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renuked's review against another edition
1.0
I'd like to thank Ms. Liz Gruder for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Okay so, I really hate doing this but there is no way I can avoid it...I was literally forcing myself page by page to read this book. The whole time I was wondering...is it me? Is science-fiction alien stuff too much for me to handle? But no, I've loved plenty of extraterrestrial stuff. I'm a fan of Star Wars for Pete's sake. So why wasn't I enjoying this book?
It was a quick read, with an interesting idea. I thought the aliens would be really interesting and fun to hate, I thought I would get to feel torn by Jordan and I would get sucked in to Kaila's story.
But...it was weird. None of it was making a lot of sense, there wasn't any tension, the writing was bland. It was not interesting. Plain as day, it was confusing and bizarre. The aliens were repellant. There was insta-love. But most of all, I hated the characters. Each and every single one. There wasn't one lovable character. There were some with potential, her friends were cute enough. But I NEVER CONNECTED. I didn't like Kaila, she annoyed me, Jordan was despicable along with his "hive." They were just way too sinister and gross. The whole time I felt like I was waiting for something to happen and the story just got weirder and weirder.
It twisted and the worst thing was, I felt like it was constantly painting humans in a very negative light. It was distasteful. A lot of random pop culture was tossed in, and then there was some really nauseating alien partying that was completely unnecessary. The school cliques were way overdone and the bullying was so cliche I thought I'd puke. And you may think me cold, but I really felt no sympathy or empathy for any of the characters. It was badly done....
Sigh, I really wish I'd liked this book. But I wasn't able to enjoy it. The characters themselves were too atrocious to have any chance of holding the story up. I waited for it to get better, but it never did. A huge disappointment to someone who loves science-fiction.
Okay so, I really hate doing this but there is no way I can avoid it...I was literally forcing myself page by page to read this book. The whole time I was wondering...is it me? Is science-fiction alien stuff too much for me to handle? But no, I've loved plenty of extraterrestrial stuff. I'm a fan of Star Wars for Pete's sake. So why wasn't I enjoying this book?
It was a quick read, with an interesting idea. I thought the aliens would be really interesting and fun to hate, I thought I would get to feel torn by Jordan and I would get sucked in to Kaila's story.
But...it was weird. None of it was making a lot of sense, there wasn't any tension, the writing was bland. It was not interesting. Plain as day, it was confusing and bizarre. The aliens were repellant. There was insta-love. But most of all, I hated the characters. Each and every single one. There wasn't one lovable character. There were some with potential, her friends were cute enough. But I NEVER CONNECTED. I didn't like Kaila, she annoyed me, Jordan was despicable along with his "hive." They were just way too sinister and gross. The whole time I felt like I was waiting for something to happen and the story just got weirder and weirder.
It twisted and the worst thing was, I felt like it was constantly painting humans in a very negative light. It was distasteful. A lot of random pop culture was tossed in, and then there was some really nauseating alien partying that was completely unnecessary. The school cliques were way overdone and the bullying was so cliche I thought I'd puke. And you may think me cold, but I really felt no sympathy or empathy for any of the characters. It was badly done....
Sigh, I really wish I'd liked this book. But I wasn't able to enjoy it. The characters themselves were too atrocious to have any chance of holding the story up. I waited for it to get better, but it never did. A huge disappointment to someone who loves science-fiction.
mgakis's review against another edition
2.0
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
I liked the premise of this book. Kaila is a young girl struggling to figure out why her mother insists she keep her head covered under a strange shield and hasn't let her go to school. Kaila also has a strange deformity, only four fingers on one hand. When she's finally allowed to go to public school, she finds out there are others like her. We find out through the narrative that Kaila is a starseed - an alien/human hybrid.
I'm not 100% sure what the true purpose of the starseeds are. I think they're there to learn/feed off humanity, but also partially control it. While I liked the idea of the book, there were places where I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be rooting for or against Kaila. I found Kaila somewhat wishy-washy at times. Was she for or against being a starseed?
The physics and world building were intriguing, but I admit I was put off by some of the teenage angst and tropes - cliques, highschool antics and slut shaming.
I did like the mind-screen and some of the other alien powers [travel, time bending, healing] and would have liked to see more of them. I'm not sure if this book is going to continue on as the ending did leave room for more action.
