Review ~ REVIVED, by Cat Patrick

As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life. A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined. ~From GoodReads

Daisy Appleby just can't seem to stay alive. She has died, literally, five times by the age of fifteen. Thanks to the secret drug Revive, and her ever-present family of agents, Daisy keeps coming back. But every time Daisy is Revived, she must relocate. That's never been a problem because she never puts down roots. When Daisy moves yet again and is befriended by siblings Audrey and Matt, she begins to finally feel like she's home. But when she starts finding clues that suggest the Revive Project has shady motives and methods, Daisy's new home and new life begins to crumble around her. Daisy determines to uncover the evil behind Revive to save those she loves, and herself.

Set in the present day, with a completely plausible premise, REVIVED was a cool ride from start to finish. I love a nice, thrilling mystery that is rooted in logic. The Revive Project is headed up by a secret division of the FDA. Nobody trusts those people, right? And seriously, we all know there are many "secret" divisions in the different federal departments. [Sidenote: My husband works for the US Gov.'t, not FDA. So I feel a little nervous saying that. :-) ]  So you could say, my inner government and theory geek was having a raging good time considering all of this.

I thought Daisy was an easy to embrace main character. She begins the story understandably detached from the world around her. It makes no sense to her to make friends, establish ties, when she may have to relocate at any time. Daisy begins her transformation when she meets Audrey. Audrey was like a bright, happy burst of life. The story instantly warmed due to her presence. I love the influence she had on Daisy. Audrey's brother, Matt, brings a happy change to Daisy's world. As far as book boys go, he was a nice addition. Matt was cool, thoughtful, and yeah, a hottie. But he also was very realistic. Matt isn't a robotic good guy. He has very real, and not always easy to take, reactions to Daisy and her secret. I appreciated that Matt wasn't Daisy's "puppy", always happy and easy to please. I loved Daisy's "dad", Mason. He was a genuinely warm parental figure and I could tell, even on paper, that he loved Daisy. Interesting tidbit: There is a transgender character. I haven't found many in the books I've read and it was handled very well.

Overall, I really liked REVIVED. The characters were engaging, the story was beyond cool. I loved author Cat Patrick's style. The flow and structure of her words made the story an easy, quick read. I did find that the pace lagged a bit in the middle portion of the book. The last portion more than made up for it, though. It was a crazy intense roller-coaster of action and emotion. And though I would enjoy more adventures with Daisy, I was glad to see the story neatly tied up. REVIVED, for me, was very enjoyable.


Favorite Quote:

"I feel like I'm drawing out his pain like venom from a rattlesnake bite and, for a few minutes, it makes me forget my own misery." (pg. 235)
Published May 8th 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

You can purchase REVIVED at:
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Source: Received from publisher in exchange for an honest review.