Revived by Cat Patrick

5 out of 5 stars


Summary: Fifteen year old high school student Daisy has died five times. Minutes after each death she was brought back to life by a new, experimental drug called Revive.

Daisy has been involved in the Revive program since she was very little. As a child, her and twenty other kids were involved in a bus crash. They all died, but Revive was used to bring them back. Since Daisy was an orphan at the time, she was taken in by two government agents.

Each time Daisy dies, her and her family are forced to relocate to a different state. For Daisy, this means a new last name and deleting every trace of herself from her old life. After an accident involving a rather nasty bee sting, Daisy is forced to relocate from Frozen Hills, Michigan to Omaha, Nebraska.

Once in Omaha, Daisy decides to acclimate herself and finally make some friends. On her first day of school she meets a girl named Audrey, and a mysterious boy named Matt. These ties force her to begin questioning her life for the first time. Is the Revive program really all that it appears, or is there something darker going on beneath the surface?

Opinion: As you can probably ascertain from my five star rating, I really enjoyed this novel. The premise was original, and the plot never went in the direction I assumed it would go. All-in-all, it kept me on my toes and made me want to keep reading. After each chapter I found myself saying "Okay, just one more!" even though it was already past midnight and I had to get up early the next morning.

Yet another of the pros I felt this book held is that it is a stand-alone. Lately it seems as if the YA genre is completely bogged down with trilogies, or more. It is very refreshing when an author is able to tie up the loose ends in a satisfying way, making it so there is no need for further installments. Cat Patrick succeeds at this task, and although I wouldn't mind another novel from Daisy's POV (or perhaps from one of the other subjects in the Revive program?), it is completely unnecessary.

Overall this novel was just about perfect. The premise, plot, twists, and characters kept me intrigued from the first to last page. I especially loved the character of Megan, Daisy's transgender BFF and fellow Revive test subject. I would recommend this book to readers 12 and up, because it does contain some subject matter that might not be suitable for middle grade readers or younger.

-Sam