Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet (Ultraviolet #1)

R. J. Anderson

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special.

This is not her story.

Unless you count the part where I killed her.

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison’s condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can’t explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori—the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that’s impossible. Right?

I have always been attracted to books involving some sort of mental illness aspect. They kind of fascinate me. So, when I read the lovely little book blurb on the inner jacket, I felt the need to read this book. I can't say I regret reading it, because it was very good, and very well written, I just had a little bit of difficulty following along with the plot and the science fiction aspects.

The plot basically centered around whether or not Alison is crazy. She tastes letters and shapes, for her certain numbers have certain colors and are friendlier than others and certain foods taste blue and circular, rather than green and square. The depth that R. J. Anderson put into what Alison saw and felt was amazing. I found myself jealous that she could see and feel all these different things. That alone is not enough to make doctors lock her up, but couple that with Alison believing she disintegrated Tori, and they firmly believed they had a case of schizophrenia on their hands. And I totally understand the doctors viewpoints, because schizophrenic people do see things that aren't there and give numbers personalities and stuff like that. The big question mark in the book is "Did Alison disintegrate Tori, or is she just insane?" I feel like that was the major plot driver, and it made everything very interesting, because you never know whether or not you can trust what Alison thinks or says. There is a little bit of a romantic aspect near the end, but it's kind of minor and is overshadowed by the sci-fi and mental illness stuff. Overall, it was an interesting plot and it was very enjoyable.


I liked Alison well enough. I certainly felt for her, because she has gone through a lot of pain in her life, and a lot of uncertainty, and it was just the making of a lot of feels for the reader. She was smart and kind, but I don't think I ever really got attached to her. She was definitely a likeable enough character, though. I really liked her friends at the mental hospital. They were funny and definitely made her stay a little more interesting. Without them, I do think she would have truly lost it. Faraday was a good guy, but I never really got attached to him either. I honestly thought he was kind of weird. But, he was nice to Alison and really cared for her, so that makes him a pretty good guy in my book.


The cover is kinda weird, but it certainly fits the book nicely, so that was good. I love the way the spine of the book looks. That is probably the most gorgeous part, and the reason it stood out to me at the library. The font is really pretty and I just like it. 


I'll give it 4 stars, since it was a good book. I just didn't connect with the characters as well as I would have liked. I do recommend it, and it's a nice summer read, just not my favorite.


So, that's that. I shall now go hide in my cave and attempt to make some headway on East of Eden, even though it's like 600 pages long. UGH. I've got 'til the 27th to finish that and Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting by in America. Yay AP *sarcasm*. What on Earth was I thinking?  I bet there's gonna be a quiz on the first day. I hope not....


Anyways, happy weekend!! :)


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