I had high hopes for this book based on the cover and the description, and it started off good, but it kind of lost me after that. Olivia and Josh live in a dystopian society where, because women are infertile, everybody is matched up by the government to be married at the age of 18, and entered into a lottery to choose who will be able to conceive via artificial means. Olivia and Josh are best friends who are matched, but on their wedding night, Olivia is arrested and thrown in jail. She has no idea what is going on until they also arrest her mother, who tells her that she got pregnant naturally with Olivia and had her in secret, which is unheard of. Josh and his mother break Olivia out of jail and they go on the run with the help of a band of rebels.

I liked Olivia and Josh well enough, until they got to the city of Haven, which was the home of the rebels. There they were separated and told that they couldn't be together, and their marriage wasn't recognized as legal. They also told Olivia that she had 3 years to pick a husband (anyone but Josh) and have a kid, or they would pick for her. My problem with this is that Josh just went along with it, after going to all the trouble to break Olivia out of jail! Then stuff happens (no spoilers) and they have to go on the run again, which doesn't seem to bother them at all! So, they kind of became more and more unlikeable as the story went on. I didn't care for the ending, either, so there was that. Basically, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would.

3 out of 5 stars. ( )

This book read like a mashup of popular YA series of the last few years. Take a little Hunger Games, throw in a bit of Divergent, mash up other various tropes, blend, and serve. That could have been okay except that nothing fit together smoothly. Things happened because they happened, not because the plot supported them.

There were also huge, gaping plotholes. The basic premise of this book is that Olivia was born naturally, as in, her mom and dad had sex and nine months later there she was. It's suspected that Olivia will be able to have children this way, too. This is exciting and makes her valuable/puts her in danger, because no one else can have children like that. Then it becomes "something something plague vaccine go to a lab Day of the Chosen something." There's even a scene where Olivia and her husband (assigned to her by the government, natch) are talking and she says to him that her mother was worried they would "try" for a baby. He does not understand what she means by try. Now, even if people can't reproduce sexually why on earth would they stop having sex? Are we really supposed to believe that? And since the entire book is resting upon that, well...

(Provided by publisher) ( )

There is a scene in Aberrant that is NEARLY identical to a scene in Divergent, that I had to reread it just to make sure that I had actually read what I had just read! (A few things are switched, but it is basically the same set up). It’s so ridiculously similar that I was literally narrowing my eyes and racking my brain at how stupid it was. (Never mind the fact that the words “divergent” and “aberrant” are almost the same definition). But to compare this book to the likes of Divergent is a mistake, because Aberrant just isn’t as charming.

I was actually really excited to read this because it sounded great and I love Dystopian based books. I couldn’t concentrate on the few original ideas flowing through Aberrant, because it is way too similar to The Hunger Games, Matched, or Divergent.

Like really, read any one of those. I think you will find many parallels.

And besides that, the simplistic writing had me rolling my eyes more than once. So many things were repeated and I was frustrated with it really quick.

Joshua and Olivia were very simpleminded. One minute they have no clue about such things as kissing, and the next that’s all they can think about. Seriously, once Josh understands what it’s all about, he is absolutely having it. It made me giggle actually.

The most disappointing thing about this book is that they just brush off certain things and never fully explain what the hell is going on! ( )

Innocence and hope abound in this story. You find yourself rooting for the characters as they flounder through a reality they had never conceived of. It is interesting, entertaining, and touching.
Olivia is a young woman thrust into an adult role without any preparation. At least not prepared for anything beyond what she was supposed to understand and live as reality. What she believed and had ingrained in her to be reality; however, was abruptly interrupted, and forever changed. The new reality was haunting, shocking, and so very disturbing. It rocked them to the cores of their souls and exposed their raw undeveloped foundations.
Joshua is Olivia's mate. Soul mate, love, best friend, protector, and everything else she needed. They became for each other what they not only felt for each other, but also what they needed and had to be to survive. Neither one had been prepared for the drastic earth-shattering changes thrust upon them. But they put on a brave face, took a step forward, and braved the storm.
Even though with every relationship there are doubts and missteps, you feel like fidgeting as they dance around their relationship with all the new vulnerable and cautiously rendered feelings. It warrants memories of first loves, first kiss, first trials and first commitments that left you scared and feeling exposed and wonderful at the same time. With each breath and beat of their hearts you want them to prevail.
The journey of their lives is unexpected, and keeps you guessing, wondering, and anxious for their survival, not just physically, but also emotionally. You want to see a win. You want them to win. The characters become adored and the connection strong as you root for them; no one else, just them. Ruth kept them front and center letting you feel their every emotion, as well as fight their every battle.
This story gives you the full range of color from dark to bright and everything in between. There are no dull spots, or trivial spots as each step builds to another. The only thing you are left wondering about is what will happen next. Even at the end, you want to go the distance and see what the next step is. You feel like you have just lived a different life, these are your friends, and now you miss them.
Yes, I did enjoy this story, and really want to read the next one. Ruth told it with flare, but firm direction and description without anything bogging it down. She kept the pace even so you didn't feel a lag or want to skip ahead, realizing the sequence had to be, for it was a tale of two people and a very different world. ( )

I absolutely love reading dystopian novels. We just finished doing a study of dystopian literature, music and poetry in my middle grade class. There was no hesitation in agreeing to read and review this book. Ruth Silver is a very talented writer. The world she created is so realistic that as a reader I was sucked into it from the beginning. I was carried along with the action right along with Olivia and Joshua. With the advances we are making in science today this world was scary real. I could not imagine a world where your spouse is chosen for you. I also could not imagine a world where women could no longer have children naturally and they had to be "made" in a lab.

I was horrified to realize that Olivia was imprisoned because her mother was a rarity. Leaving the only home she has ever known was scary for me as I read the book. I was glad she and Joshua were together through all of the hardships they faced. This is one of those books that you really don't want to say too much because you would give away too much. I will say that anyone who loved the Hunger Games will definitely love this book. They will sit and tensely wait for the next book in this series. After all, everything is not as it seems. ( )