I received this galley in consideration for an honest review.
Soulprint by Megan Miranda Published by Bloomsbury on February 3, 2015
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Goodreads
With the science of soul-fingerprinting a reality, Alina Chase has spent her entire life imprisoned for the crimes her past-self committed. In an attempt to clear her name, Alina unintentionally trades one prison for another when she escapes, aided by a group of teens whose intentions and motivations are a mystery to her. As she gets to know one of the boys, sparks fly, and Alina believes she may finally be able to trust someone. But when she uncovers clues left behind from her past life that only she can decipher, secrets begin to unravel. Alina must figure out whether she’s more than the soul she inherited, or if she’s fated to repeat the past.
The world of Soulprint is very interesting. In this world, not only is the idea of a soul accepted, but they can track where it goes after death and that idea is what made me want to read this story. The question of whether a soul determines who you are is at the core of Alina’s story, since she is essentially a prisoner because of the crimes her soul committed in a previous existence. There is a realization about halfway through the story that by putting her in an isolated prison, they had turned Alina into the person they predicted she would become. This self fulfilling prophesy is one that seemed to be the source of much of the inner conflict within Alina. She had been told for so long that she would turn into a criminal that she wondered if they were right. As those questions plagued her, the plot became a mystery filled with conspiracies and twists. Her rescue was brilliantly laid out, and the feeling of distrust Alina felt for the very people that freed her was very well written.
While I found the plot interesting, I can’t say that this story flowed well the whole time. It seemed to be a little scattered at points and the romance seemed a bit out of place and distracting, as well. However, I did enjoy the many twists and turns. Alina was able to become her own person and gain agency, which I thought was important for her character. It also took its time to resolve, so I did not get that rushed ending feeling that I get with so many stand-alones. I really appreciate when an author writes a longer book so that a compete resolution may be reached. Soulprint was a bit of a departure for this author, whose other books I absolutely love, but despite my issues, I thought this was an interesting idea and a story that entertained me and made me think.
Megan Miranda is a fabulous storyteller of mystery. Loved her novel Hysteria. Glad you enjoyed this om, i’m hopefully going to dive into it soon.
It’s so great to have a world like that, I always like to discover them when they’re rich. But on the contrary it’s a little too bad for the plot… thanks for the review.
I really enjoyed Soulprint, though I was a bit surprised by the romance at first and was like this doesn’t seem the most opportune moment, but in the end it worked for me. And I really appreciated the way Megan Miranda ended things at well, I hate when it feels rushed and not fully fleshed out, but that didn’t happen with this one.
SO I struggled a bit with Hysteria, I felt like parts of it were awesome but others were not so good. I have been seeing some good reviews for this one. Not sure if I am in the mood for a scattered plot.