Linked by Imogen Howson

The following summary was taken from Amazon's page on Linked by Imogen Howson:

Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. Now, all she has are nightmarish visions and unexplained bruises. Finally, she's promised a cure, and surgery is scheduled. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the truth behind her visions: she's seeing the world through another girl's eyes. A world filled with pain and wires and weird machines. Elissa follows her visions, only to find a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl, Lin, who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. A twin she never knew existed.

Elissa helps Lin evade the government agents who are ruthlessly tracking her down, but they're struggling to avoid capture, and soon Elissa is forced to turn to the only person who can help: Cadan, her brothers infuriating, arrogant best friend, and new graduate of the SFI, Space Flight Academy. Cadan is their one chance at safety. But Lin is too valuable to let go, and Elissa has knowledge that is too dangerous. The government will stop at nothing to get them back.

Linked was not the book I thought it was at first. Was I expecting a good dystopian YA read? Yes. Was I expecting it to involve a futuristic setting and space travel? No. Not that these were bad things, I actually rather enjoyed the sci-fi twists.  Although there was a lot of information to digest, I think that it was relatively easy to follow. However, the cost of all the world-building is that the action is a little slow to start. I, personally, like reading the world-building, so this was not a big issue for me, but if you're someone who needs to get right to the action, this might be a deal-breaker for you.

With the world-building firmly in place, the real plot can begin and it was...good. Probably not great, but certainly interesting. I won't get into the specifics of the plot as to not ruin it for anyone who is planning on reading it. However,  it does involve running from an evil government, a daring escape on a spaceship, and a touch of romance (always a plus in my opinion). Overall, even though it is a little slow and a little cliched, the plot is definitely solid enough to keep you interested through the book.

The are a few things that I didn't like. One was the relationship between Elissa and Cadan, which had some buildup, but ultimately felt rushed. Another thing that I didn't like was that the characterizations sometimes felt a little flat, thankfully, some of this is made up towards the end of the book.

In conclusion, Linked is a solid YA offering. While the plot can be a little slow, it ultimately comes to a satisfying conclusion. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!