Brad About Books: Origin by Jessica Khoury

Read from October 20 to 21, 2013

ORIGIN
Published: September 4, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin)
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 394 pages
Source: Purchased

The jungle hides a girl who cannot die.

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home―and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin―a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

Woah! Origin is a fast-paced, gripping read that had me turning pages as fast as I could. Jessica Khoury is an outstanding voice in the sci-fi genre; this book was awesome!

I've never read a story about creating an immortal army - especially hiding an immortal girl - and Khoury did an exceptional job with handling this story. I was always intrigued by the scientists and how they created Pia - I couldn't get this book off my mind. And I just loved that it was set in the jungle! Again, I don't think I've ever read a book set in the jungle directly before, and Origin definitely spun a unique, thrilling tale unlike any other. I was turning pages as fast I could, totally caught up in all of the epic-ness that Origin provides so well. If you're needing a read that will hook you in right from the beginning, Origin does just the trick.

Pia was such a great protagonist. We get to see her struggle through adapting to the world and settling with becoming immortal, but she's also a rebellious teenager when she joins forces with Eio. Getting to see both sides of their vastly different worlds - Pia's being a laboratory with scientific things at every corner, and Eio's being a village in the dangerous jungle - was a treat, and I loved the entire world-building of both places. Jessica Khoury did a phenomenal job with balancing Eio and Pia's character development and their majorly different worlds. I fell so hard for this book - fast-paced, climatic, and fantastically incredible, Origin shouldn't be missed.

I loved how Khoury created her own version of immortality, instead of following the tropes and norm of what we, as a whole, consider legends of immortality. Pia is unlike any heroine you've ever read about, and you won't be able to shake this book loose long after you've turned the final page. With Origin, each word is smart and clever, and all of the characters are stunning and unique. In fact, this entire book is stunning and unique. Origin was marvelous in every way possible; definitely a new favorite book of mine.

Overall, Origin is a true gem. Powerful and outstanding, Origin is an incredible take on the truth about "forever" and the effects of it - one of a kind.

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