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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
What I really loved about this book was the casual representation. It’s not every day you see a Latina Mexican teenage girl with tattoos as the main character. Backed up by a bisexual secondary character, the representation was refreshing and really gave the book an added edge.
Some of the plot was rather predictable at times, but it was a fast paced story. And everyone loves a bit of time travel. Mainly set over a 24 hour period, it definitely kept me hooked and wanting to read more.
I think what made this book was the fleshed out characters. Elena, Zoe, Trent and Chris were all great, deep characters. I found Adam wooden and ‘typical’, but he did add an extra aspect to the story. But the relationships and friendships developed, especially Chris and Trent, really made the characters likeable and interesting.
While this book didn’t really stand out, it was a good read that kept me interested, and the representation was a breath of fresh air to a genre usually confined to straight white males or Mary Sue characters.
Some of the plot was rather predictable at times, but it was a fast paced story. And everyone loves a bit of time travel. Mainly set over a 24 hour period, it definitely kept me hooked and wanting to read more.
I think what made this book was the fleshed out characters. Elena, Zoe, Trent and Chris were all great, deep characters. I found Adam wooden and ‘typical’, but he did add an extra aspect to the story. But the relationships and friendships developed, especially Chris and Trent, really made the characters likeable and interesting.
While this book didn’t really stand out, it was a good read that kept me interested, and the representation was a breath of fresh air to a genre usually confined to straight white males or Mary Sue characters.
*4.5 Stars
Nice suspense and mystery. I really enjoyed all of the fun future touches - the autopilot cars, weird clothes and "phones". And that not everything had changed in only 30 years. It made it feel that much more authentic and potentially real.
From the very beginning, I was intrigued by the characters and enveloped by the world even while they were in the present. Elena had an interesting story, as did all of the other characters. All very serious, but none of them ever affected the pacing or bogged the story down.
The mystery and suspense was a lot of fun and it took me awhile to figure out who dun it. (I DID figure it out before the reveal, but Briggs definitely had my brain turning with ideas).
The romance in this is pretty low key, almost not there, and I honestly would have liked at least a little more. I suppose that is also because I really liked Elena and Adams chemistry.
As in the Chasing the Dream books I have read, Briggs makes me smile with her characters' diversity. The fact that she sets her stories in Los Angeles and includes one of the things I appreciate most about the area I grew up in (not L.A. exactly, but 20 miles West): the big melting pot that it is. The diversity in the books doesn't hit you over the head like she is trying too hard, but is instead very authentic Los-Angeleno in its subtly.
Nice suspense and mystery. I really enjoyed all of the fun future touches - the autopilot cars, weird clothes and "phones". And that not everything had changed in only 30 years. It made it feel that much more authentic and potentially real.
From the very beginning, I was intrigued by the characters and enveloped by the world even while they were in the present. Elena had an interesting story, as did all of the other characters. All very serious, but none of them ever affected the pacing or bogged the story down.
The mystery and suspense was a lot of fun and it took me awhile to figure out who dun it. (I DID figure it out before the reveal, but Briggs definitely had my brain turning with ideas).
The romance in this is pretty low key, almost not there, and I honestly would have liked at least a little more. I suppose that is also because I really liked Elena and Adams chemistry.
As in the Chasing the Dream books I have read, Briggs makes me smile with her characters' diversity. The fact that she sets her stories in Los Angeles and includes one of the things I appreciate most about the area I grew up in (not L.A. exactly, but 20 miles West): the big melting pot that it is. The diversity in the books doesn't hit you over the head like she is trying too hard, but is instead very authentic Los-Angeleno in its subtly.
Going to make a video for this, but I'll say that this is a great book that everyone will enjoy!
Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC of Future Shock!
I had my first encounter with Elizabeth Briggs's books in 2015, when I read her New Adult book, More Than Music. It was one of the few New Adult books with which I had fun while reading, so I was really excited when I found out she had a YA Sci-Fi coming out. Nearly a year passed and I still hadn't read it, until it recently became available on Netgalley under Read Now. Out of all the books I've received from Netgalley, Future Shock became my favorite.
