Review: Entanglement by Dan Rix

Publisher: November 16, 2012
Genre: Dystopian, YA, Thriller
Format: Kindle
Source: Sent by author for honest review

Goodreads Summary

"...the scientific explanation is quantum entanglement, whereby the boy and girl—even when separated by great distances—react instantaneously to changes in each other's states..." —Dr. Casler Selavio, on the entanglement of halves.

In a world like ours, humans are born in pairs. When a newborn boy takes his first breath in the coastal town of Tularosa, the exact time is noted, recorded in the Registry, and later compared to the birth times of other newborns around the globe. There will be one identical match—his half. They will meet on their eighteenth birthday and they will spend their lives together. Except this time, there is no match.

Hotheaded heartthrob Aaron Harper is scheduled to meet his half in twenty-nine days, and he doesn’t buy a word of that entanglement crap. So what if he and his half were born the same day and share a spooky psychic connection? Big deal. After breaking one too many teenage girls’ hearts, he’ll stick to brawling with the douchebag rugby players any day.

Until the day a new girl arrives at school and threatens everything he takes for granted.

Cold and unapproachable, Amber Lilian hates the growing list of similarities between her and the one boy she can’t read, Aaron: born the same day, both stubborn, both terrified of meeting their halves. . . . All the more reason not to trust him. That she would rather die than surrender herself as her half’s property is none of his damn business. But once lost in Aaron’s dangerous, jet black eyes, she’s already surrendered more than she cares to admit.
Tangled in each other’s self-destructive lives, Aaron and Amber learn the secret behind their linked births and why they feel like halves—but unless they can prove it before they turn eighteen, Aaron faces a lifetime alone in a world where everyone else has a soul mate . . . and he’ll have to watch Amber give herself to a boy who intends to possess not only her body but also a chunk of her soul.

ENTANGLEMENT, a 75,000 word YA thriller, will appeal to readers of Michael Grant's GONE and Ally Condie’s MATCHED. 

All About Halfs, But a Whole Enticing Story!

Rix contacted me and asked if I might review his book, and after reading the first three chapters on his website, I was hooked.

The Good

The story concept for Entanglement is fascinating. It is a concept that works and yet is still out of the realm for anything that is happening in the here and now. It is difficult for me to imagine a life where at the age of eighteen I would have met my half and gotten married, all because they were born at the same time as me. Difficult to imagine, but an incredibly interesting take on where our science could possibly go one day, so it is all believable.

Also, I really enjoyed being inside Aaron's mind for most of the book. I read story after story from the girl's point of view and this was stimulating and a unique break from what I am used to. I did get to be inside Amber's head as well at times, and really the spacing between was well done and the best of both worlds.

Then there was the mystery aspect which had me guessing, then changing my mind, then guessing again. I read so much that books can really become predictable and this one kept me on my toes.

The Bad

There was a pretty large amount of cursing. One of the characters has a catchphrase that he says each time he appears in the book that in fact contains a curse word. While I find it funny when he says it, unfortunately I can't let my child read this book.

The Romance

I don't want to give a lot away here because of the premise of the book. Aaron is approaching his 18th birthday and he is not looking forward to it because there are complications with his clairvoyant channel and his chances of having a half do not look good. When he meets Amber who is also not looking forward to her 18th birthday and already has a boyfriend, the book really starts getting good.

Conclusion

I literally could not put this book down. I had to force myself to go to sleep. I was way too curious about what on earth was going to happen and the ending did not disappoint. I was on my toes through the whole story and was really surprised by an invigorating read. I would definitely recommend this.

Excerpts

“But we're ok, right? Me and my half? I mean, I would have felt if something was blocking us."

"So much for forgetting about her. After that last sizzling look she gave him, that was going to be impossible."

"As if he's pressed a button, the strength deflated from every muscle in Aaron's body, and the last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was the pain, like molten lead dripping into his brain through the back of his head - that and wishing he'd had more time to live."

"And what if Clive and Dominic had already returned to find the well empty? They would assume he escaped and never check again. He has going to drown in this tunnel, alone."

"The machine roared. They looked up at the same time. Something was off."