Hardwired

by Trisha Leaver, Lindsay Currie

Genetically flawed. Perfectly human.

When seventeen-year-old Lucas Marshall tests positive for the M0A1 gene—a genetic abnormality believed to predispose humans toward violence—he is shipped off to an impregnable government facility to undergo a battery of psychological tests aimed at making him crack. Now, having survived their tests and proven his mental stability, Lucas is labeled safe to return home.

But any hope Lucas has of returning to a normal life is shattered when the van transporting him to the reintegration facility is forced off the road by a group of radicals intent on accessing the facility and exposing it's dehumanizing practices. And Lucas is their ticket through the front door.

Spurred by rumors that the facility is secretly holding one of his old friends captive, Lucas and his bunk mate, Chris, agree to infiltrate the testing facility’s inner sanctum. But once inside, Lucas’s carefully laid plans begin to unravel, and he's forced to seek help from a group of kids he neither knows nor trusts. And when every genetic test claims your only allies are hardwired to become the next Charles Manson, it’s impossible to know who has your back.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Thriller, Speculative Fiction, Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2015

About the author

Trisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather disobedient black lab. She is a chronic daydreamer who prefers the cozy confines of her own imagination to the mundane routine of everyday life. She writes Young Adult Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Horror and Science Fiction and is published with FSG/ Macmillan, Flux/Llewellyn and Merit Press. To find out more about her, please visit her website at www.trishaleaver.com

Reviews

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Flux and NetGalley.)

“What about your mind, is it still intact?”

This was an entertaining story, and I liked the action!

I felt sorry for the characters in this book, being tortured because you have a certain gene sounds like an absolute nightmare, and it really wasn’t fair at all.

The storyline in this was about the teens in this facility trying to escape, whilst trying to also get the facilities shut down. There was quite a bit of action, and also a bit of a creepiness factor when things started going wrong.

The ending to this was fairly happy, and I was satisfied with the way things were wrapped up.



6.5 out of 10

[Shannon Miz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight


I have enjoyed all the books I have read by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie. I was thoroughly creeped out by Creed , had tons of feels from The Secrets We Keep , and freaking loved  Sweet Madness. Please keep those in mind, because those are great.

Hardwired and I... well, I don't think we connected. Maybe we didn't have a lot in common, maybe I just wasn't stimulated by its dinner conversation. We didn't have chemistry, and while I didn't hate it or anything, but we won't be going on a second date.

In fairness, it may make someone else very happy.

The concept is really quite intriguing. The thought that there was a way to predict violent and aggressive behavior is definitely an issue that would be polarizing, and I loved that I was able to really think about my thoughts on it. I enjoyed the main character Lucas and his roommate/friend Chris. I loved that in spite of this awful situation, they were able to really be there for each other. It was a solid male friendship in a genre that is sorely lacking solid male friendships. And, even though none of the characters were physically with their families (as you'd expect being locked away in a "treatment" facility), they still thought about their loved ones and the families became sort of "off-screen" characters, if you will.

The book is definitely fast-paced, with a lot of action throughout. The end was particularly exciting, and I was unsure of how it all would end, so that was a plus. And the action was a good amount, never overwhelming. I was interested, but not lost.

So this is all good, right? What was my problem? This is the hard part. A lot of why it didn't work for me was simply that it didn't, which I know is an awful reason, and I am sorry I can't explain it  better.

But I can explain some of the things. First, the whole accident scene (not a spoiler, it's in the synopsis) seemed so unlikely and convenient. The synopsis is also a bit misleading in one part: Where it says "forced off the road by a group of radicals intent on accessing the facility and exposing it's dehumanizing practices", what it really means is "one random girl and a ragtag bunch of people she kind of knows are going to try to get her brother out". Which may not seem like a huge difference, but when I think a "group of radicals", I am thinking that they are trying to overthrow the entire process, maybe with some social commentary and poignant reasons why none of this is okay. But nope. Just that one dude. I'm not saying they thought it was okay, far from it, but they were certainly not making that their mission.

And when Carly and company entered the picture... well, frankly, I didn't care about her. I empathized for her situation, but her character did nothing for me. On the rare moments I wasn't completely apathetic about her, I was irked by her. I wanted more Lucas and Chris, and less Lucas and Carly. Carly was also young (younger than Lucas and Chris, at least) and her "plans" were rudimentary at best, yet all these people (including some actual adult people) were willing to just blindly follow her? And Lucas and Chris, who'd finally escaped the horrors of that place, barely hesitated in jumping right back in. Obviously, because that one random guy they never met? I mean, I guess it shows that they are good people and not the monsters that this genetic test makes them out to be. But, after that kind of experience, it would take some pretty selfless people to voluntarily throw themselves back in.

Bottom Line: I think if you like a fast paced book with exciting action sequences, this could really work for you. But I was hoping for more of the morality piece, world building, and character connections, which I didn't quite get. I will say that these authors are still going to remain auto buys for me, this book just wasn't for me.

[⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ Esra (interactive) · Rating 2 out of 5]

the plot had so much potential but they wasted it... there was literally 1 thing going on in the book. them trying to escape. that's it...

