Ultraviolet

Wow, a second top-rated book in less than a month! I hadn't thought I'd encounter another one of those for at least another year! I must have won the "great reads for you" lottery, because this book completely blew me away.

Using superb writing and astonishing characters, Rachel Anderson has crafted a Young Adult novel which is intelligent, consuming and enthralling. I couldn't put this book down and read through the night to finish it with tears in my eyes and a song in my heart. Honestly, I don't know how I'll find the words to do this book justice, but I will try.

Alison experiences the word differently from everyone else she had ever met. She sees the shapes of sounds, she hears the light of the stars, she physically feels sounds. show more Since her early childhood, she believed that this meant that she was crazy and she had been working very, very hard to hide not only how different she is but how she reacts to events - which serves to make her seem even more psychotic to the psychiatrists who have to evaluate her when she lands up in a mental institution, which is where the book starts.

The thin line between psychosis and the supernatural/paranormal is one which I had always found fascinating and almost hypnotic, and Alison's rigid control over her emotions and reactions as well as her constant questioning of her sanity and whether she could trust her own thoughts and feelings was something I may even have over-related to, which may have coloured my entire view of the book. Fair warning!

Anderson's writing skill is simply astounding. Her use of language to explain Alison's perceptions is incredibly well done and I would not hesitate to rank her as one of the best stylistic writers I have ever read. The writing was just that good, so even if the plot or character hold no interest for you (which I find hard to imagine!), Ultraviolet would be well worth the read for the exceptional writing alone.

That said, I found everything else about the book to be admirable. I have seldomly identified so strongly with a character as I did with Alison, despite the fact that I do not experience the world as she does. Her character is amazingly sympathetic and fully developed. The secondary characters are also vibrant and authentic although the reader's perceptions of them are heavily reliant on Alison's first-person narrative.

The plot is absolutely astounding. It hooks you from the first page and takes you on a roller coaster-ride through Alison's mind and life at a mental hospital. The final piece of the puzzle was totally unexpected even though it was clearly foreshadowed, once you knew what to look for - even this veteran of mysteries was fooled!

Ultraviolet is, in one word, fantastic, and I can't recommend it strong enough.

Who would like this book? To be honest, it's hard for me to imagine who wouldn't! It's just so well done! That said, this is a YA book with elements of sci-fi, the paranormal and an exploration into the nature of mental illness. There is also a sexual assault, which may upset and/or trigger. The ending may not fall into everyone's comfort zone, either.

Disclosure: I received a pre-release electronic copy from Netgalley with no obligation to rate the book or even review it, so everything in the review is my own, personal and honest opinion. show less

Something is wrong with Allison. She just woke up in a hospital room, covered in self-inflicted scratches. No one is telling her why she is there, or why she is being transferred to a psychiatric facility for teens. This is particularly disturbing for Allison because her mind has never worked the way normal people’s minds work. Her mother has always encouraged her to not talk about it because it isn’t normal. She sees stars when dishes clink together. She can taste lies (they make her sick) and smell hope. She can measure someone’s personality by the letters in their name.

When Allison learns that her classmate, Tori, is missing, she suddenly remembers she was the last person to see Tori before she disintegrated. This is what show more caused Allison’s breakdown. It is why she is now in the psychiatric facility. While everyone in the outside world scrambles to find Tori, Allison has to deal with the fact that she killed her. Or did she? Did it all really happen, or is Allison actually crazy? Was this all in her mind?

This book sucked me in from the first page. There is obviously something wrong with Allison, and since the book is told in first person, the reader struggles right along with her to figure out what is going on. Is she crazy? Did this really happen? Did Tori really disintegrate, and if so, how is that at all possible? Allison must find the answers herself along with the help of some very convincing and strong supporting characters. The writing is vivid and fluid. The tone is perfect. I was completely, 100% sucked in – until the big reveal at the end. The reveal that I won’t explain here because it is a huge spoiler. I will admit that I was not expecting this twist at all. Typically, I like a good twist, but I can’t decide how I feel about this one. It just seemed to come way out of left field. I think the problem I had with it is that I just couldn’t really buy into it, and honestly I really don’t know why I’m having such a hard time with it. I held off on writing this review for three days hoping that maybe I’d have a moment of clarity and my feelings about the book would settle, but they haven’t. It’s making me feel a little psycho myself.

