Book Review: Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese

Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese

Reading Level: Young Adult

Release Date: April 26, 2011

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Pages: 320

Source: Received from publisher for honest review

(The Teen Book Scene Blog Tour)

Summary: Ade Patience can see the future and it's destroying his life. When the seventeen-year-old Mantlo High School student knocks himself unconscious, he can see days and decades into his own future. Ade's the best of Denver's "divination" underground and eager to join the heralded Mantlo Diviners, a group of similarly enabled teens. Yet, unlike the Diviners, Ade Patience doesn't see the future out of curiosity or good will; Ade gives himself concussions because he's addicted to the high, the Buzz, he gets when he breaks the laws of physics. And while there have been visions he's wanted to change, Ade knows the Rule: You can't change the future, no matter how hard you try. His memory is failing, his grades are in a death spiral, and both Ade's best friend and his shrink are begging him to stop before he kills himself. Ade knows he needs to straighten-out. Luckily, the stunning Vauxhall Rodolfo has just transferred to Mantlo and, as Ade has seen her in a vision two years previously, they're going to fall in love. It's just the motivation Ade needs to kick his habit. Only things are a bit more complicated. Vauxhall has an addiction of her own, and, after a vision in which he sees Vauxhall's close friend, Jimmy, drown while he looks on seemingly too wasted to move, Ade realizes that he must break the one rule he's been told he can't. The pair must overcome their addictions and embrace their love for each other in order to do the impossible: change the future.

My Review: Well, let's start off by saying this novel is definitely out there. Now, for the breakdown -- Ade could see the future. How? By giving himself concussions and a whole lot of hospital visits. Yes, normalcy just went out the window. Seeing the future would be an amazing gift. Putting my life in jeopardy to see the future is definitely not worth it. But, who am I to judge? I guess knowing the future has the ability to drive a person mad, especially when you can't change it. Besides Ade's unusual behavior, I did enjoy picking his entertaining thoughts. His carefree attitude shined through leaving no room for personality confusion. The attribute I found appealing in Ade was how personal his story seemed from beginning to end. The ride nonetheless was an emotional and physical roller coaster which helped the plot move along at a steady pace.

Moving on, once Ade experienced a murderous outcome in one of his visions, his drive to figure out how to alter the forbidden rule of changing the future was intriguing. It showcased his motivation while also driving the most heightened aspects of the novel. Even though the concept seemed unique, the ultimate failure lied within the secondary characters. Personally, I didn't really care for any of them. His one true love, Vauxhall and his weird, pious mother were both equally annoying. Vauxhall was a bit on the whorish side, while Ade's mother was off her rocker. Instead of telling her son to stop hurting himself, she condoned his visions as God's calling. Who would of thought? Finally, the ending was decent yet nothing major. I really wanted to love the overall idea, unfortunately it fell short for me. I must say though, that I do see potential in K. Ryer's writing ability. The connection to the reader is there, all we need is a story line to back up the workmanship.

My Rating:

Author's Info:

K. Ryer Breese lives in Denver. He’s worked as a clinical researcher, a short order chef, a film critic, a patient advocate, and a teacher. He does not, as far as he knows have an super powers but he has had three concussions.

For more info on K. Ryer, visit his sites:

-Website

-Facebook

-GoodReads