Impervious
Author: Heather Letto
Impervious, a novel for young adults, is book one in The Ascension Series. Letto has written a novel that bites at our society as she falls into the future with her characters, which all live in an automated world named Impervious. The future is a domed world, keeping humanity away from the perils of the destruction of the planet, and rules are the dominating venue.
Fran, a teenager, has decided to rebel under the direction of her mentor Chan. Chan calls her the Lone Wolf, and Fran has decided to live in the underworld without the rules of the The Council. Instead of getting an apartment, food allotment and security, Fran crawls through the tunnel ducts that entwine the world of Impervious.
There is a terrible sickness called The Beast in the city and Fran has to escape that too, for Chan has died from it. Fran’s brother is one of the elite of the city, so she cannot count on him for help; he would turn her in and make her Accountable, make her like all the other robotic humans who look to The Council for their lives.
As Letto realizes a modern day society where the individual has emerged as non existent and the society is all that holds the residents safe, her characters travel to strange places. Fran seeks the truth even to the fact of her own demise, and when she finds it, she realizes that there is another world, a wild and beautiful world, that allows her to revel in her own humanity.
As Fran travels to this world, she meets the Others, she finds her family. They are fighting to live in freedom and without the threat of the strange disease that Impervious is supposed to guard against. For the disease is Impervious itself.
Well written, and engaging, Letto has written a hungry and tantalizing novel. In Letto’s own words,
“Young adults often struggle with fitting in, so another dominant theme in the book is about resisting peer pressure to find truth. Sometimes on our search for truth, the path may seem very shadowed, confusing or lonely, so a theme of perseverance and bravery is also found with the heroine, Fran. Finally, finding The Reader is a monumental experience for our heroine in the story. The Reader symbolizes the bible in our own society. Therefore, believing in what you can’t see, a.k.a. faith, is another major theme.”
Although I did not find the metaphor of religion that Letto has written the novel around, I found this an exciting and vulnerable novel, with a young heroine who remains memorable.
Ratings are based on a 5-star scale
Overall: 3
Review by Broad “A” – Ava
We received a copy of this title for our book review. All opinions are our own
Impervious (The Ascension Series) (Volume 1)
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