The GlimpseAuthor: Claire MerlePublisher: Faber & Faber, 2012Genre: YA Dystopia
Once you've seen into the future, can you change your destiny?
In a near future, society is segregated according to whether people are genetically disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to Pure-boy Jasper Taurell.
Jasper is from a rich and influential family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.
Led to believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not intefere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society and into the pits of the human soul. And as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper's abduction she uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown up to believe, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before.
Ariana Barber, aka Ana, should have been raised among the Crazies, but someone tampered with her DNA test and she’s been living as a Pure. Since her father is one of the higher ups, she’s been given a chance and declared a Sleeper. If she wants to continue with her union to Jasper Tarell, she needs to prove she can control the Big3 mental and mood disorders. But then Jasper is abducted, and he’s told Ana some very disturbing information about the tests that declare someone a Crazie or a Pure. Ana snaps, and decides to go looking for Jasper herself. Her search leads her to Cole Winters, and ex member of the cult-like Enlightenment Project who is against the Pures. Ana will learn things that she was never meant to learn, discover her own strength through torture, and maybe even find true love. Claire Merle's The Glimpse gives us a glimpse of a terrible future where acting on impulse, on emotions can be your downfall.
I loved the premise of this book. The idea that psychological conditions were genetical errors that could be detected and controlled by pumping the Crazies full of meds was very intriguing. There was a lot of in story jargon though and it took me a while to understand who exactly where the Pures (don't have genetical errors), the Crazies (genetically prone to mental conditions), Sleepers (carry the conditions but aren't active), what were the Big3 (depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety). I think my confusion was due to the pacing and focus of the book. When Anna walked through the streets everything was described, and I mean everything, while other things I had trouble grasping for lack of definition. Like the explanation about the Enlightenment Project which doesn't come up until the last quarter of the book, yet its an important element of the story. Also the Crazies are constlantly described as, well, crazy and violent, yet Anna manages to talk with the people in the City and even make friends. I wasn't sure it they were Sleepers too. Crazies just seemed to be people who weren't afraid to show strong emotions.
Ana journey from beginning to end of the novel was brilliant. She starts as this naïve girl that is controlled by her father and the rules of the world she lives in, but slowly her eyes open. I admit she really annoyed me through this part, but as she goes deeper into the world outside, and faces danger and torture (yes, literally), Ana turns out to be daring, brave, and quite honestly a bit of a badass. She also pulls a Mulan, which I loved. My hair is one of my vanities and I can’t imagine what would drive me to cut it like that. But extreme circumstances call for extreme measures, and Ana is not afraid to take them! Cole was such a treat to read too. He fights for what he believes in, even when the tasks seem daunting he pushes on. He's a total gentleman to Ana, and by the end I felt myself swooning a bit for him.
The setting is London, 2046 I think, and the place is like an asylum because the Pures live in gated communities that separate them from the people of the City. Though there are many poor places, the technology is really advanced and everyone seems to have access to it. Also, there seems to be a paranormal element to the story with the idea of a Glimpse, which is a peek at the future. Not much is told about it, and it's something I'll love to see in the next book. The ending was a cliffhanger, but oh man! Very exciting stuff! Overall, The Glimpse has serious potential, but I had some trouble getting through it due to the overly descriptive parts, and the confusing dynamics of the world I found myself skimming the paragraphs for the exciting parts.
*I received this book via Netgalley from the publisher*
Favorite Quotes:
"The future isn't written," Cole answered. He poured sloppy orange beans into a pan. "That's the point. A Glimpse is just a possibility."
~
Her hands shook. She had no idea how to respond. Her heart felt like it was going to pump itself so hard it would burst through her chest. She glanced at him and saw he was grinning.
"You're joking?" she said.
"I'd never joke about kissing you."
