Review: Engaging Start for YA Series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 11, 2012
I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review.Told in first person from the viewpoint of several of the main characters, D.L. Richardson's Feedback is a captivating thriller. While originally written for the YA crowd, I found this to be as exciting as an adult thriller with non-stop action, well developed characters and a fast paced plot. Taking place in a fictional suburban setting, Ms. Richardson's story could take place in any modern metropolitan area.High school students Jake Ethan, Florida Bowman and Jake Inala are all on the organ recipient's list waiting to be matched up to an available organ. All three teenagers realize that in order for them to get what they desperately need, someone else will need to die. While they all hate that someone has to die, all three of them want the chance to live a normal life and get on with their dreams; Jake Ethan needs a new kidney if he ever hopes to play hockey again (he'd been his team's star player until he got sick), Florida dreams of being able to dance ballet again (her bad kidney forced her to give up practicing) and Jake Inala needs a new liver if he's ever going to achieve his dream of joining the marines. All three get the call that a matching donor organ has just become available.An undercover agent for the CIA, Dylan Black is on a terrorist assignment at a local pharmaceutical company. Discovering the CEO of the company really is a terrorist is not as surprising as discovering the secret stash of explosives. Believing he's safe behind his cover, Dylan borrows the company Ferrari to dispose of the bombs. Being followed by the company's head of security was not a part of his plan. Neither was being burned by the CIA.When a roadside accident leads to Dylan's death, and his organs become available, all three teenagers get a second chance at life. Dylan's ghost gets a chance to make things right with the help of his organ recipients. Ms. Richardson did an excellent job letting us get to know each of the teenagers and Dylan on his last day. While I thought it would be confusing to be told the story in all of their viewpoints, I quickly caught onto Ms. Richardson's writing style and found myself captivated by her story. It actually made the story that much more attention grabbing.What will happen when all three teenagers begin hearing the voice of Dylan Black and what he wants them to do? Will they be able to stop the terrorist's plans? And what will become of the teens when the CIA realizes they could be valuable assets? You'll have to read Feedback to find out. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read more of Ms. Richardson's work.