Overall, I'd be interested in knowing more about the agenda of the starseeds creators and how they plan to enact that agenda on earth.
I liked the premise of this book. Kaila is a young girl struggling to figure out why her mother insists she keep her head covered under a strange shield and hasn't let her go to school. Kaila also has a strange deformity, only four fingers on one hand. When she's finally allowed to go to public school, she finds out there are others like her. We find out through the narrative that Kaila is a starseed - an alien/human hybrid.
I'm not 100% sure what the true purpose of the starseeds are. I think they're there to learn/feed off humanity, but also partially control it. While I liked the idea of the book, there were places where I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be rooting for or against Kaila. I found Kaila somewhat wishy-washy at times. Was she for or against being a starseed?
The physics and world building were intriguing, but I admit I was put off by some of the teenage angst and tropes - cliques, highschool antics and slut shaming.
I did like the mind-screen and some of the other alien powers [travel, time bending, healing] and would have liked to see more of them. I'm not sure if this book is going to continue on as the ending did leave room for more action.
Overall, I'd be interested in knowing more about the agenda of the starseeds creators and how they plan to enact that agenda on earth.
itsannabbyy's review against another edition
2.0
Wow. When I read the synopsis of this, it seemed great. It's an intriguing idea that isn't present all that much in newer novels nowadays, so when I was able to read it for the Read it and Reap Program, I was pretty happy.
But then I actually started reading it. I truly didn't care for this at all. The main character, Kaila, isn't half bad. She's relatable, as she just wants to fit in and live a normal life. Her parents have kept her at home, but she doesn't understand why until she goes to school and realizes how different she is: four fingers, glowing hair... But then she meets others like her. (Might I add, in a totally strange way...)
Anyway, the main reason I didn't like this was because Gruder simply... she can't write very well. The ideas were good, but the execution lacked thoroughly. It didn't flow, and the events were very much so "this happened, this happened, then this" without a whole lot of connection. Also, Kaila didn't seem to do a whole lot, events seemed to happen *to* her.
Overall, I just didn't like Starseed. Kaila is likeable, but in truth... the synopsis is better than the actual work.
But then I actually started reading it. I truly didn't care for this at all. The main character, Kaila, isn't half bad. She's relatable, as she just wants to fit in and live a normal life. Her parents have kept her at home, but she doesn't understand why until she goes to school and realizes how different she is: four fingers, glowing hair... But then she meets others like her. (Might I add, in a totally strange way...)
Anyway, the main reason I didn't like this was because Gruder simply... she can't write very well. The ideas were good, but the execution lacked thoroughly. It didn't flow, and the events were very much so "this happened, this happened, then this" without a whole lot of connection. Also, Kaila didn't seem to do a whole lot, events seemed to happen *to* her.
Overall, I just didn't like Starseed. Kaila is likeable, but in truth... the synopsis is better than the actual work.
tartbarbie's review against another edition
4.0
I received Starseed in return for an honest review as part of the tour hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. Kaila has grown up living a withdrawn life, her mother has kept her away from school, and her only friends have been the dogs and horses. Her mother and grandmother have forced her to wear a hat the keeps people from reading her thoughts. Kaila has decided that she's had enough she wants to live a normal life and strikes a deal that will let her attend school but keep her mother happy.
It's isn't the only new student this year either, the students who are from a cult in New Mexico are attending school. They all dress alike, keep to themselves, and Kaila can't help finding herself drawn to them in more ways than she wants. As she gets to know more about who the new students are she starts to uncover secrets that involve her as well. The more she learns about the hive the more she isn't so sure she wants to be one of them. As Kaila and Jordan's relationship evolves they will have to decide which side they are on when the time comes.
I love the concept for Starseed it's a unique spin on the whole alien abduction theory. I thought Kaila was great I connected with her right away. However I wasn't sure for a long time how I felt about Jordyn. I've not read many books with aliens it's still a new genre for me which is why I jumped at the chance to read it. I think the hybrid idea is really cool it kind of makes you wonder if this could really happen. I also like that the book is clean, but also shows some real life situations like cyber bullying in the story. The author does an awesome job of creating a story that I found captivating from start to finish I had a hard time putting it down I wanted to know what would happen to Kaila next.
