Fadeout by Christina J Adams

Fadeout by Christina J Adams

Rating: 

Will I continue reading this series:
Yes


"Thirteen-year-old Silas fears the day when guards come and remove his memories leaving him an empty shell. He is trapped in the Cartiam, a human farm, and knows escape is not possible, but he can’t stop thinking about it."

As a child I used to love watching movies; any type, I loved them all. But I had a rule, no movies under 90 minutes. I'm not sure where I came up with this rule but somewhere along the way I decided that any movie that was less than 90 minutes long would be awful and I was usually right. I have a similar rule for books. No books under 250 pages; anything less is probably going to end up being a rushed, under detailed mess, and I'm usually right on that too. So when I was given a free copy of Fadeout to review and saw that it was only 126 pages long I instantly had reservations. But I'm very happy to confess that Fadeout is most definitely a new exception to the rule.

From the moment you start reading you are sucked in to the world of Silas, a 13 year old boy struggling to live in a world where his people the Carillians (cars) are the lowest of the low. From birth they are told they aren't even people, their only value in life is how much money can be made from their memories when they are literally sucked from their brains leaving them empty walking shells. They live at the Cartiam, the human farm, in fear of one rule: stay in line or go to the machine.

Jamar, the spoilt only child of the Cartiam owner is sick of being pushed around by other children his age and ignored by his father. As a Tirean he knows he is above all the other races and longs for the respect his breeding deserves and the love his father never shows him. When he arrives at the Cartiam with his father Jamar hand picks Silas to be his personal entertainment, someone he can boss around who has no choice but to do everything he says, someone he thinks is too stupid to ever be anything but a plaything. But as he spends more time with Silas, Jamar comes to realise that there is more to the Carillian than he was made to believe and this makes him question not only himself but everything about his way of life. 

Where do I begin, I can honestly say I loved almost everything about this book. I thought the storyline was unique and really well thought out. It was nothing I've ever seen before and from the very beginning I found myself turning page after page wanting to know more about the world, what was happening and where everyone fit in. This was one of those books where once you start reading you can't put it down until it is finished.

I thought that both Silas and Jamar were written really well but Jamar would have to be my favorite character from this book. I love the way he begins as the typical spoilt child thinking he deserves the world. At first you find yourself feeling sorry for him because he's been brought up to believe the lies his people have taught him and the most important thing in his mind is people respecting him. Then as the book progresses you see him struggling between wanting his fathers love and doing what he is coming to believe is right. From start to finish Jamar has you sucked in and hoping he'll end up being the good guy.

The only negative I have for this book is that I would have loved some of the story and back stories to have gone into more detail. I would have loved to see more of Silas and Malina's history together, how exactly she protected him as the synopsis mentions. Similarly I would have loved to have learned more about Jamar and his family. Why wasn't he with his mother instead of traveling with his father or why his mother thought everyone was beneath her. I also would have liked to hear more about the world like how e-mems are actually used for energy or what the process was for the upper classes to receive their medallions and what the point of them was besides just as a badge of honor for those who did well. 

 *SPOILER ALERT*

 

I thought the ending was a little rushed but it was fantastic. Malina on the machine literally had me gasping and hoping Jamar would step up and intervene. When Jamar finally realises his mistake and breaks Silas and Malina out I love the way that he and Silas go from tentative friends to enemies because Jamar is so desperate for someone to want him that he mistakes Silas' self loathing for rejection and it pushes him over the edge. I would have liked to have seen more of an argument escalate between them though before he went from helpful to I'm going to kill you, but that is just me being picky.

All in all I think Fadeout was a really enthralling read. It had me riveted from start to finish and left me wanting more when it was over. Book two will definitely be on my "to read" list.