In a futuristic world where WI-FI has given half the population brain cancer and left everyone else addicted to the cyber world, society creates Tabula Rasa School, a place to raise select children from birth to be completely protected from the internet. Blanca, a student here, has never been online, never had her photo taken, and has no virtual footprint. Graduation nears for her, and others like her called Vestals, and they will soon be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The goal for a Vestal is to get purchased by a company to be their advertisement pawns and bring hope to an addicted civilization. Blanca, however, get’s sold to a private bidder, Cal McNeal. He wants to use Blanca to lure his son, Seth, back home. Only, Seth is a Virus, a blogger intent on exposing everyone’s secrets, including Blanca’s and the other Vestals. Soon, Blanca gets pushed into a corner where her only escape may be through getting online.
I went into this story blind (like always) and was honestly put off by the beginning. “INTERNET IS EVIL. EVERYONE IS ADDICTED. REMEMBER THOSE IN FRONT OF YOU.” *eye roll*. While it is important to be present, I don’t think my phone or computer takes away from my life or is giving me brain cancer for that matter, but that’s okay. Dystopian fiction is sometimes cheesy like that.
This story starts with Blanca in her boarding school. She’s been here since, well, birth and has never left. Only the best of the best get to graduate. Oh, and daily beatings are a thing. This school as high cult vibes from the beginning – featuring a candle lit service after graduation where they chant lines from the code of conduct. Hey, sound like a normal graduation party to me.
During the Vestal auction, Cal McNeal spends more money than I would make in 60 years to get Blanca. Why? His son, Seth, snuck into the school compound to get her picture and by doing so, got arrested. Cal wants Blanca to release him from jail and get his son to come home. Did I mention his son left because Cal was cheating on his dying wife? (Imagine this though, it wasn’t as it seemed).
Blanca seemed like such a strong character when this started, until about ⅓ of the way through. Then she became insecure, whining, and just flat-out naïve and dumb. I understand why she’d be this way considering the way she was raised, but it was like a total character change.
Throughout the whole story, Blanca and Seth have a painfully forced romance. She starts out faking it to help him return home, but she quickly falls for him but continues to fight it at every turn. For a Vestal could never love a virus. Again, *eye roll*.
The book was a fast read and entertaining, but it never really got intense. I’d consider this story a little above mediocre. The basis of Vestals were creative, but I just wasn’t impressed with the story. I don’t really think I’ll read the sequel, but who knows.
Books for Eternity 