Book Review & Giveaway: Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Nobody

By: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Blog

Published By: EgmontUSA

Publication Date: January 22, 2013

Page Count: 400

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: ARC Kindly Provided by Publisher

Audience: Young Adult - Science Fiction

I'm still a bit hesitant to read Science Fiction. It has never really appealed to me in the past and the majority of books within the genre I have tried to read lost my interest fairly quickly. I have found a few exceptions to this trend - particularly this year. Authors like Jessica Khoury and Elizabeth Norris have shown me that Sci-Fi does not have to be something boring and tedious. I had high expectations for Nobody and hopes that it would continue my streak of enjoying Sci-Fi. Sadly, I didn't find myself attached to the characters and world of Nobody. 

The plot is certainly creative and one of the main things that convinced me to read this one in the first place. In this society, Nobodies are people that can move throughout the world without being seen or noticed. Others don't care about the Nobodies and they grow up being deprived of love and affection. This sort of existence and the fact that people don't see you unless you want to be seen makes them the perfect assassins. I was pumped for a James Bond type thrill ride. Who doesn't want to read about a group of people specifically used as assassins? There are also other groups such as Nulls and Sensors that I found fascinating. 

In spite of my intrigue, this novel was a hard one for me to read at times. The writing style felt very disjointed to me. I didn't like that a large portion of the narrative was done through fragments. From a style perspective, it was unique and gave the book a different feel from others I've read recently, but it was not for me. I prefer novels with a strong sense of place and vivid imagery; Nobody is light on these elements and places more of the burden on the reader's imagination. There are many readers out there who love this sort of novel, but I often have difficulty staying focused when I can't immerse myself in the world.

One of my other major complaints lies with the two main characters, Claire and Nix. I never felt a true connection to them. They are both emotionally stunted people - which makes sense based on their experiences - but for some reason I never felt sorry for them. They lacked likability for me which prevented me from becoming truly invested in their story; I was only able to read this one as a detached observer rather than an active participant.

The creativity certainly makes this book worth a read and is what kept me turning the pages. I predict that true Science Fiction lovers and fans of action/adventure will enjoy this one more than I did. I also think that my inability to bond with the characters was a huge hurdle that kept me from liking this novel more than I did. I just wasn't the right sort of reader for this novel, but I can see that it had merits. 

One Last Gripe: I didn't like how easily Claire trusted Nix in the beginning.

My Favorite Thing About This Book: The structure of the different groups of people - I loved finding out more about them

First Sentence: Nine letters.

Favorite Character: I didn't have one.

Least Favorite Character: Claire

Summary:

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away. 

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them.

Reading Lark was lucky enough to be able to host a Jennifer Lynn Barnes giveaway to celebrate the upcoming release of Nobody on 1/22/13. Thank you to Media Masters Publicity for coordinating the giveaway. 

One lucky winner will receive a hardback edition of Nobody & a paperback edition of Every Other Day. This giveaway will run from 12/31/12 - 1/20/13. The winner will be notified via email on 1/21/13. 

This giveaway is open to residents of the US and CA only. You must be 13+ years of age to win.

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