What I can say is that Ms. Anderson is a gifted writer and a great storyteller. Her characters are well-rounded and believable. The story had me completely engaged until the end. And the ending is why I can’t quite give it a full four stars.

(Review copy based on an Advanced Readers copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley) show less

I love me an unreliable narrator, particularly when you can�Ûªt identify what kind of unreliable he or she is. Is he sincere in his beliefs but crazy? Is she a pathological liar? Is he a con man intentionally deceiving his audience? Is she just out of the loop, a narrator who thinks she knows what‰Ûªs going on but is actually being tricked by others? I stayed up until almost midnight to finish this in a marathon reading session, and I found it an incredibly addictive genre-bender.

Alison is set up as suspect right from the start, from the moment she wakes up in a sterile hospital room, arms covered in self-inflicted scratches, missing a bunch of memories and pressed with the uncomfortable feeling that show more something‰Ûªs gone terribly wrong. The fact that she‰Ûªs been involuntarily committed after a psychotic episode doesn‰Ûªt surprise her as much as it should, and the policeman who escorts her, hand-cuffed, to her new home in a private psych ward for teenagers seems to think she knows something about a classmate‰Ûªs disappearance. The missing girl, Tori, had an argument with Alison just before disappearing, and it was no secret they disliked each other ‰ÛÒ but did Alison do something to warrant this suspicious treatment? And do her family and friends and the doctors at the institution really want to help her, or do they all have ulterior motives?

Alison has always worried about being a little crazy because of the different way her mind perceives things: letters, numbers, names, and sounds have colors and emotions and even tastes associated with them. Telling lies taste bad and make her sick; hopefulness in someone‰Ûªs voice tastes like powdered sugar; the ringing sound dishes make while washing make stars burst before her eyes; people‰Ûªs names hold clues to their personality, based on the qualities of the letters. It gives her narrative an unusual sensory rich quality without being overdone or unreadable, and Anderson does an amazing job using language to convey how Alison experiences the world. Plus, being so firmly in Alison‰Ûªs head makes it hard to doubt her ‰ÛÒ everything is colored by her odd perceptions, and she seems so sincere and honest ‰ÛÒ but also impossible to fully believe she knows the true story, either.

She‰Ûªs been taught by her mother to keep her unusual perceptions a secret, to be ashamed of it, but it‰Ûªs a real condition (and I don‰Ûªt feel this is a spoiler, because even the publisher‰Ûªs marketing mentions it) called synesthesia. Because I already knew this, I was predisposed to think that Alison wasn‰Ûªt really crazy ‰ÛÒ she just didn‰Ûªt know that there was a real explanation. But then, the more she starts remembering the events of the night Tori disappeared, the more unstable she seems, especially when she flat out admits to herself that she disintegrated Tori with the power of her mind.

Right at that moment, this book took me in wholly, because that‰Ûªs when I had to admit I had no idea where Anderson was going to take this story. The best part of reading this book is trying to figure out, as Alison sorts through her memories and gets drawn into the lives of the other patients in the ward, what really happened that night. Did Alison kill Tori? And did Tori disintegrate, or is Alison just crazy? If she did disintegrate, what the hell does that mean? There is honestly no way to predict, for sure, where the story is going to go without spoilers. This is coming from someone who considers it her particular superpower to make those predictions and be right 98% of the time (what, even someone with superpowers can‰Ûªt be right ALL of the time).

The book starts off as a realistic story taking place in a mental institution, but evidence stacks up, in a subtle way, that something supernatural is going on; the problem is, since we‰Ûªre reading from Alison‰Ûªs point of view, there‰Ûªs no way of knowing if her gathering evidence that points to something otherworldly is legit. There are a lot of promising clues that turn out to be red herrings, and little moments that turn out in retrospect to be clues, while characters you like turn out to be skeevy and vice versa. The later piece of the novel, where the slow-building tension pays off and turns to straight-up action, is surprising and will put off some readers and make others squee with delight (I am one of the second ones). I did feel the transition was a little abrupt, but maybe that‰Ûªs because it doesn‰Ûªt get a lot of expansion compared with the rest of the story, which takes up more than half, and because it moves super fast in comparison; I think these later developments will be more focused in on book two.

