Well, it's very much Marie Lu writing something to hit one of the bigger recent trends (YA fic about kpop. Because there's no way you're convincing me this isn't at least kind of supposed to be a kpop boy).
If you love Marie Lu, you'll probably like it. If you've outgrown Marie Lu, you probably struggled to even finish the first look.
The super on-the-nose, tell-not-show style (explaining what panacea means instead of letting it be a fun little if-you-know-you-know bit of information about that organization; the tactless reveal that he has a weird relationship with his mom), the over-the-top names, and the deeply unnatural dialogue is all very Marie Lu.
It's not for me but I think it'll do well with actual teenagers, which is the point.
If you love Marie Lu, you'll probably like it. If you've outgrown Marie Lu, you probably struggled to even finish the first look.
The super on-the-nose, tell-not-show style (explaining what panacea means instead of letting it be a fun little if-you-know-you-know bit of information about that organization; the tactless reveal that he has a weird relationship with his mom), the over-the-top names, and the deeply unnatural dialogue is all very Marie Lu.
It's not for me but I think it'll do well with actual teenagers, which is the point.