Whisper-Book Review
Whisper by Lynette Noni
Publisher's Summary:
“Lengard is a secret government facility for extraordinary people,” they told me. I believed them. That was my mistake. There isn’t anyone else in the world like me. I’m different. I’m an anomaly. I’m a monster. For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word. As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.
My Personal Review: 4 coffee cups
(thanks to NetGalley and Pantera Press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review)
It's been a long time since I flew through a sci-fi/fantasy book in less than 2 days. The nature of these books sometimes get so intricate you have to keep stopping to try and catch up. That's not to say anything negative about this world Lynette has created. It just flowed naturally enough of its own that I didn't feel like I needed to stop and get my bearings. Whisper is one those novels that keeps you turning page after page even when there isn't something momentous happening.
At the very beginning of the book, I was reminded a lot of Shatter Me, which isn't a bad thing because I loved the first book in that series. But as the story progressed, I made myself stop comparing the two. Because let's be honest...anyone that has ever read YA sci-fi or fantasy novels has found themselves saying, "Oh, that sounds like 'so-and-so' book." There are going to be plot points and characters that trigger memories of other books you have read. What is most important is that the novel is able to stand on its own, and this one does.
I loved the unique powers that were introduced. There is definitely something to say for the power of words. I know we all grew up with the phrase, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." I understand the sentiment behind that, but let's face it, words do hurt. And that is exactly the struggle the main character, Jane Doe, faces in this book...how to control her words so they aren't used as a weapon. Other characters have different Speaking powers as well, and it was fascinating to see how they worked. I knew that some logistical piece of it was not going to make sense, but surprisingly, I found myself following along fairly well.
Overall, I think the writing was well done, and the plot moved at a steady pace with moments of tension that kept me glued to the pages. The characters were relatable and developed in way that I cared what happened to them and what they were feeling.
I'm sincerely hoping there will be a book two, and I hope my inclination about the love triangle is wrong....because I have the absolute worst luck with love triangles.
