“An exciting debut full of mystery and suspense. It gripped my attention from page one. I loved it” wrote the author of Insightful, S. J. Kincaid, about the book, Altered, by Jennifer Rush. Living in the middle of the New York farmland is Anna, her dad, and four boys. The boys Trev, Nick, Cas, and Sam are contained in a lab that is hidden in the basement of Anna’s house. Suffering from what is thought to be amnesia, the boys remember nothing about their past or how they got to the lab. However, they do know why. They were genetically altered by the Branch to be stronger, smarter, and age slower so that they could be used as weapons against something unknown.

My favorite aspect of this book was the characters. Trev has an extraordinary photographic memory and memorizes many quotes from historical figures. It was fun to see how he used tremendous amounts of knowledge to give people advice. Cas is the clown of the group, while Nick is always grumpy with Anna. Nick was very intriguing because it was obvious he knew something though he would never share. Out of all of the boys, Sam is the leader and always puts everyone before himself. He never rushes into a situation without thinking through all the possible outcomes first. It was hard to tell what he was thinking and his personality was more mysterious than the others which at times I liked and others I didn’t.

When the Branch comes to relocate the boys for more testing, they are prepared. Sam’s quick thinking gives them the chance to escape. Although one problem occurs because the farm is no longer safe. They are forced to bring Anna who is quickly determined as dead weight. Anna, who crushes on Sam, isn’t smart or strong like them. Her only talent is her ability to draw ,however, she knows the boys well. Flashbacks begin to take place after the boys leave the farmhouse. On a trail of clues that are scars and tattoos, they search for the missing parts of their lives. The five teens embark on a journey that ends up being bigger than they could ever have imagined and secrets start to unfold.

Altered by Jennifer Rush made me excited to flip every page. I loved reading how different the boys were because it kept the book entertaining. Also, the clues that she used were so clever and well thought out. Every time a secret was revealed, I was in awe because most of the time, I didn’t see it coming. Julie Cross says that the book was, “A thrilling, fast-paced, and romantic story…Government conspiracies, special abilities, family, friendship, and love all melt together so beautifully to create an amazing debut novel.” Altered is definitely in the top five of my favorite books.