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Book Review of ACID

ACID
ACID
Author: Emma Pass
Genre: Teen & Young Adult
Book Type: Hardcover
reviewed on + 380 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


Summary:
Jenna Strong has been tossed in prison by ACID (a police force that seems to know every thought, word, and action). She's so far the only girl that has ever been in prison, so she is in a men's prison where she has to fight in order to survive. Her years in prison have toughened her up and she does her best to keep control over anything thrown at her. That is until she ends up on the run. Now she wants to figure out what happened to her that got her sent to that horrible place and who she should be able to trust. With a few identity changes, a new found love, and some poor judgement calls, will she be able to survive without ACID coming back for her?

My thoughts:
I have gone back and forth on this novel for a little while. There are excellent parts to it. Pass has done an amazing job world building. The world is realistic and you never question it. I can imagine it in my head and even try to mesh known things together with the imagined. The action scenes are also done superbly. There were several times that I was on the edge of my seat flying through pages because of the heart-pumping action being described. Jenna can be extremely tough and just like a good action hero, she pulls off some unbelievable things.
On the other hand, there is not a lot of depth to anyone other than Jenna (and even her to a certain extent). Most of the characters fall into a quick category and then are not discussed again. They are there to be stage props. It is so odd to have such excellent world building skills and then have one-dimensional characters. This is definitely something Pass is going to have to improve on in the future. The other thing that annoyed me in the novel is that instantly Jenna is in love and stops being able to do anything. I'm sick of instant love, but even in those situations, why does Jenna stop being the type of heroine she was before? That's just silly. You don't give up yourself because you are attracted to someone else. It's not like you are handing them an apple, these are life and death situations she is facing. Use some sense!
Anyways, I decided that I liked the novel, but not enough that I will be picking it up again to read or gushing about it to my students. It was good and the action is worth the read, but it is not hall of fame worthy. I look forward to seeing if Pass improves with future novels.