Review: Altered by A.D. Croucher

Altered by A.D. Croucher.
Paperback, 220 pages.
Publication Date: August 16, 2012.
Published by: Createspace.
Source: Received copy from A.D. Croucher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Goodreads Summary:
Reese has a plan: keep his grades up, work hard on the basketball court, apply to his favorite Ivy League college, and don't get arrested.

There's just one problem. 

Reese knows things no one should know. He always thought he just had good instincts, but he's noticed that it's been getting worse. Lately it seems like something else.

Something more than instinct.

And he's not the only one that has noticed.

They've been waiting.

Watching.

And now it's time.

With his life in danger, Reese needs a new plan: escape.

My Review:

My first thought when I started reading this novel was "Yay! Male POV!" I have read so many books lately with a female main character, told in her POV, that this was a fantastic change. It was also great that the male, Reese, is an awesome, real character. He's a smart guy and he's very loyal to his best friend, Freddie, but he has made mistakes. Him trying to do right by Freddie is where the action starts, and it really doesn't slow down much from there. Even where there doesn't seem to be too much happening in the scene, there is always some underlying tension or reason to worry. This was, therefore, an exciting novel, and fairly fast paced. My only issue with some of the action is that there were times when the scene jumped around a little too much. Thankfully, though, I was always able to find my place and get back on track. All in all, the plot was great, and I loved that the story felt very different from so much else I have read lately. It covers genetics, testing labs, human (and not-so-human) experiments, and does it in a very exciting and mysterious way.

I thought the novel was very well written, overall. There were so many things that contributed to why I enjoyed it. First off, I loved how descriptive it was. Reese gets his nose broken at one point and I cringed and almost felt it because it seemed so real and so painful. I also really liked how Reese was written. Even with all the insanity of the plot and everything he goes through, there is still indications that he is really just a hormonal teenage boy. I also enjoyed the relationship between Reese and Erika, his fellow captive, and how easy things felt between them. It added a little bit of a lighter tone to all the dark and twisted things that were dealt with in the plot.

This was an intriguing novel from the start, and its ending definitely made me want to know what happens next! I have some hopes for the next one, including that I want to see more of Freddie and Elle, his girlfriend, because they were the ones Reese started the novel with and I missed them throughout the rest of it. I'm also excited to learn more about some of the crazy science that was happening in this one. This is a novel that science fiction fans would greatly enjoy, but is also good for those new to the genre because it has some wonderful characters to help you along.
4 stars.