Relating to characters

     I'm currently reading Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien. It's another teen dystopian novel and like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, it deals with the manipulation of genetics, although mostly this theme prevails later within the novel instead of the very beginning.

     Gaia Stone is the main character of the novel, a young woman from 'Outside the Wall'. She is a midwife, and delivers babies to the gate of the wall, which houses the society of the Enclave, in order to fill the quota. I can really connect with Gaia, mostly because of her self-hate throughout the novel. Half of Gaia's face is marred by a burn, supposedly caused when she fell on a vat which was boiling honey while she was learning how to walk. When faced with the society inside the wall, she feels stupid and uneducated, inferior to both citizens and doctors alike with her knowledge of the world and her skills. Her doubt and hate  weave in with her confusion of her situation, and I can definitely relate with her.

     While I don't have the same reasons, I can connect with Gaia over her self hate. For me, it's sometimes hard to get through the day. There's always a cynical voice in the back of my head, my own voice, telling me everything I have done wrong and beating me down with it. I'm usually in control of it, and my emotions, but sometimes if I'm too tired, if I'm too stressed, a look from someone else will get to me or someone else will say something and I'll take it the wrong way and everything will just spiral down hill. Gaia feels this as well when she's sneaking through the market. Citizens jeer at her as she races down the street and later, in prison, she perceives kindness from the other inmates as personal attacks and mockery.

     I can't really connect with Sephie, though. Persephone, or Sephie, is another physician inmate with Gaia. At first, she seems kind and almost nurturing to Gaia. However, I began to see a little bit more into Sephie's character when she and Gaia went out on a doctor's call to deliver a baby. She was harsh to Gaia at times, often for no reason. Several days later, Sephie was taken and released from prison. The guards revealed that Sephie had basically sold Gaia out, working off of Gaia's slip of the tongue during the delivery. I can't imagine ever justifying using someone else to that extent. She knew the trouble Gaia was in, yet she still threw her to the wolves. Sephie was cold and manipulative, a true psychopath, hiding  behind a warm and nurturing mask.

     Birthmarked is definitely a great read and I think it's leading the teen dystopian genre into a direction. The series is definitely one to watch.