Review: Dualed

Book: Dualed by Elsie Chapman
Publication Date: February 26, 2013
Series: Dualed (#1)
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: In the city of Kersh, everyone must eliminate their genetic Alternate twin, raised by another family, before their twentieth birthday. West Grayer, 15, has trained as a fighter, and has one month to hunt and kill her Alt. A tragic misstep shakes her confidence. Guilty, grieving, she feels unworthy, runs from her Alt and from love - both can destroy her.


Overall Review:
I'd been fascinated by the world inside Dualed for quite some time, so it surprised me that I waited so long to read this. I can't say that I'm disappointed with Dualed, but I can say that I was hoping for something more. We're told that the reason behind these Alts that everyone have to kill, to stay alive themselves, is to prove their worth to this Board and to train as soldiers in case one of the other towns decides to attack. That being the case, I was expecting the book to be a little bit about West hunting down her Alt but for it to be really a group uprising against the Board, or there to be an actual threat from one of these other places. That was not at all the case and it kind of bothers me that it wasn't. Don't get me wrong, two people (practically twins from other families) randomly being told that they have to kill someone who looks just like them in order to prove themselves worthy and live is pretty exciting and suspenseful but Dualed lacked the action and plot this story needed. Dualed isn't about West going against her Alt more as West hiding from her Alt. As fast paced and addicting to read as Dualed was, it got dreadfully boring and predictable as we read a day by day recollection of West trying to hide, her lack of money, finding places to sleep, trying to avoid her Alt as much as possible, etc. As far as action and assassination goes, there wasn't much of either save for some parts scattered around. I'm not quite sure why that is because Dualed has so much potential and there are so many ways Chapman could've gone with it to make the book outstanding, but she didn't go down any of those routes but instead chose the safest and more duller path. While I did enjoy reading Dualed, it wasn't nearly as good as it could've been. I know there's a sequel coming out and I sincerely hope that Chapman does a better job tapping into the potential her stories have than what she did with this book.

West got on my nerves quite a bit and I really hated that. She's been through so much so I understood where her motive for some of her decisions came from, but some of those decisions she made were just the wrong ones. She was all bark and absolutely no bite. She was a bit of a hypocrite too. She was all about making sure everyone went after their Alts and didn't waste any time. She made she they were tough and ready to kill. She would sometimes brag about her skills and figure herself to be the more worthy Alt. I believed her. In the beginning I loved her kick ass, tough girl attitude who didn't take crap from anyone but at the same time had that softer, more broken side to her. I figured going after her Alt would be a walk in the park for her but I was so wrong. As soon as push came to shove and it was time to show the world what she was made of, what she made everyone believe, she ran off with her tail between her legs. I get that she's lost so many loved ones, I get that she's been through what most people wouldn't dream of, I get that she's not as tough as she made herself out to be, but what I don't get is how she spent more time running and hiding than she did anything else. At first, okay I can get hiding because you can't believe it's actually happening to you and you have to kill your Alt but doing it for weeks? Spending the entire book running, hiding, and not even trying? What is with that? I also don't get why she spent more time trying to push the people that cared about her away more than she spent trying to actually kill her Alt so she could be with the people she cared about. It was so confusing how her mind or voice would say one thing but she'd do the complete opposite. I can't even say there was any character development and she began to get over her fear and finally stand up for herself. It wasn't at all like that. She didn't change, time was just running out.

Dualed was pretty fast paced, not that it really mattered since nothing ever really happened. The beginning was full of action, suspense, and this feeling that you have no idea what is going to happen next. It was super exciting and thrilling but all of a sudden changed into this slow, boring, repeated, predictable story that had no point to it. I was disappointed at first that we didn't get to learn more about the Board and why there are these Alts, I was also kind of hoping that there'd be some sort of uprising against the Board but nope. I guess I could live with that if the actual plot was any good. Chapman had so much to work with in Dualed and there was so much potential in this story and I just don't get why she didn't take advantage of this! I can't even say there is a reason behind why Chapman went down the path she did with this book because I'm not sure there is. There's no character development, no lesson learned, no secrets revealed, no sudden plot twists, nothing. It was all about West hiding for no apparent reason and refusing to admit that she's all bark, no bite. West seemed so interesting and tough in the beginning and I really liked that about her, but all that changed when it was time to finally put her skills into action. I can't say how I'd react in that situation if I was her but seeing as she was raised for that sort of thing, you'd think she'd be braver and stronger than she was. It was almost a complete change in character from one page to another that it almost seemed like it was someone else entirely. While I did enjoy Dualed, there is so many issues I had with it and I really hope Chapman does a better job with the sequel. I am in love with the cover, though! It's eye-catching in a dark and thrilling kind of way!


Overall Rating:
I give Dualed a 3 out of 5 star rating. I enjoyed it but once again it didn't meet up to the potential that it had. It didn't meet up with my expectations either, and they weren't even set that high! I would probably still recommend this book to people who are interested in assassin stories, messed up societies like the one in Dualed that pin you against your twin to prove your worth. I wouldn't shove it in your face and make you read it though. I'll still read the sequel and I'm crossing my fingers and toes it's better than the first! Thanks for reading!


3/5 stars

~Kayla~