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freadomlibrary's review
2.0
Critically
Plot - 2 out of 5 stars
Everything was just too much. Too fast paced, too many characters that were introduced too quickly, too much information about "broken symmetry" and what that means which made the topic confusing and the plot incredibly messy.
Writing Style - 2 out of 5 stars
Did not like it at all. Very verbose, rushed a lot of the time. It was confusing, boring, really bland and extremely juvenile.
Characters - 1 out of 5 stars
Overall, I did not connect with any of the characters. I felt like they were all very stereotypical or extremely underdeveloped. None of them were interesting or complex, they all fell flat. Our main character, Blaire was vapid, shallow, had bipolar tendencies, was self-centered, rude and annoying. She did things without thinking and then felt remorseful but would do something worse right after that. It was so strange and it made me so disconnected from her that the rest of the time I couldn't reconnect. The rest of the characters were so stereotypical it was annoying. Bad boy romantic interest, jealous rude girl, father-like boss who teaches you something new. It got really boring, really fast.
Emotionally
The plot idea was really solid and interesting but the execution screwed it up. The concept of traveling through mirrors is really intriguing and I was really looking forward to seeing how it all work but the way it was explained was too rushed and really messy. There were things that weren't explained well but then there were others that were too complicated to understand. It was all over the place, the reasons one can break symmetry, how it works and the rules on how to act when within a new dimension. I was confused 50% of the way through the book until I grasped the concept as the actions showed what happens. Then it got even more complicated and I got confused again. Once it finally settled down, I was just turned off and uninterested in the outcome. Although, the plot twist and the ending were really interesting and something I did not see coming, it didn't really make up for the harsh beginning.
Blaire was downright awful. She was rude and self-centered. She practically almost ruined a man's marriage and his career over stupid decisions. She complained about the dumbest thing and generally behaved like a spoiled, petulant brat. She was shallow and annoying in her thought process and sometimes she did things that were really stupid (showing up to a married man's house dressed like a stripper and the wife opens the door for her, only to try to get back her father's belongings which are in police custody) and out of character for a normal sane person which made her seem very bipolar. She tried to get her way and thought of the worst ideas to do so and tried them out without really thinking them through. She had no real character development. The behaviors got a bit better but her thought process never changed.
I can't really say much about the side characters since I don't feel like I connected with any of them. They were either totally stereotypical (Damien, our bad boy, who trying to protect Blaire by staying away from her but then doesn't really) or underdeveloped (Amy, random jealous girl, who ends up dying in an awful way for no reason except for she had nothing else to do). There wasn't anything unique or personal about any of them and I didn't really care about their well being. It was more like well, okay they're here now let's see what happens to them.
Overall I wish this idea would've come to someone else because it has such potential. The execution was really sloppy and made me so disinterested in what happened to the characters that there was nothing that could save it, not even the interesting twist or the ending.
Plot - 2 out of 5 stars
Everything was just too much. Too fast paced, too many characters that were introduced too quickly, too much information about "broken symmetry" and what that means which made the topic confusing and the plot incredibly messy.
Writing Style - 2 out of 5 stars
Did not like it at all. Very verbose, rushed a lot of the time. It was confusing, boring, really bland and extremely juvenile.
Characters - 1 out of 5 stars
Overall, I did not connect with any of the characters. I felt like they were all very stereotypical or extremely underdeveloped. None of them were interesting or complex, they all fell flat. Our main character, Blaire was vapid, shallow, had bipolar tendencies, was self-centered, rude and annoying. She did things without thinking and then felt remorseful but would do something worse right after that. It was so strange and it made me so disconnected from her that the rest of the time I couldn't reconnect. The rest of the characters were so stereotypical it was annoying. Bad boy romantic interest, jealous rude girl, father-like boss who teaches you something new. It got really boring, really fast.
Emotionally
Spoiler
I was expecting so much from this book and I was really disappointed with what it ended up being.The plot idea was really solid and interesting but the execution screwed it up. The concept of traveling through mirrors is really intriguing and I was really looking forward to seeing how it all work but the way it was explained was too rushed and really messy. There were things that weren't explained well but then there were others that were too complicated to understand. It was all over the place, the reasons one can break symmetry, how it works and the rules on how to act when within a new dimension. I was confused 50% of the way through the book until I grasped the concept as the actions showed what happens. Then it got even more complicated and I got confused again. Once it finally settled down, I was just turned off and uninterested in the outcome. Although, the plot twist and the ending were really interesting and something I did not see coming, it didn't really make up for the harsh beginning.
