Ultraviolet

Sixteen-year-old Alison wakes up in a mental institution and quickly remembers why she's here: she freaked out, assaulted a cop, and confessed to murdering her classmate Tori. Not just murdering, either. Disintegrating. Alison knows what she saw, what she did--unless, of course, she's crazy. But the cops can't find Tori. And Alison has always been able to sense things no one else can: the color of sounds and scents, the taste of names. Maybe her abilities finally culminated in the power to vaporize someone.

If Alison's "abilities" sound familiar to you, well, you've already got one rather large reveal (about 100 pages in) figured out. In the first three quarters of the book, we meet an interesting group of teen residents with various psychological conditions. We experience life in the institution through Alison's fresh, first-person voice (and through her heightened senses), and it's a beautiful voice. There's lovely prose living in these pages.

We also meet young, unconventional Dr. Faraday, a psychologist who takes great interest in Alison's case. He identifies her condition, helps her define her sensory abilities, lets her voice her fears, and insists that she is completely sane. As a confidant to Alison and an enigma to me, Faraday's character is enjoyable.

There's nothing in the majority of this book to indicate it's anything other than a contemporary psychological drama. Fortunately, I had read the back cover, which calls it "traditional science fiction." I read most of the book wondering when the sci-fi element would show up.

And then, show up it did, in spades. And then, far too soon ... the book ended.

To justify the plot, I can only compare this novel to THE TWILIGHT ZONE, but the comparison is a compliment. In a way, this novel is genius. That said, if I hadn't read the back cover (or ever watched THE TWILIGHT ZONE), I might have felt tricked. This book certainly has the most jarring plot twist I've ever read, because it doesn't merely twist the plot. It changes the genre and the tone and essentially everything. Since I'd been waiting for something like this to happen, I merely thought, and kept reading.

The problem isn't with the twist; it's with the location of the twist. If I could give half-stars, Ultraviolet might get 3.5, mostly for this reason. All the newly introduced elements of plot and storyworld and character beg for development. I want to care about these elements as much as I cared about the first 200+ pages, while Alison struggled with fellow inmates and her parents and other authority figures and her own scared, confused self. But I can't care as much as I want to, because they're on the page in a glorious reveal and then the pages run out.

However. There is a sequel. Excellent.

Ultraviolet started out kind of slow, but still interesting, especially since my daughter has synesthesia (though, later in the book, in my daughter’s experience with multiple types of synesthesia at once, the portrayal of what it’s like to be a synesthete was not even remotely accurate). Eventually, the whole story just completely went off the rails and became a complete mess. I felt like the book was trying to be multiple stories at once and it just really didn’t work. By the last quarter, I couldn’t get the guy from the History Channel saying, “Aliens!” out of my head as the book went from a little odd to completely weird. I do not really recommend anyone take the time to read it and I will most definitely not be reading the second book in the series.

There was a misprint and I’m missing about 70 pages of the book. Just when it was getting good.

Don't read to many other reviews as they'll ruin the surprise!
This was a fast-paced, well thought out, emotionally intense book. Plus, it does NOT end on a cliffhanger! I highly recommend it.

This book is for sure going to keep you on your toes. It is filled with gigantic plot changers that blow you mind away. If you are anything like me and bored of the same plot lines repeating then this book is perfect for you.

4.5 stars

I had such an incredibly hard time writing a review for this. There are so many things I want to say about it, but the words just wouldn't come.

I want to say I was surprised by how amazing this book was, but I really wasn't. I'd read so many amazing things about it and my best friend loved it, too, before she let me borrow it. To say I went in with high expectations is an understatement. To say Ultraviolet met those expectations is an even bigger understatement.

Much of this book takes place in a mental hospital. You'd think that that would get boring after awhile, but no. Not even close. The other characters in the mental hospital make for a great setting for the book. They all had their own little stories which, while not completely necessary to the actual book, kept me interested and provided some variety.

Some may argue that the main character and narrator, Alison, is cold and distant. In a way, she is, but that didn't stop me from loving her. Alison is a very unique character. Her narrative isn't like anything I've ever read before, so she was new and exciting for me. Sure, she's fairly distant from everyone else, but if you were in her situation, you would be the same way. Alison is distraught, wondering how sane she truly is, but she still manages to be strong and curious and smart and relateable. Basically? I love her.

Sebastian Faraday is probably officially one of my favorite love interests. (And not just because he reminds me of the TV show LOST.) He's yet another character that is unlike anyone I've ever read. He's mysterious, but not in the frustrating way. He's the only one who can truly help Alison, and he does things the right way. I love him even more than Alison.

But Ultraviolet isn't just about awesome characters. There's mystery and intrigue, too. You spend the book contemplating - What really happened to Tori Beaugrand?

(Let's pretend I spelled that name right.)

Overall: Ultraviolet is a complex read that really makes you think, but it's one of the most original things I've ever read in my entire life. I don't know what I can tell you to convince you to read it, but Ultraviolet takes sci-fi to a whole new level. And it's not even heavy on the sci-fi. 4.5 stars.

The first 75% of the book is quite and what keep you going is the question "what the he'll is really happening here? I don't really mind slow book but this book, OMG!, the last 25% of this book make it worth the wait. I ended up totally in love the sci-fi.

Ordered this book for my daughter. Arrived on time as described.

Loved this. Bought it for my daughter then became so engrossed in it I had to finish it.

Ultraviolet was quite a trip. At first I thought they’d gone a little overboard with the extent of Alison’s synesthesia and types of synesthesia, but I was quickly proven wrong. This book had a lot of elements that kept me reading, aside from the synesthesia. I’m always fascinated by characters who are seemingly thrown into a mental institution without cause, and the dynamics that play out among the other patients and the staff. I loved the mystery and solace Alison found in Dr. Faraday, who went a long way in helping her understand and accept herself. I have to admit that at a certain point in the story, when things started being revealed, I was VERY unhappy. But, thank goodness, my fears were relieved once again and the book ended on a really strong note. What a ride!

Types of synesthesia included: grapheme-color, sound-color, sound-feeling (and probably others I can’t remember)

How well was it executed? Really well, especially considering the vastness of Alison’s suite of synesthesia types, and how debilitating they were in combination with each other.