Control (Book One) by Lydia Kand

Zel was used to moving around. For over a decade her father had been moving the family every

ten months, new cities, new friends, that is if Zel ever made any friends. She was smart like her dad, but her sister had inherited all the looks and social graces. Usually when they move they have a few weeks to prepare, Zel can wrap up her biology experiments and Dyl can break up with whatever string of guys had attached themselves to her. This time, they had a day, less than to pack up and leave.

            Within moments of hitting the road, their vehicle is hit, killing Zel’s father on impact. To make matters worse, Dyl is kidnapped by a group Zel can only describe as mutants. Zel lost and alone is taken into a foster home. A foster home dedicated to fighting those who took Dyl. Both sides are interested in human, genetic mutation and focusing on how if can improve or hurt the world.

            There are secrets in the organizations, things are not black and white, and Zel’s family plays a bigger role than she ever thought possible.

            I really enjoyed this novel, I thought that is was an amazing blend of future America, with tons of science in it. The novel focused a great deal of the science of genes and biology, but I never felt that things were over my head. The author did a great job of simplifying concepts that can be difficult to understand. The pace of the book moved well (although it got a little bit slow in the middle).  I would recommend this novel to people who like a little bit more science in the fiction, fans of Uglies, Divergent, All Our Yesterdays, or any dystopian novel series that doesn’t have to do with the apocalypse.