Book Review: Lifelike by Jay Kristoff
Book Review: Lifelike by Jay Kristoff
8 June 2020
The first book in a young adults trilogy, its strength lies in its exploration of what it means to be human.
Lifelike (stylised as LIFEL1K3) is an action-packed, sci-fi dystopian story that will keep young adults hooked at every turn.
Melbourne-based writer Jay Kristoff has such an organic way of slowly revealing information without it feeling like a clunky info dump. Instead, the New York Times bestselling author keeps your curiosity going throughout the story, sharing the tale of a Romeo and Juliest-esque come X-Men saga about a girl called Evie and an android named Ezekial.
Lifelike’s strength is its ability to tackle the theme of what it means to be human. We see Kristoff explore how difference can be used to divide people and how humans struggle to acknowledge their past without letting it define their future.
His way of describing action scenes is entertaining and easy to visualise, and the characters all have distinct personalities with very human struggles. However, I never felt the characters were being overshadowed by the action, more that the action was being driven by the characters.
That being said, I did find some of the slang and terminology used in the world-building was actually pulling me out of the story, as opposed to immersing me in it.
Fans of dystopian fiction and compelling characters will dive into the following two books in this trilogy.
Lifelike is available at major bookstores.
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