Talented - Sophie Davis

When Talia Lyons was six years old she watched the murder of her parents and the only thing that got her through the pain was the thought of one day taking her revenge on the man that killed them. She is taken in by a family who work for the government and helps her develop her talent which happens to be the ability to read and influence the minds of others around her. Everyone who is ‘talented’ is taken to a military school and taught how to use their talents to benefit the agency and help them fight against the rebellion.

I really liked this story, it gripped me from the very beginning once I got over the idea that nuclear contamination would develop these talents and not actually kill and maim. It felt a little like the x-men at first but on a bigger scale. All children are forced to take a test at a young age and then if a talent is found, are moved to a school in order to develop their talent. Of course there were those who hated the idea of being taken away from the family and used in a war that they thought was wrong. For me it showed a wider story but as the MC is a teenage girl, we see the development of her relationship with Donavan and her team mates Eric and Henri.

I did feel that it spent a little too much time on her inner turmoil over the men in her life rather than the story of war but that said it still kept my interest. I just wanted her to question things a little more, I know she lived within the agency walls for a long time and she had never thought to question but even at the end in the middle of her solo mission, she still didn’t think to question what she had been told and if there was something more out there. From the beginning when it was mentioned what the government do to you once you were tested positive, I just waited for the questions to arise, for people to ask what was really going on, though I think I might be a rather cynical woman who doesn’t trust authority.

With all that being said, it was a good read, it hooked me and I read it quickly wanting to know what happened. Talia is a strong character and this first book only scratches the surface of what she can do and I can’t wait to find out more about what is next for her and what her past really holds.