Much thanks to The Royal Polar Bear Reads and Page Street Publishing for sending me a copy for review and for inviting me to be a part of this tour. This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own. Also, all quotes are taken from the ARC and may or may not appear in the final published copy.

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Book Details

Title: Refraction

Author: Naomi Hughes

Date Published: November 5, 2019

Number of Pages: 320 pages

Publisher: Page Street Publishing

📚 Series: No.
📚 Genre: YA SciFi.
📚 POV: First person.
📚 Cliffhanger: No.

⚠ Content Warnings: Death. OCD Triggers. Graphic descriptions of being murdered and dying.
⚠ Read if: you want to read a SciFi with 0% romance and an #ownvoices OCD rep.

Book Blurb

After an attack on earth, all reflective surfaces become weapons to release monsters, causing a planet-wide ban on mirrors. Despite the danger, the demand rises, and 17-year-old Marty Callahan becomes a distributor in an illegal mirror trade―until he’s caught by the mayor’s son, whose slate is far from clean. Both of them are exiled for their crimes to one of the many abandoned cities overrun by fog. But they soon realize their thoughts influence their surroundings and their deepest fears begin to manifest.

With fast pacing and riveting characters, this is a book that you’ll finish in one sitting.

About the Author

Website ||Twitter|| Goodreads

Hi! I’m Naomi Hughes, writer of quirky young adult sci-fi and fantasy. I live in the Midwest US, a region I love even though it tries to murder me with tornadoes every spring. When not writing, my hobbies include reading (of course), traveling, and geeking out over Marvel superheroes and certain time-traveling Doctors.

“Refraction: the way light bends and breaks and scatters when it’s caught by a prism, or by a lens. Or in this case, by the tiny droplets of liquid that make up the fog that’s drowned the world.”

Review

I usually steer away from SciFi but this book drew me in because of the interesting blurb. It is about living in a remote island where a person’s worst fears can crawl out of mirrors, so reflective materials are banned from use.

Marty, the lead, was a seller of these contraband items. He does this because he seeks to be reunited with his brother who he believes is in London.

Marty has also been diagnosed with OCD, and his struggles is shown on his thought processes in the story.

The action began when Marty encountered Elliot, who is the mayor’s son. Though they initially had opposing beliefs, they eventually had to work together so that they can survive.

I don’t want to spoil too much on the story, but I can honestly say that it is a little scary to me and the action kept me at the edge of my seat. I was lost on how the story should go, and this made the book very exciting to read.

The book also expressed mental health concerns without being too intense on it. I can’t talk about the accuracy of it, because I don’t know much about OCD. But, it is said to be an #OwnVoices read, which highlighted how the author views her own experience.

All in all, I enjoyed this read & I’m looking forward for the author’s other works.

My Book Rating Breakdown

🌼 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Main Character:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Significant Other: ⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Support Characters:⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Character Development:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Thrill Factor: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Ending: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Unputdownability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