It's isn't the only new student this year either, the students who are from a cult in New Mexico are attending school. They all dress alike, keep to themselves, and Kaila can't help finding herself drawn to them in more ways than she wants. As she gets to know more about who the new students are she starts to uncover secrets that involve her as well. The more she learns about the hive the more she isn't so sure she wants to be one of them. As Kaila and Jordan's relationship evolves they will have to decide which side they are on when the time comes.
I love the concept for Starseed it's a unique spin on the whole alien abduction theory. I thought Kaila was great I connected with her right away. However I wasn't sure for a long time how I felt about Jordyn. I've not read many books with aliens it's still a new genre for me which is why I jumped at the chance to read it. I think the hybrid idea is really cool it kind of makes you wonder if this could really happen. I also like that the book is clean, but also shows some real life situations like cyber bullying in the story. The author does an awesome job of creating a story that I found captivating from start to finish I had a hard time putting it down I wanted to know what would happen to Kaila next.
chrissymcbooknerd's review against another edition
3.0
I guess I should start by saying that I'm really conflicted in my thoughts on this book. On the one hand, it was hands down one of the weirdest things I've read in a while. There were a lot of things that frustrated me -- although, that's not necessarily bad, right? Because, at least the book left an impression. On the flip side, it was just so odd and unique that it was compulsively readable. I just couldn't stop without finishing, so that's a definite positive for this title!
So, starting with the plot. Kaila has always lived quite a sheltered, unusual lifestyle. She knows that something tragic has happened to her mother, which has apparently since been repressed, but she never wants to discuss the event or any of her reasoning behind her behaviors since then. The family lives a secluded life, alone on a deserted home with horses where Kaila is home schooled and is rarely allowed to leave the confinement of her home. She really has no friends nor any communication outside of her immediately family, and her mother always requires everyone in the house to wear a head covering with an uncomfortable lining inside -- although she will never let Kaila know which such measures have been deemed entirely necessary.
As Kaila gets a little older, though, she begins to rebel. She demands to be sent to a real school where she may finally interact with people her own age while learning about the reality outside her own little bubble. Now from here, this is where things *really* start to get weird...
In her advanced physics class, Kaila meets a quirky group of teenagers who all dress alike in silver jumpsuits. They introduce themselves as former members of a distant cult who are just learning to assimilate themselves into normal society. Kaila notices that these teens are uniquely characterized by extraordinarily large eyes and abnormally long fingers that resemble claws. The problem, though, is that Kaila sees so much of herself in this strange group as well -- since she, too, has only four long fingers on one hand, explained to her in childhood as the result of early trauma in her mother's pregnancy.
Well, as you probably guessed from the cover, this novel does involve aliens and alien abductions, although it does read very much like others in its genre, which keeps it from being entirely unrelatable to those who typically enjoy YA fiction. For one thing, there is definitely a bit of a love story here, although the author is careful not to let the single romantic relationship really take over the gist of the story (although the love aspect does work to perpetuate a greater message about emotionality, free will, and love in general). We get to see a few typical teenage relationships as well as a couple of situations involving bullying that could have taken place in any contemporary fiction that didn't involve aliens.
At times, STARSEED did read a bit like a cheesy soap opera, I must admit, with overdone dialogue and extreme emotional responses that seemed unwarranted based on the situation at hand. Now, I'll accept that aliens from another planet may not quite know how to convey their thoughts in a manner that feels young and relevant, but it didn't make some of the conversations any less awkward to read. And while I do understand that the aliens were struggling to observe new emotions that were entirely mysterious to the breed, it felt like some of the reactions and statements made by the humans in the story were just a bit excessive and over the top. I can't really give adequate examples without either spoiling the story or providing direct quotes, which would not be appropriate given that I read a possibly unfinished copy intended for review purposes, so I really can't justify my thoughts to you on this one.
I appreciated the thoughtfulness in the individual struggles of the characters and the journeys they took in discovered the depth of their free will, the strength of their own personal powers, and the balance between thinking with the head and feeling with the heart. I think the author did a really nice job turning this novel into something more grand than a temporary teenage love story, for sure. On the flip side, though, some of the statements towards the end just felt a bit too new-agey aka embrace the higher power that lives within the self type thing. I think it just felt a little bit preachy near the end which could feel a little uncomfortable to certain readers.
