ALTERED by Gennifer Albin

Altered (Crewel World #2) by Gennifer Albin • contains 387 pages • published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux BFYR on 29. October 2013 • classified as Science Fiction, Young Adult • obtained through library • read as hardcover • shelve on Goodreads

Synopsis:

Life. Possibility. Choice.

All taken from Adelice by the Guild—until she took them back.

But amid the splendid ruins of Earth, Adelice discovers how dangerous freedom can be. Hunted by soulless Remnants sent by Cormac Patton and the Guild, Adelice finds a world that’s far from deserted. Although allies are easy to find on Earth, knowing who to trust isn’t. Because everyone has secrets, especially those Adelice loves most. Secrets they would kill to protect. Secrets that will redefine each of them. Torn between two brothers and two worlds, Adelice must choose what to fight for.

In this thrilling sequel to Crewel, Adelice is about to learn how tangled up her past and future really are. Her parents ran to protect her, but nothing can save her from her destiny, and once she uncovers the truth, it will change everything.

I had such a tough time finishing this book. So many times did I consider just not finishing it but I told myself I should give it another chance. I know I had trouble with Crewel but this whole weaving business that supposedly kept order in Arras was too original for me not to continue with the series. I thought I could overlook my gripes with the sexist overtones for Altered. Turns out I could. What I couldn’t overlook was this underdeveloped love triangle.

Love triangles can be tiresome to read because they feel like such clichés but I usually don’t mind if they’re well-executed. While I’ve thankfully never gone through one, I know of people who had. Deriding them then for being “unrealistic” is pointless. What bothers me is when the parties involved don’t have any reason to be. If two people are going to be besotted with the same person there better be something about that person that makes me believe that anyone would go through the agony of possibly having to watch that person be romantically involved with someone else, or worse, swing back and forth like a pendulum with both love interests involving themselves anyway.

Then there was this whole plot I just couldn’t work with. It bored me. A lot of parts were messy. Perhaps a few more rounds of drafting before publication could’ve redeemed all these pieces. View Spoiler »To make matters worse, somehow Albert Einstein got involved in all this. He was one of the originators of Arras because he discovered and taught how to weave the fabric of reality. Somehow this just left such a bad taste for me. Using his name but retaining nothing of who he was or what he did besides the fact that he was a great scientist did not sit well with me at all. It’s all well and good to come up with a fictitious character based on a historical one but to warp and twist that historical character so much just doesn’t work for me. I would’ve rather this person carried a different name in the book. « Hide Spoiler

Needless to say, I will not be reading the last book in this trilogy. Frankly, I’m amazed I even managed to finish reading the second book.