Review: IMPOSTOR by Susanne Winnacker

Title: IMPOSTOR (Variants, #1)
Author: Susanne Winnacker
Publisher: Razorbill

Publication date: May 28, 2013

Genre(s): Young Adult (fantasy)

Source: Publisher

Format: ARC

Pages: 288

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Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late? 

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again.

Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

I have always been eyeing the cover of Impostor, because seriously, isn't that cover just so creative? I love it! When I first read the synopsis, it sounded vaguely familiar. I still wanted to give it a try because I guess it just sounded awesome! Tessa, the main protagonist, is a variant. All Variants work at the FEA (Forces with Extraordinary Abilities), which is a secret part of the FBI. Variants are those people who are gifted with certain powers. Some have the ability to disappear, to control objects, to shape shift, etc. I love that each and every other person had a different Variant, and it was definitely exciting to find out who had what. Tessa has the ability to absorb the DNA of a certain person she touches, then she can transform, or shape shift, into that person. 

Tessa is a very interesting character. We get to see her at her points of weakness, and her high points. I was really able to relate to her. Despite our different circumstances, (I'm obviously not a Variant) I was still able to connect to her very well. When a serial killer strikes the city of Livingston, Tessa gets her first real mission. She was to impersonate Madison, a teenage girl who was one of the targets. Madison was in a comma, and was about to die soon. The plan was to pretend that Madison miraculously survived, but it would actually be Tessa. How AWESOME is that? Then, Tessa had to live in Madison's world and try to figure out who the serial killer was. Did I ever mention Alec? Well, let's just say that we have a very interesting romance story in this book.

Overall, Impostor was the book I was looking for! It had a bit of everything I look for in books! Great characters, great storyline, mystery, and a bit of romance. I am definitely excited for the second book of the Variants series to come out! Susanne Winnacker really did a fantastic job in this one! I would really recommend this to all young adult readers who are fans of paranormal and mystery!