Book Review: Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson

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?

My Rating: 

Ultraviolet is one of those books that  you won’t be able to put down and will leave you saying, “wow, that was so neat.” Of course, an integral part of the reading experience is going in with next to no knowledge about the story itself, so I’ll try my best to keep this review short, sweet, and spoiler-free.

From the beginning, I was enthralled by the way that Anderson wrote this story. The descriptions of Alison’s world were so vivid and sensory that I felt like I too had synesthesia – a neurological phenomenon that occurs when sensory pathways are crossed, resulting in the ability to “taste colours” or “see sounds.”

”Doors flapped open and slammed shut, like the valves of a pounding heart. Footsteps splattered blue onto the fluorescent orange shriek of the alarm, and the air thickened with shouting voices.”

The story itself moved at an excellent pace. The plot didn’t progress too quickly; instead, it took time for Alison (and the reader) to piece together the mystery surrounding Tori’s disappearance while simultaneously building suspense. The plot twist was also perfectly executed. While I had a general idea of what was going to happen due to a fair bit of foreshadowing, I was still pleasantly surprised by the ending.

Overall, Ultraviolet was an engaging and thoroughly enjoyable read. I look forward to reading the sequel, Quicksilver, and anything else that this author has to offer.