Book Review: Glistening Haven by Jill Cooper

Review: Glistening Haven
Series: —
Author: Jill Cooper
No of Pages: 410
Release Date: Published November 20th 2012 by Createspace
Received From: SupaGurl Tours

Synopsis:

A sexy dystopian novel, The Glistening Haven is set in the future where society’s attempt for beauty and perfection nearly destroyed it. Murder, sex, duplicity and drama, join us in the world of New Haven 56.

Susan Monroe doesn’t ask for much: good grades from her children, a house with room for a pool, to be the best Tupperware party host in New Haven 56.

But inside her tranquil 1950s styled community, a monster lurks. A monster that lives inside Susan, and every one of her superficially perfect neighbors, held in check by the oppressive police state that rules over them.

Susan’s happy life is torn apart when her teenage son goes missing the same night an explosion rips apart the community. Susan knows it’s only a matter of time before the police start breaking down their doors.

Before the reconditioning begins and Susan’s identity is lost, she must do one final thing.

Find her son.

My thoughts:

Ok, so with that synopsis I was thinking, Hell yeah! Dystopian!!! Once I started reading, I started noticing, wait, this is more than just your average Dystopian. There is stuff in here that is really odd, but wonderfully so.

The plot is really interesting! I love how Jill Cooper was able to take something, as every day as botox and apply it in such a horrific way to our future. It’s not just botox, it’s all the bodily changes added together and then you have a subspecies of human! Amazing and, like I said above totally different. The subspecies also feed off of flesh!! YAY! But they’re not zombies, oh no… these Glistenings have lots up there sleeves! Totally threw me for a loop, but I loved every minute of it. (Don’t worry, no spoilers there, all of that was within the first part of the book! So much more is in this!!)

There’s a lot to the plot. You have to learn and understand about this community. There’s a ton here but I never felt like it was so much that the story was bogged down. There were just times when I was wondering what was going to happen and then BOOM, total chaos from out of nowhere!

The characters were really, and I do mean REALLY engaging. I could see this actually happening. I can see the characters and feel their emotions just jumping off the page. There are a few characters so it took me a minute to get them all straightened out, but once I had them, it was game on!

And Susan! Ohhh Susan. I love her spirit. It’s amazing to think that she basically wants to go against the police force, which is like the government, to find her son. Even though she has learned to take no for an answer, she knows she can’t when her son turns up missing. I just absolutely love everything about her! But it was Jenna that really had me wondering. She is such a phenomenal person! I loved every part of the story that had her in it. She’s an integral part. The funny thing is that I have a love/hate relationship with her. She’s so tough and so mean to the Glistenings! But everyone has a reason for everything and finding her reason is one reason that I continued reading this.

All in all, this is one heck of a ride. Really different from your average Dystopian. Tons of fun to read, lots of drama. It’s like watching a soap opera but even better!

The ending was the most surprising. I’m curious if there is going to be a part two, and if so I’ll be in the front of the line to buy that!!! Can’t wait!

About the author:

Jill Cooper loves tea more than coffee and is obsessed over finding that perfect recipe. She lives in Danvers, MA with two cats, a toddler, a husband, and a 1964 yellow taxi. Her life is chaotic, but fun. She is currently working on a new Sci-fi thriller and the sequel to the Dream Slayer. She can be contacted at http://www.jillacooper.com