[Cynthia (Bingeing On Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I am kind of disappointed that this one wasn't any better because it had so much potential. Some scientist discovered a genetic abnormality that can tell people whether you have a predisposition to criminal behavior or not. A law is created that says every citizen must get the test for this gene on their seventeenth birthday. If they test positive for the abnormality, they are sent away to a facility for a round of tests to determine how well they can adapt to society. At least, that is what the government tells people. The tests the patients go through are basically tests designed to incite a response and to get them to crack. They are treated like criminals because of this abnormality in their gene. Everyone looks at them with suspicion and fear. Lucas and Chris are roommates and best friends. They are determined to make it through the tests so they can go home. Lucas's brother had went through the same tests years before, but he had killed himself a couple of weeks after coming home. Lucas is determined not to break like that.

This premise was a little misleading. The premise suggests that Lucas and Chris meet up with a group of people who want to break into the facility to expose it to the world. That would have been a lot more interesting. No, this was about a girl (Carly) who wanted to break her brother out of the facility. That's it. Yes, these people wanted the facility destroyed, but that wasn't their goal. Carly is Lucas's brother's girlfriend's sister (whew!) and Lucas feels responsible for her. Carly's brother was in the facility and she wanted to break him out. I had to roll my eyes at Carly and her gang of rebels. They wanted to bust into the facility with an electrified fence and guards with rifles. And what did they have? Axes and baseball bats! They didn't even do enough research to get the right clothes! So they were going to break into this facility without getting themselves killed, despite the fact that they had NO clue what the inside of the place looked like or where they were holding her brother. When Lucas tried to point out the absurdity of their plan, Carly just rolled her eyes and ignored him. It was never really clear how old Carly was either. Younger than seventeen since she had never had the test, but I wasn't sure if she was 14 or 15 or what. Lucas and Chris seemed like smart guys, but their plan to break into the facility wasn't that much better.

One of the issues I had with this book was that the author did not explore the ramifications of this genetic abnormality and the forced testing more. I mean, it could have been a nature vs. nurture type thing. Everyone assumed that the genetic abnormality meant you were sure to turn into a criminal. But the testing itself seemed to produce criminals or suicidal behavior. And all of society seemed to shun the guys who tested positive. There was brief mention that criminal behavior hadn't decreased at all since the testing started, but then it was forgotten. It was also interesting that only one girl out of thousands had tested positive for the abnormality. There were so many ethical issues to be explored. Instead, we got a story about a group of people trying to break someone out.

The events of the evening do still make for interesting story though. I found myself literally biting my nails to see if Lucas, Chris and Carly would make it out with Carly's brother. There were doe twists and turns and tons of violence. I thought this was an okay book with great main characters. I would have loved for the author to focus more on the ethical implications of everything, as well as the friendship between Lucas and Chris. It isn't often that we see a well written friendship between two men in YA fiction. Oh, and I thought the epilogue was useless and I wish it wasn't there. Not sure I would recommend this one. It was just okay.

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read an Advance Reader's Copy that I received back in 2016.

Things that bothered me:

- misogyny (the two female characters are weak and only follow the lead of men; the male characters assume that women are too gentle to have the violence genetic mutation, and also that girls definitely wouldn't be able to survive the testing facilities, whereas boys have a chance.)

- the reveal of why so many people were killed and why the plan was messed up was disappointing. Carly basically told the story... I was really expecting her to be genuinely crazy, a murderer. But no. And there are still things left unanswered: who put the glass in the doorknob to lock everyone in the staff room? who killed the remaining guards? The set-up of these unexplained events were great, but the reveal was completely anticlimactic.

- the stupid "romance is the answer, it solves everything, the girl is my only comfort" ending. So predictable. And so annoying. Really. That epilogue does nothing. I'd rather hear about Chris and how he's doing. I don't give a rat's ass about Carly.

- there could've been more profound meaning in this if the gene was also used as a racial profiler, tying it into themes of racism masked as other things. But race was never mentioned. Even when the MC describes how physically there's nothing that ties all the gene-carriers together, he mentions weight, height, and fails to say anything about race or ethnicity. I guess the authors were hoping to just erase the issue completely, pretend it doesn't exist? But it does, and a realistic future would deal with it.

[viktoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and lux/Llewellyn for the ARC! This didn't affect my review in any way, other than when I got to read the book.

Seriously awesome concept, and a well done main male character and male supporting character, but this book made me sad because with some tweaking, I think it could've been THG, Divergent, and Maze Runner levels. It had SO much potential, but it was weakened by pacing, some missing narrative style, repetitiveness, and overlooking its strengths (Lucas and Chris's friendship, the creepy nature of the facility, the tension with the gene and societal pressures) in favor of the weaker ones (Carly, namely, unnecessarily repeated meta). Also, the epilogue annoyed me so hard.

Maybe more review to come later?

[Jen Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe should have saved this for daylight hours- sleep does not come easily when your heart is pumping:)

[Kelly Gunderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out this and other reviews on my blog, Here's to Happy Endings!

If you like a quick science fiction book that is loaded up to the brim with action, then this is a great book to pick up. It’s incredibly fast-paced and has a story line that will practically blow you away.

