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The Blemished Sarah Dalton 9781781766675 Books

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The Blemished Sarah Dalton 9781781766675 Books

There are many elements of this book that I liked. For instance, the idea that a random genetic mutation can seriously upset the careful planning of an entire government is an interesting plot line that I hope gets explored more fully in later books. I also really enjoyed details that show the antagonist as a more nuanced person as opposed to just evil (though the way these details are used in the end is kind of a let down). While I thought the gender issue was a bit heavy handed, it was a good choice that fit in with the theme of the novel. There are good ideas here that could really provide a solid backbone to a book in this genre.

However, there are some serious flaws both structurally and technically. For instance, the characterization relies heavily on Mina just telling us how people are or seem. I think this is a main consequence of the highly condensed timeline. The entire book, which is dense with action, happens in about two weeks. What I craved was to see more interactions between characters, particularly the basement building scenes where Mina, Daniel, and Angela form their initial deep bond. This would have been the perfect opportunity to establish the main characters and how they relate but instead it’s glossed over in a few paragraphs.

On the technical side, I feel that there are times when the author can be unnecessarily long-winded, making the same point over and over again. If the author had used that space to expand on the characterization and description, the novel would have been much more successful. In general, this book would have benefitted from a good editor to really evaluate the content and help the author decide what was truly necessary. That said, I will be reading the second one, just to see where the author is going with this.


Tags : The Blemished [Sarah Dalton] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. It all comes down to one simple fact - the Children of the GEM are perfect. We are the ugly and imperfect. We are the Blemished. In a world filled with stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an Education,Sarah Dalton,The Blemished,FeedaRead.com,1781766673,Juvenile Fiction Visionary & Metaphysical,Visionary & Metaphysical

The Blemished Sarah Dalton 9781781766675 Books Reviews

In this future dystopian novel if you live in London or around it in the greater England you live in one of the districts and are either a Blem (Blemished, natural birth) or a GEM (Genetically Enhanced, Engineered test-tube babies). The Blem are treated as second class citizens (at best), and because of their dirty genes that carry the likelihood for disease, mental illness, imperfections, obesity, etc. they are denied a formal education, the right to a normal life, and the right ti ever bare children. At the age of sixteen, all of the women are forced to undergo the Operation, that takes away their ability to reproduce their filthy genes and pass down their imperfections. Unfortunately, there are other side effects, for example, one tends to loose their mind, their memories blur, they can't do simple tasks or take care of daily chores like they used to, and they are a shell or void of what they once were. But it's all for the greater good, right? I mean a future society without any of the nasty imperfections, no obesity, pregnancy, all babies are engineered, beautiful, model-like, don't carry genes for illness, mental instability, diabetes, etc. There is a beautiful end goal and that's is what the GEM Company is shooting for, the perfect future society with all perfect citizens.
Mina Hart is born into this world as a Blem. Natural birth by her mother, a Resistance advocate that hates what society has become and wants to fight against, also missing from Mina's life for many years and presumed dead for her work with the Resistance (a secret that she must keep safe for her own sake). Her father, an ex-Professor that used to teach at a University and also is against all of the current rules, regulations, set-up of society, and 'social classes' that grants amazing luxury and freedoms to GEMs and restrictions, lack of life, and confinement to Blems, but knowing that he has a responsibility to his daughter, her stays, raises her, and secretly educated her in the things that he can, like history. More importantly, he helps her train and learn to use what they call her 'gift', being that she is telekinetic or rather when she is angry she can move things with her mind. When they move from her old district, because she couldn't control her gift well enough and someone found out and was going to turn them over to the authorities, she finds someone a little like her, someone with a gift. But his is different, and he is Daniel. Daniel has visions, painful visions, but visions none the less of people and situations, ones that generally result in him blacking out, getting nose bleeds, and severe headaches. What's more, in these visions, most of his life, he has seen Mina as she grows up. He has snap shots of her life, sketched out in a book he has kept of his visions and when Mina is confronted of them she feels stalked, terrified, then relieved because, like her, there is someone with an inexplicable gift that they can't really explain and that can cause a lot of trouble for them in their Blem society. They instantly connect in a way that they can't describe, maybe it is because they share an abnormality, they understand the pains of hiding their insane and otherworldly talents from the rest of society, or maybe it's because they just understand each other and the pains they've endured.
Unfortunately, Daniel is not the only one to have taken notice of Mina. Sebastian, a GEM, has also taken note of her at school. The main problem in this being that Blems are not allowed to talk to GEMs, Blem girls are not allowed to speak to a GEM first, look them in the eyes, ever remove their headscarf in front of a GEM, or basically interact, catch their attention, or be recipients of their attention at all. So, Sebastian giving her attention becomes very troublesome for Mina, in that her teachers calls her names, issues her warnings, lashes her hands, etc. for being a dirty Blem that doesn't know her place. Mina concedes, she doesn't really know her place and she doesn't really know what's going on. Her emotions are getting out of hand, she doesn't know what to think or believe is going on around her, two boys and vying for her attention and she doesn't know if she likes either of them or how much or who better, no matter how they ask. Furthermore, she's under the scrutiny of her Mud-Troll teacher daily, being forced to learn to cook, clean, and properly do chores at school so that one day maybe she'll be lucky enough to get a job serving one of the GEMs, which is the best case scenario that a Blem can hope for. She also has her gift, and therefore her emotions, that she needs to keep in check as well because if the authorities find out they will cart her away and experiment on her or kill her. Just the average day of fifteen year old Mina Hart, and she has the operation mere months away that she's bond and determined to get away from.
Overall, this is an imaginative story-line with four teenagers that are fighting against the odds as they try to find their place, what they believe in, and where they can fit in in their world. The action is fast paced, the majority of the book taking place in maybe two or three weeks, and the ideas are compelling. Many of the ideas presented are plausible in the future, the idea of genetically engineering stronger, healthier babies, a company taking advantage of their power, money, and status to overthrow a government, seize power, and change things to their liking, enslaving some to do the 'dirty' and lowly work and making their product and company be the ultimate goal, lifestyle, and 'right' way to live and progress as a society, forcing everyone to watch what they deem correct and necessary, be taught what they deem right for their standing, etc. There are some technical writing issues with the book here and there (is instead of us; there vs their; etc.) but this may be because I read the version. Character development is very quick, summative, and all from the perspective of Mina Hart's mind, which operated like a teenager, feelings based, sometimes random, and other times blank and zoned out on something else entirely. More development would have been nice, letting the reader get a better understanding of some of the other characters, maybe help the reader care a little more about the events taking place or he depth and change that was taking place in their lives (like giving up your mother who is going insane to a care home, but the same night deciding instead of saying goodbye to her you're going to break the law, vandalize a home, and try to impress the person you like), if the events were a little more spread out with time, small moments, mundane days, I think I would have felt it more realistic and like it spoke to me as a reader. But overall, not a bad read and I feel that it is a good book for young adults, teenagers, mainly a female audience (as the perspective is definitely female and I don't think males would appreciate or relate well to the paragraphs about the operation, being a mother, childbearing, etc).
“Once, my mum told me a story about a princess, and it began with her stuck in a castle. My story begins with my head stuck in the toilet.”

