Mainstream-Mini Review: Control By Lydia Kang

Control By Lydia Kang

Published By Dial Books for Young Readers

December 2013

When a crash kills their father and leaves them orphaned, Zel knows she needs to protect her sister, Dyl. But before Zel has a plan, Dyl is taken by strangers using bizarre sensory weapons, and Zel finds herself in a safe house for teens who aren’t like any she’s ever seen before—teens who shouldn't even exist. Using broken-down technology, her new friends’ peculiar gifts, and her own grit, Zel must find a way to get her sister back from the kidnappers who think a powerful secret is encoded in Dyl’s DNA.

A spiraling, intense, romantic story set in 2150—in a world of automatic cars, nightclubs with auditory ecstasy drugs, and guys with four arms—this is about the human genetic “mistakes” that society wants to forget, and the way that outcasts can turn out to be heroes.

~ MY REVIEW ~

I wanted to like Control, I really did. Although, I think I prefaced my reading with, "This might be perfect for fluff reading." Which I don't think is ever a good sign for a novel. As a whole, this story was too X-menesque. Practically a knock off of it, but less involved. I wanted some really cool mutants with kick-ass skills. Instead, Control delivers a sad group of individuals, classified by their author as damaged. They are not proud of their abnormalities, more self-loathing than anything. And there is so much wrong with the MC, that you are practically begging for some character growth. But, the only thing you get is an increase in meanness. Great. That being said, I am a fan of being objective. So, I will say that if you are searching for fluff this will do. I got a couple hours of distraction. The beginning definitely dragged. But the story picks up once you hit the halfway mark. There is just a lot that this story could be, and isn't. You know when your reading, and you find yourself searching for that, "ohhhh, awesome," feeling? Control does not satisfy that, and it's frustrating. I get disappointed rating a book this low, and for that I apologize Lydia Kang. I am not criticizing your ability as a writer, just the material you chose to write on.