Blaire was downright awful. She was rude and self-centered. She practically almost ruined a man's marriage and his career over stupid decisions. She complained about the dumbest thing and generally behaved like a spoiled, petulant brat. She was shallow and annoying in her thought process and sometimes she did things that were really stupid (showing up to a married man's house dressed like a stripper and the wife opens the door for her, only to try to get back her father's belongings which are in police custody) and out of character for a normal sane person which made her seem very bipolar. She tried to get her way and thought of the worst ideas to do so and tried them out without really thinking them through. She had no real character development. The behaviors got a bit better but her thought process never changed.
I can't really say much about the side characters since I don't feel like I connected with any of them. They were either totally stereotypical (Damien, our bad boy, who trying to protect Blaire by staying away from her but then doesn't really) or underdeveloped (Amy, random jealous girl, who ends up dying in an awful way for no reason except for she had nothing else to do). There wasn't anything unique or personal about any of them and I didn't really care about their well being. It was more like well, okay they're here now let's see what happens to them.
Overall I wish this idea would've come to someone else because it has such potential. The execution was really sloppy and made me so disinterested in what happened to the characters that there was nothing that could save it, not even the interesting twist or the ending.
stephwiesman's review
2.0
This had great potential, but then went to shit. I know it's sci-fi, but it just became too unbelievable, complicated, and unreadable for my taste.
sjeckert's review
4.0
It may have started out a little cheesy and unappealing, but it very quickly became intense and interesting and complicated. Parts were difficult to follow, just because of the complicated reality, but I really loved the story! Also, so glad an author finally did their research! Good job on the science stuff!
dea080020's review
3.0
Interesting concept... probably could have been improved upon if a teenager wasn't the protagonist. As I get older I find myself becoming less tolerant of teenage angst. BLECH
namaria's review
5.0
Blaire's father disappeared without a trace and left few answers behind for her. Not wanting to become a ward of the state, she filed for emancipation and it was granted to her. She lives alone in her father's house, and her bills and money are handled by an agency while she goes to school.
Then her father shows up out of nowhere and gives her a cryptic message shortly before he dies: "I wasn't the one that disappeared, Blaire. You were!" This statement stays with the reader throughout the whole book. After a few more chapters, it's predictable what happened to Blaire, but the author does a fantastic job keeping the reader in suspense.
While searching for answers about her father, Blaire discovers she can travel through mirrors into alternate universes. But this ability comes with huge risks. Is Blaire willing to take them?
This story had some very strong character development, although Blaire felt a little weak in the beginning. Her bratty attitude turned me off to her in a big way, but this was dealt with nicely later in the story.
Mr. Rix introduced several concepts in the beginning of the book that stay with the reader throughout the whole story. Even though the climax is predictable and you know what's going to happen, you want to keep reading because the events taking place keep you enthralled. There are a bunch of little things that you really want to find out more about, and they're not answered until the very end of the novel. It was genius!
This is the second book by Dan Rix that I've read, and I have to say he has exceeded my expectations each time. He is a talented writer and clearly knows what he's doing to keep the reader fascinated and hanging on to every word until the very end. I loved Broken Symmetry, which kept me so engrossed, I found myself reading rather than doing other things I would normally do. Most of my reading occurs at work, but this was a story I couldn't put down, even when I was home. I recommend it to everyone! Now I'm off to check out this author's other works!
Then her father shows up out of nowhere and gives her a cryptic message shortly before he dies: "I wasn't the one that disappeared, Blaire. You were!" This statement stays with the reader throughout the whole book. After a few more chapters, it's predictable what happened to Blaire, but the author does a fantastic job keeping the reader in suspense.
While searching for answers about her father, Blaire discovers she can travel through mirrors into alternate universes. But this ability comes with huge risks. Is Blaire willing to take them?
This story had some very strong character development, although Blaire felt a little weak in the beginning. Her bratty attitude turned me off to her in a big way, but this was dealt with nicely later in the story.
Mr. Rix introduced several concepts in the beginning of the book that stay with the reader throughout the whole story. Even though the climax is predictable and you know what's going to happen, you want to keep reading because the events taking place keep you enthralled. There are a bunch of little things that you really want to find out more about, and they're not answered until the very end of the novel. It was genius!
