Book Review: Tabula Rasa by Kristen Lippert-Martin

Synopsis:

The Bourne Identity meets Divergent in this heart-pounding debut.

Sixteen-year-old Sarah has a rare chance at a new life. Or so the doctors tell her. She’s been undergoing a cutting-edge procedure that will render her a tabula rasa—a blank slate. Memory by memory her troubled past is being taken away.

But when her final surgery is interrupted and a team of elite soldiers invades the isolated hospital under cover of a massive blizzard, her fresh start could be her end.

Navigating familiar halls that have become a dangerous maze with the help of a teen computer hacker who's trying to bring the hospital down for his own reasons, Sarah starts to piece together who she is and why someone would want her erased. And she won’t be silenced again.

A high-stakes thriller featuring a non-stop race for survival and a smart heroine who will risk everything, Tabula Rasa is, in short, unforgettable.

Tabula Rasa is an edge-of-your-seat, action packed, race for survival thrill ride that had me saying “just one more chapter” all the way until the end of the book.

Sarah doesn’t remember. She can’t remember. She’s not even 100% sure her name is Sarah. She knows she’s at a hospital where she is undergoing procedures to wipe her memory clean, so that she can start over. But she doesn’t remember what it was that she did to make her want a blank slate. But when the power goes out in the middle of a blizzard, soldiers suddenly invade the hospital, shooting everyone in sight, a mysterious source sneaks her  pills that begin bringing memories back. And then, while fighting to survive in the now war-zone of a hospital,  she meets up with a hacker genius boy who recognizes her. If only they can get out alive, they’ll be able to make sense of everything.

This book takes place over about three days, and the stakes are sky high. There’s no where to go outside, because there’s a blizzard and they’re in the middle of nowhere. If Sarah doesn’t get more of the mysterious pills, she’ll probably die. She and hacker boy are stuck in a mysterious hospital, being gunned down by mercenaries; but they don’t know why. They don’t understand why Sarah specifically has been targeted and is being hunted down. Until Sarah starts remembering. And then it all makes sense.

This book really did make me think of Bourne Identity, for the Young Adult crowd. There’s tons of action, some computer hacking fanciness, a girl with surprising abilities and no memories, a touch of romance, and plenty of absolutely bonkers people.

I really liked Sarah’s character; she forged ahead with little thought of her own safety, knowing it was either that or be killed. She’s resourceful, and she’s willing to accept help, especially since she needs it so badly. Thomas, computer hacking boy was an excellent foil for her; a comedic relief, sweet, entertaining, brilliant. They were paired well since Sarah is pretty serious, and he brings out a softer side of her.

This is a really great action thriller; it never lets up, and I couldn’t put it down till the end. Highly recommended for fans of action/mystery.