Book Review: Impostor by Susanne Winnacker

Impostor

By Susanne Winnacker

Release Date: May 28, 2013

Source: Publisher

Summary: Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late? 

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. 

Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

Review: It's been awhile since I've read a really good YA book that wasn't romance or contemporary. So when I started Impostor, I couldn't wait to see how this book about teens with special powers trying to solve a murder would turn out. 

For the past two years, Tessa has been training with the FEA to try and hone her variation, aka her special power where she can turn into anyone she wants to with just one thought. Now the time has come where the FEA wants Tessa to go on her first mission, posing as a dead girl to find a serial killer who may be a variant just like them. As Tessa poses as a normal teen with a loving family, something Tessa never had of her own, she finds herself becoming far too comfortable in this fake life. As much as she wishes that life were really her's, Tessa has to focus on the real danger at hand before the killer strikes again. 

Wow. I knew this book looked good based off of the cover and it sounded awesome with the whole having-powers-going-after-a-serial-killer aspect. But I had no idea I would love this book as much as I did! It was kind of a YA version of X-Men with a murder mystery thrown in. Oh, and you can't forget the romance! The romance definitely sealed the deal for me :)

I think Tessa's character was great and I loved how driven she was in proving she was strong enough to handle the mission the FEA has thrown her way. Not to mention how she constantly has to deal with her feelings for Alec. Even when she's posing as Madison, a victim of the serial killer, Alec has to come along to help with the mission. While there's is definitely an undeniable attraction between them, Alec has a girlfriend back at the FEA headquarters and they can't let their emotions get in the way of the mission. But how can Tessa ignore Alec when he's always the one there for her when she needs someone the most? 

While the romance was great, the main hook of this book was definitely the mystery. Who was the serial killer who had already killed 4 people? Was he also a variant? And if so, what was his power? The entire time, you had no idea who to trust and the situations Tessa put herself in made your heart beat faster in fear and anticipation. Was she walking into the killer's trap? I don't know! The mystery definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and held my attention for every single page. 

So I guess you could say I loved this book. I stayed up all night just to finish it and didn't even realize that much time had passed until I looked up from the last page. I just got lost in the mystery, romance, and action and couldn't stop until I figured everything out. And the way the story ended, there better be a second book! For any young adult fan, I would definitely recommend picking up a copy of Impostor. It has it all, including an impossibly addictive story that will keep you reading all night. So go out and pick up a copy now! There's a serial killer and government program of variants just waiting for you to unravel their secrets.