Lab Rat One (Touchstone Book 2)

This series is fantastic! After I read the first one I was hooked, and had to drop everything else I was reading to finish the series. The premise is enticing and the imagination of the author is boundless. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys sci-fi/fantasy and a captivating, fun, thought-provoking read.

Andrea Host has the remarkable ability to bring her characters to life. We can feel Cassandra's turmoil, frustrations, joy at learning, and her growth in finding new talents. I found this book to be absorbing and fun!

I really enjoyed the second part of this series and can't wait for part 3. The plot is quick and just keeps getting more and more interesting, and the main character keeps getting more and more likeable as well. (She was likeable before, but I enjoy her even more at the end of this book than I did at the end of the first book.) Read it!

The story is good. The thing I liked most was the rich background details. For example, Cassandra always sounds like a teenager with the self-effacing humor. This is another excellent story by Andrea.

I literally spent the entire day reading "Stray" and this sequel (I'm very lucky I didn't pick up the first book until after part 2 was released!). I couldn't put them down--Andrea K Host writes the type of books that are just up my alley: character-driven stories with an internally coherent structure (as in, the author's put some thought into creating a consistent world) with strong female leads (yes, I'm female and kind of biased towards female leads) and a touch of romance. Though this series gets off to a somewhat slow and awkward start (have to get used to the diary format, after all, and reading about her by herself on a deserted world isn't the most interesting part by far), everything was smooth going by the second book.

The good:
--Cass is a very realistic average teenager; her reactions to the new worlds and experiences she encounters seem, in my mind, appropriate (as do the occasional curse words and mentions of sex and drinking--I'd have a much harder time seeing Cass as real if all these "baddies" were avoided completely).
--The author's writing is fluid enough to let me just sink into the story without being jarred by a poorly articulated description or awkward dialogue--you can tell she put a great deal of time into polishing the story.
--The diary format, believe it or not. I know from the reviews of "Stray" that many just didn't take to it, but I think it allows the author to do interesting things with the story. After all, even when stories are told in first person, a bit of the omniscient narrator tends to sneak in, with the main character noticing far more than real people likely would. Cass still can do this to a certain degree in her diary entries, but only because she can go back and watch recordings of events, making note of reactions and whatnot that she missed the first time around (which is far more realistic than her noticing people's every little grimace as she was experiencing events). But at the same time, there is so little she's allowed to know, and the diary format keeps us confined to her limited knowledge, letting us discover things as she does. (I know this defense of the format is a bit rambling and not completely coherent, but I just want to encourage people to give it a chance!)
--The supporting characters, once you're familiar enough with them to keep them more or less straight, are fantastic. If they hadn't so clearly been such good people, I would have been left wondering why Cass didn't take some of the other planets up on their offers for help (being a lab rat isn't exactly ideal, after all, and we do tend to think the grass will be greener on the other side of the fence, even if we have little reason to think so...). But the people are so good, and Cass is so good at rationalizing her situation (it's better than starving on a deserted planet), that the lack of effort she's put into leaving makes sense.

The bad:
--Almost endless medical visits, while completely appropriate to the story, can get a bit tedious after a while.
--It ended on an emotional cliffhanger, and the next book isn't out yet!

So, in short, it's a great series; read it! (But start with "Stray" if you want it to make any sense at all.)

Lab rat one is the follow up to stray. In this second diary of Cassandra's new life we go on a few roller coster rides as she learns more about what she is and how the world of her rescuers feal about her.
Until this book I never read any book within three days! I found it hard to put the book down.
Before stray I never read a book written like a diary or completely first person. Sometimes I want to know more from some of the other characters perspective. The author is starting to write some impressions of Cass from the other characters thanks to an interesting plot device. I felt that the first book had a little more action than this one does. It was also a little harder to understand some parts of the first book. But I enjoyed this book more than I did the first one. I think Cass is a great character and the author strives to make the characters as real as possible. She succeeds very well, but I question how well Cass has accepted her new friends and her current life. This book, manly Cass struggles with nice and mean setari and the love interest plot reminds me of one of my favorite books written by my favorite author Mercadies Lackey. Lackey is amazing at creating character driven stories. In the first book of the Arrows trilogy young Talia runs/ is taken away from her home and is taken to the castle/collegium. While it isn't a new world and the language is the same, for Talia, it might as well have been a different world. She finds she has a destiny that she doesn't know if she can Achieve. Those around her aren't sure either. Also like Cass there is a love interest that takes a long time to develop. Before going back to reviewing lab rat one I do want go mention that Lackeys books are not young adult and She has gay/lesbian characters in most of her books. I highly recommend them to anyone who likes fantasy and horses. Okay back to Andrea Host. There are many happy amazing moments in this book that makes it a joy to read. As with her first book there are a few pop culture references that made me smile. I was happy that my favorite Addams family member made a guest appearance. ;) there were a few things I wasn't happy about. Mainly the writing style sometimes confuses me. Some times I had to reread a paragraph two or more times to understand the context and or who she was speaking to. There was one occasion where I didn't understand that she was drawing on a new item of clothing. I thought she was drawing on paper till the person said she liked it versus "the experimental animal" she drew on other garments. Overall if I could I would give his book a 4.5. The only reasons why it doesn't have 5 stars has to do with context, grammatical problems that are sometimes annoying and occasionally her writing style. None of that detract from the story. I love the world Host has created. It is vibrant, complex and I love reading these books. I never expected when I "bought" my free copy of the first book that I would want to read the other books in the series so badly. Nor that I wanted to reread the first book a second time in hopes I get more out of it. My dilemma right now is weather to reread stray or go on to the third book and the epilogue first.

I purchased this book after reading a sample of Andrea K Host's -And all the Stars-. I had already put the three books in my wish list prior to that. But after reading that sample I had a feeling I should just buy the whole and totally unrelated trilogy. I read through them in three days.

People have told me that writing in first person is hard to do. They have given various reasons why it does not work and sometimes those reasons are conflicted. Some even suggest that it's this decades fad to write in first person. Because this is written as a diary it's naturally in first person. Andrea nails first person right on the head, and right out of the box.

Cass is such an engaging character in Stray that she sucks you right into her story at the beginning. There is not doubt of Andrea's world building abilities and her strong characterization. But what really got me in this story is in the chapter February when Cass's birthday arrives. And I'm not giving anything away, other than to honestly say I was so into Cass by then that I nearly cried. It's not often a book does that.

And then there was Lab Rat One. And by now this series is peopled with a couple of handfuls of characters that you would think you'd need a score card but there are more to come and Cass has a way of making sure we don't lose track of who is who. Or maybe I should say that Andrea does.

It doesn't take long before Andrea does it to me again. Even though Cass sometimes begins to sound a bit whinny I just get so into her whole dilemma that I can't help but feel what she must be feeling.

So by Caszandra the third installment, you would think I was steeled and ready to handle it. But, Andrea through Cass has a way of now drawing you into her life and the extended family of people around her.

This series of books is one powerhouse. Well told tightly packed. Emotionally charged.

But what really got me was how it all touched me. I would need more stars if I gave a star for every time I was greatly affected by this story.
J.L. Dobias

Wow, WOW and again WOW! Usually I like a sequel about the same as the first book or a bit less, because the concept isn't as new. But not with this one, this one rocked! Although there is less action it's great to discover the planet Muina. This is the planet where Cass landed and managed to survive on her own for a month. I had so many questions while reading this book that I had no other choice than to read this book in one go. And was very sad when it ended, since a lot of them haven't been answered yet. So I'm now waiting till the third book comes at the end of this month. Sigh, have to wait a bit more...

So many things happened in this book, so much I just couldn't write a summary about the beginning as I usually do for you guys. So many important events happened that I would have had to copy the entire beginning to write a fitting summary ^^ So this time you'll have to figure out if this book is something for you by reading just the review and blurb .

Despite that there was less "real action" in this book, so much happened that I was nearly overwhelmed occasionally. But that just added to the fun! I wasn't bored for a minute while reading this story. Although because of all the events, I already forgot a lot. Not really a compliment, but if you consider the fact that I'm actually planning to read this book again soon it is. A bigger compliment a can't give to Mrs. Höst. Even Twilight, a book I also loved, I read only once, but I think I'll be rereading this book often! It's just that good ^^

The focus in this book was the rediscovery of the world were Cass was found, Muina. And what an amazing world it is! Since it's been completely abandoned by people for some time it returned to how our Earth once was: untouched. The world is described in such a way it's like seeing a movie and what a beautiful world it is! It reminded me a bit of the nature in the movie Avatar. I especially liked that winter started and there was snow everywhere. That doesn't happen often at my home, and since I love snow I really enjoyed reading that part ^^

Cass is again subject to the necessary tests and spends much of her time in the medical facility, especially after her powers start to grow. Definitely her "favorite place to be" . With every page I read, I love her more and more. Despite everything she experiences she stays with both her feet firmly planted on the ground. She has a very hard time when her powers develop, but she isn't put down by it and trains very hard to keep them under control. Although staring at a certain handsome Setari might or might not help that process .

