Review: Feuds by Avery Hastings

Title: Feuds
Author: Avery Hastings
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin/Macmillan
Pub. Date: September 2, 2014
Genre: Young Adult
Rec. Age Level: 12+
Pages: 272
More by this author: Rival

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In the not so distant future, society is divided into two groups: Priors, those who are wealthy and genetically enhanced to be more attractive, stronger, and smarter, and the Imperfects, or "Imps," lowly servants to the Priors. Davis Morrow, a competitive ballerina, is a Prior, raised to believe that the Priors represent all that is good in the world and that the Imps are worthless, wild, and separate - until she meets Cole. At first, she doesn't realize that Cole is an Imp and, by the time she learns the truth, she's already falling for him. When one by one disease immune Priors begin contracting a mysterious illness and disappearing, Cole is the only person Davis can turn to for the truth.

This book was not my favorite. Though I did think the world was interesting, I feel like readers have seen something very similar in Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy. It's still interesting here, but not unique enough that I'd highly recommend it, especially when I consider the things about this book that I didn't like.

For me, the biggest issue was the romance and relationship between Cole and Davis - which, for the record, is the driving force behind Feuds. This book is technically dystopian and there is a mystery, but it's all secondary to the romance - a romance that is built on absolutely nothing! Cole is head over heels for Davis from the very beginning, his reasoning being that she's so beautiful and so intellectually different and interesting. Two reasons, two problems:  1. All priors are engineered to be beautiful, so Davis is literally just another pretty face and 2. Davis and Cole never have a real conversation. Seriously. They almost always immediately launch into making out. How do you know she's so different and interesting? Because she's so beautiful? Then all Priors must be different and interesting! Your logic is flawed, Cole. Though I can see how you might be distracted by all the making out. You are, after all, a teenaged boy.

Normally I can easily employ suspension of disbelief for a good plot and likeable characters, but this was just too much. If the romance had been a secondary element, I might have been okay with the obvious flaws, but, because it was the novel's main concern, I couldn't ignore the issues.

Skip it.