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martinafacose's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
3.0
Both of Cole's parents died in the flu pandemic that caused havoc all over the world, but especially in the US. He recovers and is rescued from an orphanage by a childless minister and his wife and taken to live in the small town of Salvation City. The book moves between Cole learning to live in this new environment and his memories of life with his atheistic parents.
What makes this book so interesting is less the new, dystopic world Nunez creates, but in her examination of religious belief. She manages to look critically at both fundamentalist belief and liberal atheism without making either out as good or bad. It's a nuanced performance and very honest. The story itself is fairly simple and while the ideas are complex, they're ones that anyone who has seriously considered their religious beliefs (or lack of same) has already considered. The book does read like a YA novel in language and presentation. The story itself is very easy to read, even as it made me think and think and think.
My one criticism of this book is that, at the end, Nunez drastically changed the behaviors of a few of her main characters, giving Cole an easy out to the dilemma he faced. It just didn't fit and felt like she was trying to get the book somewhere it didn't want to go. Despite that, [Salvation City] is a book well worth reading, and enjoyable too.
What makes this book so interesting is less the new, dystopic world Nunez creates, but in her examination of religious belief. She manages to look critically at both fundamentalist belief and liberal atheism without making either out as good or bad. It's a nuanced performance and very honest. The story itself is fairly simple and while the ideas are complex, they're ones that anyone who has seriously considered their religious beliefs (or lack of same) has already considered. The book does read like a YA novel in language and presentation. The story itself is very easy to read, even as it made me think and think and think.
My one criticism of this book is that, at the end, Nunez drastically changed the behaviors of a few of her main characters, giving Cole an easy out to the dilemma he faced. It just didn't fit and felt like she was trying to get the book somewhere it didn't want to go. Despite that, [Salvation City] is a book well worth reading, and enjoyable too.
janiev's review against another edition
Couldn’t focus not sure I like her writing
ksprokes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
brendaclay's review against another edition
2.0
I won this novel on Firstreads! It's about a pre-teen boy who is orphaned after a flu pandemic, and taken in by a country pastor in an isolated church-dominated town. I appreciated the portrayal of fundamental-type Christians as real, multifaceted people, not caricatures. I haven't seen much of that in mainstream fiction. I'm also always impressed when one gender writes from the other's perspective with complete believability. Still, I was disturbed by many aspects of the story and didn't see the payoff of some of them...and the ending left me confused and feeling like I had really missed something. Bottom line, it was well-written, but maybe I'm just not literary enough to get it.
minty's review against another edition
3.0
Holy shit. HOLY SHIT.
I had idly noticed at the outset that this book was copyright 2010. But then it described the COVID-19 pandemic TO SUCH A TEE that I stopped and looked the book up to be sure. But I did not mishear; this novel, which completely described every step of the pandemic down to the 2-week closure plan to the need for alternative mask options to the spread in colleges and universities to the absolute idiocy of people, was written TEN YEARS before we tackled it ourselves. Seems like all of this was entirely known/predictable?
This made this novel INCREDIBLY difficult to stomach. I've read several books set in the 2020 pandemic in the years since (writers just loved to work through their feelings via a new novel), but hearing a fictional one described just made me enraged at how preventable it all could have been. I nearly stopped listening because I couldn't take it. But I perservered, and the second half's focus on religious fundamentalists was a breath of fresh air. As always Nunez's descriptions, depictions, and emotions are spot on. But this one just sort of... ends, with no real denouement.
I had idly noticed at the outset that this book was copyright 2010. But then it described the COVID-19 pandemic TO SUCH A TEE that I stopped and looked the book up to be sure. But I did not mishear; this novel, which completely described every step of the pandemic down to the 2-week closure plan to the need for alternative mask options to the spread in colleges and universities to the absolute idiocy of people, was written TEN YEARS before we tackled it ourselves. Seems like all of this was entirely known/predictable?
This made this novel INCREDIBLY difficult to stomach. I've read several books set in the 2020 pandemic in the years since (writers just loved to work through their feelings via a new novel), but hearing a fictional one described just made me enraged at how preventable it all could have been. I nearly stopped listening because I couldn't take it. But I perservered, and the second half's focus on religious fundamentalists was a breath of fresh air. As always Nunez's descriptions, depictions, and emotions are spot on. But this one just sort of... ends, with no real denouement.
meg_31's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
It was fascinating to read how much Nunez got right about how the world would be affected by a pandemic. Obviously the events in the book were a bit more drastic than the real life 2020 pandemic but there were a lot of similarities. However, for me that’s where the draw ended. The story itself didn’t go anywhere, the jumpy chronology made it difficult to keep up with and the characters never really felt fleshed out. The ending was disappointing, nothing was wrapped up and I felt like I’d been left hanging.
For a dystopian novel, I wanted it to be a bit more dystopian.
For a dystopian novel, I wanted it to be a bit more dystopian.
_lj_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
carstensena's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading the straightforward prose, and learning about the post-pandemic flu world in which the teen narrator lived.
clarrro's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book that, in spite of how well-written it is, I have to drop. It's just too depressingly similar to our current situation to proceed.