EKO by Loren Walker

Goodreads Summary


Shortlisted for the 2016 Half the World Global Literari Award. 
2016 Shelf Unbound Best Indie "Notable 100" Pick
Select Pick by the Library Journal's Self-e Module. 

Midnight in Osha: an injured woman is left at the gates of a commune. Eighteen-year-old Sydel, an apprentice hungry to prove her worth, is certain that healing the blue-haired stranger will finally win the respect of her community. But tensions spike when two men appear in search of their sister: Phaira, the woman in the clinic. And when Sydel’s experimental medical treatments prove successful, instead of offering accolades, her elders make the sudden decision to banish her. 

Guilt-ridden, Phaira and her brothers, Renzo and Cohen, offer shelter to the bewildered girl, and take Sydel with them into the violent, industrial North. Then the reason behind the expulsion comes to light: Sydel is an Eko, a being that can read minds and accelerate healing. And when word of her talents goes public, Sydel becomes a valuable prize to possess, with the siblings as her only means of defense.


My Thoughts

First, let me just say that Eko is an extremely fascinating book.  It follows the story of a girl named Sydel.  She basically has a unique ability, called Eko, that allows her to hear people's thoughts and even send her thoughts to them.  Sydel isn't the only person with this special ability.

When I first started reading this book I had a little bit of a difficult time getting into it.  You're kind of thrown right in with no backstory so it is hard to keep up with what is happening.  It was about a third of the way through the book that everything finally clicked and it all made sense.  Don't get me wrong, it was all still very interesting even when I didn't fully understand exactly what was happening haha!  But when it clicked...Aha!  It went from good to great!

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes the YA Dystopian/sci-fi genre.  It's a good one!

*Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.