I was fascinated by the premise of Aaru and enjoyed the way it challenged our expectations while blending in different genres of mystery and thriller.
Summary
Rose is dying. Her body is wasted and skeletal. She is too sick and weak to move. Every day is an agony and her only hope is that death will find her swiftly before the pain grows too great to bear. She is sixteen years old.
Rose has made peace with her fate, but her younger sister, Koren, certainly has not. Though all hope appears lost Koren convinces Rose to make one final attempt at saving her life after a mysterious man in a white lab coat approaches their family about an unorthodox and experimental procedure.
A copy of Rose’s radiant mind is uploaded to a massive super computer called Aaru – a virtual paradise where the great and the righteous might live forever in an arcadian world free from pain, illness, and death. Elysian Industries is set to begin offering the service to those who can afford it and hires Koren to be their spokes-model.
Within a matter of weeks, the sisters’ faces are nationally ubiquitous, but they soon discover that neither celebrity nor immortality is as utopian as they think. Not everyone is pleased with the idea of life everlasting for sale.
What unfolds is a whirlwind of controversy, sabotage, obsession, and danger.
Review
The Positives
- Let’s start off with the premise. I really enjoyed the original idea behind the book and the direction Meredith took with the entire concept of Aaru.
- The portrayal of grief was really refreshing to see. I find a lot of descriptions of the grieving process to be short or superficial.
- The family relationship and dynamic were interesting and the ways they handled their grief.
- I loved the idea that fame is not all it’s cracked up to be and the way that advertising is twisted.
- The dual perspectives really worked for this book that is essentially about sisterhood.
- It was a nice blend of genres.
But,
- Actually my only negative is that I felt that Rose’s fascination with ‘Asian’ culture was pretty superficial and stereotypical.
Overall,
There are indeed more positives than negatives and I think that as a whole this book is an entertaining book about sisterhood. If you enjoy a book with a complex and interesting sister relationship that this could be for you! Oh, but there’s also murder attempts and danger and that stuff too!
You can find Aaru on Amazon(US) and add it to Goodreads.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from the author.
Discussion
Do you think you’d want to upload your mind to Aaru?
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