Elizabeth Briggs has a writing style that is simple in a way that makes you not notice it at all; it doesn't stand out, but it makes the story flow in such a way that will lead you to read half of the book and make it seems as though no time has passed at all.
The science aspects are very easy to understand, which will please readers who like futuristic novels that don't focus too much on the science, as well as readers who want to start reading sci-fi for the first time but are intimidated by too much science. While the mechanics of most of the technological advances are not explained, they make sense. There are no technological devices that make you think, "Who would ever create this in the first place?"
My favorite aspect of the novel was the characters. At first they seem like they might be stereotypical, but soon we learn that there's more to them than it looks like at first. As times went on, even the most frustrating of the characters who traveled to the future grew on me. I don't know when exactly it happened, but at some point I liked them all and wanted them to end up safe and happy. Another great thing about Future Shock is that there is some diversity. The main character is Latina, the other girl who travels to the future is Asian and bisexual, four out of the five kids are foster children, etc.
As for the plot itself, well... Let's just say I picked up the book with the intention of reading a few pages, but I ended up staying up until midnight to read the entire thing. Every time I decided it was time to put it down, I would tell myself I would read just a few more pages to see what happened next. And that's how I read 90% of the book in one sitting.
This review was originally posted on The Book Theater.
"Sometimes libraries and the books inside them were the only places I felt safe."
I had my first encounter with Elizabeth Briggs's books in 2015, when I read her New Adult book, More Than Music. It was one of the few New Adult books with which I had fun while reading, so I was really excited when I found out she had a YA Sci-Fi coming out. Nearly a year passed and I still hadn't read it, until it recently became available on Netgalley under Read Now. Out of all the books I've received from Netgalley, Future Shock became my favorite.
Elizabeth Briggs has a writing style that is simple in a way that makes you not notice it at all; it doesn't stand out, but it makes the story flow in such a way that will lead you to read half of the book and make it seems as though no time has passed at all.
The science aspects are very easy to understand, which will please readers who like futuristic novels that don't focus too much on the science, as well as readers who want to start reading sci-fi for the first time but are intimidated by too much science. While the mechanics of most of the technological advances are not explained, they make sense. There are no technological devices that make you think, "Who would ever create this in the first place?"
"As water pours down on us, together we're a bonfire in the middle of a storm. And as I cling to Adam, suddenly, more than ever, I want to live."
My favorite aspect of the novel was the characters. At first they seem like they might be stereotypical, but soon we learn that there's more to them than it looks like at first. As times went on, even the most frustrating of the characters who traveled to the future grew on me. I don't know when exactly it happened, but at some point I liked them all and wanted them to end up safe and happy. Another great thing about Future Shock is that there is some diversity. The main character is Latina, the other girl who travels to the future is Asian and bisexual, four out of the five kids are foster children, etc.
As for the plot itself, well... Let's just say I picked up the book with the intention of reading a few pages, but I ended up staying up until midnight to read the entire thing. Every time I decided it was time to put it down, I would tell myself I would read just a few more pages to see what happened next. And that's how I read 90% of the book in one sitting.
This review was originally posted on The Book Theater.
[I received an electronic ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.]
I wish I liked this book more than I did. There are some points in Future Shock’s favor, but several significant stumbling points (or, perhaps, personal pet peeves) kept the book from fulfilling its potential.
I’ve seen several people praise Future Shock for its diverse cast, but there were a few not-insignificant moments where I felt that representation was misguided or problematic. Chris’s introduction, for instance, involves him menacing Adam, the love interest, in his first line, and the text mentions Chris’s size three times (“the biggest guy in the room gets right up in [Adam’s] face,” “the first guy has to be double [Adam’s] size,” and “‘I know your type,’ the big guy says”) before describing his race. And if you happened to guess those things meant Chris was black, you probably would have sighed as much as I did when that was confirmed (right before a fourth mention of his size—“large, muscular arms”—and all before revealing Chris’s name). While Chris does gain more depth beyond the Scary Black Man stereotype, this introduction casts a long, sour shadow over his character, particularly every time he gets into a fight with another character. And anyone who has been following LGBTQIA representation in television in the last month or so won’t be surprised at all by Zoe’s fate.
