Revived by Cat Patrick
Release Date – May 1, 2012
Publisher Website – Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 336 pages
My Rating- 4.5/5
**obtained from the publisher for an honest review**
Here is the Goodreads synopsis
As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.
A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.
When I started Revived I was expecting a more thriller feel, with some futuristic aspects tossed in. I ended up with a very moving, touching novel that went much deeper than I as expecting.
Revived asks the question of what it would be like to cheat death. Daisy has cheated it more than once. She comes across as if she feels indestructible. This rang true to me. Here is a girl that has cheated death a few times, it makes sense that she wouldn’t fear it or be overly concerned with it.
A lot of the novel deals with the effects of cheating death and what that would do to a person. Daisy feels disconnected from death. It isn’t until she’s presented with a situation that Revive can’t fix that she fully understands. The anguish, pain, and eventual acceptance that accompanies a loss of a loved one is so fully invoked in this novel. You will feel each emotion along with the characters and your heart will break for them.
The science side of the story was intriguing and yet understated enough that it didn’t take away from the heart of the story. The mystery of what the agency really is, and what the true nature of the program provides the twists, turns and shocks in the story. While I did see the ending coming, I was ok with that because it is almost the secondary part to the story. It’s the characters who really shine in this novel, and the emotional journey Daisy is on.
Daisy is an instantly likeable character. She, for all that has happened to her, seems like a well adjusted, intelligent teenager that is just trying to blend in. She temps fate by putting herself in dangerous situations because she’s come to view life as something that is a given. Her determination to dig deeper into the program, and find answers when she first starts to feel something is amiss is admirable.
Her relationship with Matt is sweet, cute, and exactly what you would expect for high school romance. It’s not some epic love at first sight. It’s a little flirtation that could turn into more. I liked reading about the struggle Daisy had with wanting to get closer, but also needing to keep a distance so that she would not jeopardize the program.
The Revived drug, and the subsequent program isn’t something that is out of the realm of possibility. The consequences of a drug like that being made public are easily and scarily imagined. Revived makes us think about life, death and what they mean to us. It’s a novel that is thought provoking, and ultimately makes you want to cherish life because it really is a gift. It also reminds us to recall the good times of loved ones who have passed away, because that is the best way to honour their memory.
