Ultraxenopia, book 1 in the Project W.A.R. series by M.A. Phipps, is a fast-paced YA dystopian novel set in a world divided into zones, with zone 1 the home of the elites who run things. Ordinary citizens live to please the State. They have little to nothing to say about where they live or work. At age 18, they take an exam to determine their lot in life. It is at this point in life that readers meet Wynter Reeves.
Phipps uses the eighteen-year-old's trip to the testing site to introduce a theme of government control and lost individualism with a society under constant surveillance. A society that does not interact but lives in such a way as not to stand out. Their goal is to avoid drawing attention to themselves for any reason. Phipps' masterful use of the first-person point of view lets the reader feel Wynter’s fears and experience her thoughts. When she has a health event during her exam, it changes everything, and the story takes off running. I prefer not to include spoilers in my reviews but, I will say that she is betrayed and turned over to the State's ominous research facility, where we meet the antagonist of the story, Doctor Austin Richter.
Wynter goes through some gruesome testing, and the evil doctor informs her that she has a rare disease. It causes her to see little flashes of future events. The doctor is tapped into her when she experiences her first vision, and he recognizes the young man she sees. The doctor tells her the man is a member of the terrorist group PHOENIX.
The doctor ramps up testing, and it all takes a toll on her health. She is near death and needs to get out of there, but security is very tight. When she sees the chance, she makes her break and finds her way to freedom. But freedom isn’t what she expected. She meets people who care, but her symptoms grow worse and become dangerous. She can’t control them. She lives, loves, and experiences loss, but then she comes face to face with a huge choice. It determines not just her future but the future of the entire world.
I enjoyed this book on every level. The plot, characters, and the unfolding story held my interest and often kept me on the edge of my seat. One small thing that I didn’t think worked occurred when Wynter grabbed a shard from a broken mirror and hid it up her sleeve. Some of her actions following that stunt made me expect that she might slice her wrist or something. Without saying more, that did not happen. Other than that, the only thing I didn’t like is that the book ended when it did. I will be adding Type X, the next book in the W.A.R. series, to my reading list for sure.
I recommend this book to people who enjoyed the Hunger Games or the Divergent Trilology, as well as sci-fi readers who enjoy the dystopian genre. The author creates a realistic future world that makes sense. I give it five stars and plan to read the series.
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