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katieshep's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ruthcarmona's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
_notdelaney_'s review against another edition
3.0
i wanted to love this book so. bad. i wanted it to be the best book ever and i think that was my own failing.
the worldbuilding is solid. the question posed by the series is a great one. but the characters fell so extremely short. Libby was basically Hermione, Ezra was basically Draco, everybody else was a caricature of people. You get hints at depth, but at the end that’s all it is, and it’s disappointing because what intrigued me the most about the book was the multiple narratives. The chance to see the difference between what people present and their realities, and yet…no.
I’ll read the sequel because i did really love the writing and story telling, and will hope for more depth to the characters then!
the worldbuilding is solid. the question posed by the series is a great one. but the characters fell so extremely short. Libby was basically Hermione, Ezra was basically Draco, everybody else was a caricature of people. You get hints at depth, but at the end that’s all it is, and it’s disappointing because what intrigued me the most about the book was the multiple narratives. The chance to see the difference between what people present and their realities, and yet…no.
I’ll read the sequel because i did really love the writing and story telling, and will hope for more depth to the characters then!
kezerus's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
While reading I felt the book was interesting, but not exciting. The author is intimidatingly creative with the characters powers and the unique way the are concentrated on throughout the book. However, it was very slow paced in the beginning, with me finding the idea of six continually changing POV's disengaging since most weren't likeable. The book is meant to be caped in mystery, however it's just them moving through their first year, with the majority of (what felt like) every chapter being about internal thoughts, calculations, pondering. At some points the book felt like something a scholar would ask you to study. As I said, I found the information interesting and impressively thought of, but the balance between constantly having gigantic blocks of inter-monologued text with a conversation, or potentially two if you were lucky, in a chapter wasn't the balance for me. Everyone seemed to have all-important plots of their own, but it never linked to anything further than themselves and their personal experiences, which was a little disappointing. It meant the mystery didn't really blow me away since I hadn't become invented in eg how it would be handled, affect the characters etc. Also the ships & love interests is a thick web in this one, and a reason I probably won't be continuing.
emily_albon's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lexie_lex's review against another edition
2.0
Una historia pretenciosa, llena de protagonistas pretenciosos.
Esta es la historia más aburrida que he leído en lo que va del año. No tiene pies ni cabeza. Las decisiones de los personajes, su forma de ser, el plot twist, ¡¿qué demonios?!
Por un segundo, en las últimas veinte páginas pensé: sí, voy a tener que leer el siguiente nomás para ver cómo se soluciona esto.
Pero el final acabó de matarme las ganas.
¿Por qué estas personas tienen una sola característica que define toda su personalidad? No lo sé. ¿Por qué parece que en ese final incluso eliminan esa única característica y los hacen como recortes de papel? Tampoco lo sé.
Solo sé que, para mí, la eliminación era un recurso necesario. Y le daba mil veces más emoción pensar quién podría ser el que no continuaría.
Esta es la historia más aburrida que he leído en lo que va del año. No tiene pies ni cabeza. Las decisiones de los personajes, su forma de ser, el plot twist, ¡¿qué demonios?!
Por un segundo, en las últimas veinte páginas pensé: sí, voy a tener que leer el siguiente nomás para ver cómo se soluciona esto.
Pero el final acabó de matarme las ganas.
¿Por qué estas personas tienen una sola característica que define toda su personalidad? No lo sé. ¿Por qué parece que en ese final incluso eliminan esa única característica y los hacen como recortes de papel? Tampoco lo sé.
Solo sé que, para mí, la eliminación era un recurso necesario. Y le daba mil veces más emoción pensar quién podría ser el que no continuaría.
rihcochet's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 stars rounded up
FINALLY!!! This was laborious to get through. I read & annotated it for my dearest ines, and I fear to admit that I wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't for her. I don't necessarily say that because because it was bad, it's a really clever book, even too clever. It was really just a hassle to get through, reading it left me restless, either because I didn't understand the references or the plot. Nevertheless Blake made interesting stances and points I loved to read the interlude!! Her writing style is really sharp and she definitely has stories to tell. The pacing was quite slow but it depends on the opinion of the person reading, im sure some people thought of it as a page turner. Anyways, pick it up if you are well thought, morons like me should abstain and wait to get analysing skills etcetc ^_^
FINALLY!!! This was laborious to get through. I read & annotated it for my dearest ines, and I fear to admit that I wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't for her. I don't necessarily say that because because it was bad, it's a really clever book, even too clever. It was really just a hassle to get through, reading it left me restless, either because I didn't understand the references or the plot. Nevertheless Blake made interesting stances and points I loved to read the interlude!! Her writing style is really sharp and she definitely has stories to tell. The pacing was quite slow but it depends on the opinion of the person reading, im sure some people thought of it as a page turner. Anyways, pick it up if you are well thought, morons like me should abstain and wait to get analysing skills etcetc ^_^
me_101's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
ufolulu's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
freaky academia