Soulprint is a new sci-fi/thriller novel with an extremely fascinating premise. It looks at the soul in an interesting way, looking at it from social and scientific viewpoints, rather than as a part of any particular spirituality. It takes place in a world in which science has advanced to the point of being able to soulprint, much like fingerprinting. The social ramifications of that ability are at the center of this book and the protagonist, Alina Chase.

Alina is not imprisoned, but "contained," solely on the basis of her soul having previously belonged to a woman that was considered to be an extremely dangerous criminal. The science and thought behind soulprinting was that the soul remains unchanged from life to life, leaving one predisposed to certain behaviors. Because of that belief and the depth of the criminality that her soul has supposedly possessed, Alina has lived almost her entire life isolated on an island, surrounded only by an ever rotating staff of people that take care of her without ever truly caring for her. And then things change and she has been broken out of her prison? But for what reason? And is her new life any less a prison?

This is a fast-pased thriller with so many twists and turns as Alina, and those who broke her free, explore her past to find answers. Her character is one I truly loved. She is smart, strong, and determined, unwilling to meekly follow others without finding answers for herself. The author leaves bread crumbs for readers, bits and pieces of the mystery that allow the reader to guess at different parts of it without giing it all away. It was a great way to build anticipation along the way.

Alina never really believed that her soul's previous incarnation meant that she, too, would be a criminal. But as her path to discovering more led her to question that and wonder if perhaps the soulprinter advocates were correct in their theory. The story was as much one of growth and change for Alina as it was a sci-fi thriller.

I loved that the book looked at the idea of souls, and reincarnation, from a point of view that was not religious. It was a nice twist to look at it from such a different perspective and it made for a interesting read.

My Recommendation

I would definitely recommend this for sci-fi and thriller lovers alike!

Soulprint - Megan Miranda
Published by: Bloomsbury Childrens, on 12 February 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 368, Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Reading Challenges: Winter COYER 2014 2015

Alina Chase has spent her entire life in confinement. With the science of soul-printing now a reality, she is 'protected' for her own safety - and the safety of others - because her soul has done terrible things ...or so she's told. When Alina finally breaks out of prison, helped by a group of people with unclear motives, she begins to uncover clues left by her past life that only she can decipher. And she may not be as innocent as she once believed. Can Alina change her future, or is she fated to repeat her past and face the consequences?

Soulprint is a captivating tale, in which rebirth has been proven, and people can be judged by the deeds done in their past lives. Chilling, well done and filled with secrets, I loved it!

My Soulprint review:

Alina was an intriguing character to follow, especially at the very start when she was held captive by the government – on an island and with guards that were changed every few weeks to make sure nobody got close enough to her to want to make her escape. The whole premise of souls being reborn really appealed to me, and the mystery surrounding that for almost everyone but Alina was well done, too. Alina has been monitored since she was born, though, because of what ‘she’ had done in her past life. And it was chilling to see how she was being judged based on what there was a possibility she would do – without anyone really knowing if there was any actual proof she would do anything the same way her former self did.

Soulprint was filled with intrigue and suspense, because Alina could never fully know whom she should trust or not, especially after she was helped to escape from her island of captivity. On the run in more ways than one, she had to try to figure out more about what the person she was in her past life had done and why, while at the same time figuring out a way to save herself and make sure she could actually live a real life this time around.

Written mostly in first person point of view from Alina’s perspective, I felt as if I was right in the middle of the story of Soulprint with her. Some passages in third person, as well as quite a lot of dialogues made for a very pleasant flow, and I enjoyed the whole journey Alina went through, both the parts that were chilling and the sweeter parts because one of the guys who helped spring her from the island really was a good guy, and there was a little romance in the air.

Some of my favorite Soulprint quotes:

I wish I could meet them, these people who loved me so fiercely. Who believed my sol was my own.

Sometimes I imagine it’s June speaking to me. Go, she says in the voice I have heard in five different documentaries and countless news programs. Go. I hear at night, when I wake up and the island is still. I feel it stirring under my ribs, restless and wanting.

But he’s wrong. In fact, what we are right now, crawling through a pipe under the earth somewhere, is the exact opposite of dead.

The idea seems so foreign, that there’s this world that exists without me, and yet even as I think it, I know that ti’s entirely egotistical and selfish of me.  

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• Winter COYER 2014 2015

SUMMARY

Alina Chase has been contained her whole life on a private island – cared for, but not cared about. Because she has inherited the soul of a notorious teen criminal, June Calahan. And the world fears June has left instructions for Alina to continue what she started – throwing the world into chaos.

