Leigh Ann Kopans

One by Leigh Ann Kopans

When having two powers makes you a Super and having none makes you a Normal, having only one makes you a sad half-superpowered freak.

It makes you a One.

Sixteen-year-old Merrin Grey would love to be able to fly – too bad all she can do is hover.

If she could just land an internship at the Biotech Hub, she might finally figure out how to fix herself. She busts her butt in AP Chem and salivates over the Hub’s research on the manifestation of superpowers, all in hopes of boosting her chances.

Then she meets Elias VanDyne, another One, and all her carefully crafted plans fly out the window. Literally. When the two of them touch, their Ones combine to make them fly, and when they’re not soaring over the Nebraska cornfields, they’re busy falling for each other.

Merrin’s mad chemistry skills land her a spot on the Hub’s internship short list, but as she gets closer to the life she always wanted, she discovers that the Hub’s purpose is more sinister than it has always seemed. Now it’s up to her to decide if it’s more important to fly solo, or to save everything – and everyone – she loves.

I started following @LeighAnnKopans on twitter several months ago, but I didn’t really interact with her for a while. Then after I started talking to her, she graciously sent me an eARC of her book a week or so before its release date. (That’s an e-copy of an ARC, Advanced Readers Copy.)

I knew that people who’d read it were excited about it, but I wasn’t prepared to get so wrapped up in the story! Merrin’s story grabbed me and held me until the very last word.

I don’t hate “insta-love” as much as other people do, but I was very glad to see that there wasn’t any in this book! Elias and Merrin’s relationship seemed natural and was very sweet. The way she charges in to rescue him at the end made me happy – I’m a sucker for people rescuing the people they love. 🙂

The premise was very interesting – people have half of a superpower? I’ve never heard of anyone coming up with something like that before! Leigh Ann did a really good job, in my opinion, of sticking with the standards for superheroes, but still fully exploring her idea of half superheroes.

This was a great book, and I can’t wait to read TWO, the sequel that’s coming out… in the fall… sometime… I think? I’ll have to ask Leigh Ann. 🙂

My Favorite Scene

Spoiler	Select Show
I manage to keep my head down all the way to my locker. All I want is to get there to ditch my sweatshirt, retreat to the girl’s room — if I can figure out where it is — lock myself in a stall for a few minutes, and take a deep breath for the first time since I got here. And maybe eat my lunch in there. Just for today. I wiggle the handle of my locker, but it won’t open. I bend down to take a look at it. No jerk’s poured superglue in there or anything. Before I know it, I’m shaking the stupid locker handle so hard that it’s making a racket, and a few people standing near me look over and cock their heads. When I almost whack my own face with my struggling hand, I give up, resting my head against the cool, solid metal for a second, breathing in through my nose. I am seriously losing it. Over a locker. Half a second later, a shoulder taller than my head pushes into the metal door, and a large hand with long, thin fingers jiggles the handle side-to-side a couple times and wrenches it up, letting the locker pop open. I feel the warmth of his nearness against my cheek, countering the chill of the locker, like a shock on my skin. The guy clears his throat, says quietly, “They’re tricky.” I barely glance at him before I look down at the floor, but I do catch that he has blond hair and glasses. “You new here?” Before I can answer, some guy halfway down the hall hollers, “E! Coming?” The guy at my locker — “E” — gives his head half a shake, smiles a little, then turns to walk away. And now everyone’s staring at me. Great. As soon as I find my way to the bathroom, I place both hands on the rim of one of the sinks, steadying myself there. After a few seconds, I splash my face with water and reach over to the soap dispenser. Everything about this place feels dirty. As I’m lathering my hands, I notice the logo on the soap dispenser. Hub Technology — it appears on every product they make. It’s four arcs, one for each Hub, intersecting in the shape of a circle.. Someone has crossed out the “Hub” in “Hub Technology” and written “Freak” next to it. Suddenly, I can’t get enough air into my lungs. I duck into stall, sit on the toilet, bury my face in my hands, and take one, two deep breaths. I hope with everything in me that all the other kids actually eat in the cafeteria.

Spoiler

Select Show

I manage to keep my head down all the way to my locker. All I want is to get there to ditch my sweatshirt, retreat to the girl’s room — if I can figure out where it is — lock myself in a stall for a few minutes, and take a deep breath for the first time since I got here.

And maybe eat my lunch in there. Just for today.

I wiggle the handle of my locker, but it won’t open. I bend down to take a look at it. No jerk’s poured superglue in there or anything.

Before I know it, I’m shaking the stupid locker handle so hard that it’s making a racket, and a few people standing near me look over and cock their heads. When I almost whack my own face with my struggling hand, I give up, resting my head against the cool, solid metal for a second, breathing in through my nose.

I am seriously losing it. Over a locker.

Half a second later, a shoulder taller than my head pushes into the metal door, and a large hand with long, thin fingers jiggles the handle side-to-side a couple times and wrenches it up, letting the locker pop open.

I feel the warmth of his nearness against my cheek, countering the chill of the locker, like a shock on my skin.

The guy clears his throat, says quietly, “They’re tricky.”

I barely glance at him before I look down at the floor, but I do catch that he has blond hair and glasses.

“You new here?”

Before I can answer, some guy halfway down the hall hollers, “E! Coming?”

The guy at my locker — “E” — gives his head half a shake, smiles a little, then turns to walk away.

And now everyone’s staring at me. Great.

As soon as I find my way to the bathroom, I place both hands on the rim of one of the sinks, steadying myself there. After a few seconds, I splash my face with water and reach over to the soap dispenser. Everything about this place feels dirty.

As I’m lathering my hands, I notice the logo on the soap dispenser. Hub Technology — it appears on every product they make. It’s four arcs, one for each Hub, intersecting in the shape of a circle.. Someone has crossed out the “Hub” in “Hub Technology” and written “Freak” next to it.

Suddenly, I can’t get enough air into my lungs. I duck into stall, sit on the toilet, bury my face in my hands, and take one, two deep breaths.

I hope with everything in me that all the other kids actually eat in the cafeteria.

The Verdict: 5 of 5 Stars

ONE was a very gripping book that kept me hanging from chapter to chapter! I can’t wait for the sequel, TWO, to come out!

Book Squirt

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One

One by Leigh Ann Kopans