Imagine a society in which the gene that has been linked to violence can be identified, and the individuals who have that gene (and thus, a chance to be violent), can be labeled, monitored, and isolated if need be. Sounds like it could be a brilliant solution to the violence problem that our world faces, right?

Now imagine seventeen year old boys and girls who have been found to have the gene through blood tests (mostly boys, since the gene is usually only found in them) being pulled away from their families and forced to spend weeks in facilities, undergoing examinations and tests that attempt to drive them to violence, just to prove the scientists and government officials who have developed the system to be correct. Some of the tests include flashing lights and blaring alarms multiple times during the night, to cause sleep deprivation. Other tests include pairing mild-mannered individuals with others who will torment and bully them, just to see if they will crack and become violent.

This is what Lucas Marshall is dealing with when the book begins. He cannot sleep because of their “tests,” and since he is essentially locked inside a prison cell with another guy, his roommate, Chris, he feels like he is losing his mind. The cameras on the wall are monitoring him, waiting for him to crack and become violent, but he does the best he can. He is determined to get out of the facility and return to a normal life, even though nothing normal will await him once he gets out, since he will be labeled as having the gene that could result in violent behavior.

When he and Chris, along with the other boys in his wing, learn they will be leaving and going to the “reintegration facility” early, they don’t question it – they just go along with the plans. However, power outages, winter road conditions, and a crash with another van full of boys coming into the facility, starts off a chain reaction that could lead to their escape.

When they meet a young girl, the sister of Lucas’s brother’s girlfriend, things change. Lucas’s brother was at the facility as well, and when he came home, he was shattered. He eventually committed suicide, leaving behind a broken family and a girlfriend too devastated to to go on without him. Now this girl’s brother, Cam, is in the facility, too, and she wants to get him out. Working with a group of people who want to break them out and prove that their science behind their entire experiment is flawed, they race against time (as well as angry and potentially violent teenage boys who want revenge) in order to rescue her brother and give the counselor a flash drive that contains vital information that could shut down the entire project.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great science fiction thriller, and one that I finished in a pretty short amount of time. I didn’t want to put it down, because I wanted to see what was going to happen.

After reading Sweet Madness by the same two authors (you can check out my review for that one here), I knew that I wanted to pick this up as soon as I could. I was lucky enough to get a review copy, and I wasted no time jumping in.

While I didn’t love this book as much as Sweet Madness, it was definitely a great read. The characters were a bit harder to connect to, and the book was so incredibly fast paced that sometimes I wondered what it would be like if the book was longer (and I wished it was!), and more attention could have been paid to the lives of the other people in the facility. It isn’t something that ruined the book for me, though. The entire premise of the novel just felt so real, like I could actually picture these kinds of events taking place in the future, and that kind of spooked me a bit. Sometimes technology and science go a little bit too far, and this is the kind of book that illustrates that point.

If you like science fiction and thrillers, this is a good one to check out. Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie definitely have a flair for writing unique YA novels…novels that make you think while reading…and after all, aren’t those the best kinds?

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[deniz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bu kitap çerezlik bir kitap ve ben böyle kitaplar okuduğumda beni motive etmesini ve hakkında hoş düşüncelerimin olmasını isterim. Ama bu kitap beni ne motive etti ne de hakkında tek bir hoş düşüncem var... Özellikle final şu ana kadar okuduğum tüm kitaplar arasında en sinir bozucu finallerde başı çekebilecek derecedeydi. Kitabın konusu güzel, güzel başlıyor ve bir süre öyle devam ediyor lakin 213 sayfalık bir kitap olmasına rağmen bazı yerleri okurken kendimden geçtim. Gereksiz uzatmalar çok fazlaydı ve bu da akıcılığı olumsuz anlamda oldukça etkilemişti bana göre. Kitaptaki tek güzel şey Chris karakteri ve 2 yıldızın tamamı ona. Lucas’ı da seviyordum bir yere kadar ama finaldeki düşüncesine sinir krizi geçirmemek elde değil. Tanıdığım en bencil karakterler de buradaydı. Of çok negatif yaptı bu kitap beni yeter

[Cornmaven · Rating 2 out of 5]

An American dystopia, where teens are rounded up if they are found to possess a mutated "warrior" gene, supposedly providing high odds they will become violent criminals. This is like Minority Report without the triplets in the special bath. Unfortunately, what could have been a nice thriller intent on probing deeply the nature vs. nurture question (and the parallel question of choice), turns into a mess at the end, when everything falls apart.

Lucas and Chris, roommates at the facility, have endured and passed the testing, and are ready for reintegration. But a storm blows in, power lines come down, and all heck breaks loose as they are transferred to another facility. The reader has to guess who is killing everyone, whether Carly, a girl coming to the place to free her brother, and/or Ms. Tremblay are villains. And does Joe really possess enough powerful information to shut the whole thing down?

The problem comes with the chaotic plot being totally reflected by chaotic writing. When all of the main action starts, I couldn't keep track of who was whom, where anyone was, and what the authors were moving toward. It did not help that my edition was rife with typos and omitted or misplaced words. Proofreading, anyone?

