Review: Shell by Paula Rawsthorne

What if you thought you had died, only to wake up to find that your brain and eyes had been transplanted into someone else’s body?

When Lucy, a teen diagnosed with terminal cancer wakes up cancer-free, it should be a dream come true. But faced with a life she didn’t choose and trapped in a new body, Lucy must face the biggest question of all . . . How far would you go to save the one you love?

**Trigger warning**

This book deals with cancer and includes mild scenes with surgery.

My rating:

★★★★★

This is going to be a short review because I could talk about how good this was for hours and I don’t want to spoil it for any of you. I knew this was going to be good, I wasn’t prepared for just HOW good Shell was. There’s a huge modern day Frankenstein vibe to it, I couldn’t get enough of it! The story follows seventeen year old Lucy Burgess, who is dying of cancer. The last thing Lucy thinks will happen is her waking up in a body that isn’t her own. That’s right, Lucy wakes up to find out her parents agreed to an illegal body transplant. Lucy struggles to deal with what has been done to her and wishes to know more about her donor. As time passes Lucy begins to suspect that her donor wasn’t a willing one and her doctor is playing God when he shouldn’t.

Shell is the first book of its kind I have read, I loved every page. I loved how it explored the lengths you would go to to save a loved one and the consequences of crossing the line into what is immoral. Shell is incredibly well written, both the story and characters. I couldn’t put it down and it didn’t leave my side once while I was reading it. I loved Lucy’s character development, resilience and strength she shows when standing up to those around her. How Lucy’s friend, Mak deals with everything that is thrown her way. What I really enjoyed was how Paula showed how events affected the animals in Lucy’s life, it was fascinating.

Paula Rawsthorne is a master storyteller who will have you hooked from the first page. I can’t recommend it enough, I will definitely be checking out her other books and buying a finished copy asap.

Buy from: Book Depository Waterstones