Impostors by Scott Westerfeld

Lynnie

young adult, series, fantasy

Taking place in the world of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, but set an unknown period of time after the events of that series, Impostors is the story of twin sisters, Frey and Rafi, who were raised by a controlling father to be one person- Rafi is the public face while Frey is her body double, taking Rafi's place whenever a situation seems potentially dangerous.  

I was looking for an audio book with lots of action for a road trip and Impostors was a good choice. I had read most of Westerfeld's Uglies series and remember enjoying a few of the books quite a bit so I decided to give this one a try. Clearly, knowledge of the Uglies series is not necessary to enjoy Impostors- there were mentions occasionally of some of the original characters and the events of that series, but it's not urgent that you know them which is good since I've forgotten all the details.

Impostors is a just a great adventure with some stereotypical YA tropes- the reluctant romance, the female character with low self-esteem who's tougher than she looks (and boy is she in Frey's case!), the poorly held secrets- it's all in there, but it's still fun to watch it unfold. Thérèse Plummer does a wonderful job narrating and her voices are clear and easily distinguishable. The characters are an interesting mix of people including one ungendered character who I wish we had learned more about. The main characters, Frey and Col, are easy to like which helped hold my attention throughout my long drive.

While I'm not chomping at the bit for the next chapter of this series, I am likely to read it (or listen to it) when it comes out. I'm curious enough about the characters and the situation they were in at the end to want to know what happens next.