Imposter by Susanne Winnacker
Received from Razorbill
Available Now
Reviewed by: Middle
Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say:
Suspenseful, Thrilling, and Spectacular
Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again.
Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.
I LOVED this one!!! I
really wish there were more thrillers like this one in the YA genre. From Chapter 1, I was completely hooked, and
no matter how fast I turned the pages, it wasn’t fast enough. I couldn’t wait to discover the villain and
watch as Tessa finally discovered the strength in herself.
I really enjoyed the idea of “Variants,” people with
extraordinary abilities living among us.
This book has a flare of X-Men to it with the suspense and mystery of
any great thriller (you name it—Bourne, Bond, etc.). Seeing all the different abilities was
intriguing, but more importantly, I really enjoyed seeing how having these
abilities transformed and altered their views on the simplest things—safety,
love, truth, friendship. There is always
an air of danger to their lives and their relationships, and it really makes
them more vulnerable than most—despite their powers that put them above most of
mankind.
Tessa was a great main character. She was strong and confident, but she was
also realistic—making some really dumb moves at times. Her vulnerability in her feelings for Alec
also added to her realism. Many people
will think that her heartsickness over him is annoying, but I thought it made
her more human in a book where normal humans were few and far between. In truth though, I’m hoping she ends up with
Devon—the brother of the girl Tessa is sent to impersonate. He’s a bit on the mysterious side, and I love
the boys with secrets!
Of course, Alec definitely has secrets of his own, and I don’t
think we are finished discovering them all.
Alec is kind of like Superman (minus the flying)—he’s much stronger and
much faster than most humans. Therefore,
you can imagine what swooniness could come about if Tessa were to, I don’t
know, faint and have to be carried home?
Still, all the strength in the world and he can’t muster up the courage
to tell Tessa how he feels, even though it is so obvious from the first page.
I really liked that Susanne kept her story succinct, but not
so short that it felt unfinished. There
was action in every chapter, and I never got bored with the characters. The pacing was great because it wasn’t drawn
out just to hit a certain number of pages.
The plot carried on perfectly, without extraneous details that usually
drive me nuts. I am definitely looking
forward to the sequel!
Overall, this was a great read, and I am definitely sorry I
didn’t pick it up sooner. The mystery
and suspense were great, and although many are claiming that the plotline is cliché
or generic, I totally disagree. I was
hypnotized by these powerful Variants, and I am dying to find out what happens next.
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