Customer Reviews

Crashed (Skinned Trilogy)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading Skinned I had trouble believing I';d have to wait months and months for the next in the series. Wasserman created a dystopian world out of teens who should have been dead, but have instead been uploaded into new computerized brains and bodies. The new bodies have all the memories of the old person, but - aren't that old person at all, because they can't actually have feelings, at least not like they used to.

This book started out a bit slowly, but by about 50 pages in I was hooked just like the last book. This one takes Lia to grittier, less comfortable places as she learns the history of the mechs she lives with and of the BioMax corporation who created them.

I'm really enchanted with the originality here, and even though I personally would edit the book down to be a bit thinner - it moved quickly once it got going and was an excellent read.

I love good science fiction, and Crashed as well as Skinned have all the elements that to me make up a good sci fi story. Most importantly, the characters have to be great because they are what anchor all of that sometimes unbelievable science. This book certainly delivers in that regard. Following the struggles of Lia, Riley and all the other mechs as they struggle to come to terms with their humanity makes for some captivating reading. The author has constructed characters that are rich, intelligent, compelling and easy to care for, get mad at and empathize with.

Like most of my other favorite sci fi, this book takes on social conventions, morality, and ethics. It calls in to question the very definition of life, the soul, and what exactly makes us human. This book is full of stuff for discussion, but does not sacrifice the story to prove it's points. The plot itself is intricate and full of betrayals, disappointments and triumphs. This book covers a lot of ground at a fast clip and is a book that both teens and adults will easily relate to. In fact, if you are an adult fan and are wary of reading this series because it is labeled YA then you are really missing out. This is some exciting, well written, fast paced stuff.

MILD SPOILER ALERT:::

My only compaint was about the end. I think it was a great set up for the next book, but I really wish Lia hadn't lied. I had hoped she could have finally left all the lies behind.

Oh well, all in all still a great read.

I was actually pretty surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It relies on some well explored old ideas about teenage identity crisis mixed in with some sci fi philosophy, but I think it was very well executed. I especially liked the fact that despite the fact that this is a YA book, the author didn't underestimate the reader or downplay anything. Unlike other young adult books where the plot and ending are completely predictable from the first page, this series is good about keeping one on edge. I look forward to the next one.

Crashed is a young adult novel about a spoiled teenage girl who finds herself in the body of a mech: basically, a robot loaded with her memories. She has found that she no longer fits into her old life, so now she is trying a life with other mechs, leaving her old life behind. That doesn't necessarily make things easier, though, as they all try to adjust to virtual immortality, no taste or smell, and other changes. Oh, and now there's a religious/political movement to deny them any rights: oh, boy!

Crashed is the second book of a trilogy, but it's not a bad read on its own. It made me interested in reading the other two books - especially the conclusion - but not feeling cheated. It is not a particularly upbeat story; there is no happy ending and no easy answers. The characters are problematic, but it's easy to get involved with some of them, especially our main character, Lia. I would suggest it for young adults, but not for children.

Months have passed since the terrible accident that left Auden injured and Lia aware of how much better it would be for everyone if she just left and never made contact with her old life again.

She makes her way to Jude and his band of thrill-seeking Mechs. For a while, life is good. She has plenty of credit, she lives in a mansion surrounded by other Mechs, and has access to several bootlegged med-tech downloads. Lia is even in charge of tours around the estate for newly downloaded Mechs considering making it their home.

Lia doesn't trust Jude, but she accepts him as the leader of the group. When he insists she travel with Riley to a Corp Town to meet with his source for the bootlegged material he has been smuggling into the mansion, she doesn't have a choice. While she is there, the unthinkable happens, leaving her and Riley on the run.

Battle lines are drawn as Savona breaks away from the Faith Party and establishes the Brotherhood of Man, an organization dedicated to protecting the sanctity of human life. Savona instills fear in his followers in an attempt to start a revolution and force BioMax to halt production of future Mechs and limit the lives of the ones currently in operation.

Lia gets caught up in the cause, but as plans become more and more dangerous she begins to have second thoughts. How far can she follow Jude? Is she willing to allow him to go as far as he wants to go? Is she willing to end lives whether they be Mech or Org, to protect her own life? What will she do for the ones she loves? In the end, Lia must choose where her loyalties lie.

CRASHED is a wonderful follow-up to SKINNED. The world Robin Wasserman creates is creative and fascinating, and even though the main characters are mechanical, many still find a way to be dynamic and evolve during the story.

CRASHED is the second in a planned trilogy, and I for one can't wait for the conclusion.

