Revived by Cat Patrick Review

Revived by Cat Patrick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: 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.

My thoughts: Cat Patrick is, perhaps, one of the leading voices in Young Adult fiction. This is her second published novel and the second time she had me completely spellbound by the story, plot, and relationships between characters. Her last book, Forgotten, was so original in plot, I loaned it out so much I think I lost it. That protagonist remembered tomorrow and days after that. Not yesterday.

This time we meet Daisy, age 15, as she is dying. Again. She's kind of bummed about it. She was just starting to like it where she was and dying kind of hurts. Oh, well. Next scene is Daisy and her faux parents driving away. They have to start over in a different location, change their last names, you know. The usual things you do when you die and then revive.

So it's really a government project. 11 years ago a bus crashed and 21 children died. All but 6 were revived with a secret injection. They were relocated and the experiment continues. Daisy was already an orphan so she lives with agents, Mason and Cassie. They move to Omaha and start over. Again. Each playing their part. Daisy gets to reinvent herself and decides she wants a friend. Audrey, a girl at school befriends her and Daisy starts growing roots. She gets a boyfriend. Her first kiss. Sleepovers, girl talk, dating, hanging out. Meanwhile, something is up with the program and the puppet master who pulls the strings. There are also situations that come up that threaten her identity.

Although a clever story, it goes deeper than just that. Without overplaying the religion and God card, Daisy begins to question what comes after this. Someday she will die for good. She believes in God, creator of the earth and has an overall belief of afterlife but has never explored it as much as she is forced to do so when she is in Omaha.

*Slight spoiler alert* Somebody close to Daisy dies. For good without Revival. The story explores how relationships continue after a shared loss, when the death is not optioned with a reviving but a real, gut-wrenching loss. Also, family relationships are touched upon in many forms; brother/sister, dad/daughter, mother/child. This part is not deeply explored but the book does give it a platform.

Excellent book. Great idea. Writing is cohesive. My one complaint is that I wanted to know what happened to Daisy's parents. It's not part of the story. I just wondered.


*I received a free copy of this book from publishing company in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.