Media UK, a corrupt media corporation, are digitizing everything and everyone. Anyone can be a celebrity, especially when you're seventeen years old linked to an investigation involving your vanishing ex-boyfriend. Adele Jones becomes famous in her home town Waleslee, the first Media UK owned city, after she is linked to an investigation involving an inexplicable vanishing of criminals. Desperate to enjoy her life again she falls for a new guy, but he is blighted by inner demons that are not only dangerous to her, but to her friends too.They must unearth his true identity quickly, away from the cameras, to stop any more destruction. However, will Adele be able to handle the truth about who he really is?
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The book opens in the city of Waleslee, a town where the government no longer has power and things are instead run by an entertainment conglomerate, Media UK. All citizen in Waleslee can be filmed at anytime, anywhere, with the exception of inside their homes. Every piece of technology they interact with in the city is personalized to them and fed back to Media UK. I absolutely loved the concept of this city, which reminded me The Truman Show, and enjoyed the unique way the characters interacted with the world created. At times, the world seemed very similar to ours, with very minor changes, which helped me better understand it but also caused confusion from time to time.
The plot of this book was intriguing and full of intense situations and plot twists. There are a number of mysteries to solve as the story goes along, some of which are tangled together to make for an exciting conclusion. Some of the plot twists were predictable, but I still enjoyed solving the mysteries along with the characters. I was disappointed that the main character, Adele, didn’t play an active role in the story for the first half. She mostly seemed to go along with what other characters are doing and get thrown into situations, more than choosing to pursue them.
As Adele was a more passive protagonist for the first half of the book, it took me some time to get used to her. Overall, she is an enjoyable narrator and I could certainly relate to her. She has good chemistry with her love interest, Jason, and I enjoyed seeing their relationship blossom. The cast of characters seemed a bit too large for a book of this size, which led to some confusion in the plot and me having to go back and reread certain sections. There is a “mean girl” trope with some of the side-characters, which I don’t mind, but other readers may want to be aware of being starting the book.
Forged Purity, is author Louise Rachel Malhi’s first novel and the first in her dystopian science-fiction series. The world she’s created in intriguing and unique. The plot of the story is fast-paced and filled with mystery. You’ll probably be able to predict at least one of the twists, but it’s still well worth the read. Adele, the narrator, takes some time to get used to and only plays a passive role in the first half of the book, but eventually is a relatable and enjoyable protagonist.