Overall rating 5 stars. I loved this book from the beginning to the end. I enjoyed reading about Muina and the untouched nature. I'd love to visit a place like that once! I can recommend this book to everyone who loves a good science fiction, but I advice to read the first book first, otherwise you won't understand a thing that's going on . At the moment I'm impatiently waiting for the last book of this series. I so wanna now what happens next!

One of my complaints about Stray, the first book, was that we see so little of the world outside of the Setari compound once Cass is sent there to train/live/be tested. That's mostly resolved in this book, though we still see much more of the entertainment side of things then the actual society. Cass is a catalyzing effect for the entire planet--politically, culturally, medically, you name it and Cass in some way effects it. For parts of the book Cass is detached from this; due to the nature of her living arrangements and her abilities she doesn't spend much time with others.

Some of that changes. With news of her being leaked and her life being used as a publicity stunt things begin to boil over for both Cass and her Setari friends. It got a bit tedious though whenever Cass would decide to become stronger, or healthier or more productive only to get horribly sick or lost or a flare up of her powers making things go crazy. It felt like Cass never got better. I'm not sure if Host is doing this on purpose, leading up to something life-altering in the third (and final) book Caszandra or if its just really plot convenient to keep her constantly at health risk.

Occasionally Cass would lapse into what seemed like perfect Taren, but overall she still had many of the language difficulties she faced in the first book. An expansion of her powers affords her the opportunity to show her friends more of Earth (or Urth), which kind of cracked me up. Host peppers both books with a lot of pop cultural references, some of which I get (Johnny Depp! Doctor Who!) and some of which I think are more Australian based and out of the scope of my understanding. She actually does a really good job keeping the slang and colloquialisms to a minimum, but some crop up that I have no experience with and the context is not always handy.

Friendships and relationships deepen, though as this is in diary format I'm wary of truly trusting them. A person's diary is never truly unbiased, thoughts and beliefs are colored by experiences, though with her abilities reaching new heights Cass is remarkably intuitive at times. I'm a bit miffed with how things turned with Ruuel....another drawback of the diary format is that since its all on Cass to describe what happens she can't describe what she doesn't see or understand. So why she thinks Ruuel is angry is a guess at best or why he seems to be comforting is just a deduction. It made it hard to 'get' the relationship between the two.

As of the end of the second book we're at mid-July (the book having covered April 2nd or so to July 13th) and about nine months have passed for Cass since she ended up on Muina. Things are reaching some sort of head and I'm rather worried for the outcome. The cover of the third book isn't at all encouraging, so a bit worried about that I won't lie.

Lab Rat One is the second book in the Touchstone trilogy by Andrea K. Host. It is a YA science fiction novel written in the form of a diary. Cassandra Devlin is an 18 Australian who walked through a "gate" into another world. In the second book she has been on the technologically advanced world of Tare for a few months. She is now a "touchstone": someone who enhances the psychic powers of others. She has become an invaluable weapon in the continuing war of the Setari (or "psychic ninjas" as she calls them) and the Ionoth, monsters in the shattered shadow worlds that surround Tare, and which encroach on and attack their world. Cass also becomes the key to unlocking many of the mysteries on the Tareans' original home planet Muina. As her powers grow, so does the danger she is in. She also deepens her relationships with some of the Setari, including some romantic complications.

As in the first book, Cass uses on line gaming, television and SF & F references to understand and describe her experiences. This is a clever device which helps explain Cass's ability to cope with all the strangeness around her in a humorous way. It is reminiscent of Spider Robinson's SF and Host's style is similar in many ways. There is a glossary and dramatis personae in the appendix which are helpful for those unfamiliar with Australian and gamer slang or who are not as familiar with reading fantasy fiction rich in its own invented language.

I think I enjoyed this book even more than the first. Cass really grows up in this book. Her relationships deepen and develop. We learn more about, and come to care about, the other characters. Cass has difficult choices to make and frightening discoveries about herself and her growing powers. The mysteries deepen, as does the danger. Unfortunately the last book of the trilogy isn't out until December!

