I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Corridor on June 23rd 2015 Pages: 217
Format: eARC
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Stel Alaster has never known life without the Corridor. It appeared suddenly seventeen years ago, the only portal to a parallel version of our world—Second Earth. Everyone on First Earth fears Mods, the genetically modified Second Earthers who built the Corridor. They are too smart, too strong, and have powers that can’t be controlled. Any Mod found on First Earth is branded, then detained in the Corridor’s research labs.
Only Stel has a dangerous secret. She has a power, too: She can open a portal to Second Earth . . . and several other parallel universes she’s discovered. If anyone ever finds out, she’ll be imprisoned, no better than a Mod or common lab rat.
But when the Corridor starts to fail, emitting erratic bursts of energy that could destroy First Earth, Stel must risk everything to save the people and world she loves. With the help of an escaped Mod and an infuriatingly arrogant boy from a third universe, Stel sets out to unravel the mysteries of the Corridor and stabilize it before it’s too late. The fate of every world lies in the balance.
Stel Alaster is a special girl. Stel can open portals to parallel universes. She develops these unprecedented abilities after a strange incident at the Corridor; a strange doorway to another world called second-Earth. Her abilities send her on a journey which spirals into an adventure of loss, revelation and love. The science doesn’t lie and the science says multidimensional travel is impossible, so how can the Corridor exist? All of Stel’s loved ones are endangered when the Corridor starts to fail and no one can stop it. Could Stel hold all the answers to maintaining the Corridor from her travels to other universes? Could she stop the world devastating Pulse that destroyed second-Earth?
I thoroughly enjoyed The Corridor. The story was extraordinary, with a plot that kept you guessing until the end. You weren’t even aware of who Stel’s true nemeses or allies on first-Earth were until the end. We learned about secrets set in motion long before the Corridor opened and the new evils sprouting even while Stel is learning about her new-found powers.
I spotted barcode tattoos on a few other Mods, too, now that I knew what to look for. They all had long sleeves, but the black lines stood out on some of their wrists. “I’m wondering why they’re doing all this,” Ty said. “Nobody’s out here except us and those Guards. What’s this even for?” Lissa shook her head. “No clue.” Suddenly, she gasped, pointing. One of the Mods had lunged at aGuard, grabbing for the Guard’s rifle. Dr. Krantz rushed forward, stabbing at a remote control he was holding in his hand. The Mod stumbled back and collapsed onto the ground, clutching his forearm, his scream piercing the night. “What are they doing to him?” I asked, unable to hide the tremor in my voice. Lissa’s hand tightened around my elbow. “I don’t know. But I think we should get out of here.” My ears were still ringing from that Mod’s screaming. He’d sounded as if he was in agony, holding his arm exactly where the barcode on Dr. Krantz’s arm had been. And Dr. Krantz—a Mod himself—had been the one pushing the button.
The emotional connection with the characters is tenuous, which would be my only complaint for the entire book. I didn’t much care for the characters. I wasn’t finding myself feeling camaraderie with any of the characters even when they experience some serious, life altering events. I’m not certain if this is because while reading this book I had a nasty flu or the writing. Although, near the ending we start to see Stel develop some real reactions that give me hope book two (Thirteen) will be stronger in this aspect.
I told myself to take a step back, but somehow I ended up closer instead. “I don’t know, though . . .” he said. “Sometimes I think maybe friends isn’t the right word.” The sky lit up with blue and my hands flew up to cover my breasts. Cohl was a few feet in front of me, his black hair sticking against his forehead, his skin glistening with droplets that ran along his arms and down the middle of his chest past his navel until they met the surface of the water. Then the sky went dark again. His voice was lower, the laughter gone. “I think we both want a lot more than that.” “I . . .” I meant to say something sarcastic—to defuse this moment before we did something we couldn’t undo—but my head was as cloudy as the sky over our heads. “We should go . . . Ana . . .” “Yeah, those lights. You’re right. We should.” Neither of us moved. Then Cohl waded toward me and stopped just inches away, standing over me.
I cannot wait to see the next book in this series to reconnect with Ana, Cohl, Lissa and Stel all over again. How will the four reconnect? What horrors will Stel face in order to save her world?
This book will appeal to readers who enjoy novels about parallel universes, light science, mutants, special powers, Young Adult Romance and New Adult.
About A.N. Willis
A.N. Willis writes YA–sometimes sci-fi, sometimes supernatural, always with heavy doses of action and romance. Her first novel, THE CORRIDOR, was inspired by her love of sci-fi TV shows growing up. She spent too many late nights in high school watching reruns, resulting in a possibly unhealthy obsession with yellow-eyed androids, renegade FBI agents, and wormholes to distant galaxies. When she’s not writing, she’s reading the latest from Stephen King, John Green, Donna Tartt–or anything YA. She feels at home wherever she can see the mountains.
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