'GENESIS GIRL' - Jeniffer Bardsley

Grace from Loving Dem Books booktube channel has recently started up a thing called Booktube Tours – similar to blog tours. Once you are a Booktube Tour Host, you are sent an email when a knew tour is up and you can sign up for that particular tour. If you are one of the lucky chosen ones, you are sent the book in exchange for multiple YouTube promotion videos.

When I saw the email about Genesis Girl, I immediately knew that I wanted to read this book. The sci-fi aspect including the future and technology was really interesting to me. And when Jennifer Bardsley emailed me saying that I was chosen to be a tour host as she was impressed with my Instagram account (readbooksread) I was so excited. When she sent me the book, she also included a whole lot of swag such as book marks, stickers and pencils.

So now to the book;
“Eighteen-year-old Blanca has lived a sheltered life. Her entire childhood has been spent at Tabula Rasa School where she’s been protected from the Internet.
Blanca has never been online and doesn’t even know how to text. Her lack of a virtual footprint makes her extremely valuable, and upon graduation, Blanca and those like her are sold to the highest bidders.
Blanca is purchased by Cal McNeal, who uses her to achieve personal gain. But the McNeals are soon horrified by just how obedient and non-defiant Blanca is. All those mind-numbing years locked away from society have made her mind almost impenetrable.
By the time Blanca is ready to think for herself, she is trapped. Her only chance of escape is to go online.” – Goodreads summary

CHARACTERS: There was such a wide variety of characters with different personalities in this book, and I loved how Bardsley wrote about each of them. The protagonist, Blanca, is smart, sensible and obedient, yet she is also strong and is able to stand up for herself. I loved reading not only about her character but her life and story throughout the book. She was so interesting to read about and I found it so entertaining that she has never been exposed to technology.
My favourite character in the book would have to be Seth. He is seen as the ‘bad guy’ in the beginning, and I guess in a way he is. However, he develops so much as the book continues and I loved watching him grow and his connection with Blanca. He is charismatic, charming and just an amazing character. I loved him and Blanca together and their relationship would have to be my favourite aspect of the book.
Other characters such as Cal, Fatima, Ms. Lydia and Barbelo also helped add to the story line. I had mixed feeling about Cal, Blanca’s purchaser, throughout the book as couldn’t decide whether he was a good guy or bad. Fatima, Blanca’s vessel friend, was a great comparison to Blanca as they had a lot of differences. Ms. Lydia was another character that I had mixed feelings about; I couldn’t understand her motives and what she was trying to do with Cal and Blanca. And lastly, Barbelo, who I guess you could say is the antagonist of the book. He has evil motives and he is really creepy. However, he definitely added a sense of drama and conflict to the story. I love a good villain.

STORY LINE / PLOT: I enjoyed a majority of the story line. It was full of drama, suspense, emotion, conflict and relationships. There was always something going on which made it really exciting to read, and Bardsley did an amazing job at that. She also wrote the story in such a way that it wasn’t complicated but easy to understand. I finished the book within two days which shows just how much of a page turner it is.
One negative aspect of the story line is that it wasn’t entirely clear what the overall story was telling. This may sound confusing so let me explain. There were a lot of mini stories which I thought were going to be the main story, but then that mini story was resolved and another one came around. This was hard to get my head wrapped around as I was confused on what to focus on. I first thought that the story would be about Blanca trying to get Cal’s son home to speak to him. However, this was resolved within the first quarter of the book and then the story moved on to something else. Some people may like this, however I just found it a bit too jumpy.

ENDING: I really liked the ending to the Genesis Girl. There was so much suspense leading up to it and I didn’t know what was going to happen. It was completely unpredictable and I love that when finishing a book. I loved how it concluded all the events that occurred throughout the book so that it didn’t leave the readers hanging. However, it also left it open for a second book – which I am pretty sure there will be as the front page says; Blank Slate: Book 1. I also loved how much the characters developed over the course of the book. Blanca especially grew as she was able to start thinking and acting for herself, rather than following the commands of her teachers and purchaser. Overall, I really enjoyed the ending of Genesis Girl.

QUOTES:
“You have a hard road. In so many ways it’s difficult being you. But I know that you can do it. You have everything you need to achieve happiness.”
“Blanca, remember you are loved.”
RATING: Overall, I decided to give this book 4.5 stars out of 5. I loved the different personalities that each character had and how it added to the story line, and their overall character development. I also really enjoyed how Bardsley concluded the book whilst leaving it open for a second book. The only factor that brought the rating down slightly was the planning of the storyline as mentioned before.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading any other work that Bardsley writes. I highly recommend Genesis Girl to readers of sci-fi, YA, and people who are interested in technology and the future.


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