The Glimpse by Claire Merle
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis: In the not so distant future, society has been divided into Pures and Crazies according to the results of a DNA test. When Ana finds out there was a mistake with her test her whole world crumbles. Now Pure-boy Jasper is her only hope of salvation.
But when Jasper disappears, Ana is distraught. She sets off on his trail, determined to solve the mystery of his abduction. In doing so she uncovers some devastating truths, but she also learns to love as she has never loved before.
My Review: Finally! A dystopian novel that has completely captured my heart! 'The Glimpse' is the first book in a duology (my review for book 2 will be posted after this one) and I'm so glad I picked it up! For me, I want to be wowed by dystopian novels - I guess I've been spoiled with both the Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies so not many really live up to what I'm expecting. But this book. THIS BOOK.
First off the characters. I love that Ana isn't completely clueless. There is a fine balance between a character being shielded from the truth and a character just not looking hard enough for the truth. Ana is definitely the first one. She's a strong character to begin with but she becomes stronger throughout the novel (as a lead character should) and you really invest in her character because of this. This trait also means her actions are believable. There are times when her Pure upbringing shines through but Claire Merle shows how Ana starts to really question everything that's ever happened to her.
Cole - oh.my.gosh Cole. He's not stupid either and he really helps Ana figure out what is actually happening behind the borders and shows her that actually, life isn't so bad. At first, the idea of him having this 'glimpse' of Ana years before made me really wary - it's very hard to make something like that believable but Merle only dwells on it for as long as is necessary before moving on. Many authors would have made a point of including references to this glimpse every five minutes, but Merle uses it only when necessary - the reader doesn't forget about it, but they're not constantly hounded by it, which is something I really like.
I'm also throwing Tamsin in there. As Ana's best friend she doesn't have a starring role but I loved the parts she was in. She obviously helped Ana become as strong as she is and the friendship between the girls is strong enough to last through anything the government throws at them but again, it's a believable friendship. Ana needs Tamsin to give her a kick when things start to get her down and Tamsin needs Ana to give her hope that things are going to change
The world building was also amazing. I liked the fact that it's set in Britain - something that's not usually done and made the world stand out a little bit more. Merle has cleverly kept many references to modern day London - the Tube in particular - whilst weaving in her own elaborate world around it, which makes reading about the world, especially if you live in the UK like me, really intriguing and special.
I love the whole idea of society being divided into Pures and Crazies. Mental illness is a big thing now and so it's interesting to see how the concept of illness ruining society as we know it. Claire Merle did so well getting the divide between the Pures and Crazies just right and it was interesting to see how the medications the characters had available to them affected their lives and actions.
There is so much more I can say about this book but I won't be able to stop at the end- it's just amazing. This is definitely a duology to read. My review for 'The Fall' which is the conclusion to 'The Glimpse' will be up soon.
Image from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12367267-the-glimpse - no Copyright intended.
