Deviate – Jay Kristoff

DEV1AT3 by Jay Kristoff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Deviate (Dev1at3) is the second book in the Lifelike (Lifel1k3) series by Jay Kristoff. I loved the first book and how it was this really intriguing sci-fi Anastasia retelling. That being said, this book felt very different than the first one and if you haven’t read Lifelike, I would recommend reading my review for it rather than this review as it will contain spoilers for the first book.

In Deviate, Lemon Fresh is the main character rather than Eve. Lemon Fresh was a hilarious sidekick in the first book and it was nice to see more from her. She spent a good portion of her journey with Ezekiel and Cricket, and honestly, I appreciated that squad. They were fun together and felt like a good unit – I honestly didn’t miss Eve as part of it? But that may also be because the Eve that we met at the beginning of Lifelike is not the Eve that we part with at the end of that book. Lemon gets to shine in this book, full of wit and snark, sassy comebacks and hilarious quips, and the loyalty that she used to make us all fall in love with her.

This book is all about Lemon’s journey, her discovery about who she truly is and what she can do with her abilities. She falls in with a group of kids who have abilities just like her. I appreciated how different each of the characters was that she meets, like Diesel and Grimm. They had unique powers, backstories (even if we didn’t truly get to see them), and personalities. They were a welcome addition to Lemon’s squad while she was separated from Ezekiel and Cricket.

There was a much heavier focus on religion in this book and it was fairly negative. Those that consider themselves religious are fanatical and believe that those that are different from them (Deviates) should be removed from the Earth. As a result, I would say that it could be triggering to those who hold their faith very dear to them and might feel hurt by the portrayals in this book. Overall, I felt that every religious tone was negative and I felt that it warranted a mention for readers who might not feel great reading that.

I felt that Eve was fairly non-existent in this book. IT should have been an incredibly important focal point to be in her head and dealing with the aftermath of her discovery at the end of Lifelike, but I just felt like her inner turmoil was missing. You know it is there because she goes mental and you’re wondering what’s wrong with her – but you don’t get to experience much first hand. It makes her less relatable and sympathetic.

Overall, I enjoyed this book although I felt that it was very different from Lifelike. This no longer had the tones of an Anastasia retelling, it was more murder and mayhem, self-discovery, and a few ridiculous escapades.

View all my reviews