Having a superpower is ordinary. Your Power determines your entire life. But 17-year-old Ugene is Powerless. He can’t read minds or enhance his strength. He can’t manipulate natural matter or heal injuries.
Determined to find out why he is different, Ugene submits himself as a test subject at Paragon. But nothing is as it seems. All exits from the testing floor are sealed. Subjects endure brutal … endure brutal and sometimes deadly injuries. No amount of power can save them.
When his new friend Jade disappears, Ugene is shocked to discover why so many test subjects vanish without a trace.
Now, Ugene must choose between his own preservation . . . or the lives of countless other test subjects.
Ordinary is the first installment in a YA dystopian sci-fi trilogy. If you like fast-paced action, dynamic characters, and ongoing mystery, then you’ll love this series starter.
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What if Ordinary meant you had Superpowers’? What if you didn’t? What does that make you? Worthless or Extraordinary?
Ugene is about to find out.
I had this as an Audible Arc and trust me, it is well worth the listen and the read.
I urge you to come along for the ride of an original plot, riddled with questions, self-examination, and character growth. I found this to be a fascinating listen and stayed up way too late as I just didn’t want to turn it off for the night. The narration is spot on, the plot intricate and enjoyable.
In a place where everyone is born with some level of superpower, that is what is considered ordinary. But what if you are born without one? Can you still be a contributing member of society? Maybe you can be more than just a contributor, maybe a hero…
This is a fantastic story by Starr Z. Davies to kick off the Powers series. I loved how Ugene was not the typical main character in a superhero story. He was very relatable. I’m excited to see what’s to come in the next book!
I enjoyed Nathaniel Ascher’s narration. His performance was so well done that I actually forgot I was listening to an audiobook.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.
This book was nothing I expected it to be honestly and it blew my mind how great it was. In the book we meet ugine. A no powered boy who is surrounded by people who do have powers. We need him right before graduation and career day and hes scared. How is he going to find a job with no power in a world where everyone has a power? At career day he’s turned away and laughed out of two of the jobs he could possibly do and at the third he thinks his dreams are coming true. He wants nothing more then to become a scientist and fix himself and others with no or little powers and that’s what he thinks the third job is offering until his favorite teacher pulls him away and tells him to go home. At home is family tells him not to trust the major corporation he so desperately wants to join. Even after the head hancho visits offering a deal he can’t seem to pass up. He runs away to them and finds out he’s to be a test subject, but how can he refuse when they are offering him so much in return?
(I received a copy of this book for an honest review)
Great Story
First, I must say, this story is anything but “Ordinary”. Davies pens a great story in Ordinary . I haven’t read anything from this author before, and I really enjoyed this story. Ugene was a very unique character, and found himself not fitting in. I like the premise that anyone without “powers” isn’t “normal.” This may be tailored to the young adult, but I liked this read. It’s more than just about fitting in or not fitting in, within the world around you, but a journey as well. Ugene discovers more about himself, flaws and perfections and everything in between. It’s a unique world, and a very great read. The story brings in the believable, even if almost impossible. I have fast become a big fan of Davies. I look forward to reading more by this author. This book is a definite recommendation by Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews.
This story had elements of both Divergent and the Hunger Games. Like divergent, people are scored and given jobs based on the power and the level of power a person has. Like the Hunger Games, test subject volunteers are made to go through deadly simulation that not all come back from. The story is about Ugene, a young man about to graduate from high school without powers and looking at never being allowed to earn a living as a consequence of not having powers. He volunteers to be a test subject in hopes to be fixed. Instead he encounters the Hunger Games style testing. He and the other test subjects decide to break free from the facility and a bunch end up dead. The story ends in a cliffhanger. Looks like there is a part two and three.
This is a really good book with an interesting premise. I like how the main character has positive, caring morals and how the book shows the importance of using one’s noggin. There is a lot of action (particularly the climax) and cool world building.
The author is not at all afraid of getting rid of characters.
I plan to continue reading this series.