While I think short timelines are wonderful for thrillers as they can help keep a story focused, the romance between Elena and Adam suffered greatly for it. I simply could not believe that these two fell for each other within, roughly, two days. The romance was distracting—I was far more interested in the deadly mysteries the present and the future had for them than whether or not the two of them were going to get together. I honestly wish that the time spent on the romance had been spent on developing Chris, Zoe, and Trent’s relationships with Elena instead, especially since those four were the ones at risk.
Elena was an engaging narrator whose initial “real-world” hurdles easily paved the way for her science-fiction adventure. As her fears about the future transitioned from ageing out of foster care to staying alive when her death was around the corner, I empathized with her fear, frustration, and desperation. While I didn’t find the ultimate mystery that difficult to solve as a reader, I did understand why Elena and the rest of her group would have struggled with it.
Recommendation: Just skip it. While the premise and the heroine are engaging, Future Shock falls short of what it could have been and features some questionable representation choices.
I wish I liked this book more than I did. There are some points in Future Shock’s favor, but several significant stumbling points (or, perhaps, personal pet peeves) kept the book from fulfilling its potential.
I’ve seen several people praise Future Shock for its diverse cast, but there were a few not-insignificant moments where I felt that representation was misguided or problematic. Chris’s introduction, for instance, involves him menacing Adam, the love interest, in his first line, and the text mentions Chris’s size three times (“the biggest guy in the room gets right up in [Adam’s] face,” “the first guy has to be double [Adam’s] size,” and “‘I know your type,’ the big guy says”) before describing his race. And if you happened to guess those things meant Chris was black, you probably would have sighed as much as I did when that was confirmed (right before a fourth mention of his size—“large, muscular arms”—and all before revealing Chris’s name). While Chris does gain more depth beyond the Scary Black Man stereotype, this introduction casts a long, sour shadow over his character, particularly every time he gets into a fight with another character. And anyone who has been following LGBTQIA representation in television in the last month or so won’t be surprised at all by Zoe’s fate.
While I think short timelines are wonderful for thrillers as they can help keep a story focused, the romance between Elena and Adam suffered greatly for it. I simply could not believe that these two fell for each other within, roughly, two days. The romance was distracting—I was far more interested in the deadly mysteries the present and the future had for them than whether or not the two of them were going to get together. I honestly wish that the time spent on the romance had been spent on developing Chris, Zoe, and Trent’s relationships with Elena instead, especially since those four were the ones at risk.
Elena was an engaging narrator whose initial “real-world” hurdles easily paved the way for her science-fiction adventure. As her fears about the future transitioned from ageing out of foster care to staying alive when her death was around the corner, I empathized with her fear, frustration, and desperation. While I didn’t find the ultimate mystery that difficult to solve as a reader, I did understand why Elena and the rest of her group would have struggled with it.
Recommendation: Just skip it. While the premise and the heroine are engaging, Future Shock falls short of what it could have been and features some questionable representation choices.
Elena Martinez is 17 and about to age out of the foster system with no prospects until one day she is offered the chance to participate in a research project with a tech company called the Aether Corporation. A group of five teenagers is recruited to be sent forward in time ten years to collect information on new technology and bring it back to the present. Of course, nothing happens the way it is supposed to, and instead of spending their time completing their specified task, Elena and the rest of the team are soon embroiled in trying to solve the mystery of their own murders, which they find out happened the day after they returned from the future.
This is one of those SF books that is very light on the science and basically just focuses on the drama of the story. I don't hold that against it though, as there have been a lot of good SF books that have essentially just used an SF element to create a setting for good fiction drama. It has a nicely diverse cast of characters, which I appreciated, including a young woman of Mexican descent as the lead character.