But the real weakness is that the authors did not focus on the nature vs nurture debate very much. They could have had a tense, thoughtful story if they had. I liked Lucas and Chris. The rest of the characters were peripheral, even Tremblay, whose role in this passion play is too neatly explained and redeemed at the same time. The whole thing is wrapped up too neatly - government edicts do not fall that quickly!!! The epilogue was like a tacked on post-it note, and nothing in the rest of the story led to it; kind of ridiculous.

Reluctant readers who don't like to find themselves engaged in a moral dilemma might like it, but discerning readers will be disappointed. Can't believe School Library Journal said this was a "must- have for libraries seeking dystopian futures." Stick with watching Minority Report for an analysis of the kind of assumptive reasoning present in the world Leaver and Currie tried to build.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of these author's other works, I was expecting to be blown away, and while that wasn't the case with this book, I still enjoyed it.

Review to come closer to publication date.

[Gamze E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merhaba.
Fazlasıyla heyecanlı okuma saati geçirdiğimi söylemeliyim. Bazen bilim kurgu okumak ya da izlemek  ilerde belki böyle ya da buna benzer şeyler başımıza gelebilir düşüncesiyle tüylerimi ürperiyor.
Sadece ufacık bir incelemeyle insanların şiddete eğilimi olup olmadığını anlamak ya da öyle olmasını isteyipte insanların hayatını karartmak çok acımasızca ve merhametsizce. Bu kitabımızdaki kötümüzde aklı olduğunu bir buluş yaptığını sanan aptal,gerizekalı,bencil pisliğin teki olan Dr.Tratt.
Sonu beni pek tatmin etmedi.Hizli bitti sanki.
Şimdi biraz konusundan bahsedeyim;
Dr.Tratt bir beyini incelerken garip bir gene rastlıyor ve bu rastladığı genin insanların davranışlarını analiz ettiğini ve bu gen ile insanların ilerde potansiyel bir suçlu olup olmayacaklarını öğrenebilmek için bir tesis kuruyor ve düşüncesini hayata geçirmeye başlıyor.Amacının yalnızca  dünyayı tüm suçlardan arındırmak olduğunu savunan Dr.Tratt bu amaç için bir çok erkek çocuğunu belli bir yaşa geldiklerinde evlerinden ve ailelerinden koparıyor ve kurmuş olduğu tesise götürtüp bir dolu psikoloji zorlayan teste tabi tutuyor. Bu testler sırasında verdikleri tepkilere göre kimliklerinde bir damgaya sahip olacak bu çocuklardan ikisi Lucas ve Chris.
Lucas ve Chris tesisre oda arkadaşları oldukları için bir şekilde birbirlerine görünmez bir şekilde yardım ediyorlar ve  iki haftalık testin sonunda, testlerini başarı ile tamamlayıp başka bir tesise gönderiliyorlar. Uzun süren yolculuklarında yolda bazı ağaçların yola devrildiğini görüyorlar. Arabayı süren güvenlik görevlisi ağaçlardan kurtulmak için çabalarken sadece kendilerinin sağ kalmayı başarabildiği bir kaza geçiriyorlar. Kazadan kısa bir süre sonra karşılarına çıkan gizemli bir kızla her şey sarpa sarıyor.

[Raven Nivhaar]

DNF

TW: suicide

Where do I begin...? This had such an interesting premise that it unfortunately did not live up to. I read up to page 100, then skimmed ahead. I was not impressed.

One of my major issues with this book was the misogyny that seemed endless. The writing was lackluster in places and was monotonous in others, and descriptions were lacking.

There was a whole chapter where attempts were being made to sway Lucas and Chris into returning to the facility where there wasn't a single mention of if they had taken shelter or not, before both boys curl up into sleeping bags and go to sleep. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS. Now, perhaps I missed something but throughout that entire chapter, there wasn't a single mention of anything. It wasn't until the next chapter that I even realized that they were still just in a random clearing in the snowy woods.

In addition to that, there was no sense of urgency. There were several instances of sentences such as ["No," I screamed.] and ["Move," he yelled], the exact circumstances for these exact quotes would be spoilers, but just know that it should have elicited more urgency from both characters.

Overall, it's misogynistic, lackluster and just downright frustrating. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

[Mo_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently i took this book from my local library back in 2015 and never returned it whoops. So i figured I’d quickly read it and then return it!
This book gave me middle school vibes and i felt like i was an adolescent again and it felt great. I honestly enjoyed this book ngl and i was not expecting it to have sm death in it. I gave it 3 stars bc it was an old quick read. It’s between a 2.8-3. It’s not higher bc is not super in depth.
Once they got back into the facility there were only like 50 more pages. It should have been longer. It ended way too quickly, there needed to be more. And everything shut down after a month.. there were a few other things that was like ehh that’s not right but it’s a YA SCI if book it’s not that serious.
Ik there were no love interests which was great but at the end Carly ended up w Lucas, which ig made sense but after all the romance novels I’ve been reading i was like oh ya she’s def gonna end up like Chris bc it’s an enemies to lovers thing (help). Honestly this wasn’t a happy ending and lowkey was shocked about cam. The whole Carly mystery thing was a bit confusing to read.
Anyway a nice lil quick read that was nostalgic.

[Ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitap müstakbel mesleğim dolayısıyla ilgimi çekmişti. Beklentim de oldukça yüksekti ve beklentimi karşiladığını söyleyebilirim. Öncelikle ben bu kadar koşturmacalı ve gerilimli olmasını beklemiyordum ki bu duruma bayıldım gerçekten kitap kendisine inanılmaz derece çekiyor ve zaten kısacık bir kitap. Karakterler olarak bakarsam Lucas bence muhteşem bir ana karakterdi kendi içindeki tartışmaları ve olayları değerlendirme şekli keyifliydi. Chris'e gelince kendisini o kadar sevdim ki anlatamam oldukça zeki ve eğlenceli bir karakterdi. Carly'e gelince kendisinden ilk sahnesinden son sahnesine kadar bütün ruhumla nefret ettim. Son demişken de yazarların kapanış bölümünü yazmamaları gerektğini ya da daha kapsamlı yazmaları gerektiğinin düşünüyorum, o yüzden 5 yıldız vermedim bir de bu kim yaptı muhabbetinin barizliğinden ama kitap sonuna kadar tavsiyemdir efenim.

[beril · Rating 3 out of 5]

O nasıl saçma bir son, o Carly'nin yatacak yeri yok bir de gitti kızdan özür diledi. NE ALAKA YA NE ALAKA!!!! Genel olarak potansiyeli olan ama çok boşa kullanılmış bir kitap, eklense ve üzerine gidilse efsane olurmuş ama kullanmamışlar... Bir de karakterler çok sterotypic, bu tarz kitaplarda direkt gördüğümüz tiplemeler. Olay örgüsünün de sebep-sonuç ilişkisi yok bence, mesela neden geri döndüler neden Carly'e bu kadar bağladı Lucas yani tamam kardeşinin sevgilisinin kardeşi de gerçekten bu kadarını yapmasına yeter miydi bilemiyorum. Boşa harcanan bir potansiyeli olduğu için sinirlendim.

[Hilal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genel olarak güzeldi ama karakterler dolayısıyla pek beğenmedim. Carly ve onunla beraber gelenler çok bencillerdi. Aslında kitapta Chris hariç tüm karakterler -buna Lucas da dahil- aşırı bencildi. Sadece bir çocuk için oradaki bir sürü kişinin ölümüne sebep oldular. Sonda da Carly gerizekalısı Chris'i öldürdü. Onların oraya ne amaçla geldiklerini öğrendiğimden beri hiç ısınamadım onlara zaten. Kitabın sonu da beni benden aldı sinir krizi geçiriyordum. Çok acımasız bir finaldi.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hardwired fits well within the YA category, the bleak outlook on how young people can be tested, tried, prodded, poked and have their lives mapped out for them.  Hardwired considers how in the future we may be tested for the warrior gene, something in our DNA which implies a predisposition for violence.  Anyone who tests positive is shipped off to the Bake Shop, where they undergo rigorous psychological tests in an effort to see whether this gene is 'active' and if they are too much of a danger to society to be allowed out. 


We start with Lucas and Chris, who share a cell, who are in their cell suffering sleep deprivation - the lights being put on blindingly bright at unpredictable intervals.  The two of them seem to have struck up a bond and help each other through the tests and the situation.  We also meet Ms Tremblay, the counsellor who is trying to gauge the safety of the boys in there.  The history of this novel appears to show that only one girl has ever tested positive for the gene, something I wasn't sure I was comfortable with and it supported the typical feeling that men are more prone to violence that women.  In a work of fiction like this, those ideas should be challenged in my opinion.  However, that's the way it is so that's how it must stay.  The action begins as the boys are being transferred to another unit, in anticipation of being sent home.  Their van is forced off the road by a rebel group who are looking to find a way into the unit in order to rescue the brother of one of their mix.  Cam is mentioned a time or two prior to this, and it turns out he's not the most savoury of characters - apparently hanging his cellmate within a week of being sent to the unit.  Nice.


I liked the idea of this book, the sort of Gattaca-esque idea that our identities are something that can be mapped out for us at an early age, and maybe someday we will be able to harness this idea and potentially do something about it - however controversial that may appear.  This also smacked of Divergent, in that your personality is also mapped out for you and that ways of behaviour are also expected.  What Hardwired lacked for me was some people with the warrior gene who were violent and scary and dangerous.  What we have is people who have tested positive for the gene but don't really participate in anything violent, they don't have the edge to them that you would expect for people predisposed to violence.  They just seemed like average kids who had been put in a situation beyond their control - which that have been but I would have liked someone to be more dangerous, more scary, more terrifying.  Almost like the monster that has to be kept away from everyone else because his warrior gene is of epic proportions, and how he's released to take his vengeance!  But sadly not.


