Book Review: Revived by Cat Patrick

In order to intelligently discuss this book, Im going to discuss some elements of this book that you may consider to be spoilers. But really, if youre afraid of spoilers, why are you reading reviews anyway?

Though Daisy Appleby is surely the world record holder for Most Times Deceased and Revived, shes not going to end up in the Guinness Book of World Records anytime soon. Why? Because Daisy wasnt brought back by something as mundane as CPR or a defibrillator machine. She was brought back by a top-secret drug thats still in its preliminary testing stages. The kind of drug that has the possibility to utterly change not just the finality of death, but the way people live their lives. After all, if you knew that you could be brought back to life with not even the merest of side-effects, wouldnt you do things differently?

But though Daisy may be a little blithe when it comes to things like bringing her Epipen to school or balancing precariously atop a section of cliff-top railing, for the most part Daisy wants nothing more than to be normal. Being a part of a top-secret testing regimen means that each time something happens that may compromise the anonymity of the project, Daisy and her parents, two programme operatives, have to move elsewhere, assuming new identities each time. Its a life that could be likened to being a part of a military family, or perhaps someone in a witness protection programme.

Having been revived from her fifth death and accordingly shunted off to a new home in Omaha, Daisy is determined to live a normal life not overshadowed by thoughts of death or the rigorous testing required by the programme. For the first time in her life, Daisy begins to reach out to others, and she finds herself not only with a best friend with whom she has everything in common, but with a maybe-boyfriend as well. But when it turns out that Daisys new best friend is suffering from terminal cancer, she finds herself facing a tremendous ethical battle. How is it fair that Daisy has access to the Revive drug whenever its needed, and yet others such as her best friend are not able to access it at all? And why are such trials being undertaken clandestinely, out of the view of the public? What does this mean for the future of the drug and the publics ability to access it should they need it? Or is death something that is universal unless one has the money and means to make a choice otherwise?

Revived'is beautifully and movingly written, and Patricks strong characterisation allows her to explore not only these questions, but also related themes, such as the cultural taboo of death and sicknessAudrey, for example, is shunned by her peers, while Daisy, who appears physically healthy, is accepted by themand the human response to the loss of a loved onesomething that Daisy has not before experienced first-hand, but rather has (at times selfishly) been the cause of.

But yet, despite a strong set-up, Revived'doesnt quite hang together. There are parts where things seem to happen too easily: those Daisy tells about the Revived program are immediately receptive to the idea, rather than treating it with a degree of scepticism, for example. And the ease with which she is able to access top-secret programme files doesnt feel realistic. I also found the pacing in the latter half of the book an issue: the book'seems to shift gear half-way through, changing from a quiet, almost literary pace to one a good deal faster, with a sudden dash to Texas culminating in an action film-esque ending that involves a sniper and a scene involving a bees nest that, given how the book opens, is just far too neat to be believable.

Still, these issues aside, Patrick has a knack for coming up with intelligent high-concept ideas, and the writing chops to make something of them. I suspect that with a few more novels under her belt shell be very good indeed.

Your turn:'Would you live your life differently if you knew that you could be brought back from the dead?

Rating: (good)

With thanks to Hardie Grant Egmont for the review copy

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