Mini Review: Solid by Shelley Workinger

Solid
first book in the Solid series
by Shelley Workinger

Blurb from the official site:

Eighteen years ago, a rogue Army doctor secretly experimented with a chromosomal drug on unknowing pregnant women. When he was killed not long after the children were born, any knowledge and evidence seemed to die with him - except the living, breathing, human products of his work.

Almost two decades later, the newly self-proclaimed “open-book” military unearths the truth about the experiment, bringing Clio Kaid and the other affected teens to a state-of-the-art, isolated campus where they soon discover that C9x did indeed alter their chromosomes - its mutations presenting as super-human abilities. The military kids, who come from across the nation and all walks of life, come into their own as lighter-than-air ‘athletes’; ‘indies’ as solid as stone walls; teens who can make themselves invisible and others who can blind with their brilliance.

While exploring her own special ability, forging new friendships and embarking on first love, Clio also stumbles onto information indicating that the military may not have been entirely forthcoming with them and that all may not be as it seems…

I was never partial to sci-fi books. Although I did enjoy reading Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park series, I prefer my sci-fi fix in TV series or movie format. I think it's more exciting that way.

On that note, Solid did pretty well in capturing my interest early on in the story. It was fast-paced, did not linger and quite interesting. Thankfully Shelley Workinger explained the science-y stuff in a way that would not bore readers with all the geeky and technical stuff. Long explanations of science jargon is what makes me shy away from sci-fi books. Well here in Solid, you won't find it.

But if you're looking for X-men-like action where the kids go all Wolverine, then you won't read it here. The book itself provided a sort of introduction to what would be quite a good series since Solid just basically provided a background of what it's all about, what happened, and there definitely a lot of ground and material to explore to merit some sequels.

That is why I would definitely read the next book in the series, Settling.