Review: The Body Institute by Carol Riggs + Giveaway

The Body Institute

by Carol Riggs

Release Date: 09/01/15

Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:

Meet Morgan Dey, one of the top teen Reducers at The Body Institute.

Thanks to cutting-edge technology, Morgan can temporarily take over another girl’s body, get her in shape, and then return to her own body—leaving her client slimmer, more toned, and feeling great. Only there are a few catches…

For one, Morgan won’t remember what happens in her “Loaner” body. Once she’s done, she won’t recall walks with her new friend Matt, conversations with the super-cute Reducer she’s been text-flirting with, or the uneasy feeling she has that the director of The Body Institute is hiding something. Still, it’s all worth it in the name of science. Until the glitches start…

Suddenly, residual memories from her Loaner are cropping up in Morgan’s mind. She’s feeling less like herself and more like someone else. And when protests from an anti–Body Institute organization threaten her safety, she’ll have to decide if being a Reducer is worth the cost of her body and soul…

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Review: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Unique urban sci-fi with a very intriguing premise.

I was hooked the moment I read the blurb. The idea of uploading someone's mind into another's body is fascinating... it also has the implications for so much abuse. For main character Morgan, what she originally saw as a dream job turned into something all together different.

I liked Morgan. She was opinionated, and her opinions about weight and body image were made known throughout the story, especially at the beginning. As she experienced life through her obese loaner body, she began to realize how awful being overweight in a weight obsessed society could be. She stepped up when it mattered and did what she thought was right, and I admired her for it.

I could see this book really bothering some people-- even acting as a potential trigger. Those of us who have never really dealt with obesity or body image issues may not understand. But as someone who has counseled some with eating issues, I worry that Morgan's attitude might hurt. It wasn't just Morgan either. Jodine's (the loaner body) mother was a tad on the crazy side. So if weight/body issue is a potential trigger for you, I recommend staying away from this one.

The premise was fascinating-- I really wish the author had gone a bit more in depth into the science of the procedure, but that's the geek in me. While the second half of the book was fast-paced and hard to put down, I felt the first half moved a tad slow for my taste. I didn't really feel the romance at all so that was a miss for me. While I loved the fact that everything wrapped up in one book, it ended so quickly and rather conveniently as well. Given the moral and legal implications, I just wanted more.

Overall: intriguing premise, interesting main character, unique concept all wrapped up in one book. If you like urban sci-f with a bit of romance, this one is definitely different.

About the Author

I'm a YA writer represented by Kelly Sonnack of Andrea Brown Literary. My sci-fi novel THE BODY INSTITUTE explores the themes of society, identity, and body image. I live in the beautiful, green state of Oregon and have a Studio Arts degree; I'm an SCBWI member. 

You'll usually find me in my writing cave, surrounded by my dragon collection and the characters in my head. I also enjoy reading--mostly young adult novels--as well as drawing, painting, and quilting. I also attend writing conferences, walk with my husband, and enjoy music and dance of all kinds. 

Author Links:

   

GIVEAWAY:

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The Age of Amy by Bruce Edwards - Excerpt

This novel has an interesting premise.

Read the blurb and the excerpt, then tell me in the comments: Would you want a Jimmie? Scroll down for my response.

The Age of Amy
Behind the Fun Zone

Bruce Edwards

YA Fiction
July 1, 2015

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell's | Books-A-Million

Are you a Jimmiehead, or are you still using one of those old-fashioned smartphones?

Jimmies are tiny microchips, that when painlessly implanted into your brain, magically transform your eyes and ears into the ultimate hands-free device. No more fumbling with fragile phones, loose earbuds, or clumsy controllers. Watch movies without looking at a screen. Take photos through your eyes. Text with your brain waves.

Everyone wants a Jimmie—except 16-year-old Amy, who detests technology in any form. But when thousands of teenage Jimmieheads mysteriously vanish, only she can save them. Immune to Jimmie's influence, Amy embarks on a quest to find the missing teens, ultimately revealing an ominous connection to a spooky, old amusement park that's been dark for 50 years!

Excerpt

Chapter 2

BRAIN GAMES

Handheld mobile devices would soon be obsolete. Anyone with a Jimmie knew that. Why fumble with an awkward contraption in your hand when you can carry a micro-version of the same thing in your head? Text without using a keypad. Listen to music without headphones. No more watching video on a wallet-sized display. Images appear right before your eyes, as if floating in space. Jimmie Vision also allows you to snap photos, or record HD video of anything your eyes see. Files are wirelessly uploaded to a massive cloud storage server, with one billion lotza-bytes of free space.

Getting a Jimmie is easy. Drop over to your local Jimmie Store and sign up for a two-year subscription. A gracious salesclerk then hands you a little blue box. Inside, on a small velvet pillow, rests a sugar-coated pill containing a teeny circuit board the size of a grain of rice. Take the pill with water, and it begins an amazing journey through your circulatory system. Thanks to micro-robotics, it finds its way to your brain and implants itself in the temporal lobe, where hearing, memory, and visual perception are controlled. After an hour or so, you’re part of a worldwide network of cutting-edge technology. And the best part: Jimmies are free, so long as you don’t mind viewing pop-up ads from time to time!

Unfortunately, like all “connected” devices, Jimmies were not immune to the dark side of mobile communications. Having your personal data flung to the far reaches of cyberspace was an ongoing problem. GPS satellites tracked your every move. Before the Jimmie, you could toss your cell phone in a drawer and go about your day without fear of being watched. Now, cyber-prowlers followed you day and night, and there was no way to escape their scrutiny. For sure, reading Jimmie Books without having to look at a screen is pretty awesome, but when I take home a printed library book, no one’s looking over my shoulder while I’m reading it.

Regardless, this was a product with coolness written all over it. In no time at all, it exploded into a global phenomenon.

About the Author

Award-winning author Bruce Edwards is a former Hollywood film animator, and brings the whimsy of a character artist to his stories. A music major in college, he is also an accomplished musician and composer. His other creative endeavors include a stint as a puppeteer and performing magic at Disneyland. Bruce's thought-provoking books for young adults are never short on fun, fantasy, and imagination.

AUTHOR LINKS

Behind the Fun Zone
AgeOfAmy.com
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Twitter

The idea of a Jimmie terrifies me on so many levels. I can just see the masses lining up to get one attached to their brains. So easy, even a baby could do it. I'm not afraid of technology, and sometimes I even like my iPhone. But this... it's just too much. It reminds me of Batman Forever, the one with Jim Carrey as the Riddler. His state of the art invention that could take thing out of peoples' minds in addition to putting things in was creepy. I think I'll keep my brain a tech-free zone.