Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Dualed by Elsie Chapman
Release Date: February 26, 2013
Publisher: Random House Books For Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 304

Summary: You or your Alt? Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

My Thoughts: I loved the premise of this one, I really did. But I never really connected with it on a deeper level. I think that was the problem. We are introduced to West (yes, its a girl) who lives in a world where you have to fight, fight, fight. By the age of 20, you get assigned to kill your alt. Your alt is the person who was created at the same time as you and in this society only one of you shall live.

West has already lost most of her family at the beginning of the story. She only has her brother left and his best friend. West makes a lot of decisions, and I don’t really know if they are the right ones.

A fight to the death? Only one of you will live? This sounded awesome, it did. But I just didn't feel the chemistry between the characters and I felt like the whole book was just chasing or being chased by the alt. I didn't really feel like there was much suspense or character development. And I just couldn't connect to West very well.

I loved the premise of this, and maybe the next will rock my socks off. But I just didn’t really feel this one too much. I felt like not enough happened. I do read a lot of dystopians though and that may be the problem. They have to hold my attention to the extreme to keep me interested.

As a fan of The Hunger Games, its hard for me to read these kinds of novels and not compare them a little bit. That is probably why none of them spark my interest quite as much. It did have an interesting premise, so I will read the next in the series. This one was just ok for me though. I didn't love it like I had hoped while opening that first page.

Overall: It was just ok for me. I didn't really connect to it, and that is ok. I’m not going to be giddy at every book I read. It was ok though, and I will pick up the next one when it comes out. Maybe even a 3.5 cupcake rating,  instead of a 3 rating flat. Give this one a try as part of your 2013 debut challenge and see what you think.  

Cover: Like it. Love how we see her shadows and the weapons she is carrying.

What I’d Give It: