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edshara's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but it was okay. First, it was a bit confusing, because the author just drops you in the world with only vague explanations of the differences. Their are mutated species of animals like Jackwolves and Doghawks. And it's all just summed up as their was a war between humans and aliens.
I was hoping the friendship would be stronger but it was the stereotypical kind, one might be used to. One friend is overly confident, selfish, hungry for fame, and beautiful(Cassica). The other is a little bit chunky which makes her insecure, fearful, wary of others, yet she's loyal to a fault (Shiara). Cassica takes advantage of Shiara and at times Shiara is a bit too needy. Thankfully their was some character growth as the book progressed.
As far as the racing goes it reminded me of the movie Death Race. Their was a lot of action and death. Those parts were neat, if you like action type movies or books. I read parts of this book along with the audiobook. The audiobook narrator was pretty good and she brought all the characters to life with different tones and accents. This wasn't a bad book, however I know I won't read it again.
I was hoping the friendship would be stronger but it was the stereotypical kind, one might be used to. One friend is overly confident, selfish, hungry for fame, and beautiful(Cassica). The other is a little bit chunky which makes her insecure, fearful, wary of others, yet she's loyal to a fault (Shiara). Cassica takes advantage of Shiara and at times Shiara is a bit too needy. Thankfully their was some character growth as the book progressed.
As far as the racing goes it reminded me of the movie Death Race. Their was a lot of action and death. Those parts were neat, if you like action type movies or books. I read parts of this book along with the audiobook. The audiobook narrator was pretty good and she brought all the characters to life with different tones and accents. This wasn't a bad book, however I know I won't read it again.
opticflow's review against another edition
I meant to review this earlier and now I forget all the important points to make!
Between the 89% of the pages full of dystopian future action-packed death on wheels and general badassery, I found 11% to be a realistic story about best girl pals who love each other but fall apart when they realize they have different motivations and goals. Two young women learning and growing and figuring out values and being good at different things and finding pride in yourself and being subversive. But mostly action.
Between the 89% of the pages full of dystopian future action-packed death on wheels and general badassery, I found 11% to be a realistic story about best girl pals who love each other but fall apart when they realize they have different motivations and goals. Two young women learning and growing and figuring out values and being good at different things and finding pride in yourself and being subversive. But mostly action.
nanu_nanu_narnett's review against another edition
5.0
Chris Wooding as always has given an interesting and engaging world, and strong in-depth characters that mix into a non-stop plot and deliver an amazing story.
katereads2much's review against another edition
3.0
This would have been an amazing opportunity to for an awesome queer story and certainly seemed like it might be in the beginning but they didn't go for it. I spent half the book thinking one of the girls had a crush on the other before they pulled a random racer over to become her crush. Ugh.
This is basically the Speed Racer movie plot wise but still enjoyable and exciting.
This is basically the Speed Racer movie plot wise but still enjoyable and exciting.
jshettel's review against another edition
3.0
NASCAR meets Hunger Games in this high-speed YA novel set in a futuristic world. Featuring two female race car driving partners who are ready to take their racing to the level of life or death.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
An action-packed dystopian adventure, for fans of car racing, science fiction, strong independent girl heroines, or all of the above! It's like Mad Max crossed with Deathrace 3000 crossed with any number of teen dystopias. Cassica and Shiara are best friends who live in Coppermouth, a frontier town of the Wastelands, in what is a harsh barren post-apocalyptic landscape. Hardscrabble folks just trying to eke out a living, everyone in the Wastelands dreams of someday becoming a "Celestial," one of the chosen elites who live luxurious hedonistic lives way above the planet on "Olympus," a space station connected to the Earth by a big elevator. Cassica drives the girls' racecar "Maisie," built and maintained by "Tech" Shiara, in local races on the Maximum Racing circuit, hoping to win enough races and money to qualify for the big race: a three-day endurance test called The Widowmaker. These races require not only speed and stamina but also hairtrigger reflexes and nerves of steel, because also in the races are Wreckers, drivers whose sole job is to try to knock others out of the race, often killing them! The Wreckers drive armored tanks with huge drills, or have other deadly weapons on their cars. So it's almost like a demolition derby over cross country terrain--and the terrain itself is also the enemy, for example a swamp containing mutated creatures who attack the drivers, things like that. Crazy! Cassica and Shiara have a lot of odds stacked against them as they navigate through this high-stakes challenge. The book is a lot of fun, full of fast-paced racing action (very hazardous when I was listening to the audiobook while driving my own car: I had to resist the impulse to speed up and play racecar driver!!), cool sci-fi elements I won't spoil here, and a great story of friendship between the girls. I also loved all the out-of-this-world character names and homespun dialect of some of the characters. Mr. Wooding knows how to create a world and make it realistic.
caitgreatcaf's review against another edition
3.0
Not gonna lie, based on the cover of my edition I assumed it was going to be a much more queer story. Instead it was a perfectly acceptable dystopia with no mentions of race or sexuality. Not a bad story at all, engaging action, just come to expect better from stories I read.
sequence19's review against another edition
4.0
Not the best book of Chris Wooding's that I've read but it isn't bad. Velocity is a good story, both about the friendship of two young girls and a death racing series that dominates a formerly war torn world. Enjoyable and I recommend checking it out.
bookbrig's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
It's a bit like a mash-up of Hunger Games and Mad Max Fury Road. I loved the driving bits and the friendship SO MUCH.
teenlibrarian's review against another edition
1.0
I super stalled out in this book. It was a struggle to read 50 pages in one week. The characters felt 2D and underdeveloped. The plot could be described as trying to be Mad Max meets Hunger Games. Plot was boring, typical, and presented nothing new. Too much throw away casual death. Dialogue was painful, monologues against this or that. Terrible conflict resolution between main characters.
Bad, just bad.
Bad, just bad.