AnneHannah

 

 

At the start of the book, Aubrey isn't the most sympathetic character. She woke up one day with the ability to turn herself invisible, but she hadn't exactly been using her power to do anything worthwhile. In fact, she ditched her longtime friend Jack, and was using her special ability to steal clothes and other goodies that she normally wouldn't be able to afford.  She was also using her power to spy on classmates. The high school's Alpha-Girl found about Aubrey's little secret, and had been using her to keep up with all the gossip in return for making Aubrey popular. Since Aubrey had always been known as trailer-park trash (due largely to her dad's drinking problem), this was a dream come true for her.

Or it was until the military showed up at a dance and started throwing all of the kids on a bus. Not to mention that they killed one boy who fought back...after he turned into some sort of mutant monster.

Aubrey pulled a disappearing act, assuming that they'd come for her, and hid until they were gone. She reconnected with Jack, but before the two could get away...her father sold her out to the government for beer.

They both end up at a military camp that was designed to sniff out kids with powers. The kids who test negative for mutations get to go home, but no one will tell them what happens to the kids who test positive.

 

Alec and Laura have been traveling around (with another teammate) blowing  things up. They're part of some mysterious terrorist organization, who's main goal seems to be chaos and destruction. They'd been leaving quite a body count in their wake until one of their missions goes wrong and they got separated. Alec was still on the loose, but Laura got picked up and put into the same camp as Jack and Aubrey. Of course, she decided it was a golden opportunity to infiltrate the enemy, and immediately started worming her way into a power position.

 

I liked the different POVs you get in this book. 

I thought it added a little sumpin' sumpin' to the drama of everything to know what was going on in the bad guys' heads. Especially when Laura was working side by side with Jack and Aubrey. 

 

I've barely skimmed the top of this book's plot, but let's just say that the psycho teen-terrorists aren't Aubrey and Jack's only problem. The military has plans for all of the kids who have powers, and they don't exactly ask nicely for their help. Lots of twists, near-escapes, secrets, and betrayals. 

 

I do wish the terrorist organization and the cause of the virus had been explained a little bit better. I didn't get annoyed by the lack of information while I was reading, though. It was fast-paced enough that I breezed through the story pretty quickly, and only after it was over that I realized I still had questions. Maybe the author is saving those things for the next book?

 

All in all, I had a lot of fun reading Blackout, and I'd recommend it for YA fans of mutant kids in a slightly dystopian setting.