Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

My Review:

Incarnate is a very interesting utopian story.  Utopias aren't something that you get much in YA since there are more dystopias.  It was fascinating to read about this fantasy/utopian society.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Ana is a great main character, even though she believes that she is a nosoul.  Her awful mother, Li, has raised her to believe that she is a nosoul who can't love because she hasn't been alive for 5,000 years like the rest of the people in Range.  Li treats Ana badly, so Ana hasn't had the best first eighteen years of life.  It makes sense that she leaves Li's house as soon as she turns eighteen.  One great part of this book is seeing Ana's feelings about herself change.  She begins to realize that, just because she is a newsoul, that doesn't mean her life is worth nothing.  It doesn't mean that she doesn't matter. 

I loved Sam's character.  He was such a sweet guy.  I loved how he didn't judge Ana for being a newsoul.  He accepted her and liked her as a person.  He takes her in when the Council of Heart says that Ana must have a guardian and teacher to be a citizen of the city.  I loved the music lessons that Sam and Ana have together, and how he composes a song that is "her song."  He tells her that the title will be Ana Incarnate, so, even if she only has one life, she will be immortalized through the music. 

There is some interesting stuff going on Range.  Heart is the walled city, and the walls actually have a pulse.  Sylph and dragons like to attack the city sometimes.  There is a temple in the center of Heart, and this temple is to worship Janan.  There is an interesting scene when Ana somehow manages to end up inside of this strange temple.  There is some crazy stuff going on inside this temple, and it just really interesting.

If you like YA fantasy or utopia, read this book.

Katie