Reviewed by: Karin Librarian

A commendation by Scott Westerfeld was initially enough to get me to read this, but about two-thirds of the way through I realized I should have known - just because the author of 'Uglies' liked it doesn't mean it's as good as 'Uglies.'

The television reboot of 'Battlestar Galactica' gave us a type of machine, a new breed of Cylon, ostensibly unfeeling and renewable and yet emotionally compelling to the viewer because of their relationship to mankind. Wasserman's machines somehow fall short, in no small part because their relationship to mankind is dissociative and disinterested rather than fraught with feeling. Her technology is sound, her ideas cool, and yet I found myself not caring much what happened to Lia and her misfit gang of troubled mechs. It was hard to stay hooked into the plot - the arc of the story isn't overly exciting - but what was even harder was remaining interested in characters who (that?) repeatedly remind the reader that they're just machines who don't feel anything. They can't be hurt. They can't have real physical responses. They can't die. So where is the conflict, then? Why should I bother?

There is a definite eloquence to Wasserman's prose which gets lost among the repetitive, petty infighting and stop-and-start plot of 'Crashed.' Despite her skill, I'm not sure I would be interested in pursuing this series any further.

Crashed is the second book in the Skinned series and I have to say it is gritty and harsh. In the first book Skinned Lia Kahn dies and finds herself reborn, so to speak, in the body of a new Mech machine. Basically they scan and copy brain waves, patterns and what not and download them into a new body. The result is a mix between AI and human. Unfortunately it also has the side effect of people hating these 'Skinners' and the Skinners themselves unsure if this type of life is worth it.

In Skinned Lia tries to go back to her normal life, she loses her family, her sister, her friends and her boyfriend. She even manages to lose the one friend who has been with her through the whole process, Auden. In Crashed Lia is growing up. I don't know if I like the person/machine she's turning into, but she is growing. She no longer tries to be normal, nor tries to interact with regular humans, her sister is a thing of the past, and Lia knows her past life is gone. What Lia and her Mech friends come to realize is that the haters are growing in number and they have something very powerful working for them..... God.

That summary doesn't really tell you what Crashed is about. I apologize but I don't know how to describe it. Lia gets hurt... a lot. She gets kidnapped, beaten up, blackmailed and verbally assaulted by friends and enemies. Time and time again she is placed in positions that I couldn't even imagine being in, and instead of being rescued by friends, they look at her with mistrust in their eyes. This book is dirtier then Skinned and definitely falls away from the YA genre. They have a war on their hands and I can't wait to see how Robin Wasserman spins it in the next installment.

Crashed is probably going to remind a lot of readers of the Uglies book and other novels Scot Westerfeld has written involving futuristic topics. In this one, people don't have their bodies perfected. In the event of traumatic, unrecoverable damage, they have them replaced.

Lia had no idea this would ever happen to her, and the adjustments she's had to face have been awful. Robin Wasserman has captured the true emotions of a young teen girl perfectly, but the real feat is pulling off the SF background and making that feel real as well. Crashed is the second book of the trilogy, which is even now getting renamed and re-released with a movie deal waiting in the wings.

Lia has left home. No reason to stay, and after the events of the first novel, she doesn't think she'll ever go back. Living with other mechs, and seeking to 'feel' something the only way she can Lia has embraced her new life. Convince other mechs to join, befriend the ones that have, and maybe, there is something in it for her. But when an old friend starts to show up on the Vids, and a campaign begins against the Mechs in earnest Lia must make some hard decisions.

The second book in the trilogy was just as good as the first. There was a bit more in this book and it moved a little slower, but it did not disappoint. Lia has come a long way since the girl we met in the beginning of the first book. Having decided to embrace her new body and new life she is out on her own among the other mechs she now calls friends.

While a little slow, there is a reason for that. A great deal of character development happens in this book. Not only for Lia the main character, but also for her co-characters. I call them that, because they are bigger than just subcharacters. Riley, Jude, Quinn, Ani, and many more all have parts to play in this book, not only impacting Lia and her life but the world around them.

This was a fantastic book. I can't wait to read the last one 'Wired' which is what I'm reading next. Im eager to see what Wasserman does with the ending and how she sums all this up. It's geared up for a major battle, there are sooooo many secrets floating in the air, and the ending was good and yet leaves the reader wondering 'what now?'.

We're about to find out.

This is a unique look at what it means to be human. Are we just the some total of our experiences and is it a good idea to hold on to life, no matter what form it takes. Lia is faced with these and many more questions. Unfortunately I never really connected with the character and felt the book was slow moving. This book definitely made me decide to never review a book again if I have not read the first. While the book can allegedly stand on its own, the core premise of the book - placing the memories of the living into a robot sounds like a cruel, if not evil joke.