It was a moderately satisfying book, but I can't help but feel like it could have been more if it had tried just a little harder. Certainly all the right elements were there, but I felt like something was missing. The characters all had potential but ultimately felt a bit flat. However, it was a fairly quick read and I did enjoy the book enough that I will probably read the sequel, [b:Future Threat|29506205|Future Threat (Future Shock, #2)|Elizabeth Briggs|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1466527315s/29506205.jpg|49795308], when it comes out.
This is one of those SF books that is very light on the science and basically just focuses on the drama of the story. I don't hold that against it though, as there have been a lot of good SF books that have essentially just used an SF element to create a setting for good fiction drama. It has a nicely diverse cast of characters, which I appreciated, including a young woman of Mexican descent as the lead character.
It was a moderately satisfying book, but I can't help but feel like it could have been more if it had tried just a little harder. Certainly all the right elements were there, but I felt like something was missing. The characters all had potential but ultimately felt a bit flat. However, it was a fairly quick read and I did enjoy the book enough that I will probably read the sequel, [b:Future Threat|29506205|Future Threat (Future Shock, #2)|Elizabeth Briggs|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1466527315s/29506205.jpg|49795308], when it comes out.
A fast-paced and exciting read, it suffers from time-travel-itis (some things can be cahnged, some can't, but there isn't a good reason for why). The characters are nominally diverse, with a Mexican-American protagonist, an Asian supporting character (I don't think it's ever specified what her heritage is, but it's also not necessary for the story), and a black supporting character, but there isn't a lot of discussion or info around their experiences as part of historically marginalized communities other than their experiences as foster kids.
I was intrigued enough to keep reading, and I found myself figuring out the villain long before the characters, and frustrated about a central conceit around secrecy. There was no real explanation for why some secrets had to be kept, and I was dissatisfied by the deaths of some characters and the convenient plot machinations that saved some and killed others. I'd read the next book in the series to see if it changes any of the events from the first book.
I was intrigued enough to keep reading, and I found myself figuring out the villain long before the characters, and frustrated about a central conceit around secrecy. There was no real explanation for why some secrets had to be kept, and I was dissatisfied by the deaths of some characters and the convenient plot machinations that saved some and killed others. I'd read the next book in the series to see if it changes any of the events from the first book.
(I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair read and an honest review.)
I’m always up for a time travel book, and I had high hopes for this one. It started off feeling like the tv show Quantico, and I was digging the suspense and thrill of the chase.
Somewhere along the line, it fell flat for me. The book didn’t quite make me trust or distrust everyone completely, so I knew pretty early that when I “figured out” what was going on, I wouldn’t feel victory or betrayal.
However, I’m always on the look out for books that I can put into the hands of my high school students, and I think this book is “just fine”. I could easily recommend it to some readers, even if it wasn’t my cup of tea.
I’m always up for a time travel book, and I had high hopes for this one. It started off feeling like the tv show Quantico, and I was digging the suspense and thrill of the chase.
Somewhere along the line, it fell flat for me. The book didn’t quite make me trust or distrust everyone completely, so I knew pretty early that when I “figured out” what was going on, I wouldn’t feel victory or betrayal.
However, I’m always on the look out for books that I can put into the hands of my high school students, and I think this book is “just fine”. I could easily recommend it to some readers, even if it wasn’t my cup of tea.
I received this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Future shock is a classic time - traveling in the future novel. The plot is linear and easy to follow... a bit too much. The ending was not such a shock (pun intended).
It's a nice reading but don't expect too much from it.
Vote: 3 stars
Future shock is a classic time - traveling in the future novel. The plot is linear and easy to follow... a bit too much. The ending was not such a shock (pun intended).
It's a nice reading but don't expect too much from it.
Vote: 3 stars
Opvallend hoe veel boeken ik kan lezen om te vermijden dat ik moet verder lezen in Het Smelt :)