Read + Review: Impostors

Impostors by Scott Westerfeld takes place in the futuristic city of Shreve, ruled by Rafi and her father. Rafi is a diplomat loved by all, while her father is exactly the opposite, and always seems to be one step ahead of everybody. To the average person, that may seem like that’s all there is to this family, but it definitely is not. Even the first family has its own dirty little secret-and that secret is Frey. Frey is Rafi’s twin sister, born 26 minutes after her. These 26 minutes are why Frey has been training to kill ever since she was 6. These 26 minutes are why Frey has been trapped in her room for her whole life. These 26 minutes are why Frey is Rafi’s body double. And these 26 minutes are why Frey got involved in a political deal her father made over metal, and for the first time has been sent away from her sister and to another first family, where she will be held hostage until they finish harvesting the metal. During her time as a hostage, Frey meets Col, who she gets too close to, and soon starts to notice something off about her impression. So when the deal starts to crumble apart, Frey is forced to choose between staying with her father, or running off with Col and becoming a rebel.

In all honesty, I am a BIG fan of the author of this book, and adore his work. I will eat up any of his books, and will always get lost in the universe he so masterfully creates, so when it came time to review this book, I decided to try my best to criticize this book in the perspective of someone who is not as in to this kind of genre as me, and it was still good. Right off the bat, I want to say to NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE REST OF THE SERIES! If you do so, chances are you will be really lost. Now to start off this review I want to discuss the characters. This category is especially important in this book, and I think the author did a great job on it. The characters were all very different, and had their own dynamic personalities. I sometimes got lost thinking about what I would do in these situations, and found myself hating the villains, and rooting for the heroes, which not a lot of books make me do. The writing was mediocre, but was still skillfully executed. But every good thing still has a bad side, and this book is no exception. The concept was interesting, but the plot was not. It was a slower book and was very detailed, something I like, but I can see how some people would get annoyed with it. The story was good, but near the end, I was starting to get bored, but as always, Westerfeld never disappoints, and there was a crazily well written action sequence and an ending that kept me wanting more. All in all it was a good book, and I highly recommend it.

One of the most memorable parts was an action scene near the end, where Frey and some friends she meets along the way orchestrate an attack, and once the attack is launched, ends up being by far the coolest, most well written part of the book. I got lost in the description of the events, and was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire duration of the fight. I can’t reveal too much without giving away spoilers, but I can say this battle leads to one of the most shocking events of the book, that you definitely don’t want to miss.

Reviewed by Aryan A., Glen Allen Library