Deborah Rix

This is one of my favorites out of the current crop of YA Dystopian series. Though looking at genetic modification is not new in this genre, this particular book kept it in the forefront of my mind.

When Jess begins to show signs of being a Deviant (someone who is different from the genetic specimens developed over 100 years by the nation) she changes her age in official records in order to join the Special Forces early before she's discovered. Since the Special Forces are those who travel show more outside of the fences and kill Deviants, it's an interesting choice for her. She's trapped between what she's been raised to be and what she might truly be and that was interesting to me. This book also gives the reader a good and hard look at war and death and how it effects not only the non-combatants, but the soldiers.

Jess fits in with her Special Forces friends. She's happy there, the happiest she's been. So when the time comes for her to choose a side, it isn't something she approaches lightly. There's an entire world outside the fences and Jess is going to explore it.

The one thing I didn't like was the "surprise! this is about a seed bank!" idea that was introduced late in the book. It absolutely fits with the genetic modification theme but it could and should have been introduced earlier so the reader was aware of just how much of everything had been genetically modified.

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Original review here: http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/2014/01/external-forces-blog-tour-book-revie...

External Forces is a Dystopian read that follows a girl named Jess. Jess lives in a world the genetics mean everything. If you show signs of being inferior, you are quickly taken care of. They are called Deviants. America has built a wall around itself to block out the inferior genes. They do not want "cross-contamination". Jess wants to be on the Special Forces that help protect America show more from the Deviants. But she has a secret of her own that is quickly that no one can find out about or else she is done for. While trying her best to make it on the Intelligence team, a certain sergeant has other plans for her. Jess soon realizes there is more going on in the Special Forces and she may be at the very center of it all.

Hello Hollywood!!!! Wake the hell up and make this a movie pronto! Holy crap, this was awesome. This is Rix debut and boy what a debut it was. The world she has created is scary and believable. It really wasn't hard imaging America like this. If that one mad person took over America, this is what we will get. I loved the story Rix has built for us. If you love The Hunger Games and Divergent, you should add this right in that list. It would fit perfectly. Again, this needs to be a movie.

I really loved Jess. She is smart and courageous. I loved seeing her progression in this book. Her mom seems to despise her very existence and was relieved when Jess leaves. Jess and her best friend, Jay, are great together. They were like brother and sister. I love how they look out for each other. Jess makes friends with a badass chick named Sheree, who I loved as well. I couldn't stop laughing when Sheree and Jay got so territorial over Jess. That was a lot of fun. I was a big fan of Matt in this book. He is the leader of the Black Ops team and he has an eye for Jess. Not only does her like her spunk and that he sees that she has a mind of her own which could get her killed. He takes her under his wing because she would be the perfect member for his team. He has something planned and he can't do it without her. I loved the scenes between them. Matt is definitely drool worthy.

Again, this worldbuilding is amazing. This book hooked me from the first page. Jess is not your regular girl and her not being normal could be a catastrophe for her. She wants to be in the Special Forces so she can avoid the Devotees. The Devotees will recheck her genes for any signs of being a Deviant and will eliminate her. There is a mark showing up on her body that the Department of Evolution will not like. She knows this is the best way to protect herself and her secret. But it may not be enough as it seems she is being watched.

Overall, this is a fantastic read. It has quite an interesting twist leading up to the end. But every part of this book was amazing. The characters all have strong personalities and are very memorable. I love the character development and the connection between all of them. The villains in the book are also very interesting and some I just didn't see coming. This book was full of action. There is not a dull moment insight. This book will keep you at the edge of your seat. You have to read this book. This is a can't miss kind of read. Highly recommended. show less

A century has passed since the Genetic Integrity Act was enacted and America closed its borders to prevent genetic contamination. Only the genetic anomalies classified as Deviants - known to all as the enemy - remain beyond the heavily guarded border. The Department of Evolution carefully guides the creation of each successive generation and deviations from the divine plan are not permitted.

When sixteen-year-old Jess Grant begins to show signs of deviance, she enlists in the Special Forces, show more along with her best friend Jay, in a desperate bid to evade detection by the Devotees. Jess is good with data, not so good with a knife. So when the handsome and secretive Sergeant Matt Anderson selects her for his Black Ops squad, Jess is completely baffled and is determined to figure out why.

As her deviance continues to change her, Jess must eventually decide who she can trust with her deadly secret. She needs to know what's out there, in the Deviant wasteland over the border, if she has any hope of surviving to see her seventeenth birthday. Because if the enemy doesn't kill her first, the Department of Evolution probably will.

First let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The characters were wonderfully drawn, and I was completely intrigued by the plot. I'm usually never sure about reading dystopian science fiction, but with External Forces, I was absolutely caught up in the story and wanted to see how it would develop. I give External Forces by Deborah Rix an A! and look forward to reading the next book in the series - Acceleration - some time very soon. show less

EXTERNAL FORCES has a LOT going for it. It's well written and chocked full of interesting concepts... not to mention adventure.

Backstory:
The backstory is that the world has been torn apart. There is flooding and worse, widespread genetic mutations. Our heroine, Jess, is on the 'good' side of a humongous wall. She's sixteen and things might be okay except it looks like she might be 'one of them'. A deviant.

In order to avoid the religious zealots who currently run the government she lies and show more gets into the military. Her problem then is what to do about her growing deviancy.

My Thoughts:
In some respects this book reminds me of the Divergent series. There's some cool military training at the beginning, plus we have a trainer who is the love interest. Where this book differs is that it has better prose. Divergent was exciting and entertaining, but the actual prose was marginal.

What I LIKED:
--What I liked was that Jess' best friend is gay. I thought Rix handled the matter well and she worked it into the plot nicely.

--I thought the handling of the military training was also well handled.

--The plotting was well done.

What I DIDN'T LIKED:
--What I didn't like was the amount of time spent on the romance. It was great at first but the repeats of "oh hell"-we-just-got-interrupted-so-that-we-didn't-mistakenly-have -sex took the whole thing and made it sappy.

RECOMMEND to who/whom:
I'd recommend this book to anyone who liked I AM NUMBER FOUR, DIVERGENT, or any number of other dystopic books and series. EXTERNAL FORCES is smartly done and full of both intelligent ideas and action.

I will say though, that it's not going to appeal to all adults. There are YA series like those from Tamora Pierce, Suzanne Collins, and Rae Carson that are perfect reads for most adults that like fantasy/alt-hist, but EXTERNAL FORCES doesn't fall into that group. show less