That said, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read and review STARSEED. It was definitely something a little different than the norm and it kept me entertained up until the last end. Give this one a chance if you get the opportunity. It's always nice to see an author give a thoughtful new take on a tried and true genre.
So, starting with the plot. Kaila has always lived quite a sheltered, unusual lifestyle. She knows that something tragic has happened to her mother, which has apparently since been repressed, but she never wants to discuss the event or any of her reasoning behind her behaviors since then. The family lives a secluded life, alone on a deserted home with horses where Kaila is home schooled and is rarely allowed to leave the confinement of her home. She really has no friends nor any communication outside of her immediately family, and her mother always requires everyone in the house to wear a head covering with an uncomfortable lining inside -- although she will never let Kaila know which such measures have been deemed entirely necessary.
As Kaila gets a little older, though, she begins to rebel. She demands to be sent to a real school where she may finally interact with people her own age while learning about the reality outside her own little bubble. Now from here, this is where things *really* start to get weird...
In her advanced physics class, Kaila meets a quirky group of teenagers who all dress alike in silver jumpsuits. They introduce themselves as former members of a distant cult who are just learning to assimilate themselves into normal society. Kaila notices that these teens are uniquely characterized by extraordinarily large eyes and abnormally long fingers that resemble claws. The problem, though, is that Kaila sees so much of herself in this strange group as well -- since she, too, has only four long fingers on one hand, explained to her in childhood as the result of early trauma in her mother's pregnancy.
Well, as you probably guessed from the cover, this novel does involve aliens and alien abductions, although it does read very much like others in its genre, which keeps it from being entirely unrelatable to those who typically enjoy YA fiction. For one thing, there is definitely a bit of a love story here, although the author is careful not to let the single romantic relationship really take over the gist of the story (although the love aspect does work to perpetuate a greater message about emotionality, free will, and love in general). We get to see a few typical teenage relationships as well as a couple of situations involving bullying that could have taken place in any contemporary fiction that didn't involve aliens.
At times, STARSEED did read a bit like a cheesy soap opera, I must admit, with overdone dialogue and extreme emotional responses that seemed unwarranted based on the situation at hand. Now, I'll accept that aliens from another planet may not quite know how to convey their thoughts in a manner that feels young and relevant, but it didn't make some of the conversations any less awkward to read. And while I do understand that the aliens were struggling to observe new emotions that were entirely mysterious to the breed, it felt like some of the reactions and statements made by the humans in the story were just a bit excessive and over the top. I can't really give adequate examples without either spoiling the story or providing direct quotes, which would not be appropriate given that I read a possibly unfinished copy intended for review purposes, so I really can't justify my thoughts to you on this one.
I appreciated the thoughtfulness in the individual struggles of the characters and the journeys they took in discovered the depth of their free will, the strength of their own personal powers, and the balance between thinking with the head and feeling with the heart. I think the author did a really nice job turning this novel into something more grand than a temporary teenage love story, for sure. On the flip side, though, some of the statements towards the end just felt a bit too new-agey aka embrace the higher power that lives within the self type thing. I think it just felt a little bit preachy near the end which could feel a little uncomfortable to certain readers.
That said, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read and review STARSEED. It was definitely something a little different than the norm and it kept me entertained up until the last end. Give this one a chance if you get the opportunity. It's always nice to see an author give a thoughtful new take on a tried and true genre.
bookishmews's review against another edition
1.0
To be honest I kind of thought the book was supposed to be a parody before I read it. Looking at the cover I think it is understandable how I got that impression. This wasn’t the case.
Kaila grew up in a strict home with odd rules. She was forced to wear hats lined in plastic-garbage bag like material her whole life to protect her from a danger that her mother never fully explains to her. At the start of the book Kaila throws a tantrum because she is sick of being home schooled and wants to go to high school with the other kids. Her mother relents and designs Kaila a wig lined with garbage bags just for that purpose.
When she gets to school Kaila meets all of the stereotypical high school clichés. There is the obligatory scene where the people destined to be her friends explain all of the cliques to her based on their appearances (preps wear this, dorks wear this, goths wear this, etc). This particular school has an additional group to the ones normally found at high school – aliens. You can tell they are aliens because they wear silver jump suits straight out of a 1950s movie and they speak like foreigners.
