The world that Celestine lives in is composed of two types of people - regular people and the Flawed, those found to be in violation of basic rules of morality by a special government committee. The Flawed are given trials, branded with an F in up to five places depending on their act of immortality, and then forced to live reduced and marginalized lives. The Flawed rules have never phased Celestine. She is a rule-follower and a proud defender of what is right. She's even dating Art Crevan, son of Judge Crevan, the leader of the Guild that determines Flawed status. When Celestine finds herself in a tricky moral situation, her instincts go haywire. Suddenly, she is on trial with the Guild and may be found Flawed. If she can just manage to say and do the right things, she may be able to get out of it, but her sense of what is right and wrong has shifted dramatically and she's no longer sure what she believes or feels.
Why It's Worth Reading:
Flawed is another new concept for me. Issues of legality and morality are not unique in fiction, but the systematic implementation of consequences, not laws, against immorality is not something that I have not seen before in a book. New concepts always intrigue me tremendously. When you read as much as I do, it's not all that often that you are surprised with an idea that you haven't seen before. Celestine's struggle with her internal moral compass in juxtaposition to the Guild's moral compass is a fascinating conflict to observe. Her transition from neat and tidy rule follower to unintentional leader of a rebel movement make the book extremely dramatic and exciting. And yet another cliff-hanger ending with have you hankering for the next book in the series! This book won't be officially released until April, but start looking for it on our shelves and out in the world after that. I think it's going to get some good publicity.
Book Details:
ISBN: 9781250074119
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: April 5, 2016
Source: ARC (sent by Macmillan in exchange for an honest review)
Do We Own a Copy?: It doesn't come out until April, but I plan to order several copies.