I feel like I can‰Ûªt discuss the plot anymore without ruining it, even though I‰Ûªm leaving out a major character/love interest. Of course just saying there‰Ûªs a major tonal shift is sort of setting up new readers for the experience, but that can be a good thing, too. Still, this genre-bender wouldn‰Ûªt be nearly so successful without Anderson‰Ûªs great writing. There are so many quotable descriptive moments, like Alison‰Ûªs descriptions that are spot-on and often hilarious (for example, she introduces Tori by saying, ‰ÛÏAnd where the new girl had curves, I had angles and despair‰Û; and she introduces another person by describing his clothes as ‰ÛÏexciting shades like Old Filing Cabinet and Dryer Lint‰Û).

Another plus is the ensemble cast ‰ÛÒ while this book is really all about Alison for most of the time, her fellow patients, her mother and father, the doctors and nurses and orderlies, and a certain potential love interest, all have enough depth to hint that there‰Ûªs more going on with them than Alison realizes. They are believable background players, and when a few of them move into the spotlight, they become as complex as Alison.

Sheer curiosity kept me turning the pages -- I had to know what really happened to Alison and Tori -- but the writing made it worthwhile, and I admire Anderson for really going there with the ending. It's not every day that an author takes a fairly realistic story and turns it into a balls-out alien conspiracy. Can't wait to read the next one! show less

Wow, wow, wow! This is one of the best books that I've read this year! I absolutely loved this book!

Alison is in a mental institution after she went crazy the night she claimed to have killed Tori Beaugrand, the most popular girl in school, by making her disintegrate. However, Tori's body hasn't been found. Alison also has the weird ability to see numbers as colors and to taste words amongst other things. Ali just wants to know what's wrong with her and why people won't help her find out what happened to Tori.

To be honest, I didn't really know what to think when I saw the title. It doesn't really capture my attention. While the title does have something to do with the book, I think there could've been better titles. But please, don't show more let the title fool you. Ultraviolet is amazing!

I felt the same with the cover as I did with the title. I feel like the cover is a bit bland which is a shame because there is an excellent story underneath. I just feel like the cover could've been a bit more interesting so that people would actually pick up the book.

I loved the fact that this book was mainly set in a mental asylum. Anything to do with those kind of institutions makes me want to read a book instantly! The world building is definitely believable. I felt as if I was right beside Ali in everything she did. I loved getting a glimpse at the inside of this institution. Even when the plot takes a twist, I still found everything to be quite believable.

The pacing was fantastic! I was always reading a few words ahead just because I wanted to see what was coming next. Ultraviolet is a real page turner, and I couldn't read this book fast enough. Most of the time, I felt like shutting myself in a room where no one could disturb me. I am even saddened that it ended because I was enjoying it so much.

The plot was fantastic! While the whole girl locked up in mental institution even though she thinks she's fine thing has been done before, Anderson puts her own spin on it to make it her own. I even enjoyed the plot twist even though it was kind of predictable. I also enjoyed the fact that there was minimal romance in this book. I'm not big on romances, so this was perfect for me.

The characters were fantastic! I loved Alison! I felt that she was such a strong character especially with what she had to endure. I sympathized with her a lot of the time, and I even felt what she was feeling most of the time. I just wish she would've chose to tell her therapist about her condition rather then hiding it although I can totally understand why she was scared to tell him. I found Kirk to be annoying, but I think that's how the author wanted us to feel about it. Faraday was an interesting character. I loved how he was willing to listen, and I mean really listen, to what Ali had to say. I loved his helpful nature as well. Tori was super interesting as well, but I'll just leave it at that because of spoilers.

The dialogue was fantastic! I enjoyed reading about what Alison was going through and what she was thinking. It was super interesting. It did annoy me that we were told over and over what a certain noise looked like or what color a number was, etc. I really wish there was just a bit less then that. Overall though, I found the dialogue to flow quite well and feel natural. There was also no swearing in this book.

While this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. The second book in the series is about another character that was mentioned in the book and is more of a companion novel.

Overall, Ultraviolet was a fantastic book that has an incredible plot as well as interesting characters. This book taught me a bit more about Synthesia which I was thrilled about learning. This is one of those books that I know I'll be thinking about for a long time.

