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timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars really. It's a bold effort, but IMHO tries to do too much.
Overall it's a good enough traditional girl-faces-adversity*-and-learns-how-strong-she-is where of course she'll win through in the end. So much so that I never worried for her through all the perils.
* anything aimed at a younger audience has a very high probability of starting with "It's so unFAIR!"
But you have to read it quickly and don't ask too many questions. Such as:
A world that produced super-soldiers with portable autodocs suddenly is a world of ghosts and blood magic? Not many authors go there, and there's probably a reason for that.
The whole priest setup stinks, despite the demonstrable excesses of power-in-the-name-of-religion in the real world. The killing to succeed is just silly, and at the end we are asked to believe that no one has ever thought to question the whole story.
I've never enjoyed stories where the bad guy is over-the-top bwah-hah-hah nasty.
Why can Big Ghost's tools affect the real world when others' can't? If you link the high-tech world to the ghost world you have to explain how it works, even if it's all handwaving.
The mysterious thread? Did other readers get annoyed with the constant reminders that it's getting thinner and thinner? I wanted to reach into the book and shout "Come ON! We KNOW it's going to break, so DO it already and get on with things!"
Finally, I see the same-old stuff - the early bits with eyes that tell you everything about a person from 30 feet away, and the ongoing obsession with unconsciousness followed by "How long was I out?" - in this case sometimes explicit and sometimes just carefully explained by the author.
Part of me is left with the feeling that two good stories got intertwined to the detriment of both. Wasp and Ghost could both stand alone. Maybe in book 2 one of both of them will.
Overall it's a good enough traditional girl-faces-adversity*-and-learns-how-strong-she-is where of course she'll win through in the end. So much so that I never worried for her through all the perils.
* anything aimed at a younger audience has a very high probability of starting with "It's so unFAIR!"
But you have to read it quickly and don't ask too many questions. Such as:
A world that produced super-soldiers with portable autodocs suddenly is a world of ghosts and blood magic? Not many authors go there, and there's probably a reason for that.
The whole priest setup stinks, despite the demonstrable excesses of power-in-the-name-of-religion in the real world. The killing to succeed is just silly, and at the end we are asked to believe that no one has ever thought to question the whole story.
I've never enjoyed stories where the bad guy is over-the-top bwah-hah-hah nasty.
Why can Big Ghost's tools affect the real world when others' can't? If you link the high-tech world to the ghost world you have to explain how it works, even if it's all handwaving.
The mysterious thread? Did other readers get annoyed with the constant reminders that it's getting thinner and thinner? I wanted to reach into the book and shout "Come ON! We KNOW it's going to break, so DO it already and get on with things!"
Finally, I see the same-old stuff - the early bits with eyes that tell you everything about a person from 30 feet away, and the ongoing obsession with unconsciousness followed by "How long was I out?" - in this case sometimes explicit and sometimes just carefully explained by the author.
Part of me is left with the feeling that two good stories got intertwined to the detriment of both. Wasp and Ghost could both stand alone. Maybe in book 2 one of both of them will.
tregina's review against another edition
4.0
This straddles genres in such an interesting way that I wasn't even sure what to call it, other than speculative. Wasp is a great character, and the issues I had early in the book with girls and women being pitted against one another were acknowledged and resolved later on. Her soldier ghost was great too, but what was really interesting was the way the text skirted around referring to him as a person anymore; despite his humanity, he remained a nameless it. What was really really interesting for me was how on multiple levels the book approached and explored trauma and PTSD. A really great read.
directorpurry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content and Kidnapping
emrodav's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book because I'd heard such great things about it and I loved the premise, but it was just so oddly paced and overly complicated and vague that I couldn't get into it. Maybe I'll try again some other time.
baldwinme40's review against another edition
5.0
This was a weird little book and I loved it! A good Halloweentimes read with all those ghosties. No romance is the best part!!
Writing suffered from interior monologues in the middle of action but that's something I have trouble avoiding in my own writing so I can't complain too much.
Also, do most ghosts ever talk or not? The book seemed unable to make up its mind in the first part.
I don't really care though. I enjoyed this book heartily.
Writing suffered from interior monologues in the middle of action but that's something I have trouble avoiding in my own writing so I can't complain too much.
Also, do most ghosts ever talk or not? The book seemed unable to make up its mind in the first part.
I don't really care though. I enjoyed this book heartily.
silvern's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Two different stories in one telling. I feel like I should have more of an opinion but I don’t.
beelo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Wow. Incredible. Such a unique take on ghosts and a post-apocalyptic setting. I had so much fun reading the ideas on the page even if the subject matter was depressing. The characters felt so real and it was plain to see how their environments impacted their thought processes. There were a lot of things we don’t get an explanation for on how they started or came to be. To me, it made sense because how would Wasp know?? With how much the Catchkeep-Priest lied to all of them, I wouldn’t expect her to have a whole lot of reliable information about her culture. Plus, I’ve heard the sequel answers a ton of questions so maybe that’s why it didn’t bother me while reading. I do wish we got more of an explanation for the whole seeing memories thing!!!! I hope to read Latchkey and Firebreak soon!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
sleeping_roses's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
riahwamby's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was such a cool take on ghosts and the world building was so interesting. I don’t feel like I ever fully connected with either character, but the story was enough to keep me engaged.