The characters are well developed and likeable.  Lucas, our main focus, is someone you warm to.  He has a sad past, his brother tested positive for the gene and didn't come back the same person after undergoing the testing and took his own life on release, and is determined not to become another casualty like his brother.  Chris, his cellmate, is a good sidekick to Lucas, a little edgier than Lucas but also quite funny and entertaining.  Ms Tremblay is the counsellor/teacher that we may all recognise - overly sympathetic and trying to get them to talk about their feelings, something teenage boys are always loathe to do!  Carly, Cam's sister, is well rounded and seems just as scared of everything as Lucas and Chris.  The fear that the character's go through and the idea of the unknown is evident throughout, and it was quite refreshing to read about characters who genuinely show they are scared and unsure about what is going to happen to them.


The bus crash itself is one of the most harrowing parts of the novel - I'll try not to spoil anything - but again that fear, that desperation and that desire to just go home that the boys on the buses show is detailed and interesting.  The descriptions made you feel that discomfort and that terror that they themselves would have been experiencing.  The pacing is good, the story moves on quickly and provides quite a quick read; and it was good to have characters I was rooting for by the end!


While it would have been good to have had some more detail on the testing and the warrior gene itself, as well as some more dangerous warrior like characters, this was a good read.  It's also not a predictable one - with some parts of the story having surprising outcomes at times.  I liked Lucas, I felt sad and scared at times, I experienced Carly's terror with her as well as her realisation she'd bitten off far more than she could chew.  Fits well in the YA category and I'm sure will be a popular novel with teens.


One thing I will say, which may be due to this being an advance copy, was that this book was riddled with grammatical errors!  They were everywhere, I highlighted them when I found them and they were occurring on almost every page at one point.  I am just hoping that this is due to this being a doc of the final version, or the publishers need some new proofreaders!

[Tuba Inan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Potansiyeli iyi bir kitap ama her şey çok yüzeysel kalmış, sanki aceleye gelmiş gibi,daha iyi olabilirdi. Yazık olmuş kitaba.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

konun muazzamdı. ilerleyişin çok güzeldi ama bu son berbattı

[Poan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kitap konusuyla ilgi çekse de son sayfalara doğru geçiştirilmiş gibi hissettim ki zaten bu kadar sayfa kitabın konusu için çok az biraz daha yayarak yazılması lazımdı.

[Rufusmateom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keşke chris ölmeseydi.. ama ben onu her zaman başka alternatif evrenlerde yaşatacağım 🙃🙃

[Brayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a amazing book I could relate to the characters most of the time. And the way it is written it just flows smoothly.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the full version of this review as well as other reviews and features, go to SleepsOnTables.

*Actual rating: 3.5/5
*I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was super excited when I found out I got a spot on the MMSAI blog tour for Hardwired! I knew from the second I read in the synopsis that this book takes place in a time/place where people can be and are tested for a gene that predisposes them to violence that I wanted to read this book. That sort of science-y stuff is so very intriguing to me and with today’s technological advances something like this book could be entirely relevant in the not so distant future.

Hardwired follows Lucas Marshall who has tested positive for MOA1, the gene that predicts violence. He’s been a part of a governmental movement (experiment) to test those with the gene. If he can survive the tests without breaking, he’s been told he can go home but when/if he goes home everything will be different. Everyone will know that he’s tested positive and he’ll be treated as a potential felon. What’s more troubling though is that Lucas’s older brother survived the tests but he couldn’t survive life back at home. What chance does Lucas have at a future? When he becomes part of a plan to infiltrate and shut down the facility, Lucas realizes he might have a better chance than he realized, but who can he trust to have his back in a place filled with people (supposedly) predisposed to violence?

Lucas was a great main character. He seems to have this split way of thinking where sometimes he’s pretty morbid about his situation but then other times he’s almost sarcastic. Chris, though, Lucas’s bunkmate, was my favorite character. He has an ‘I don’t care’ attitude about his situation, knowing that he will persevere through it and the government can’t touch him. Carly, someone from Lucas’s past who wants to infiltrate the facility, is an unexpected character. In the beginning I was torn between hating her and admiring her. I admired her because she wanted to break into the facility and do whatever it takes to get her brother back but I kind of hated her because she didn’t seem to put much thought into exactly how impossible that would be. In the end though, a thing happens that is completely awesome and yeah, she might actually be my favorite character.

Trisha and Lindsay’s writing is so fluid and easy to read. They write very simply and I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that sometimes you read books where the author’s writing over-complicates everything about the story for whatever reason. That was not the case with Hardwired. They wrote the suspense of Lucas’s situation in very nicely. Nearing the final few chapters, I was on the edge of my seat reading to figure out what was going to happen. And when it did happen, I was pretty shocked. I don’t think I saw this one coming.

My biggest issue with Hardwired was that I wanted more. It’s a relatively short book, at only 229 pages, but there was so much potential for more. Examples of some more content that I wanted are: societal ramifications of the forced gene testing and the following testing in the facility, more character depth (I felt like this was too short to really get invested in the characters emotionally), and an overall shared focus with the main concept behind MOA1 and the society Luke lives in besides it just being a ‘prison-break.’

Overall, I liked Hardwired! I think fans of Soulprint by Megan Miranda will enjoy Hardwired. It follows suit with the idea of a person being predisposed to violence. Hardwired is a quick and yet suspenseful read that’ll give you a shocking character revelation!

