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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I would say that I liked the story overall (more on the rest later). I love a good survival tale, although I don't read them that often. This is a YA book so the characters weren't overly relatable, but I wasn't really expecting them to be. I want to keep this spoiler free, but I would like to briefly mention that the shark aggressiveness was really unrealistic. I didn't realize this was the first book in a series. When I finished the story, I was definitely interested to see what happens in the sequel, The Hunted, but now I'm not so sure...
...Never before have I been so turned off by Acknowledgements! In the first paragraph, Pena lists and thanks the people who helped him, typical stuff, but, in the second paragraph, talk about having a chip on your shoulder! Pena basically slams everyone for not going with him on the cruise he took to do some research for the book. With such a bitter attitude, no wonder no one wanted to go on a cruise with him! He could have written a few tongue-in-cheek lines, which could have been mildly funny; instead, he has a very, thanks-for-nothing-you-all-suck attitude in a twelve sentence rant.
After reading Pena's Acknowledgements in this book, I'm at a loss as to what to rate The Living. I seriously could rate this anywhere between 1 and 3 stars right now. It was going to be a very solid 3, but Pena really did the book a disservice at the end. I'm settling on 1.5 stars for now (smack in the middle), rounded to 2 (as is my custom). That may change though.
P.S. From now on, I'll be reading the Acknowledgments/Afterward of books first (provided they seem spoiler free). If I would have read that first in The Living, I never would have read the story.
...Never before have I been so turned off by Acknowledgements! In the first paragraph, Pena lists and thanks the people who helped him, typical stuff, but, in the second paragraph, talk about having a chip on your shoulder! Pena basically slams everyone for not going with him on the cruise he took to do some research for the book. With such a bitter attitude, no wonder no one wanted to go on a cruise with him! He could have written a few tongue-in-cheek lines, which could have been mildly funny; instead, he has a very, thanks-for-nothing-you-all-suck attitude in a twelve sentence rant.
After reading Pena's Acknowledgements in this book, I'm at a loss as to what to rate The Living. I seriously could rate this anywhere between 1 and 3 stars right now. It was going to be a very solid 3, but Pena really did the book a disservice at the end. I'm settling on 1.5 stars for now (smack in the middle), rounded to 2 (as is my custom). That may change though.
P.S. From now on, I'll be reading the Acknowledgments/Afterward of books first (provided they seem spoiler free). If I would have read that first in The Living, I never would have read the story.
3,75.
L'histoire etait bien, captivante et intéressante, bien que le debut etait un peu long à se mettre en place. On a toujours envie de savoir ce qu'il va se passer ensuite. Cependant je n'ai pas accroché à l'écriture de l'auteur. Je n'ai pas réussi à ressentir les émotions des personnages. C'était un bon livre, mais sans plus.
L'histoire etait bien, captivante et intéressante, bien que le debut etait un peu long à se mettre en place. On a toujours envie de savoir ce qu'il va se passer ensuite. Cependant je n'ai pas accroché à l'écriture de l'auteur. Je n'ai pas réussi à ressentir les émotions des personnages. C'était un bon livre, mais sans plus.
This is a rounded up 3. I can’t quite say I honestly liked this but it was much closer than a 2.5. Geez, book ratings can be funny like that. Anyway!
I wrote a fair amount of thoughts on this before I realized that most of what I have to say all comes down to one problem:
I thought this was purely survivalist fiction. It’s not.
That’s what I was looking forward to and expecting. In reality, this is a mystery/conspiracy/medical thriller with an incidental disaster thrown in. That might sound all well and good to you but it is not really my thing. Looking at the GR description I still don’t see anything that would lend me to believe this is anything other than survivalist. You must imagine my confusion when by 40% the disaster had yet to happen! I like my catastrophes early on and I like them brutal, okay?
So, had I known this was a story about corporate greed, unimaginable corruption and the character’s fight to uncover the conspirator’s plot I most likely would have skipped this. Thus, my criticisms on the story don’t have much weight. This just simply isn’t my type of book. I leave this review here as a fair warning to anyone else who, like me, is signing up only for the survival portion. The strength of the plot and story is somewhat out of my purview this time, unfortunately. It was a disorienting reading experience because of my initial confusion. It doesn’t seem fair to comment on such. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful about the actual book.
I do have some other thoughts, though.
This isn’t necessarily for me but I am so, so glad it exists. I am always thrilled to see POC protagonists in YA. I wish there were tons of them. Shy’s background, race, and economic status are ever present in the background, and sometimes forefront, of his thoughts. His interactions with the obliviously wealthy passengers is both cringeworthy and heartbreaking. They exude superiority and casual racism and it is painful, but I think important, to see.
Here’s what the author said recently in an interview
Yes, yes, and yes.
I hope those who are inclined to pick up this type of story do so. I hope young POC readers pick it up and delight in being able to identify so strongly with the protagonist of a book. I hope non-POC readers pick it up and that Shy’s perspective and experiences gives them food for thought
This not-quite-review-random-thought-assortment can also be found on my blog
I wrote a fair amount of thoughts on this before I realized that most of what I have to say all comes down to one problem:
I thought this was purely survivalist fiction. It’s not.
