Linked - Imogen Howson

"Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she’s been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere.

Finally, she’s promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another girl’s eyes.

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl—Lin—who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed.

Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose—secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world."

This book could have easily gotten sucked down the boring stereotype teen sc-fi, it has all the typical elements. Evil doctors, secret government laboratory, human-based non-human entities, star ships, hyper speed, secrets to be uncovered. However it doesn't and the writing keeps it feeling quite original which surprised me.    

The main character Lissa doesn't use her brain in the beginning and asks for help from her parents, which everybody knows you shouldn't do in a dystopian novel. But she doesn't because she hasn't read any and she doesn't know she's in a dystopian novel and thus, trusts her father who's helped her before. Nevertheless, don't you fear. For Lin, Lissa's twin, who's had some dealings with this before is able to stuff some sense into Lissa.

The sci-fi and dystopian aspects of the novel were old-school but along with the action scenes, they sucked me in.
The world building is good, not too much but enough so you understand what is going on and have a grip on the world. I really enjoyed the describing of Sekoia, Lissa's home planet in the beginning of the book. It was shrewd and many-sided.

The relationship development between Lin and Lissa felt a bit awkward to me as the story moved on. Lin has always been in Lissa's head whilst Lissa has been in Lin's during the worst times in Lin's existence, so a little intimacy is to be expected. The way it starts out and the way they care for each other was comfy and I liked it but some way into the book, Lissa is either pitying Lin, lecturing her or fearing her. She has her reasons but get the OVER IT already! I needed some proximity between the two, genuine proximity.

Lissa I think can be fleshed out more in the next book as she wasn't delved into enough and I didn’t really get to know Lin at all.  
However saying that, I did not expect the revelation that explains Lin’s horrible past, nor did I expect the positive future it made possible for the sisters. I finished the book excited for their future, and interested in the social and personal fallout sure to result from their actions.  
 
Age rating 12+. There is a feather-light touch of romance and one extremely tame kissing scene amidst sparking and wiring and crashing(romantic, no?).