Dualed

Although sad this book is a really good read. I would recommend this to middle grade and YA readers.

What I liked most about this novel was the world building, it was truly great. Dualed reminded me a great deal of Divergent. Where it failed me a little was in the main characters. I didn't understand West at all. Chord confused the heck out of me, or rather, I think I understood Chord but didn't understand why West didn't understand Chord. Long story short, I liked the ideas behind Dualed, but felt it was very draggy for unimportant reasons in some sections. The conclusion felt very, very far away. I can't imagine a sequel, but one is forthcoming. I guess it will be some sort of rebellion against the system, but Chapman didn't really express a great desire of the citizens to see the system fall. In fact, only two characters even mention not being happy in this world in which only the strong survive (one the head of the “strikers” and another who teaches weaponry at the school). Overall, everyone else seems fine with the idea of teens fighting each other to the death, even if slows down the morning commute.
I also could have done with a little less of West hiding and a little more explanation of what happens to people if their Alts die before they are activated, say of natural causes or accident? Only the lucky survive? Why is the wealth of the society so unevenly distributed? Why doesn't everyone just hire strikers?
Overall, it's not a bad read and there are some great ideas here, but it lacks the power of characters who are amazingly different from the rest of the population in the story. Having been written in first person, there can be no doubt of how the story ends and West doesn't seem to stand for anything or anyone. Not even herself.