Kyla has been Slated. Her memory’s erased, her personality is wiped blank and her memories are lost forever. The government claims she was a terrorist and that they are giving her a second chance – as long as she plays by the rules. But Kyla isn’t one to believe things just because someone tells her, and when she dreams things she shouldn’t know, are they dreams or are they whispers of her past? Someone is lying to her and nothing is as it seems. Who can Kyla trust in her search for the truth?

Slated is a gripping book. Some might feel it’s pretty slow and in some ways that’s true as it’s very character driven and there’s very few big action moments. It’s all about Kyla learning about herself, her new family and where she fits into her new life. She can’t remember anything so her family has to teach her simple things like how to wash the dishes and to tie her shoelaces. In many ways she is a child in a sixteen year olds body.

I found Kyla fascinating, she doesn’t act like Slated’s are supposed to act. She doesn’t know why this is, it’s just who she is but it causes problems when she asks too many questions. She’s intuitive and often untrusting but she still finds a way to express herself and tries to look after herself and others. As Kyla slowly learns more about her world and her past, you start to understand why she is a bit different but it never feels like the Chosen One cliché.

The intrigue surrounding Kyla’s world is brilliant. Slated is set in the near future in Britain so in some ways it’s familiar but in others it’s different and more sinister. Slated never stops and explains how the government and its laws work, it expects you to pick it up as Kyla does so you never really know who you can trust which is great. There’s always a sense of foreboding due to the way the mysterious Lorders dish out punishments.

Throughout Slated there’s a sense of wrongness that becomes clearer as the story progresses. The things Slated says about government control, terrorists and young people is timely and gripping. I definitely liked what it said about people being scared of those who ask questions and go against the status quo, it was definitely something you could relate to when the main story is about a girl who is a complete blank slate.

Slated is an intriguing start to a trilogy where you never know what you can believe. 4/5.