Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special.
This is not her story.
Unless you count the part where I killed her.

This book has one of the best blurbs I've ever read which is suitable since it's also one of the best books I've ever read. It was also nothing like I expected.

Ultraviolet is an exquisite book about Alison, a girl with Synesthesia who is sent to a mental asylum for killing the most popular girl in her school. While technically this is an accurate description of the plot, it doesn't really convey what you're letting yourself in for. The start of this book is so good, an intriguing idea fuelled by stunning description and amazingly-detailed characters. It's quite slow-paced I guess but it works best that way. Alison is a very compelling character, the whole world of the asylum is built up beautifully and in general I loved the story. And then...

Aliens.

No seriously. There are aliens in this book.

It was like Candy and the Broken Biscuits all over again. Why? Why do books do this? Why suddenly slip into the world of fantasy when the story has essentially been nothing but realism so far? Even worse to do it so late into the book, when the world is so completely and lovingly crafted. 

And yet, I don't hate this book. I should by all rights because it does something I really hate, but it doesn't spoil the story. I can't bring myself to hate this book because it is so beautiful, and even after everything gets turned upside down I still found myself reading and enjoying it. In a weird way, it works. I still would have preferred to have things rooted in realism throughout and I am a little sad about the ending I feel I've lost by the story switching so suddenly, but overall I still like Ultraviolet. I still love it.

This is by all accounts an amazing book, and I would definitely recommend reading it. It's a fascinating story written beautifully and it sucks you in completely. It's also one of the few books which manages to be truly surprising and, miraculously, pulls it off. It's a book I couldn't help but love and one which shall forever hold a special place on my bookshelf for that reason.

 Overall Score:

.5