REVIEW: Slated, by Teri Terry

Slated
Published 2013

Kyla has been Slated—her memory and personality erased as punishment for committing a crime she can’t remember. The government has taught her how to walk and talk again, given her a new identity and a new family, and told her to be grateful for this second chance that she doesn’t deserve. It’s also her last chance—because they’ll be watching to make sure she plays by their rules.

As Kyla adjusts to her new life, she’s plagued by fear. Who is she, really? And if only criminals are slated, why are so many innocent people disappearing? Kyla is torn between the need to know more and her instinct for self-preservation. She knows a dangerous game is being played with her life, and she can’t let anyone see her make the wrong move . . . but who can she trust when everyone is a stranger?

Goodness, there IS a new twist for dystopian fiction! Being "slated" literally means being given a clean slate. But this is only supposed to be for people (teens) who have committed crimes. Only, it's not. Like all things, there is a black market.

The premise of a future government and its social policies getting twisted towards the nefarious isn't new. It's not even particularly new to find that the protagonist figures it out and tries to find out why. It's a dystopian premise that works.

The political and moral compass impacts in this story were the better part of it. By better, I mean, why I didn't quit reading it.

I very nearly quit reading this because of Kyla, the protagonist. She's blah. Ok, so she's newly released from the rehab facility where individuals are, for lack of a better term, reprogrammed after being slated. I get that she's still "stiff," but that doesn't excuse the plain Jane characterization. She's normal, she's average, yet she's the center of something big. Really? She also, unfortunately, has these "feelings" about places and things. While we all know that the average YA makes decisions based on "feelings," we also know that in dystopian (or just non-realistic fiction), those same YAs want substance from their protagonists. Kyla doesn't have it.

It's....ok. It's not a great story. But, perhaps, there is hope. It is apparently only book 1 of at least 2, 3 maybe. Perhaps, Kyla develops....perhaps there is more to the story as well.

What do you think??

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Nancy Paulsen Books through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.