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Tuesday 22 January 2013

Review - The Blemished by Sarah Dalton


The Blemished (Blemished #1)

Goodreads description: A beautiful world comes at a price...

In a world filled with stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an Education, her right to a normal life and her right to have a child.

Mina keeps a dangerous secret which she never thought she could share until she meets Angela on her first day at St Jude's School. But their friendship is soon complicated by Angela’s adoptive brother Daniel. Mina finds herself drawn to his mysterious powers and impulsive nature. Then there is the gorgeous clone Sebastian who Mina is forbidden from even speaking to…

The Blemished is a frightening take on a fractured future where the Genetic Enhancement Ministry have taken control of Britain. It will take you on a ride filled with adventure, romance and rebellion.


The Blemished is a wonderful dystopian debut by young adult author Sarah Dalton, set in a sinister re-imagined Britain which has fallen under the control of the Genetic Enhancement Ministry. The protagonist, Mina Hart, is Blemished: she has genetic defects, and the best she can expect from life is an operation preventing her from ever having children. The Blemished are the imperfect, with no rights, and only able to take on menial jobs like cooking and cleaning for the perfect GEM’s. But Mina isn’t like the others: she has a secret, an ability that would mean her death if discovered.

This story grips from the first page, and has everything a great YA dystopia needs – a compelling plot, a sympathetic protagonist, action and romance. It will definitely appeal to fans of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses series and the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield. The inclusion of Mina’s powers gives the story its uniqueness, and the characters are very real and believable. It’s also very current, with debates about the ethics of genetic enhancement and ‘designer babies’, and the dystopian world is chillingly reminiscent of the ideals of the Nazis, and their segregation of ‘undesirable’ groups. This winning debut paints a sinister picture of a future society, and I’m keen to read the rest of the trilogy!

Rating: ****1/2*

3 comments:

  1. Not only is the cover beautiful...it sounds like a great read!

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  2. Wow! The cover is so beautiful. I love the dark clouds. I'm definitely adding it to my TBR list on Goodreads. Nice review BTW :)

    Kaykay @ The Creative Forum

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  3. This sounds really good! Might have to grab a copy when my to-review pile is a bit smaller!

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