The Unadjusteds

Sixteen-year-old Silver Melody lives in a world where 80% of the population has modified their DNA. Known as the altereds, those people now possess enhancements like wings, tails, and increased strength or intelligence. Although Silver’s parents created the nanite pill used to deliver these genetic modifications, Silver is proud of her unadjusted state.
However, when the president declares all unadjusteds must take a nanite, Silver has no choice but to flee the city with her father and some friends to prevent the extinction of the unadjusteds.

With Silver’s mother in prison for treason, Silver’s father is the unadjusteds’ only hope at finding a cure. But time is running out as Silver’s father is captured by the president’s almost immortal army. Vicious hellhounds are on Silver’s trail, and her only chance to recover her father involves teaming up with a new group of unlikely friends before all humanity is lost.

Rating:

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Fast-paced urban fantasy, packed to the brim with action.
• Teens with powers and altered DNA.
• Dystopia featuring tyrannical governments.
• Love triangle.
• Friends-to-lovers.
• Squad vibes.
• Fun fight scenes, made better with powers.

I’m always up for dystopias, especially when they come with superpowers. Hard to go wrong with that combination, right? So I was super excited to pick up this book, which sounded right up my alley!

The Unadjusteds is a fast-paced dystopian novel with fun fight scenes, where teens have powers. The plot follows a compelling fight for rights and against tyranny.

I had a really good time with this book. The powers were fun, and the fight scenes were *chef’s kiss*. Where I really struggled was the love triangle (one of my least favorite tropes!), and I wished there had been a little more solid world-building.

In a world where changing one’s DNA is a thing, so many moral questions are raised.

I’m mentioning this first because it was for sure one of my favorite things about this book, and it’s really at the forefront for all the characters. How could it not be?! As you might imagine, when it’s possible to become super fast or super strong or have wings, it’s hard for people who choose not to change their DNA to compete. But does changing your DNA actually change who you are?

There are so many heavy-hitting moral questions about what it means, in the grand scheme of things, to change your DNA and the prejudices that arise from people on both sides of the debate.

As if that’s enough, because this is a dystopia, this world isn’t exactly all sunshine and rainbows. Actually, it’s very much a tyranny, and the main struggle in this is that all guise of choice has disappeared, and every citizen is being forced to take a nanite against their will.

I absolutely love books that have such heavy, hard-hitting plot elements, because it really forces you to get to the heart of a complicated, ugly situation and suss out how you feel about it. This book makes you think, and sometimes the answers aren’t as easy and straight-forward as you first assumed.

The characters in this have “powers,” but it’s not quite the blessing it may seem.

On the one hand, it’s very much similar to something like X-Men in that regard, and it adds a layer of depth to the story. The idea is simple: take a nanite, modify your DNA. Could be something invisible like speed or night vision, etc. Could be something major like a bulk or having wings or any number of visible traits stolen from animals. The abilities seem almost endless, which of course leads me to speculate what sort of traits I’d go for.

While I enjoyed seeing the powers, it was equally nice to see the drawback of the powers. As awesome as having these abilities seem, there’s always something to even it out and keep it in balance, which I really appreciated. It also helped up the stakes a ton!

The plot is fast-paced, filled with danger and exciting fight scenes.

There’s not a lot of downtime, which is great if you’re someone who loves action and plot movement. There wasn’t really a time where the story sagged, and it carried me through without me ever feeling like I should put it down. That’s not to say that there isn’t enough time for the finer things, like getting to know the characters, because there is! Everyone seems to start with preconceived notions based on their life before the book starts, and it’s nice to see them come together and get over their biases.

The fight scenes, in particular, are exciting and fun. Powers make everything better … who knew?

Since there’s such a wide variety of powers, that means combining them into fight scenes is fun and dynamic and keeps me guessing how people will team up and use their powers! There were definitely moments that were so unbelievable (yes, even in a book about superpowered humans) that they pulled me out of the story, but for the most part, I just loved the fight scenes!

I wish the world-building was a little stronger and there was a little more consistency, because I kept being pulled out of it.

Maybe it was me and I just wasn’t paying enough attention or reading closely enough. That’s always a possibility. There were definitely moments that yanked me out of the book rather heavy-handedly, like when a character who’s only been throwing knives for a few days manages to throw a knife accurately enough to knock a bullet off its trajectory.

I also wish there was a bit more about the world. I was confused about the nanites and the distinctions between them. Then there’s altereds, adjusteds, and unadjusteds, and I wasn’t completely sure what the difference was between altereds and adjusteds. At one point, I thought one was a slur and the other wasn’t, but I’m pretty sure they were used interchangeably throughout the book? I tried to go back and see where I might have missed something, but there seems to have been some distinction that I just didn’t get.

Then there’s President Bear. I know nothing about him except that he’s the villain. How did he come to power? Why did he come to power? Why does he do anything at all, and what does he really want? *shrug* Who knows. I felt his character was so vague, and I really wanted more, especially considering he’s supposed to be such a big, scary villain. I just really wanted a bit more world-building about this government.

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