This is the second book by Dan Rix that I've read, and I have to say he has exceeded my expectations each time. He is a talented writer and clearly knows what he's doing to keep the reader fascinated and hanging on to every word until the very end. I loved Broken Symmetry, which kept me so engrossed, I found myself reading rather than doing other things I would normally do. Most of my reading occurs at work, but this was a story I couldn't put down, even when I was home. I recommend it to everyone! Now I'm off to check out this author's other works!
haley_j_casey's review
4.0
Wow, this is a hard one to rate. On the one hand, from the minute I downloaded this book (years ago, let me tell you) I have been excited about the potential plot. Sure, the description makes it sound like Blaire is very aware of her ability and uses it at whim to live in that last-day-on-earth kind of way where there are no consequences, and this couldn't be further from actuality. She has no clue what she can do at the beginning of the book, and when she does find out she only goes through mirrors on missions, never just to test out a bizarre action in real life. Still, though, the plot was wonderful. It was completely original and complex but clever, and I loved it. On the other hand, though, we have the characters, which are just awful.
So, let me begin.
Blaire has the rare ability to "crossover" through mirrors into parallel worlds, or "reflections." As long as she crosses home back through the same mirror where she "broke symmetry" and shatters that mirror behind her, the parallel world she opened when she crossed closes behind her forever. So she can literally do anything within a reflection, and when she's home with the mirror shattered it's like it never happened. Cool, right? Sure, the science the book uses to explain the phenomenon is shaky at best—I'm not even a sciencey person and I could tell the author was reaching—but I kept up with the general complexity of the idea. Honestly, I think Dan Rix did a good job closing even the poorly-explained loopholes. As an author, he set rules, and he stuck by them. For instance, you can crossover into a mirror within a reflection and be two levels deep, then crossover into another mirror, creating a maze of reflections that you eventually won't be able to find your way out of. You can carry one mirror through another mirror when you cross, making sure you don't get lost. There are physical consequences to breaking symmetry too much, and the world starts to break apart the deeper into levels you go. All very cool and very dark, and I was wholly intrigued.
Okay, but guys, the characters were plastic. Perfect stereotypes. We have Damien, the love interest, the broody, dark-haired, quippy, sexy, mysterious, chiseled-featured boy who has moods and secrets and dark eyes—what else could we expect from a character named Damien? We have Amy, the spoiled and bitchy foil to our protagonist who is instantly jealous of Blaire and her intrusion into Amy's space, who can no longer crossover, who's daddy is in charge of everything, and who may or may not have had a thing with Damien. There's Charles, the mad scientist, who is perfectly happy to use teenagers in his plots to gain more knowledge, and. And then, of course, we have Blaire, our main character. Blaire, who is blindingly gorgeous with perfectly symmetrical features (which are commented on multiple times?), who is insanely popular (even though we never ever see her have a friend), who dates the hottest men, who is perfectly willing to put a cop's marriage at risk because she wants access to a piece of evidence, who does brilliantly in all her classes despite never seeming to go, and who is emancipated by the state. Who really doesn't take direction even when things are dangerous, who's really bratty whenever things don't go her way, and who is more concerned with the way light reflects off Damien's face than with actually getting out of anywhere alive. She's terrible.
And it really, really bothered me that, despite multiple mentions of her "friends" and her social life, she literally has no friends. Like, she'll mention how popular she is, but people never notice that she hasn't been to school in a week? She'll mention how she needs to text a friend, or how if she can't go home then she'll stay with one of her friends, but there is never ever, not once, a single instance of her talking to, texting, calling, or explaining anything to anyone who isn't involved in breaking symmetry. Like, how hyper-unrealistic. No one tries to hang out with her? No one invites her to a party? No one comes over after school, texts to make sure she's doing okay, catches her up on the latest school gossip? Where are her friends??
Quick mention here of some instalove that I was not here for. Damien was a bad-boy cardboard-cutout who actually was mostly a douche who sometimes made out with her and said clever things, but who also murdered people, and Blaire was, well, Blaire. We really don't see them connect over anything, but, spoiler alert, they're in love by the end of the book. Excellent.
Quick mention here of how much I liked the ending! Despite the characters doing nothing (and I mean nothing) for me, the ending was actually really awesome. I didn't see it coming, even though I tried, and things suddenly made a lot of sense, and it was very enjoyable. Again, Rix didn't break any of his own rules, but he still came up with a brilliant way to make everything come together.
Honestly, if this had characters that were more believable, who were multifaceted and kind and thoughtful and hard-working and flawed, this book would be one of my favorites. And even though characters usually rule all, in my opinion—as in, I can't like a book with bad characters—I was also intrigued by this story all the way through. As it is, 3.75 stars.
So, let me begin.
