The world fades to nothing, and before I have the chance to think another thought... I'm dead.
My name is Daisy West and my whole life is a lie. I have died five times. I've been Revived five times. With each revival comes a new name, a new town... a new life.
But this time I won't let myself die. This time, I've found a love that I can't let go. This time, I'm going to make my life my own.
After reading Cat Patrick's debut Forgotten last year, I had high hopes for Revived. Whilst I didn't enjoy it as much as Forgotten, it was still an engaging and thought provoking read.
The novel starts with fifteen year old Daisy dying for the fifth time. She's part of a top-secret government program that tests a drug called Revive which can bring people back when they have died. Daisy is one of the cases and she has been revived five times. She lives with two government agents, Mason and Cassie, who act as her "parents" to the outside world. After she dies for the fifth time and is consequently revived, the Appleby "family" move to Omaha, Nebraska, and change their surname (as they do every time they are relocated) to West. Daisy starts at a new school and meets new friends, namely siblings Audrey and Matt McKean. Matt and Daisy have a sweet romance, but Audrey is hiding something that changes Daisy's view of Revive, life, and death.
At first I found it difficult to connect with Daisy; she was so passive and flippant in the beginning, like, "oh, I've just died, but it's okay, there's a drug that'll save me, like always". At some point, probably when she and Audrey became closer, something clicked and I ended up really liking Daisy. Audrey was a lovely character, so cheerful despite her fate, and her story really was heartbreaking. I'd have liked to have known more about her and what her life was like before Daisy came to Omaha, though. Matt was totally swoon-worthy, and surprisingly realistic in such a situation. I really enjoyed reading about his relationship with Daisy as it unfolded, and some of the things they said/thought about each other were so cute!
I really liked Daisy's relationship with Mason, her pretend father. They obviously cared a lot about each other and was really pleased when they got stronger towards the end, after all that happened with the program. Her friendship with Megan was cool, and I wanted to read their blog!
I also appreciate the talent that Cat Patrick has for writing creepy and sinister characters, namely Cassie and "God". She really made me feel quite uncomfortable in some scenes, and I thought twice about reading this at night!
The only problem I had with this book, and it is quite a large one, is that it took a while to read, despite it being only 326 pages. I think this was because it dragged a little at times when there wasn't much going on plot-wise, but the stuff written in those pages was necessary to the outcome of the story.
Overall, an interesting and satisfying read from Cat Patrick, who I will definitely be reading more of, despite the moments when it seemed a little slow.
Rating: A-
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