WORLDBUILDING

Wowser! The worldbuilding in this was so subtle and intense. Souls are an actual thing, and soulprints – like fingerprints – can be determined by testing the spinal fluid. Alina inherited the soul of someone the world was terrified of, someone the press believed had too much power and was blackmailing innocent people about who their past lives were. The whole idea was built on a study that claimed souls inherit evil, just like talent and left-and-right-handedness, but not memories. People started punishing others for what they did in a previous life. A soulprint is supposed to be secret – Alina is special: her soulprint was taken when she was a baby. Her soul is public knowledge, and she’s contained ‘for her own protection’ because of it.

CHARACTER

Alina was an amazing character. I really feel like I got to know her. She wanted to be different to June, so she forced herself to become left-handed, even though left-and-right-handedness is something a soul inherits. She shunned things June was good at – maths, coding – in favour of learning other skills. She hoped that if she showed she was different to June, the authorities might decide they’d made a mistake – despite being tested (and matched) for the soulprint three times. Alina was strong even when she was terrified, brave even when she was helpless, loyal and trusting but not in a dumb way – she wouldn’t be fooled by certain characters. She was smart enough to read people, and I loved watching her decipher every little movement, every word said, as she got to the truth.

RELATIONSHIPS

So there’s three major relationships in this book that I loved. The first was between Alina and the typical bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold Cameron. The second was between Cameron and his older sister, Casey. The third was between Casey and Alina. THE BEST KIND OF LOVE TRIANGLE. Cameron and Casey have their own reasons for helping Alina escape, but I loved watching the slow burn of her relationship with Cameron heat up until I was sure I was going to explode along with them. I loved Cameron and Casey’s bond, their own language and their comfort with each other. And I loved the complicated relationship with Casey that often teetered on the brink of falling apart because of Alina’s entanglement with Cameron.

My favourite line:

Cameron kills me with his honesty.

And I also need to add a spoiler because I got one-third of the way through this novel and went looking for the one spoiler nobody mentioned!

OVERALL

Soulprint is a ridiculously strong novel. The slower pace of the opening pages leaves plenty of room for world-and-character building until you feel like you know the characters inside out. The romance was a swoony slow burn. I don’t generally do book boyfriends but Cameron’s going on my shelf. It’s a psychological thriller with plenty of philosophical debate about the nature of the soul. The writing is beautiful and there are sentences to swoon over as well. It’s got everything a YA contemporary/hint of sci-fi lover could want. Just read it!

Expected Publication Date: February 3, 2015

Dates Read: 1/11/14 to 1/14/15

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: Alina Chase has been contained on an island for the last 17 years—whether that’s for the crimes of her past life, or for her own protection, well, that depends on whom you ask. With soul-fingerprinting a reality, science can now screen for the soul, and everyone knows that Alina’s soul had once belonged to notorious criminal, June Calahan, though that information is supposed to be private. June had accomplished the impossible: hacking into the soul-database, ruining countless lives in the process.

Now, there are whispers that June has left something behind for her next life—something that would allow Alina to access the information in the soul-database again. A way to finish the crimes she started.

Aided by three people with their own secret motivations, Alina escapes, only to discover that she may have just traded one prison for another. And there are clues. Clues only Alina can see and decipher, clues that make it apparent that June is leading her to something. While everyone believes Alina is trying to continue in June’s footsteps, Alina believes June is trying to show her something more. Something bigger. Something that gets at the heart of who they all are—about the past and the present. Something about the nature of their souls.

Alina doesn’t know who to trust, or what June intends for her to know, and the closer she gets to the answers, the more she wonders who June was, who she is, whether she’s destined to repeat the past, whether there are truths best kept hidden—and what one life is really worth.

My Thoughts:  I received this book early through NetGalley.

I loved this book. It was so good and it flowed so well. There were no parts in the story where things were moving slow. Something was always happening. I liked the idea that someones soul just keeps getting reborn and you can somehow have a part of that persons thoughts in your mind like Alina and June. I loved Casey and Cameron’s characters, however, I was not a fan of Dominic. I thought he was a psychopathic jerk and half the time I wanted to slap him. I liked the way that the clues just kind of showed themselves to Alina and they were able to get to exactly what it was they needed at that time. I was happy with the way that this story ended and that things kind of wrapped up but I feel like it was left open enough so that there could be a second book in the future. I am really happy that I was able to read this early and I can’t wait for everyone else to get to read it and love it like I do! I also can’t wait to buy the actual copy and add it to my book collection!