Control by Lydia Kang | A Somewhat Difficult and Challenging Read

Title: Control

Author: Lydia Kang 

Pages: 393

Published: December 26, 2013 

Synopsis:

An un-putdownable thriller for fans of Uglies

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren't like any she's ever seen before- teens who shouldn't exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends' peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a away to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl's DNA. 

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150- in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms- this is about the human genetic "mistakes" that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.

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To me, this book was nothing special. I know some people who thought this book was simply amazing, and I know others who thought this book was meh. I'm practically a sucker for any YA sci-fi book these days. So when I saw this book, I definitely knew it was the kind of book for me. I'm not gonna lie though because I really enjoyed this book. The pace was soothing and it was appalling to me how Lydia Kang managed to fit all that writing in only one book (even though I just realized that there is a sequel). I have to give Ms. Kang some credit for her thrilling story line and heated romance. On the downside though, there were some annoying characters and little to no character development through the story's timeline. My thoughts on this book: THE INFAMOUS "MEH"

As I'm writing this review for my blog, I'm reading a bunch of reviews off goodreads where people are saying some pretty harsh things: Slut-shaming, girl-on-girl hate, hypersexualization of everything girls do even when it's not even remotely sexual, an attempt at a love triangle. I don't technically agree with these statements, but I did think there was a sucky attempt at writing this so-called YA book. Anyways...

This book take's place in the future of  the year 2150, where magpods are used instead of cars and people have holograms. The story follows Zelia Benten and her adventures with some extraordinary people as she goes on this science-filled journey to look for her sister. Her sister, Dylia, is unlike any other normal girl as she has an unusual trait in her DNA. As her journey continues in the Carus House (A safe house designed for people with special traits who are rejected by the government), she meets the charming Cy.

Most of the time, I feel like it's hard for authors to create and develop that perfect futuristic world, but Lydia Kang nailed it! I especially loved how she made the modern car seem so old school and vintage. It was like I took a step somewhere into the future. And now for the characters... I've been waiting so long to rage about these characters! I mean, come on. When can you read a book these days and find yourself screaming when the characters get so irritating? I hardly find myself doing that but for this book, that was an exception. The plot, for one thing, was fascinating! The writing was, at times, a little hard to follow up on. I felt like it was bit too cheesy and straight-forward too.

Overall, I wouldn't read this book for the romance and the excitement. If you're a lover of science and dystopian-ish reads, then by all means, check this book out. I just didn't think this book sat so well with me. Will I pick up the second book? Definitely because I am just that willing to take a chance on this series. I had a lot of fun reading this book!

Character Analysis:
Zelia- The perfect female protagonist! She was strong, super smart, and.... not ugly. I feel like authors tend to forget to mention the full capability of women, or females in general. Zelia didn't grow throughout the book as a character, which is what I would've liked to have seen. But at least she started out as well-suited character for this book!

Cy- Annoying. Irritating. Rude. I'm disgusted by this character. I don't know if guys just like to make girls feel inferior, or if it's just implanted in their brains. Cy was a total jerk-ass punk. I hate him and most of the time, I just wanted to throw a book at his face.

Dyl (Dylia)- What's the DYLema? Haha, you see what I did there? Dyl was such a puny and helpless character. I feel like if she was more like Zelia, she would not have gotten herself into this mess. I mean... she was pretty and all that.

Vera- Ok she was a fun character to read about. Vera was somewhat difficult at times, but that made me love her even more :D

Hope you enjoyed this LONG review. I'm just as frustrated as you are!