Review: The Lost Code

The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson

Publisher: HaperCollins Children's Books
Publication Date: May 22 2012
Pages: 435
Source: Library
Genre: Dystopian, Paranormal
Goodreads

WHAT IS OLDEST WILL BE NEW, WHAT IS LOST SHALL BE FOUND.

The ozone is ravaged, ocean levels have risen, and the sun is a daily enemy. But global climate change is not something new in the Earth’s history.

No one will know this better than less-than-ordinary Owen Parker, who is about to discover that he is the descendant of a highly advanced ancient race—a race that took their technology too far and almost destroyed the Earth in the process.

Now it is Owen’s turn to make right in his world what went wrong thousands of years ago. If Owen can unlock the lost code in his very genes, he may rediscover the forgotten knowledge of his ancestry…and that less-than-ordinary can evolve into extraordinary.

 The Lost Code is an amazingly well put together dystopian story with a very unique story and an extremely vivid plot that opens your eyes the the possibility of a new world more than any book I have read in a long time. In Owen's world, the ozone layer has been so extremely damaged that humans can no longer last under the sun's rays for very long with out terrible consequences. Owen is from an underground bunker near Yellowstone where people live to escape the high UV rays. After being excepted into Camp Eden, he is one of 2 outsiders in his cabin filled with kids who have live inside the dome their entire lives.  By his father's request, Owen enters to go on a trip to Camp Eden, a UV save camp inside a dome to spend a month of carefree time, but by the second day, while swimming he gets a cramp and ends up nearly drowning- and he's under water for 10 minutes. And Lives.

I really liked that this story was told with a Boy's Point of view, which is something that doesn't happen quite enough in YA today. Owen was a very interesting character right at the beginning of the book. Right off the bat Owen has trouble socializing with all of the kids in his cabin except the few that also get picked on and through out the book there is a constant battle of gaining and loosing respect in the camp. The most interesting part of the book was only a few chapters in when Owen survives 10 minutes in the water- with no air, and he discoveries of others at the camp like him and how he learns what he is. The only thing that was hard to understand completely was exactly why he was what he was, thought I do think that more will be revealed in the sequel. The writing was very interestingly put together, throughout the book Owen would contently refer to his mind as being controlled by Electricians who monitor everything that is going on inside him and I really thought that was cute and creative!

Altogether The Lost Code is a very interesting book with a very, very creative world that I really understood.