Perception (Perception Trilogy Book 1) by Lee Strauss

 

 Imagine living in a utopian society.  A society where everything seemed absolutely perfect.  Everyone that resided there had blond hair and blue eyes.  They were all "perfect", and they were all GAPs: genetically altered persons.  A genetically altered person had the lifespan of at last two hundred years and had a great immune system.  They never got sick.  The walled cities that they lived in were immaculate and screamed of wealth.  Zoe Vanderveen was a GAP living in Sol City.  She was the typical GAP with the long blond hair and blue eyes.  Her grandfather had been one of two men that had come up with the gene mutations to create the genetically altered person.  And her grandfather was in a position of power.  While everything seems normal, it isn't.  Zoe's brother, Liam, disappears and she will do whatever it takes to find him.  In order to do so, she must go outside to employ the rebel Noah Brody for help.  Noah is also the son of the lady who helps clean Zoe's home.  They are not GAPs and do not look like them with their dark hair and eyes.  Their lifespan is normal and, unlike the GAPs, not all of them have chips inserted into their hands either.  Many people in this world do have chips.  It allows them to pay for things and can be a source of identification instead of carrying around cards that could be stolen.  Identity theft has been pretty much wiped out and few people take regular cash anymore.  Noah Brody is against everything that has to do with Zoe's world and what it represents.  With the social classes being so separated now, it creates tension, especially among the lower classes.  And Noah is the leader of the resistance.  While Noah agrees to help Zoe, he starts falling for her, even though she is who she is.  There are so many reasons why he shouldn't like her.  But he can't seem to help himself and Zoe gradually falls for him too.  But associating with outsiders can be dangerous and the answers to what Zoe seeks are not answers she will like.  It will be the beginning of something to change her world and possibly everyone else's as well.

"I'll never be what you are, Zoe.  What you need...."

Danger and confusion everywhere.  Loved the book!  I couldn't put it down and kept wondering if Noah and Zoe would work out because of their obvious differences.  And the secrets of her own family are the type of skeletons in the closet that, if they come out, can be very dangerous, especially for the one who holds the knowledge.  A suspicious Officer Grant.  A power playing grandfather.  Secret keeping parents.  Illegal activities.  A possessive boyfriend.  And a love that seems it can never be.  It has a little bit of everything!

Check out the next book in the series: Volition

*images via Lee Strauss
*quote via Lee Strauss