Scott Reads It!

Check out Scott Reads It! for reviews, giveaways, & more! I love dystopias, all of my book blogger friends know this and I will read almost any dystopia I can get my hands on. Even though I love dystopian books, but I have been disappointed by the latest influx of these books in YA. It seems that every single book, publishers are churning out these days is dystopian and a lot of them are pretty subpar. I was excited to read Dualed when I was approved for it on NetGalley, but I was really turned off by the mediocre ratings for this book by my trusted friends. Color me surprised, but I really enjoyed Dualed and it was nothing like I expected! Dualed is about a futuristic society where people have to kill their twin or "Alt" to become a complete or a full member of society. West has only a certain amount of days to kill off her Alt before both of them are deactivated and killed. Can West kill off her alt in time or will West be defeated by her Alt? Dualed is an extremely entertaining, original addition to the dystopian genre. This book is chock full of action-packed scenes that kept me turning the pages and eager to read more. The action scenes are perfectly written with enough tension and thrill to create a captivating read. Elsie Chapman definitely knows how to write intense, action scenes that keep the reader hooked and eager to read more. The descriptions in Dualed were extremely intricate and detailed making this a rich read. Add in a kick-ass protagonist and you have Dualed, a thrilling page turner. West is definitely one of the superior protagonists that I have read about recently. So many protagonists fall short for me, but West was just the kind of heroine I love! What was lacking in Dualed was explanations and thorough world building. How could society revolve around a system where people have to kill their twins? The author never really properly explained why this was necessary, all the author said that society was trying to root out the weaklings. I wasn't really satisfied with that explanation and I wanted something more in depth and credible. The world building in Dualed is pretty shaky and the reader doesn't really get a chance to full understand the dynamics of the world Chapman has created. I'm not sure if these complaints will be addressed in the following book, but I sure hope so. I'm not sure if I'm expecting too much from this novel regarding world building or if it truly is an issue. In addition to the world building, I would have liked to see many of the characters explored further. West (our protagonist) was fantastic, but it seemed like the supporting characters were a bit weak in regards to development. The romance between West and Chord was superbly done, but I wanted to know more about who Chord was. Chord seemed like he was only in love with West and he only protected her. I wanted to see who Chord was beyond his captivation with West because he seemed like an interesting character. Dualed is definitely one of the better dystopians released recently and I'm definitely excited for the sequel. I hope the sequel answers some of my burning questions and concerns that I had while reading Dualed. Overall Dualed is definitely a tense, fast-paced thriller that will captivate readers from the get-go.