I love how the story begins. It captured me and gave a promise that the book would be interesting. The promise wasn’t completely kept. We’re introduced with this (beginning to be over-used) concept of genetically enhanced humans (called Gems) and the people that aren’t genetically enhanced, the blemished (called Blems). First off, I see that they rhyme,thank you for that, but blem and gem just aren’t original names (or nicknames rather) it’s a bit silly.

There was an attempt at suspense, but because of the predictable plot and the equally predictable characters, Blemished didn’t have any chance at being suspenseful. This is partially because Mina, the main character, had a bit too much good luck.

I know that she is the main character, the heroine rather, and that she has to overcome obstacles that “normal” people wouldn’t have been able to overcome. She has to be strong, a leader, kind, and loved by everyone (except her enemies of course!). But Mina’s escapes and her good luck needed extreme moderation. There’s always some time of way for her to escape, although how illogical or “coincidental” it seems. Terrible things did happen to her, but you could always expect someone or something to save her. Heroines shouldn’t be invincible, that isn’t realistic. Heroines should be harder to stop than most because of the certain qualities that they possess. Her lucky protection didn’t stop with just her though. None of the people she truly cared about got killed or taken. People were dying or getting taken out by the Enforcers (police), but the people she cares most about stay alive.

The book is over a course of maybe about two weeks and I understand that that isn’t a lot of time with all the action taking place. However, Mina wants the reader to believe that there was an unbreakable bond between Mina, Daniel, and Angela and I have a very small idea as to why. The book didn’t have very many parts where they were bonding together, there were just pieces where Daniel feels angrily protective over Mina (I’m sure we all know why) and his shame over not being able to totally protect her. Every now and then, Mina tells (emphasis on “tells”) the reader how close she and Angela are, but why are they so close? After Mina meets Daniel and Angela, she’s ready to tell them about her secret. The same secret that a) could get Mina and her father killed and b) was the reason why they had moved in the first place.

There was, unfortunately, a love triangle and it was totally unnecessary as most are. I wish that heroines/women were given more credit, maybe sometimes we don’t know what we want, but not all the time. It could have been a great book, possibly, but it needed better writing and more development for the characters.
There are many elements of this book that I liked. For instance, the idea that a random genetic mutation can seriously upset the careful planning of an entire government is an interesting plot line that I hope gets explored more fully in later books. I also really enjoyed details that show the antagonist as a more nuanced person as opposed to just evil (though the way these details are used in the end is kind of a let down). While I thought the gender issue was a bit heavy handed, it was a good choice that fit in with the theme of the novel. There are good ideas here that could really provide a solid backbone to a book in this genre.

However, there are some serious flaws both structurally and technically. For instance, the characterization relies heavily on Mina just telling us how people are or seem. I think this is a main consequence of the highly condensed timeline. The entire book, which is dense with action, happens in about two weeks. What I craved was to see more interactions between characters, particularly the basement building scenes where Mina, Daniel, and Angela form their initial deep bond. This would have been the perfect opportunity to establish the main characters and how they relate but instead it’s glossed over in a few paragraphs.

On the technical side, I feel that there are times when the author can be unnecessarily long-winded, making the same point over and over again. If the author had used that space to expand on the characterization and description, the novel would have been much more successful. In general, this book would have benefitted from a good editor to really evaluate the content and help the author decide what was truly necessary. That said, I will be reading the second one, just to see where the author is going with this.