[A Storied Soul · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

In the wake of America's suffering from skyrocketing youth violence and crime, scientists have finally discovered the answer to why: the 'warrior' gene, a genetic flaw that predisposes teens to violent acts. To prevent and fix the rise in crime, mandatory detainment of those youths found to have the gene are sent away to research facilities to test whether or not they may become violent. The tests are designed to stack the odds against them, but if they survive, they're reintegrated back into society, usually to devastating ends. Lucas is the next victim of the government's and American public's fear. Having already lost his brother and friends to this inhumane treatment, Lucas must survive for his family's sake. However, soon Lucas becomes wrapped up in a plot to free kids from the centers and expose the truth behind the government's lies they have perpetuated in the name of security.

I must say that Hardwired was quite a fun and exciting read. The action and drama don't stop for a second as Lucas and Chris race to save their friends within the research compound within which they are held prisoner at the government's behest. It's definitely a difficult book to put down (it's short enough to read in one sitting), though I had to take more time with it because of work. If you start this book, plan to not get up until you're finished.

Lucas and Chris are fun, badass characters. Lucas has been through a lot in his life up until the moment the story starts. He's experienced a lot of tragedy, and he knows what fate awaits him if he survives the compound. He seems a real and likeable character, and Chris is a nice sidekick, offering a backbone to Lucas's tendency to care too much about things.

I do have a few complaints about the book, mainly that it lacked in-depth world-building. I wanted to know more about this futuristic version of America. What happened to make the government think it would be okay to imprison the youth of America, without Constitutional oversight, without any moral qualms, and what made the American people in this world follow this path? All we know is that there is a surge in youth crime, but the forced research imprisonment seems extreme. To make this all plausible, the world and development of the background should be fleshed out a lot more.

The government lies, secrets, the research into the gene and how this all came about should also be explored more. Further development of all of this would have made the story much more engaging and believable.

The overall story, or plot, seems incredibly rushed--again, this book was too short. With further development, I feel like this book could be the first in a duology or trilogy. We meet Lucas and Chris, we have a small sense of where they're being held, what's happening to them, and they are able to escape, come back and work to shut down the facility, but it all happens way too quickly. This is perhaps an issue with pacing as well. There's no anticipation or build-up to the end--the epilogue further rushes the story. We need more from Ms. Trembley's side; what did she do to get everyone to listen to her? There's a giant passage of time that is unaccounted for.

Still, this was a fun book, with characters I like, and I will definitely buy a copy of this book. It had a lot of potential that still delivers on this front, but needs development in the overall content of the story. If you want a fun rainy day read, look into this book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review, which does not influence my opinions.
This review originally appeared on my website: The Literarium

[John Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucas is a teenaged boy with a normal life up until he is tested and found positive with the “warrior gene”. This piece of DNA is believed to cause crime and violence in the people who carry it. When you are tested positive, you must take a six month long test in an isolated facility where you will be kept until you prove you are not dangerous. Lucas’ brother was taken to this prison and after the horrible tests they made him go through, he killed himself. The tests they perform are torture and are incredibly uncomfortable. Lucas endures these tests until he escapes unintentionally due to a car crash he was in. He meets a girl named Carly who will eventually be the love of his life. She convinces him to go back to the prison to break her brother out of the prison. After this long six month process Lucas is scarred. He returns home and feels the same way his brother did after he came back. He didn’t want to talk to the people he used to love and didn’t enjoy any of his previous passions. Lucas can never forget the grotesque things he had to do; he might have even killed himself. The only thing that he cared about was Carly, and she is who keeps him going.

If you enjoy fiction books with action and adventure you might like this book. After escaping from prison, the protagonist is forced into a car crash, confrontations involving guns, and torture. Violence is incorporated into almost every chapter of the book. Lucas finds himself threatening people, fighting, and bleeding throughout the story. This book balances its violence with fantastic dialogue and interesting internal conflicts.
This book might also entertain anyone who is a teenager of either gender. The characters are mostly adolescents with problems and beliefs that teenaged readers might be able to relate to. Hardwired also includes romantic relationships that younger readers will find intriguing and will keep them reading. The protagonist meets a girl during his escape from the Bake Shop that he will eventually fall in love with and keep him from committing suicide.

Overall I would rate this book a 3 out of 5. I could not get attached to the characters like I usually do in books I find enjoyable. I could not relate to the characters which made me not care about them or feel bad when something unfortunate happened to them. This book did have incredible action passages with exceedingly impressive description and detail. The author was good at describing the images the characters were seeing. Another thing I liked was how well the author conveyed the dialogue that consisted of mostly lies. The way it was written made it easy for me to follow along when the main characters were telling mistruths. The transitions between paragraphs and chapters were very smooth and I found it easy to continue reading for extended periods of time. Overall I think Hardwired was a page turner although I didn’t find the characters very interesting.

[Kristin Downer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original Post: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-r...

*A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

I want to start by saying I usually find books written by two authors to be difficult to read. Not because either author is bad, but because each one has their own style and sometimes those two tend to clash. But having read a Trisha Leaver story before, I wanted to give it a try on this one. Plus it sounded interesting and had some great cover art. Leaver and Currie delivered us an action packed story of government control, science, and a story of friendship all mixed into one.