Kaila is instantly attracted to one of the alien males, Jordyn. (Side note: why are authors obsessed with weird spellings of names? Is it supposed to make their characters edgy or do they just enjoy the red squiggly lines in their word processing program?) She also finds herself drawn to the aliens in general. Because she is one. Shocking, yeah?
As the story progresses Kaila discovers her alien powers and starts to learn how to control them. She also discovers that the purpose of aliens on earth might not be as harmless as she once thought. Eventually she has to make a choice about her place in the world and where she belongs.
This book had a lot of issues. I’m going to list some of the main ones:
- The dialog was awkward. I don’t just mean the aliens and their “we just learned English from a foreign language” way of speaking. Reading over the dialogue I just kept thinking people don’t speak this way.
- The sentence structure was choppy and the story lacked flow
- The main character was kind of a brat. She threw tantrums to get what she wanted and people gave it to her. That’s how kids are spoiled.
- The aliens are over powered. They can travel/freeze time, teleport, use mind control, heal, and erase memories/insert new ones into people’s heads.
- That ending. The good aliens are angels and the bad aliens work for the devil? Complete with creating a hole in the ground that goes into “hell”? Where did that come from?
I can’t recommend this book. I think the author has a good spark of an idea but needs a little more practice in her execution before she has a good book.
Kaila grew up in a strict home with odd rules. She was forced to wear hats lined in plastic-garbage bag like material her whole life to protect her from a danger that her mother never fully explains to her. At the start of the book Kaila throws a tantrum because she is sick of being home schooled and wants to go to high school with the other kids. Her mother relents and designs Kaila a wig lined with garbage bags just for that purpose.
When she gets to school Kaila meets all of the stereotypical high school clichés. There is the obligatory scene where the people destined to be her friends explain all of the cliques to her based on their appearances (preps wear this, dorks wear this, goths wear this, etc). This particular school has an additional group to the ones normally found at high school – aliens. You can tell they are aliens because they wear silver jump suits straight out of a 1950s movie and they speak like foreigners.
Kaila is instantly attracted to one of the alien males, Jordyn. (Side note: why are authors obsessed with weird spellings of names? Is it supposed to make their characters edgy or do they just enjoy the red squiggly lines in their word processing program?) She also finds herself drawn to the aliens in general. Because she is one. Shocking, yeah?
As the story progresses Kaila discovers her alien powers and starts to learn how to control them. She also discovers that the purpose of aliens on earth might not be as harmless as she once thought. Eventually she has to make a choice about her place in the world and where she belongs.
This book had a lot of issues. I’m going to list some of the main ones:
- The dialog was awkward. I don’t just mean the aliens and their “we just learned English from a foreign language” way of speaking. Reading over the dialogue I just kept thinking people don’t speak this way.
- The sentence structure was choppy and the story lacked flow
- The main character was kind of a brat. She threw tantrums to get what she wanted and people gave it to her. That’s how kids are spoiled.
- The aliens are over powered. They can travel/freeze time, teleport, use mind control, heal, and erase memories/insert new ones into people’s heads.
Spoiler
If they have all this control over humanity then why do they need hybrids to infiltrate? Why don’t they just pop in, make everyone their slaves/dinner, and make them happy about it?- That ending. The good aliens are angels and the bad aliens work for the devil? Complete with creating a hole in the ground that goes into “hell”? Where did that come from?
I can’t recommend this book. I think the author has a good spark of an idea but needs a little more practice in her execution before she has a good book.
rosepetals1984's review against another edition
1.0
Initial reaction: This novel gets so many things wrong that I'm very surprised that it was marketed as a YA, but that it was even written and sent out the way it was at all. And this saddens me because it not only comes from someone who self-published the work, but also works in a health related spectrum. It's not just the fact that this was poorly written, had every imaginable sci-fi stereotype you could throw a book at, and disjointed presentation with randomized scenes that don't go together with any logical resonance at all.
