Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Nobody

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Release Date: January 22, 2013

Source: ARC from Media Masters Publicity

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That's why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they're young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute's monitoring. But now they've ID'ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can't make the hit. It's as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are--because no one else ever notices them.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves books are some of my favourites, so I knew right away when I first heard about Nobody that I needed to get my hands on this book. It sounded quite different from what's already out there in terms of YA books and for that alone it intrigued me. Not only didn't it sound different, it actually was…even from what I thought it would be. But that's a good thing.

As much as she tried, Claire has always faded into the background, with no one taking particular notice to her. Every year she reads the same generic messages in her yearbook because no one can seem to remember who she actually is. She raises her hand in class and is constantly overlooked by the teacher. Her whole life Claire has been invisible. But that changes when Nix steps in, ready to kill her. Nix is following orders, going after Claire because he was told she was dangerous. But when he meets her, Claire is not who Nix thought she was. A Nobody, Nix knows what it means to be invisible, but Claire sees him…and he sees Claire. To each other, neither one is nobody.

Having read the Raised by Wolves series, I knew Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the type of author that will make you laugh and cry within one sentence. In a way, I sort of expected this going into Nobody but that's not exactly what I ended up getting. And that's a great thing. That style of writing just would not have worked with the story in Nobody. The story here, though it has its lighter moments, is definitely a dark one. But it's not an overbearing darkness. There were many occasions where the words or the actions of the characters put a smile on my face, and took me away from the controlling world of the Institute and all the violence that came with it. Nobody is also quite different from other YA books out there. I've read my fair share of YA mystery/thriller type books, but none quite like this one. The added element of Nobodies and Nulls just added another layer to the story, one that was very scientific almost psychological which made it all that more interesting to read about.

The characters also didn't fall flat. While reading, I could just tell that despite what she told herself, Claire wanted just one person to finally notice her without it requiring a huge effort on her part. But despite everything, she was someone that really impressed me. She absolutely does not let her situation get her down and is incredibly persistent and brave when she wants to be. So I was really glad when Nix walked into her life…granted at first I just wanted him to back off. Nix hasn't had it easy by any stretch of the imagination. For as long as he can remember he has been trained to be a killer and doesn't really know any other life because of the environment he grew up in. But I loved seeing him grow and develop and figure out who he was outside of the institute. As a final thought, let me just say that there are definitely moments with these two characters that lead to some emotions…happy and sad.

With Nobody, Jennifer Lynn Barnes has reminded me of why I loved reader her other books so much. Though this one was different, it was the good kind of different. It was also the kind of book that makes you think. Though it can have its rather dark moments, Nobody is definitely a book I would recommend.