Aimee

Girl Undercover, not so believable.

To say the least, I had only vague idea of what I was getting into when I started this book. First off, it's a more futuristic/science fiction book. I had a feeling something was up since it was possible for her to lose a hand for trading places with her brother. Not quite as fun and imaginative as I was hoping for, however.

The idea that people have found a way to find another habitable solar system didn't bother me. Or even the "Earth that was" references. I think this story had so much potential and it all went down the drain when I realized there would be no world building. No explanation of why people had to move to another solar system or why woman are back to being second class citizens. Citizens who are pimped out at early ages to get married and to become broodmares. Basically. No education, no jobs, no life. I could have lived with this if there were some sort of background. More than a simple line buried in the story about a vague sickness when they left earth.

Besides the ill formed storyline of women are back to being bought and sold like cattle, the obstacles at the Academy seemed forced. Besides communal showers and a roommate to play lookout, who by the way, happens to think that Kris has something wrong with her body, like leprosy or something, everything is able to be explained away with a case of extreme modesty. For the most part, the "fixes" were too easy. Like Kris's very very very small chest. In which she can bandage and all traces of her womanly curves are subdued and effectively hidden. Even well hidden when she goes unbound, thanks to baggy clothes.

The story itself, if taken very lightly, makes for a fast read. Even slightly entertaining if you let yourself forget that there are no reasonable development for the story itself or the characters. The writing is overly simplistic. No world building, not very descriptive. The author employs a style that instead of showing the readers everything, it is told instead and leaves very little room for the imagination to take over.

Without all that pesky world building descriptive crap to get in the way, the story is a fast simple read that requires very little thinking or pondering on the readers part. This is a book that had great potential to be a good read. Unfortunately, it is a story that is completely forgettable.