That’s what I was looking forward to and expecting. In reality, this is a mystery/conspiracy/medical thriller with an incidental disaster thrown in. That might sound all well and good to you but it is not really my thing. Looking at the GR description I still don’t see anything that would lend me to believe this is anything other than survivalist. You must imagine my confusion when by 40% the disaster had yet to happen! I like my catastrophes early on and I like them brutal, okay?
So, had I known this was a story about corporate greed, unimaginable corruption and the character’s fight to uncover the conspirator’s plot I most likely would have skipped this. Thus, my criticisms on the story don’t have much weight. This just simply isn’t my type of book. I leave this review here as a fair warning to anyone else who, like me, is signing up only for the survival portion. The strength of the plot and story is somewhat out of my purview this time, unfortunately. It was a disorienting reading experience because of my initial confusion. It doesn’t seem fair to comment on such. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful about the actual book.
I do have some other thoughts, though.
This isn’t necessarily for me but I am so, so glad it exists. I am always thrilled to see POC protagonists in YA. I wish there were tons of them. Shy’s background, race, and economic status are ever present in the background, and sometimes forefront, of his thoughts. His interactions with the obliviously wealthy passengers is both cringeworthy and heartbreaking. They exude superiority and casual racism and it is painful, but I think important, to see.
Here’s what the author said recently in an interview
This time I brought my characters to the conflict, which was waiting for them on the deck of a luxury cruise ship. Why do this? I wanted to see if middle class suburban readers would be more likely to read about working class, “multicultural” characters if the book wasn’t set in the barrio. My goal was to try and make Shy, a half-Mexican kid from a border town, the star of a “bigger” book. Because I think characters of color need to make that leap. (Some already have, I know. But there needs to be more.) I want kids like Cory to not only see themselves in books, but to see themselves in books read by everyone, even students in the fancy private school on the other side of town. How’s that for validation? Watching a kid who seemingly has it all read about you.
Yes, yes, and yes.
I hope those who are inclined to pick up this type of story do so. I hope young POC readers pick it up and delight in being able to identify so strongly with the protagonist of a book. I hope non-POC readers pick it up and that Shy’s perspective and experiences gives them food for thought
This not-quite-review-random-thought-assortment can also be found on my blog
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Great narrator.
Definitely felt all the suspense and tension. Great writing of detailed experiences of fear and catastrophe.
Had fun “figuring” things out along the way.
Didn’t realize it was a series until the end.
Now need to locate book two.
I do like the protagonist.
Definitely felt all the suspense and tension. Great writing of detailed experiences of fear and catastrophe.
Had fun “figuring” things out along the way.
Didn’t realize it was a series until the end.
Now need to locate book two.
I do like the protagonist.
Un libro que te atrapa una trama llena de misterio, te muestra lo mejor y lo peor de la humanidad. De los libros que no lo sueltas hasta que lo acabas.
Always a fan of a good disaster/survival book! And this one has some dastardly doings and bad guys galore. Sprinkle in a little tiny romance and there's something here for everyone! Great read this morning and will be putting this one on the classroom shelf.
I do happen to love my YA full of action and intensity and The Living definitely met those expectations. This was pretty much as intense as it sounds. I’ve heard people say this is like a YA Lost without the smoke monster weirdness, and it definitely has that vibe, though I think it reminded me more of I Shouldn’t Be Alive for YA. Either way, The Living is a super interesting read.
Something I appreciated was the incidental diversity. Shy is (half?) Mexican American and many of the important side characters have diverse racial backgrounds, which was really nice to see. And while there are absolutely some themes of race and class coming into play, The Living doesn’t read as an issue book (and it’s not supposed to), and overall, I think it was very nicely handled.
I will say that the ending was kind of predictable and the confrontation between Shy and a particular baddie was, shall we say, a teensie bit evil bad guy Hollywood cliché? Also, there was a thing with super aggressive sharks that I wasn’t totally buying, but the issues were minor and I still definitely enjoyed reading. Now The Hunted just has to come out so I can find out what happens. *frets*
I’m giving The Living 4/5 stars and I recommend it to those who enjoy fast-paced, Adventure/Disaster-type books.
Something I appreciated was the incidental diversity. Shy is (half?) Mexican American and many of the important side characters have diverse racial backgrounds, which was really nice to see. And while there are absolutely some themes of race and class coming into play, The Living doesn’t read as an issue book (and it’s not supposed to), and overall, I think it was very nicely handled.
I will say that the ending was kind of predictable and the confrontation between Shy and a particular baddie was, shall we say, a teensie bit evil bad guy Hollywood cliché? Also, there was a thing with super aggressive sharks that I wasn’t totally buying, but the issues were minor and I still definitely enjoyed reading. Now The Hunted just has to come out so I can find out what happens. *frets*
I’m giving The Living 4/5 stars and I recommend it to those who enjoy fast-paced, Adventure/Disaster-type books.
Dag nab it! I was enjoying this a lot more until I got to the last page and realized it was the first book in a series.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced