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The Bodies We Wear    by Jeyn Roberts Amazon.com order for
Bodies We Wear
by Jeyn Roberts
Order:  USA  Can
Knopf, 2014 (2014)
Hardcover, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

Jeyn Roberts' The Bodies We Wear is a noir YA novel, starring teen Faye whose future was blighted when she was forcibly addicted to a powerful new drug, Heam, at age eleven. The drug dealers did it to punish her father, and Faye's best friend Christian died trying to defend her. When the drug engulfed her, Faye dreamed of hell and believes that that is all that is ahead for her.

In a society in which Heam addicts are total outcasts (usually not even permitted to attend school), Jeyn's mother threw her out. But Gazer, an ex-cop who lost his wife and daughter, took her in and trained her in martial arts. Now at seventeen, Jeyn has remained clean of the drug. Though Gazer tells her that 'Revenge is not a worthwhile dream', she is obsessed with killing the men who murdered her friend and ruined her life.

Faye attends high school (arranged by Gazer) but the authorities have strict rules limiting her interactions with other students. One girl, Paige, persists in attempts to befriend her. This backfires when Faye agrees to attend a party, but Paige still continues to try to help. Faye also starts to see a young man, Chael, a little older than herself, regularly. There is something familiar about him but she can't pin it down. Like, Gazer, Chael tells her that revenge is not her salvation.

When Faye eventually works out who Chael is, it's a shocker, but he helps her to move off a path of revenge, to achieve redemption, and to live a full life, knowing what awaits. Overall, The Bodies We Wear is an intriguing dark mix of mystery and exploration of the afterlife.

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