There is some mild sexuality and swearing but no content inappropriate for YA readers. I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy SF & F from authors such as Maria Snyder.

This series continues to one of the coolest I have read in the young adult fantasy genre. The world building and possible parallels of Earth to Cassandra’s alien world make the story more relatable. Cass is still feeling like a test animal due to her special ability to enhance the various powers of the Setari, the fighters of her current world. The enemy are left over, shadowy fragments of monsters from memories that can cause literal death to those they attach. When the enemy starts multiply and invading her new homeland, Cass is forced to help more and more to keep the citizenship safe.

Returning to the world that she first fell into from Earth, Cass is injured continuously and more viciously each time. Her heart is also hurt by the constant rejection of her secret obsession. The start of the story tends to lag a little bit, but picks up with a huge bang as the mystery of the alien civilization’s past is discovered fragment by fragment and attacks come murderously frequent. Cass’s love life takes a huge turn for the better and the readers are left with another cliff hanger ending.

Like any good sequel, Lab Rat One raises the stakes from the first book, deepens the characters but continues to deliver solid worldbuilding, exciting action and fully-realized characters. This is definitely a series that does not suffer from `saggy middle'. Cassandra begins to develop powers of her own, in a slow and painful kind of way. Her relationships also deepen.

She also must deal with unwanted fame and the unending surveillance of the Tare State. Still a virtual prisoner, Cassandra tries to adapt to the world she is increasingly thinking of as her new home.

What I liked:

The main characters are well realized. The action is good with vivid battle scenes and inventive use of the Setari's psychic powers. Cassandra is easy to sympathize with, the first person POV is immersive. The story pulls you along. The stakes are high and you do want the `good guys' to win.

Cassandra's new-found power and her struggle to learn how to use it is handled well. She does not suddenly gain great power and skillful mastery of it. She is not an action hero, more like a regular girl who becomes important.

The short story chunks of each diary entry keep the story moving. The worldbuilding is very good, showing a sci-fi world that feels more contemporary than futuristic. The technology's impact on this culture is very clearly depicted.

The relationship evolution between characters is handled fairly well. There isn't any sudden, grand passion that sweeps the main character off her feet. Though I did wonder from time to time if Cassandra was falling for the object of her desire or if their respective powers were pulling them together, though that thought only occurred to me after I'd finished the series.

What I didn't like:

Cassandra remains far too passive as character. She is slow to speak up for herself, something even the characters in the novel comment on. (The author's subconscious speaking to her and us?) Things mostly happen to her, she rarely makes things happen. She also seems to spend half the book in the hospital, which sort of makes the `Lab Rat One' reference make sense, though strictly speaking that was more appropriate in the first book, Stray.

The society remains problematic for me. This may well be realistic, when everyone is interconnected via implants and computers, universal surveillance is a wonderful gift to any government. To the author's credit, one of the major plot points shows how this can be abused. But there are no consequences to it. The author raises the point but doesn't follow it through. Cassandra is a virtual and literal prisoner for the entire book. First because she is helpless then later because she is valuable. She belongs to the State, not to herself. I could go on at length but I'll stop there.

There is also a LOT of Cassandra longing for Kaoren Ruuel. I'll buy that it's realistic and might ring true to teenaged girls. But I'm not a teenaged girl, I found it a little tiresome, though I know what it's like to long for someone.

I whole-heartedly recommend this book. It is an excellent example of a sequel done right (though I suspect the whole trilogy was written as one, large work). Good characters, great conflict, cool powers and a well-thought out setting.

This is the second book in Touchstone, a three-book YA scifi story. I found the first book in the story, Stray, three days ago while trolling through Kindel's free book list. One finds the occasional gems through this exercise, which this story and this author (previously unknown to me) certainly are. I read Stray straight through, then promptly downloaded and read Lab Rat. Other reviewers have described it, so I won't. I enjoyed everything except a rather clumsily portrayed love scene. I'm now eagerly awaiting the release of the concluding book, Caszandra (which I understand from [...] is expected out next month. I apologise to Ms Host for being the first Kindle reviewer to give less than 5 stars (Excellent, addictive and rereadable on my scale), but 4 (Very good. Memorable) is still strong praise.

continuation of the story started in Stray. Still using the diary format, which I really enjoyed. Maybe it was because I had a tendency to be a sickly kid, but I found the inclusion of her health issues to be realistic-she was annoyed by them! The world she builds is similar to ours, but interesting. Liked the evolution of her loyalty (or alliegance?) from Earth/Home to where she was/who she was fighting alongside with becoming home. I rank books 4 stars if I will read them over again, 5 if they will be read more than twice- not saying this is high art-just high entertainment-to me. Like the self saving princess aspect of this, and the puzzle of what is going on and how Cazz fits in is well done.

