Deviant by Helen Fitzgerald
Narrated by – Kirstin Potter
Publisher – AudioGo LTD
Running Time: 6hrs 46min
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I received this audio book for review from AudioGo through Audiobook Jukebox
This audio was narrated by Kirsten Potter. Her performance was believable and enjoyable although the Scottish accent was sometimes a bit much. Since the main character was from Scotland, the accent was fitting though, I just didn't care for it. Otherwise, this was an adequate narration.
Deviant was an interesting story with some unusual twists. Initially, I was able to really identify with the main character, Abigail, who felt abandoned by the mother who left her as an infant and even by her guardian who died when Abigail was very young leaving her to grow up in some shoddy foster homes and orphan hostels. Abigail was forced to learn some harsh life lessons and developed some street smarts that prevented her from becoming a victim like so many in her position. In order to survive, Abigail resolved to form no attachments, friendships or otherwise.
Deviant started to read like a Cinderella story when Abigail found out about the father and sister she had never heard of and suddenly found herself living the life of a wealthy California teen. All of Abigails doubts and yet her desire to embrace the family she had yearned all her life for struck a chord with me and I really wish that the story would have went in this direction. However, as it states in the summary, Deviant deviates into a conspiracy rich kind of action/thriller and this is where the story kind of lost me.
I did not find the intrigue to be completely convincing and I think it pushed past the bounds of plausibility. The machinations of the super secret agency to control teen behavior was over the top and unrealistic. And then of course, nefarious plots notwithstanding, a teen will always have time for a bit of romance. This didn't quite go into a full love triangle even though it hinted at the possibility of one, for which I am grateful. What felt genuine to me was that Abigail would absolutely be awkward and unsure after a lifetime of pushing people away, so when the relationship aspects didn't always fit right, I found it believable.
Ultimately, this was a worthwhile read and I would recommend it to fans of book like The Program and similar reads.
6 comments:
One of this days I'm going to give audiobooks a try. I'm just afraid of falling asleep while listening to it!
Lectus
Oh, on the left panel I see you are reading Branded. I have it too! God I hope is good.
Lectus
Aw, damn! I got this one and had such high hopes. I'm the kind of person who'd easily call bullshit if the story isn't really believable. I mean, it would be ridiculous as long as you back it up, but yeah... :/ But at least the heroine was genuine :) Not sure if I'll be reading it, but I may try just a bit to see if it'll work for me. Awesome review!
Faye @ The Social Potato Reviews
I definitely think you should still try it! I've found that my opinion doesn't often match the majority. But I'm with you, a story loses credibility with me if the plot isn't believable. Thanks for stopping by Faye!
I just started it and have been lax on my reading this weekend! But I like the little that I've read of it.
I prefer audio books to anything else, but I can't just listen without doing something else like playing a game, cleaning, or something to focus on or I would fall asleep too. But I'll tell you, when you find the right narrator and the right story, it is an amazing experience.
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