Inhuman
~Kat Falls~
Inhuman centers on the young protagonist, Lane, who goes on a mission across a diseased wilderness abounding in the insane and mutated remains of the human race to find her father before he risks being executed. One of the aspects of the story that stuck out the most was Lane herself. She had no handy skillfulness in most areas of life; she had to rely much on others’ knowledge above her own. She wasn’t a renegade; she was an ordinary teenager thrown into an abnormal situation—and that often showed up on the pages. Leaving the stereotypical heartless, rebellious girl model behind, Lane chose to believe the best in everyone, even when it proved to be a misstep. She made many mistakes, she said the wrong things, and she let her feelings get the better of her. That was it—she was as utterly human as the girl next door.
One thing that appears to be present in all YA books today is the glorified love triangle. A girl that happens to believe she is quite average falls helplessly in love with two different, outstanding guys vying for her attention. Unfortunately, Inhuman is no exception to this standard. The love triangle between Lane and Emerson, a soft-hearted, intelligent and attractive young man, and Rafe, a hard-hearted, clever and attractive young man, is quite cliché in many ways—a typical romance that many are led to believe is necessary for any successful story. Oddly enough, I found that Inhuman almost had a fitting storyline for the love triangle, despite the forced aura of romance between some of the characters.
Another intriguing part of the storyline was the characters’ interactions with one another. They each had their own way of communicating, leaving a genuine impression of authentic relationships. Unlike most YA stories, the clashes between Emerson and Rafe had much less to do with a girl than they did with their conflicting opinions and the varying atmospheres in which they had grown up. When it came to desperate situations, instead of squabbling, they joined forces to protect not only Lane, but also one another. Not once was there an argument over who got to do the impressive heroic deeds. They weren’t enemies; they weren’t friends. They were simply conflicting comrades.
Perhaps the most captivating part of Inhuman was the open questioning of each character’s indefinite morals. Emerson saw everything apathetically as part of the bigger picture, often seeming to be contrasting to his self-sacrificing nature; just as puzzling was Rafe’s tendency to think of definite morals, somewhat self-contradicting to his indifferent mannerisms. Lane’s humanitarian personality perfectly counterbalanced the principles of the others.
Despite lacking popularity and the occasionally originality, Inhuman left me high on adrenaline and clawing for more. It wasn’t perfect, but with comedy, heart, adventure, and a whole lot of twisting action, it definitely made its rightful way into my top ten.
~Anna
