Dualed [Review]

*2.5 stars*

Stats:
#1 in Dualed series
304 Pages [Kindle]
Published 26 February 2013
ASIN: B00957T3JI
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Synopsis:
You or your Alt? Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.


My Thoughts:
I was really excited about this book. I had heard many good things from bloggers I follow, but I guess I turned a blind eye on the GR reviews. I had read a few after I finished the book and tend to agree with them and don't feel so bad for giving this such a low rating.

Dualed had the potential to be an incredible book. Here are some of the main issues, in my opinion:

1) No world building. There was practically no mention of why or how the world got to how it did.
2) No character building. The characters all felt the same from beginning to end.
3) The "romance" was highly unbelievable. One minute she's his best friend's kid sister, the next they are madly in love??
4) No excitement. I kept falling asleep while reading this book. I really wanted to stop reading it, but it's for a new book club I want to participate in...so I pushed myself to finish. The whole book was so flat.
5) The main character, West, was just annoying.


Previous Review:
High Five by Janet Evanovich [here]

I read this book as a part of the Just Read It book club.

Hosted by The Literature Lion & Novel Nerd

Some questions were posted to use as a discussion point...so here we go...

1. Where do you think the title Dualed comes from? I think it's in reference to the alternates having to go head to head...just the two of them. Duals are typically two people to the death. Same as what happens in the book.
2. What did you think of the intense first chapter? I didn't find it that intense.
3. What are your thoughts on the action scenes? I feel like they were so flat and boring. I'm not sure what was needed to amp them up, but they were so boring. Not enough exciting action.
4. What did you think of West's relationship with Chord? I knew that they would get together. But it was painful to read about. West kept pushing him away (understandably) and he was desperate to earn her trust/love. Although I feel like it escalated really quickly. One minute she hated him, the next she was madly in love.
5. If you could change one thing about West, what would it be? Her personality. She got on my nerves a lot. All of what happened could have been handled way smoother and faster.
6. Did you ever wonder what was going through West's Alt's head? Absolutely!
7. What did you think of the last chapter and ending? I was glad it was over. I had to really force myself to finish this. Ending was cliched, but it was an ending.
8.  Is there a character you would have liked to see more of? I liked Chord, so I would have wanted to see more of him..or maybe Baer.
9. What was your favorite part of the novel? I liked the flashback of her brothers and her throwing the switchblades.
10. What was your least favorite part of the novel? I had a lot of complaints (I feel so mean!), but this book was just really not my cup of tea. It irked me a bit because I had such high hopes for it. But it seems from the GR reviews, that I'm not the only one who felt this way.

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