Hardwired follows Lucas, a teen who tested positive for a violence-inducing gene said to cause violent outbursts in humans. Everyone with this gene is put into a special facility to rehabilitate them. But it turns out that those who do get out aren't all that positive and chummy. Some outsiders make a planned attack on the facility because they do not believe in what scientist and the government say is happening inside.

Basically... lots of action. The first part of the book is a bit slower, in my opinion. It's a lot of background and story building for what's to come. While it's not boring, it's a bit slower than what you are expecting when going into this book. It picks up nicely in the middle and there are some twists and turns throughout. Some I expected and others completely threw me off guard. I liked the action and the intense, suspenseful moments. I loved the relationship between Lucas and Chris. It was one of the bright spots throughout the book. Their bond kept you hopeful for good things in the end. And I enjoyed the writing style of Leaver and Currie in "Hardwired". I wished there was more character development, or getting to know a little bit more about who they were and where they came from. There were a lot of characters we met and learned nothing about in the end. Even with those few let downs, this book was a good read and I'd recommend it to someone wanting a little entertainment. Overall, not bad.

[Erin Arkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 for this one I think.

As soon as I read the summary of Hardwired by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie I knew I wanted to read it. The idea that there is a gene that determines whether someone is predisposed to act a certain way and then the thought that the government would use this to control a population of people is interesting to me and I couldn’t wait to dive into this story.

We are immediately pulled into Lucas’ story as he is currently locked away at the testing facility to make sure that even though he has the gene, he is clear to join society. As he and his roommate are poked and prodded and then pushed to their limits to determine whether they will snap or not, Lucas and Sam work together to keep each other sane and balanced. They also see more than the others locked away and because of that, they notice some odd things going on with the facility as they near the date they should be transported to the reintegration facility.

The story picks up speed when the group is on their way to the reintegration facility and Lucas and Sam are the sole survivors of the crash. When they cross paths with the group responsible for the accident, Lucas is stunned to find out why they did what they did and also who they are.

Overall I liked Lucas but I have to say I didn’t connect with him for some reason. Yes, I felt bad for his situation and the impact this testing has had on his family but I didn’t totally feel invested in him. And when the rebel group was added into the mix, his relationship with Carly didn’t line up for me. Throw in the end of this story and it all felt a bit choppy and rushed.

This book has an interesting concept and while the writing is well done, I thought the development of the character relationships and the pacing needed some work.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucas tested positive for the warrior gene like his brother before him, I means he possibly predisposed toward violence. In Lucas' time it means he shipped off to secure government facility to test him thoroughly to make sure he is not one of the ones that will turn violent. Unfortunately, the tests they put these teens through is enough to turn even the most calmest of the calm violent, but even if they hold it together and make it out they are so changed and the people around them are scared of them just because they carry this gene their lives are now ruined, to the point most often of no return.

This book is so cool, it makes you think how things can change in our world today as they find new genes and test for this and that and want to do more and more with genetics all the time. As it is right now, they have half of us thinking whether or not we want or need to have certain medical tests done because what if it shows something off the wall, that in 2 or 3 years might come back to haunt us. But this book goes farther and has the government locking kids up and changing their lives forever, until they meet Lucas, Chris and Carly than it all changes in one night. In one snowy, dark, cold night three kids try to make a difference, the question is do they succeed?

This book is so action packed and suspenseful, you will think you are locked in the Bake Shop too, where if the guards are the ones out to get you than it is probably your roommate, either way there is nothing you can do. The characters are perfect together, although there are times you might think why this guy, but keep on going all will become clear. I really liked this book it kept my interest way past my bedtime, and I think it will become a book that teen book clubs can talk about.

[Michele(mluker) Luker · Rating 5 out of 5]

You had me at:
Genetically Flawed,
Perfectly Human.

Isn't it crazy how just a few words can instantly draw you to a story that you know you are going to love?
Sometimes that is all it takes.

Hardwired will beautifully torture your imagination and take you for a ride in a world where trying to make the world safer causes more destruction than expected.

Science is tested with the discover of the MAOA-L gene that is believed to cause violent behavior. As teenagers are tested for the gene, and those who have it are sent away for psychological torture, no one can predict how those who are sent home will react....they are disgraced, shunned by peers, and mentally changed for the rest of their lives. The will power it takes to endure the tests is incredible. I was completely drawn to this whole storyline. Anything dystopian related draws my soul in, and I just can't get enough.

The characters will pull you into the story. I loved the friendship Lucas and Chris developed over their stay. Without each other for support, who knows if they would have pulled through. I loved the bits of humor between them, which made them come more to life as teenage boys.

This is really a fast reading story. From the first sentence to the last, it is filled with drama, heartache, hope, frustration, excitement and suspense. For me, not one relaxing moment. Which is a good thing.

Action, twists and turns, with a solid conclusion, this story has it all. When I can disappear into a story, feel the elements, and have my heart racing at the high moments, that's one awesome read my friends.

Be ready to have your imagination HARDWIRED.