This book popped up on a daily deals email I get from Goodreads. I've found a couple good books that way, but I've also been recommended some... not so stellar reads. I read the synopsis of this one and FLIPPED. And, since this is me, not in a good way.
Perfection comes at a price.
As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.
Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows… and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.
But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving… and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death.
I might have shrieked and sent the synopsis to Tristan immediately because I can't believe that in the year of our lord 2015 this was published as YA. Also having just read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? last summer, I'm crying. Crying so hard.
Chapter One
The book opens with several genetically engineered girls sitting on a couch or something in fancy gowns.
"Simply because you'll be papmered and spoiled, your life's mission won't suddenly be any different. Remember that. Your sole purpose is to enrich the lives of your new owners."
Okay, so, I may be a super jaded 31 year old woman, but even back when I was 15 I would have immediately been like 'WAIT OKAY SO THEY'RE SEX SLAVES?'
Also the overseer lady would beat them with bamboo rods. Okay.
OH MY GOD APPARENTLY THE PLACE WHERE THE ELLA WAS FROM BEFORE WAS CALLED THE GREENWICH KENNELS. LIKE. SECOND PAGE AND ALREADY I WANT TO SET THIS BOOK ON FIRE.
In the Kennels they're assigned numbers instead of names and that's the least offensive part about this scenario. Ella is Eight. She's not called Ella yet.
Anyway, Overseer lady babbles about training them and how they are to be perfect, blah blah blah.
Overseer chose the girls to wear different colors so they people buying them won't think they're clones. Even though they're all different skin colors and shit. But they also have the same shaped face and lips? But then Ella thinks that they were each unique and one of a kind even though they're all sitting in the exact same way? WTF. Words mean things.
So anyway, the people coming to claim the girls are congressmen and Senators. So I guess in the future we're just completely doing away with pretending it's bad that our politicians buy sex or whatever and now they straight up own human beings.
Apparently no on in the future remembers that whole abolition thing.
Men and Women come into the room to look at the girls.
"Oh my! They're so little," a woman cooed. "They look like twelve-year-olds."
Now I wanna light MYSELF on fire.
The girls are sixteen and five feet tall, and they're full grown. Physically, I guess, but brains are not fully developed at 16. This is just. Ugh. So freaking gross.
The politicians call the girls "its" because that's what you call your pets, don't you know? Anyway, they're dithering over what hair color they want on the girls.
He was obviously quite a bit older than me, but his jaw was much stronger than the other men I'd seen so far, and his eyes were bright.I call love interest's dad.
Anyway, Dude and Wife argue over whether or not she has a say in what girl he chooses. He makes her stand up and do a twirl like she's a model or something.
"I suppose we'd be getting a little bit more bang for the buck if we go with you then, isn't that right?"
He's talking about the fact that she has 3 talents (dancing, singing, and playing the piano) instead of the standard two but this confuses Ella and I'm just like "dude, is that a sexual innuendo?" Because this book acts like that's not even a possibility. The man is trying to figure out the things SHE likes, which confuses her, and his wife chalks it up to her being stupid. This is painful.
The girls have to give a demonstration of their talents. Also apparently as far as talents go, they're only trained in music and dance because... nothing else exists to be talented at? No art? No handiwork? Acting? Baking and Cooking? Sewing? Ice skating? Gymnastics? Hair styling? Chemistry? Engineering? Computer Coding? Jesus, this set up sucks so bad.
Chapter Two
I couldn't take my eyes off of the senator as he stroked Sixteen's hair with his large hand, twining his fingers through the flaxen curls at the base of her neck.
...Well at least the book has acknowledged the sex aspect of this. But I kind of wish it hadn't.
Customers have to pay $20,000 to be able to get into the lottery to pick out the girls.
Two hundred thousand dollars is as much as some people spend on their homes, Miss Gellner said when she told us how much it took to own a Greenwich girl.Hahaha omg.
MAYBE IF THEY TUNED HARMONICAS THEY'D AFFORD A BETTER HOUSE
If he knew I'd lied to him about my preference for playing the piano, why would he use up a third-pick tag to choose me?
He wants to bone you, girl
Also, dude keeps calling her love and it's creepy.
Dude's wife is bitchy. Because of course she is. I'm wondering if the book will, in true YA fashion, paint her as the Bitch™. I mean, it's not like she has a freaking GOOD REASON for being a jerk when girls are being treated as animals and sold and her husband is all like OMG I NEED THE BEST GIRL OMG OMG OMG.
Just sayin'.
"Don't let Elise scare you," he said. "She's been in a bad mood ever since she turned fifty."
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.
"Oh yeah, my husband is picking out a super ridiculously expensive 'pet' (aka A HUMAN BEING) that some people absolutely 100% use for sex and I don't get any say in this decision in any form but I'm only upset because I'm old. Yep. That's it."
Fuck this.
Even the last clients, who had been left with Eleven, seemed quite pleased with their purchase.
LOL JUST WAIT
"Please feel free to visit our website for care instructions, as well as read the brochures we've sent home with you."
Jesus. Jesus CHRIST. If you can't remember to feed and provide clothing for a human being then what the actual fuck.... I just can't even parse this statement without extreme profanity. Would these girls just... let themselves starve and shit if the owner didn't provide them with food?
"Next thing you know, she's going to tell us to have her registered with the American Kennel Club," the congressman's wife said, standing from the chair we'd found her in.
ELISE KNOWS WHAT'S UP. Ah, my dear Sarcasm Queen. Also she is one of the only one's to call Ella a "her" so that's awesome. I'm so sad that Elise is going to be destroyed by the narrative.
Anyway, the three leave and there's some nonsense about the congressman's car.
'65 Austin-Healey if you care.
Elise is all pissy because her husband likes beautiful impractical things. Also, what year is this book set in? Because the valet totally knows within 2 years what model this car is. The congressmen is douchey because the other people buying girls have boring cars.
It takes literally four paragraphs for these assholes to get into the car. They discuss the car and Ella is very confused.
Yanno, for girls trained in conversation Ella is freaking stupid. Anyway, she doesn't understand why people buy the other cars when Austin-Healey's exist, and the congressman gets really ridiculously excited over her comment.
I mean, it's an interesting looking car, and is a good collector's piece, but having good gas mileage/bluetooth/satellite radio is aces. My new car even has wifi okay? I'd much prefer it on a road trip than something with one row of seats.
Ella calls him master, and Elise is extremely disturbed by it.
"Seriously, John, it's completely backwards. Who in their right mind thought that would be a good idea?"
"I think it's kind of charming," he said.
I AM SERIOUSLY GOING TO INSERT MYSELF INTO THIS BOOK AND KNIFE A BITCH.
"Maybe if you're trying to recreate the Old South"
ELISE. MY BABY. MY DEAREST LOVE.
Okay, I'm starting to think we ARE supposed to like her.
John is all "they're not slaves", and Elise proceeds to DESTROY MY SOUL by saying they're not slaves, just that she hates the term "master." I 100% choose to believe she is only saying this because she doesn't want to provoke her husband, who's obviously a cracked out fucking psycho. She also tells him that it's a very bad idea for his constituents to draw parallels to slavery, which... yeah. But also it's apparently super common for politicians to own people so... *shrug*
And that's all I can stomach for today.
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