I'd recommend this book to everyone aged 13+ because it is just that amazing! show less

Ultraviolet Ultraviolet introduces us to Alison, a sixteen year old girl who finds herself committed to psychiatric hospital after what others believe was a psychotic episode. Alison is convinced that she murdered her classmate but she can’t explain how she did it or where the body is. Her fractured relationship with her parents make her reluctant to be honest with her doctor, but when a researcher arrives and with his tests uncovers what Alison has worked for so long to keep secret, she begins to discover some difficult truths about herself. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I had briefly heard of synesthesia in Raw Blue but Ultraviolet definitely piqued my interest in the subject even further. Alison’s show more unusual way of sensing things was described in such detail, I was absolutely fascinated. Alison’s character was extremely well developed, flawed in very real ways and her journey to understanding herself and accepting her abilities as well as her faults was beautifully written. The negatives for me was that the romance felt forced and weak and a little uncomfortable. I don’t think that it was necessary to the story and I think that it would have worked much better without it. The sci-fi aspects were also rather weakly done, in my opinion. Where Alison’s time in the hospital was intriguing and emotional, the direction the story then took was a bit dull in comparison. Overall, I really enjoyed Ultraviolet and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who would enjoy a beautifully written story that includes aspects of mental illness, sci-fi, and paranormal abilities. show less

This went in all sorts of unexpected and oh-really directions (that makes the whole thing remind me of Victor Kelleher's [b:Del-Del|2594110|Del-Del|Victor Kelleher|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359692047s/2594110.jpg|2615307], the OMGWTFBBQ book that everyone was reading in my early teens) but it was so engagingly written - so compellingly our first-person narrator's view of the world - that I followed along eagerly wherever it went. For me, the only weakness isn't so much the weird as the niceness of it all; characters who screamed betrayal but came good, and even characters revealed as untrustworthy given a counterbalancing sheen. But then again, I'm a blackhearted wossname.

To say I was completely astonished by the turn this book took is an understatement. Whatever I was expecting at the start, it wasn’t that.

Alison Jeffries is admitted to Pine Hills as a mental health patient, having claimed that she murdered Tori Beaugrand, the most popular girl in school. Since she was six years old, Alison was regarded crazy by her mother, with her with her ability to see sounds and taste words and names, and associate colours, flavours and even personalities with letters. Alison’s insistence that Tori disintegrated was the final straw. People don’t just disintegrate. And her panicked, apparently crazed behaviour didn’t help either. Sometime after her admittance, Sebastian Faraday arrives. It is he who tells show more her that she is not insane. Rather, she has a neurological condition called synesthesia. Neither does he believe that she killed Tori. And so it goes from there.

Alison’s synesthesia intrigued me, to say the least. Couple this with her tetrachromacy – being able to see a far wider hue of colours than the average person – and you have a truly unique character. Anderson was able to convey Alison’s perceptions effectively, giving the reader a much more 3-dimensional view of the world. And every so often, there would be this beautifully crafted sentence or paragraph which left me stunned. Normally it may have seemed a little too flowery, but it worked because of Alison’s synesthesia, instead leaving me wanting to see the world as she did for myself.

Up until the huge twist, it was very realistic. It was very easy to feel for Alison; her experiences as a mental health patient and even as a daughter due to misunderstanding of her condition provoked quite a few emotions. Overall, her sense of losing herself and doubting her own sanity really came through.

And as for Sebastian Faraday. I don’t know what to say. Ordinarily I wouldn’t approve of the significant age gap, and I’m not entirely sure I agree with it here. Oddly enough, however, it hasn’t completely put me off. There was something about their relationship that just...worked. Maybe it was the fact that he actually listened to her. That he started out with one set of intentions, and then realised that actually, those no longer applied. I don’t know. But there is also a secret side to Faraday. One that I’m not going to go into, because otherwise the whole point of this book is lost. But what I will say is that is a BIG. SHOCK.

The reason I’ve only given this four stars instead of five is the ending. It didn’t work out quite the way I would have wanted, but then again there is a second one. Even so, I don’t think a sequel would even have been needed if just a little more was added. Still. Overall, it was really well-written book that I would definitely recommend, though I warn you: there is a HUGE twist. Huge. show less