Just go ahead and get the entire Trilogy. Like potato chips -- you can't read just one!

As I've posted for the other books in this series, I read a lot, but rarely write reviews. This series is tops. I rate it just under Harry Potter and above Twilight -- and those were the only two series on my short list, before this one. I'm on my third back-to-back reading of all three books, plus the epilogue, draining all the nuances and goodness from the wonderful story.

Author does a fine job of creating a different culture based on basically human beings. The special powers do not seem too unbelievable or super hero like. Cass is a gutsy strong female who does not whine but takes action and has a conscience. Depth of character is present in the series yet action is too. I love this series. My only qualm if it can be called that is I kept thinking "game tie-in product?" and for some reason thinking of this was distracting.
Would make a good game or movie actually. Qould capture those who like Hunger Games.

The author is the greatest!!! Lab Rat One is an excellent instalment to the Touchstone Triology. Cass is growing up, growing stronger, and growing to love this new world and the people she finds in it. I love Cass and almost everyone she meets(you have to have your villians right?)they are fun, witty, and some are a little more mysterious then others. Cass is the perfect heroine because she is managing to do what so many find difficult to do-even without her extreme circumstances. She is holding on to what makes her 'her' which is tough enough by just being a teen but until I read this book I believed it near imppossible to do as a teen on a new planet forced to endure labrattery. I won't say anymore except Good Luck Cass!!! I can't wait to see how your epic adventure ends!

As someone with a severely short attention span, I have never been an avid reader. In my 37 years on this Earth, only a handful of books have kept my attention and this series is one of them. Intelligently written and complex but easy to follow at the same time, I can't wait to start the final book. :)

Cass is a humorous girl, making the best of her situation. This series is well written and draws you into her world through her believeable reactions to her experiences. You will care deeply for these characters. If you want to read a series that flows, and runs you through the gamut of all possible emotions, THIS IS IT.

The Touchstone series is curiously addictive, I'll just say it. It's a fast fun read for anyone who likes science fiction or fantasy. I didn't expect to be drawn in, but I ended up reading all five books immediately after being sucked in by the free book. I just had to see how it turned out, Gratuitous Epilogue and all. The Touchstone series has a lot of original science fiction ideas, adventure, and romance. There are believable characters, personal growth, sacrifice, and flat out kick-butt action.

I love science fiction and fantasy and that's what pulled me in. The "magic" system is very Marvel Universe in that it's telekinesis and other mental powers for our friendly psychic space ninjas, yet there's the whole Ena aspect making it rather fantastical. And yet, with space ships and nanites, it came across as almost near-science.

I don't normally care for books where romance is mentioned so often, but the romantic longing in this book actually just fit in with the whole story, plus Cass was so analytical about it. She thought about it, tried to modify her behavior and deny it, all in a realistic way that most of us can relate to. If you've ever had an interest or crush, you've had many of the same thoughts. ... although Cass is probably more grown-up about her crush than most of us were at her age.

One touch that I really liked is that Host wrote a dialect for Cass to show her struggles with the new language that wasn't annoying. I am irritated by many southern, hick, or ignorant-type dialects that people create as they try to give their characters an accent. Dialects usually result in my instantly deleting said book. However, Host writes a non-accented dialect - no special characters or tons of apostrophes denoting dropped syllables... Host writes in an ASL/Auslan-type transcription that neatly demonstrates the language barrier while still being very readable and not annoying in any way. In fact, it's so easy to read that I started not noticing it at all. It was VERY well done, which I really appreciate, as annoying accents are obviously a pet peeve of mine. Kudos!

Lots of neat ideas, fast-paced storyline, and a lot of fun. I will definitely read this series again.

So I cannot say enough good things about this Touchstone series. Just resonates with me for some reason. I feel strangely connected to Cassandra. Maybe because moving to a country with no knowledge of the native language was hard and completely life changing. I relate to her a lot, I love all the little surprises and her fascination with the world and people within it.

Andrea Host is an excellent storyteller! This was even better than the first, pulling you into another place effortlessly and entwining one into the lives of the characters quite thoroughly. I am excited to start the next book!