Book Seventy of 2014: Transfixion by J. Giambrone

A YA Sci-Fi Action Thriller
It’s nothing short of the end of the world.
Someone has weaponized the broadcast spectrum – gazing upon the transmission is enough to steal your mind.
Kaylee Colton faces a technological Armageddon when suburbia shatters into civil war. All alone, and unable to speak, Kaylee will need to fight to survive and transcend her own fears if she is to stand against these enigmatic forces of destruction.
Transfixion is an action-laced rush that will burrow straight into your brain…

Transfixion by J. Giambrone is a young adult scifi thriller that kept me going. The first few chapters have the main character going back to her book, but in the worst of times. There is no slow climb into the action, it starts right off and has lulls that leave you wondering what will happen next.

I found that I could relate well with Kaylee Colton. Mind you, she was mute for the good first half, but that’s due to a traumatic event whe witnesses. The fact that she returns to her book is that she isn’t ready to realize what her new reality is. She would rather hole herself up in literature. Which is much of what I did and sometimes still do. Reading helps with my anxiety and for Kaylee, it helps her cope with the apocalypse.

I don’t know if the author intended this, but the book really made me think of people with disabilities not being seen as any more than a nuisance. Mind you, Kaylee goes mute, it’s not a birth disability or behavioral, but it does make people treat her differently. When she has a plan or is telling a person she knows something, she writes it down. Only for the others to laugh at her. I felt this is similar to my brother with Autism. He is brilliant and has a good soul and mind, but people outside of home don’t really give him the time of day. They see the Autism, not the compassionate person. That’s what Kaylee’s predicament reminded me of.

Dispite being mute for half of the book, Kaylee is a strong character. She really pulls through in the end and sort of becomes a leader, but it’s with her actions when she was mute that made her a loyal member of her group. This is a serious quick and fast paced read. I really liked it.