But when you take the time in your work to blatantly slut shame, depict a young woman imagining an unwanted sexual display in a guy's mind she clearly had no desire for (and had made unwanted advances to her in the scheme of the novel before then), you depict carnage and depression and cyberbullying and so many different things without handling them with any sort of care, you run into problems. Major problems. I was really appalled by this book and I would not recommend it for any one or any audience. That's me being firm and probably more polite and with more patience than I should probably have with this respective novel.
Full review:
Liz Gruder's "Starseed" really has to be one of the worst novels I've ever read, in sci-fi, in YA, in any genre really. I don't say that lightly. It's one of those times when you wonder how a book could contain so many problems that it becomes not only a hindrance but an offense to read as it goes along.
There was a part of me, initially picking this up, that thought this might be a parody sci-fi story judging from the rather odd cover. I kept thinking of one of those cheesy 80s fluff sci-fi movies and thought "Oh, this might be fun, even if it is kind of a familiar premise."
Turns out I couldn't have been further from the truth. The cover in itself is oddly done in design. I didn't realize that it was meant to be taken seriously, and that pretty much the appearance of these two characters are intentional and spot on for the book and might even be the least offensive thing about this work.
You basically have a narrative that feeds upon every possible sci-fi cliche that may exist, from the tin-foil hat featuring, to the sudden impregnation of a female character bearing an alien baby (who happens to be horrified because she's suddenly pregnant and she's a lesbian), to unwarranted probing and mind-control, to nightmarish visions that include a character forcing his way onto the female lead and somehow that being telegraphed into her emotional reception via her Facebook friending feed (don't ask me how that makes sense, it doesn't and honestly I was horrified at some of the portrayals here). If that weren't enough, it also plays upon every YA cliche, right down to the instalove and insta-magic ability, Mary Sue heroine, melodramatic portrayals of death and fear, the depiction of cliques, the bullying and cyberbullying played on the part of mean girls and enabling of the administrators among other things. There's also the atrocious, clearly unedited prose that jumps from one spectrum of the story to another without any rhyme or reason, doesn't flesh out its characters, contains massive amounts of infodumping, and becomes a pain to read after a given point with all its massive drops of pop culture references.
But the true kicker in this particular story: the utter offenses of slut shaming, bitch-slamming, sexual groping, rape-insinuating, gay bashing (which is confounding considering this does have a token lesbian character in it), violence against children, misappropriation of religion, stereotyping of the Southern U.S., depression-evoking, and body shaming/women hating that made me feel like I wanted to take handfuls of my hair and scream. What on earth made the author think this was a good book? How does someone who works in a health industry think anything in this book could be construed as healthy or engaging or well...anything worth reading for any audience, let alone YA? (And don't get me started on the random inserts of yoga and meditation done on behalf of the main character in here - which just adds insult to injury in my eyes.) This book isn't worth the $7 that it's being offered for in ebook form. I'd demand my money and time back if this wasn't a galley read (well, I'd demand my time back now even considering it was a free read). I was that offended by this work.
Kalia is as close to a Mary Sue as you can get with her blond hair, round eyes and ditzy personality. She nags at her family that she wants to be normal, champions herself over them when she takes control of technology, and pretty much subjects to everything that could potentially go wrong when it comes to consorting with alien beings. I was frankly quite annoyed with her from around the start and had a feeling I wouldn't like her for her demanding nature, but then the instalove that she finds with Jordyn pretty much confirmed this would be a rough read. Betwixt the long infodumps associated with the probing, nightmares, and otherwise odd visions in this work, it was difficult to move through the static dialogue in which the characters spoke, and I'm not just talking about the "alien speak" here. Even Kalia's respective dialogue felt wooden and mechanical.
The bullying and subjections that Kalia was exposed to really felt done for the sake of drama rather than having any constructive point, and adding that to the "mean girl" activities, name dropping of pop culture icons and branding, I felt it was trying too hard to be into contemporary times. You could tell it was forced. I mean seriously, Jersey Shore references, Lady Gaga, Jerry Springer reruns, Titanic and the forced cheesy dialogue that I had to endure reading that in relationship with Jordyn and Kalia's watching of it? Come on.
