Wow! This story didn't go where I thought it was going to go. But R. J. Anderson took me on a fantastic journey. We begin with Alison in a mental hospital after suffering a breakdown. She believes that she killed a schoolmate by causing her to disintegrate. We see Alison learning to deal with the other patients and with her psychiatrist. We also learn about her life before the hospital. She has a poor relationship with her mother; loves her father but feels that he is ineffectual. We learn about her relationship with her rival Tori (the girl she thinks she killed).But mostly we learn how Alison sees the world. Letters and numbers have colors, and sounds, tastes and smells. Her senses seem cross-wired and very strong. Her psychiatrist keeps thinking that Alison has a mental illness. It is not until Sebastian Faraday comes to the hospital and begins working with Alison that she learns more about the way her senses work and realizes herself that she is not mentally ill.Faraday is the key to the left turn that the story takes from a standard teenage problem novel to science fiction. I enjoyed the whole journey. I think that readers who enjoyed Across the Universe by Beth Revis would also find this one interesting. Alison is a fascinating character that you just have to root for.
