and even doubt each other. Elissa’s parents made the events that unfold seem real and genuine. The captain and his crew added to the tale and helped raise questions. There is a romance and throughout the novel we get subtle hints about the attraction. Then suddenly near the end bam it’s in your face. While, I believed aspects of it the sudden leap from A to C made it feel seriously cheesy. I would have preferred a slower build or none at all.

While I struggled with the characters and the underdeveloped side dish of romance, what kept me reading was the world Howson created. She really gave me a panoramic view of Elissa’s home planet and an epic adventure in space. From the homes to identity cards I found the world fascinating. The thread on twins and the revelations that unfolded about the government and their use for them was disturbing and original. The author made them feel plausible, sick but possible. She also makes you think about cloning, twins, and scientific advancements in an unbiased way. I though the pacing was ok, we spend a lot of time running and in-between we have these intense, made for movie action scenes. I am a huge Firefly fan and the scenes in space reminded me of some of my favorite attack scenes. I honestly think this tale would translate better on the big screen as far as the characters. The ending was good, and I was glad to see we avoided the dreaded cliffhanger. Instead the author gave us an expectation of what’s to come. While not without disappointed, I do think this was an interesting beginning.
Copy received in exchange for unbiased review and originally published Caffeinated Book Reviewer