For anyone curious about the insinuated rape scene in this work, it felt a lot like the episode called "Violations" in Star Trek: The Next Generation, if anyone remembers Deanna Troi being subjected to the mind control effects of the enemy in that particular episode. That, ironically, has a parallel with this particular work, not just in the numerous Star Trek references here (*rolls eyes*), but in that it was trying to evoke many nightmarish images associated with the alien races in this work (though ultimately the nightmare sends Kalia into a dark depression which is somehow alleviated with the power of love and religious context. Though not of any significant weight or true coming to terms). But it wasn't done well, certainly not done with any kind of context (though the character is repulsed by it), and oddly the whole nightmare scenario felt disjointed and wasn't particularly creative with the whole psychic connection with the friends on Facebook feed.
This was just utter, complete rubbish as far as a YA sci-fi work is concerned for me. It offended me and I would not pick it up again, nor recommend it.
Overall score: 0.5/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher WiDo Publishing.
But when you take the time in your work to blatantly slut shame, depict a young woman imagining an unwanted sexual display in a guy's mind she clearly had no desire for (and had made unwanted advances to her in the scheme of the novel before then), you depict carnage and depression and cyberbullying and so many different things without handling them with any sort of care, you run into problems. Major problems. I was really appalled by this book and I would not recommend it for any one or any audience. That's me being firm and probably more polite and with more patience than I should probably have with this respective novel.
Full review:
Liz Gruder's "Starseed" really has to be one of the worst novels I've ever read, in sci-fi, in YA, in any genre really. I don't say that lightly. It's one of those times when you wonder how a book could contain so many problems that it becomes not only a hindrance but an offense to read as it goes along.
There was a part of me, initially picking this up, that thought this might be a parody sci-fi story judging from the rather odd cover. I kept thinking of one of those cheesy 80s fluff sci-fi movies and thought "Oh, this might be fun, even if it is kind of a familiar premise."
Turns out I couldn't have been further from the truth. The cover in itself is oddly done in design. I didn't realize that it was meant to be taken seriously, and that pretty much the appearance of these two characters are intentional and spot on for the book and might even be the least offensive thing about this work.
You basically have a narrative that feeds upon every possible sci-fi cliche that may exist, from the tin-foil hat featuring, to the sudden impregnation of a female character bearing an alien baby (who happens to be horrified because she's suddenly pregnant and she's a lesbian), to unwarranted probing and mind-control, to nightmarish visions that include a character forcing his way onto the female lead and somehow that being telegraphed into her emotional reception via her Facebook friending feed (don't ask me how that makes sense, it doesn't and honestly I was horrified at some of the portrayals here). If that weren't enough, it also plays upon every YA cliche, right down to the instalove and insta-magic ability, Mary Sue heroine, melodramatic portrayals of death and fear, the depiction of cliques, the bullying and cyberbullying played on the part of mean girls and enabling of the administrators among other things. There's also the atrocious, clearly unedited prose that jumps from one spectrum of the story to another without any rhyme or reason, doesn't flesh out its characters, contains massive amounts of infodumping, and becomes a pain to read after a given point with all its massive drops of pop culture references.
But the true kicker in this particular story: the utter offenses of slut shaming, bitch-slamming, sexual groping, rape-insinuating, gay bashing (which is confounding considering this does have a token lesbian character in it), violence against children, misappropriation of religion, stereotyping of the Southern U.S., depression-evoking, and body shaming/women hating that made me feel like I wanted to take handfuls of my hair and scream. What on earth made the author think this was a good book? How does someone who works in a health industry think anything in this book could be construed as healthy or engaging or well...anything worth reading for any audience, let alone YA? (And don't get me started on the random inserts of yoga and meditation done on behalf of the main character in here - which just adds insult to injury in my eyes.) This book isn't worth the $7 that it's being offered for in ebook form. I'd demand my money and time back if this wasn't a galley read (well, I'd demand my time back now even considering it was a free read). I was that offended by this work.
Kalia is as close to a Mary Sue as you can get with her blond hair, round eyes and ditzy personality. She nags at her family that she wants to be normal, champions herself over them when she takes control of technology, and pretty much subjects to everything that could potentially go wrong when it comes to consorting with alien beings. I was frankly quite annoyed with her from around the start and had a feeling I wouldn't like her for her demanding nature, but then the instalove that she finds with Jordyn pretty much confirmed this would be a rough read. Betwixt the long infodumps associated with the probing, nightmares, and otherwise odd visions in this work, it was difficult to move through the static dialogue in which the characters spoke, and I'm not just talking about the "alien speak" here. Even Kalia's respective dialogue felt wooden and mechanical.
