Friday, January 20, 2012

Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

     

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
______________________________

Series: Newsoul (#1)
Pages: 384
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: January 31st, 2012
IBSN: 9780062060754





NEWSOUL

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?



In Heart, the same souls are reincarnated over and over again, keeping their memories and personalities. And then Ana is born -- a newsoul, a stranger -- and an old soul vanishes. She's treated apprehensively, allegedly having no soul at all, but decides to find out the truth about herself, with the help of Sam, the only person who's ever treated her like a person.

Incarnate was a pretty idea -- of a new girl in a world of people who've been together for hundreds of years, of the promise of reincarnation, of safety from a mystical world behind city walls -- but it felt too often like that was as far as it went. Like whenever you asked the guide if the show was starting soon, they'd distract you by pointing somewhere else like "have you seen this yet? This is interesting!".

Ana travels to Heart with the intention to figuring herself out -- both in search of the answers to her questions about her mystery soul, and to try to find who she is without the influence of her abusive mother treating her like less than a person. But post-arrival, her mission is only at the forefront of her mind when she isn't with Sam, which -- as his guest and with most citizens wary of her -- isn't often. I'm finding that the stories with the most potential are doing themselves a disservice by focusing majorly on the token romance (The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer, anyone?). Sweet as Ana and Sam were, their burgeoning relationship would have served better as a complement to the plot rather than a stand-in for it.

Though, to the author's credit, she manages to make Ana learning to play the piano or talking to Sam mostly compelling, only later noticing there was something missing once you find that piece near the end.

This very readable quality can be accredited to Meadow's writing style, subtly otherworldly and setting appropriate without being alienating, and though with its few inconsistencies (occasionally poorly articulated, and occasionally beautifully descriptive) it was mostly pleasant and smooth and didn't stray too far into inconsequential details.

Overall, Incarnate was a unique idea that felt like it succumbed too much to the existing YA market -- it focused more on an intriguing premise than an intriguing plot, and the romance dominated. The plot was squeezed and condensed so late that it was almost an afterthought, but it what of it was unexpected and twisting and had so much potential. I won't set my hopes so high come book two, but I'll most definitely continue this series.

10 comments:

Cass said...

I find my opinions about both Mara Dyer and Shatter Me are closely linked. And most of that is due to the romances that just have too much dominance over the plot.

It's such a shame because, otherwise, I would have deeply enjoyed both. I'm so excited to read this one. Hm. My Netgalley ran out and then the book was archived so I can't even read it. I'll wait for a pb release, if ever.

I tend to be disappointed (I was super excited about both Mara and Shatter...) with big hype and interesting premises. So... yeah, just thanks for the review!

Amy @ Turn the Page (YA) said...

Great, balanced review. I'm finding more and more YA, especially paranormal, is doing this. Focusing too much on a superficial romance, without developing the world or plot properly. And I say that as a big romance girl. I love a story with romance in but it has to be done right.

I do want to read this one though - and I thought originally it was coming out at the end of the month but you can't pre-order it anywhere. Looks like the publication date has maybe been changed? Don't know what's going on.

We Heart YA said...

Ditto what Amy said, completely. Your review is great, and it echoes what we're seeing in so much PNR and dystopian. Basically we've put those genres aside in favor of other areas of YA, like contemporary or fantasy (both high and low).

Giselle said...

Hmm, it's nice to see a review that is not all gushy about this one. I'm reading it next week so it's good to know what to expect from both sides! I'm so curious about it though.

Giselle
Xpresso Reads

Leanna Elle said...

I really do like the premise of this one, so I'm hoping it works out for me. I don't really mind a romance that dominates as long as I can really warm to the characters. (I guess that's why The Bony Finder is one of my fave books!) :)

Venessa's blog said...

I think you are very nice to share such a good post! sell and buy rs accounts

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing,Living Storage specialise in home storage furniture. Our designs offer you the perfect solutions to creating that extra bit of storage space and provide invaluable concealed storage areas to keep your rooms neat, tidy and organised.
Storage Beds

Unknown said...

I basal to access you for this abounding read!! I in adeptness able every little bit of it I access you bookmarked to appraisal out new accepting you post
Estetik

miamichrysler said...

Thanks to give us about your important information. I really like your views.
please let me know something more......
s
Miami jeep

RAILROAD JOBS said...

It's a creativity site.thanks for sharing.100+ railroad jobs

available.Browse our live lsitings. RailroadJobs.com assits railroad

profesionals in finding jobs and railway companies in finding talented

railroad workers. Also, get started in the railroad profession - find

out how.
Railroad Jobs

Post a Comment