From the cover:
"Octavia has only ever had one goal: to follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a prestigious whitecoat, one of the scientists who study the natural wonders of Faloiv. The secrets of the jungle’s exotic plants and animals are protected fiercely in the labs by the Council of N’Terra, so when the rules suddenly change, allowing students inside, Octavia should be overjoyed.
But something isn’t right. The newly elected leader of the Council has some extremist views about the way he believes N’Terra should be run, and he’s influencing others to follow him. When Octavia witnesses one of the Faloii—the indigenous people of Faloiv—attacked in front of her in the dark of night, she knows the Council is hiding something. They are living in separate worlds on a shared planet, and their fragile peace may soon turn into an all-out war.
With the help of Rondo, a quiet boy in class with a skill for hacking, and her inquisitive best friend, Alma, Octavia is set on a collision course to discover the secrets behind the history she’s been taught, the science she’s lived by, and the truth about her family."
This book was ok, but nothing mindblowing. Like the cover blurb says, all Octavia has ever wanted is to follow the path of her parents and become a scientist of Faloiv, the planet humanity has lived on since past generations destroyed Earth. Then an encounter at the end of the first chapter with a philax, a bird native to Faloiv, leads Octavia to the realization that something about her is not normal...her senses seem more heightened than everyone else's, and most importantly, she has begun to feel things--namely, the emotions of the animals around her. It's a lot harder to be excited about her unexpected internship studying the mammals of this strange planet when she can feel the panic and terror of the animals being studied, and Octavia can't stop wondering...what has caused her to have these experiences? And does it have something to do with the rising tension between Octavia's parents? The mysterious plans of Doctor Albatur, the head of their Council?
I'm not opposed to the slow build as a storytelling technique, but this book took it a little far. We find out about Octavia and her strange telepathic talents early on, and though the search for answers begins, all we get are more questions. What is Doctor Albatur planning? Why are her parents increasingly at each other's throats? Why did she see her dad helping to drag a kidnapped Faloii into the labs? What happened to the hundred people who went missing after the Vagantur landed on Faloiv? The book is 418 pages long, and the reader doesn't start to get real answers until page 320. After that, the story develops pretty quickly and finally ends on a giant cliffhanger. I could almost forgive the slow development if this were part of a series, but...is it? I couldn't find anything about a sequel, but who knows, maybe it's in the work. Anyway, regardless, while I didn't dislike this book, spending 300+ pages building suspense and then basically infodumping everything in the last <100 pages is frustrating for me as a reader. Give me more breadcrumbs along the way to keep me interested.
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