Quirk Review: Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson

From Goodreads:

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. This is not her story.

Unless you count the part where I killed her.

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori -- the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right?

I received an uncorrected proof of Ultraviolet through NetGalley.  And boy, am I glad.  I had seen reviews of this by other bloggers that didn't, or couldn't, say much about what they'd read except the fact that this book was awesome.  The back-of-the-book blurb hooked me, and the several five-star ratings prompted me to add it to my to-be-read list.  Then I saw it on NetGalley and clicked the request button quicker than I could have thought possible.  Thankfully, I was approved, and I love love love this book.

Like those who have reviewed before me, I don't want to say much because A.) I don't want to give anything away, and B.) I want to get it as soon as possible and read it for yourself.  Still, I'll try to give some vague indications of my thoughts, in case the love love love isn't enough.

First, the writing is poetic and engrossing and makes you want to paint your walls with the words because they are so beautiful.  The descriptions and raw emotion got me so inside the mind of Alison, the MC, I felt like I was there by her side through everything.  I yearned for her to reach her goals and figure out what was going on as much as she did.

All of the characters felt real to me, like I knew someone just like each one of them.  The story itself, well, if I told you it wouldn't be any fun for you!  Suffice it to say Anderson peppered clues and mysteries throughout so I never got bored.  One minute I'd be wondering about this, the next about that, and before I knew it I was getting some answers.  Of course, the answers only raised more questions, so the cycle of give and take between the story and myself was a good one that was not at all frustrating to me.

The only thing I could say that sounds somewhat negative (but really isn't) is that some of the flashbacks or relived memories (yes, there are those but trust me, they are great and very relevant to what goes on) were a little description heavy and slowed me down in my quest to learn what had led Alison to be where she is.  But honestly, the heavy description is very true to Alison's character, so I wouldn't change it.  It was basically me just being impatient and wanting to know so badly what was going rather than anything Anderson should have done differently.

Ultraviolet is an amazing ride and one that I enjoyed thoroughly (and will enjoy again, I am sure).  There were so many different ways the story could have gone and overall I was very pleased with the how it all happened and how it ended, even though it might catch some people off guard with the direction it took.  But trust me, it is a book worthy of any shelf and a reader needs to pay attention when reading.  In a world with Ultraviolet, things are not always as they seem.