Blaire has the rare ability to "crossover" through mirrors into parallel worlds, or "reflections." As long as she crosses home back through the same mirror where she "broke symmetry" and shatters that mirror behind her, the parallel world she opened when she crossed closes behind her forever. So she can literally do anything within a reflection, and when she's home with the mirror shattered it's like it never happened. Cool, right? Sure, the science the book uses to explain the phenomenon is shaky at best—I'm not even a sciencey person and I could tell the author was reaching—but I kept up with the general complexity of the idea. Honestly, I think Dan Rix did a good job closing even the poorly-explained loopholes. As an author, he set rules, and he stuck by them. For instance, you can crossover into a mirror within a reflection and be two levels deep, then crossover into another mirror, creating a maze of reflections that you eventually won't be able to find your way out of. You can carry one mirror through another mirror when you cross, making sure you don't get lost. There are physical consequences to breaking symmetry too much, and the world starts to break apart the deeper into levels you go. All very cool and very dark, and I was wholly intrigued.
Okay, but guys, the characters were plastic. Perfect stereotypes. We have Damien, the love interest, the broody, dark-haired, quippy, sexy, mysterious, chiseled-featured boy who has moods and secrets and dark eyes—what else could we expect from a character named Damien? We have Amy, the spoiled and bitchy foil to our protagonist who is instantly jealous of Blaire and her intrusion into Amy's space, who can no longer crossover, who's daddy is in charge of everything, and who may or may not have had a thing with Damien. There's Charles, the mad scientist, who is perfectly happy to use teenagers in his plots to gain more knowledge, and
Spoiler
who it turns out, is a crazy and despicable human being. Mad scientist indeedAnd it really, really bothered me that, despite multiple mentions of her "friends" and her social life, she literally has no friends. Like, she'll mention how popular she is, but people never notice that she hasn't been to school in a week? She'll mention how she needs to text a friend, or how if she can't go home then she'll stay with one of her friends, but there is never ever, not once, a single instance of her talking to, texting, calling, or explaining anything to anyone who isn't involved in breaking symmetry. Like, how hyper-unrealistic. No one tries to hang out with her? No one invites her to a party? No one comes over after school, texts to make sure she's doing okay, catches her up on the latest school gossip? Where are her friends??
Quick mention here of some instalove that I was not here for. Damien was a bad-boy cardboard-cutout who actually was mostly a douche who sometimes made out with her and said clever things, but who also murdered people, and Blaire was, well, Blaire. We really don't see them connect over anything, but, spoiler alert, they're in love by the end of the book. Excellent.
Quick mention here of how much I liked the ending! Despite the characters doing nothing (and I mean nothing) for me, the ending was actually really awesome. I didn't see it coming, even though I tried, and things suddenly made a lot of sense, and it was very enjoyable. Again, Rix didn't break any of his own rules, but he still came up with a brilliant way to make everything come together.
Honestly, if this had characters that were more believable, who were multifaceted and kind and thoughtful and hard-working and flawed, this book would be one of my favorites. And even though characters usually rule all, in my opinion—as in, I can't like a book with bad characters—I was also intrigued by this story all the way through. As it is, 3.75 stars.
lisaluvsliterature's review
3.0
Overall this was a pretty good book. Towards the end I got a bit confused as it got deeper and deeper into some of the physics type parts of the story. But then it switched to DNA, and that was cool because I've always been very interested in all things genetic.
The main character is Blaire. She's been on her own since her father disappeared almost a year ago. In the middle of almost getting asked to prom by "the" popular boy Josh Hutchinson, she gets a call from the police saying they've found her dad. Only there is something strange about this dad, according to him, she disappeared when she was a baby. Her dad dies very shortly after she gets to see him, basically hemorrhaging from organs that have turned to mush. He doesn't have any disease, nothing contagious. But it seems he showed up at the nearby military base where they've been supposedly having a drill. Blaire's whole life is thrown into chaos.
Read the rest of my review on my blog: Lisa Loves Literature.
The main character is Blaire. She's been on her own since her father disappeared almost a year ago. In the middle of almost getting asked to prom by "the" popular boy Josh Hutchinson, she gets a call from the police saying they've found her dad. Only there is something strange about this dad, according to him, she disappeared when she was a baby. Her dad dies very shortly after she gets to see him, basically hemorrhaging from organs that have turned to mush. He doesn't have any disease, nothing contagious. But it seems he showed up at the nearby military base where they've been supposedly having a drill. Blaire's whole life is thrown into chaos.
Read the rest of my review on my blog: Lisa Loves Literature.
gizmoto16's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't quite what I expected and sometimes I got confused trying to understand the reflections upon reflections - kind of like Inception. But a very interesting storyline that drew me in and I didn't want to put it down.