The bullying and subjections that Kalia was exposed to really felt done for the sake of drama rather than having any constructive point, and adding that to the "mean girl" activities, name dropping of pop culture icons and branding, I felt it was trying too hard to be into contemporary times. You could tell it was forced. I mean seriously, Jersey Shore references, Lady Gaga, Jerry Springer reruns, Titanic and the forced cheesy dialogue that I had to endure reading that in relationship with Jordyn and Kalia's watching of it? Come on.
For anyone curious about the insinuated rape scene in this work, it felt a lot like the episode called "Violations" in Star Trek: The Next Generation, if anyone remembers Deanna Troi being subjected to the mind control effects of the enemy in that particular episode. That, ironically, has a parallel with this particular work, not just in the numerous Star Trek references here (*rolls eyes*), but in that it was trying to evoke many nightmarish images associated with the alien races in this work (though ultimately the nightmare sends Kalia into a dark depression which is somehow alleviated with the power of love and religious context. Though not of any significant weight or true coming to terms). But it wasn't done well, certainly not done with any kind of context (though the character is repulsed by it), and oddly the whole nightmare scenario felt disjointed and wasn't particularly creative with the whole psychic connection with the friends on Facebook feed.
This was just utter, complete rubbish as far as a YA sci-fi work is concerned for me. It offended me and I would not pick it up again, nor recommend it.
Overall score: 0.5/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher WiDo Publishing.
condygurl's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a GREAT addition to anyone’s library. While it is listed as a Young Adult I have to say that I would recommend this book to anyone Tween age and above. I have actually given it to my 10 year old son to read, so that tells you the type of book this is.
I absolutely LOVED the idea of starseeds. I won’t go into any detail but suffice it to say it goes right along with my love of Star Trek and anytime you have Aliens which look human and blend in it just adds to the interest.
Kaila is a child who was raised by very unique and loving parents. They knew something that they could never tell Kaila and until she decides to go to mainstream school she would never have been the wiser.
Kaila is such a great character. She is strong and has a very good sense of right and wrong. This doesn’t mean she won’t bend that a bit or be lured to bend it a lot, it just means that her inner dialogue telling her “no don’t do that” must be fairly strong. What I liked about her is that she actually reacts to situations as I suspect other teens her age would. Which makes her very believable.
Jordyn (the love interest) is a Hybrid. And as an Alien/Human he doesn’t have emotions, once again reminding me of Star Trek and Mr. Spock. But what happens next is that Jordyn…. Oops can’t tell sorry, you’ll just have to go get your hands on the book to find out for yourself. I know I’m such a tease. J
The book has the underlying good versus evil plot. There is even a tad bit of religion thrown in for good measure. But, all in all a very interesting and wonderfully written story.
I will gladly give this story, 5 stars. It isn’t often that I find a new twist on the old sci-fi but this author has managed to give it a unique perspective.
Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.
I absolutely LOVED the idea of starseeds. I won’t go into any detail but suffice it to say it goes right along with my love of Star Trek and anytime you have Aliens which look human and blend in it just adds to the interest.
Kaila is a child who was raised by very unique and loving parents. They knew something that they could never tell Kaila and until she decides to go to mainstream school she would never have been the wiser.
Kaila is such a great character. She is strong and has a very good sense of right and wrong. This doesn’t mean she won’t bend that a bit or be lured to bend it a lot, it just means that her inner dialogue telling her “no don’t do that” must be fairly strong. What I liked about her is that she actually reacts to situations as I suspect other teens her age would. Which makes her very believable.
Jordyn (the love interest) is a Hybrid. And as an Alien/Human he doesn’t have emotions, once again reminding me of Star Trek and Mr. Spock. But what happens next is that Jordyn…. Oops can’t tell sorry, you’ll just have to go get your hands on the book to find out for yourself. I know I’m such a tease. J
The book has the underlying good versus evil plot. There is even a tad bit of religion thrown in for good measure. But, all in all a very interesting and wonderfully written story.
I will gladly give this story, 5 stars. It isn’t often that I find a new twist on the old sci-fi but this author has managed to give it a unique perspective.
Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.
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