REVIEW: I Become Shadow by Joe Shine~ BEA 2014

I Become Shadow by Joe Shine

Publication Date: June 10, 2014

Publisher: Soho Teen
Source: ARC received from Publisher at Book Expo America 2014

Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

*This book was received from the publisher, but it did not influence this review in any way *

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Ren Sharpe was abducted at fourteen and chosen by the mysterious F.A.T.E Center to become a Shadow: the fearless and unstoppable guardian of a future leader. Everything she geld dear-her family, her home, her former life-is gone forever.

Ren survives four years of training, torture and misery, in large part thanks to Junie, a fellow F.A.T.E. abductee who started out as lost and confused as she did. She wouldn’t admit it was possible to find love in a prison beyond imaging, but what she feels for Junie may just be the closest thing to do.

At eighteen they part ways when Ren receives her assignment: find and protect college science student Gareth Young, or die trying. Life following a college nerd is uneventful, until an attack on Gareth forces Ren to track down the only person she can trust. When she and Junie discover that the F.A.T.E. itself might be behind the attacks, even certain knowledge of the future may not be enough to save their kidnappers from the killing machines they created.

Why did I love this book so much!?!?!?!?!

No seriously though. There were actually quite a few reasons why I was sure I wouldn’t like it…and I was right. I didn’t like it…I LOVED it!!!

This is a story about a girl who was abducted from her home and trained to be something else…this is a story about a secret organization that kidnaps children that are soon to be killed and uses them to protect the future important people of the world….this is a story about a beautiful blooming relationship between a boy and a girl who share one thing in common, they were kidnapped and trained to be killers. This is a story that has a lot of different stories within it and I love every one of them. Each aspect of this book was so well written that you can’t help but allow yourself to get so lost while reading, I was ensnared from the moment I opened the book.

Let’s start with Ren Sharpe. A fourteen year-old girl who is abducted from her home one night by a top secret organization and taken to a top secret facility. There she discovers that she was meant to be killed soon after she was taken and the organization actually saved her life. Juicy stuff right? So from there she is told that she will be trained to be a “Shadow” which is a person that will follow and protect the F.I.P (Future Important Person) for the rest of their lives, so that said person can achieve their great accomplishment that will change the world. Ren is such a great character because she's smart, strong, and brave. But her most endearing quality has to be her sarcasm. I mean let’s face it, this girl is a total smartass and total badass! And I LOVE that about her.  

Then there’s Junie Miller. The boy who passively worked his way into my heart (and Ren’s) We learn so much from Junie about how to be brave and strong, and especially about how to be loyal. Junie is loyal to the point of endangerment. He has more than risked his life on several occasions to keep Ren safe. Gotta love a guy like that. Plus, that kiss scene…can you say swooooon?!?! He puts himself and his emotions aside constantly to keep her close. He embodies bravery and loyalty with every move he makes.

This story just grabs a hold of you and takes you along on this amazing journey. There are ups and downs and tons of in-betweens that make for a crazy and exciting story. Then, just when you think you’re done, the ending grabs a hold of you again and slaps you with a dose of frustration as you sit there gasping for air and gripping the pages, wondering what just happened and worrying that you may never get the answer.

For all our sakes, I hope the author gives us a sequel to end all sequels. Because I can’t imagine life living without these answers or these characters for at least a little while longer...