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alongreader's review
3.0
I was hoping to enjoy this; disaster stories are my jam, after all. And it's not bad, per se. It's a little chaotic; things keep happening, one after another, and our characters are flung from one situation to the next without much time to recover in between. There are allies and amazing tech everywhere you look; I was very rarely worried about them, because people kept turning up to help them.
It's interestingly written, with a few good twists, but it just wasn't enough for me, I'm afraid. I'm glad I finished the series, but I won't be coming back to it.
Not awful, for the right reader. I hope it does well.
It's interestingly written, with a few good twists, but it just wasn't enough for me, I'm afraid. I'm glad I finished the series, but I won't be coming back to it.
Not awful, for the right reader. I hope it does well.
llwilliams080117's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
jaythereader1's review against another edition
(Stopped in the 5th Jinx chapter)
It seems like the plot is the exact same as the first book; looking for someone while being chased by the bad guys. I just don’t want to read the (basically) same thing twice.
It seems like the plot is the exact same as the first book; looking for someone while being chased by the bad guys. I just don’t want to read the (basically) same thing twice.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
Such a great book, loved that we had MacKenna as a narrator as well in this book! We learned a lot, and I really enjoyed how it ended!
mj_james_writes's review
4.0
Day One
By. Kelly Devos
P. 471
Format: Print/Audiobook
Rating: ****
**********************
Day One is the second book in the Day Zero duology. It is a Young Adult apocalyptic multi-perspective science fiction book.
The book follows Jinx the daughter of a survivalist and a computer genius. It is also told from the perspective of Jinx’s stepsister, MacKenna, an aspiring journalist. Also, Gus, a boy who has had a crush on Jinx for years and who promised her father to help her to survive.
In the first book we are introduced to the two main political parties The Spark and The Opposition. The second book gets you up close and personal to the heads of the parties. Jinx’s parents were heavily connected to both and the plot naturally gives you an insider look at the people behind the politics.
The book is extremely pessimistic about human nature, and it is also eerily foretelling of what is currently happening in the United States. There was one scene of the book that caused a panic attack. All I will say is why does it always happen to California? Also, why do I still live in California if it always happens to us?
In the first book the teenagers are mostly on their own. They are the star of their own show. In Day One they are being used as pawns by adults. I absolutely hated that the boys were pulled into secret meetings and the girls were told to go in their rooms and wait to be told what to do. It was sexist and demeaning - and exactly what would happen. As a reader my blood was boiling, I also got exactly why it was written that way.
The book did not blow me away. However, it was well written with unique and detailed characters. The duology is a quick read and will make you question politics even more. Although, I hope we figure to the mess we are in before we get to the utter chaos of Day One.
By. Kelly Devos
P. 471
Format: Print/Audiobook
Rating: ****
**********************
Day One is the second book in the Day Zero duology. It is a Young Adult apocalyptic multi-perspective science fiction book.
The book follows Jinx the daughter of a survivalist and a computer genius. It is also told from the perspective of Jinx’s stepsister, MacKenna, an aspiring journalist. Also, Gus, a boy who has had a crush on Jinx for years and who promised her father to help her to survive.
In the first book we are introduced to the two main political parties The Spark and The Opposition. The second book gets you up close and personal to the heads of the parties. Jinx’s parents were heavily connected to both and the plot naturally gives you an insider look at the people behind the politics.
The book is extremely pessimistic about human nature, and it is also eerily foretelling of what is currently happening in the United States. There was one scene of the book that caused a panic attack. All I will say is why does it always happen to California? Also, why do I still live in California if it always happens to us?
In the first book the teenagers are mostly on their own. They are the star of their own show. In Day One they are being used as pawns by adults. I absolutely hated that the boys were pulled into secret meetings and the girls were told to go in their rooms and wait to be told what to do. It was sexist and demeaning - and exactly what would happen. As a reader my blood was boiling, I also got exactly why it was written that way.
The book did not blow me away. However, it was well written with unique and detailed characters. The duology is a quick read and will make you question politics even more. Although, I hope we figure to the mess we are in before we get to the utter chaos of Day One.
whatsheread's review
3.0
Day Zero by Kelly deVos is one of those review copies I never quite got around to reading last year. However, one of the benefits of not reading a book promptly is not having to wait for the sequel. Instead, you can read both the original and the sequel back to back. This was my approach to Day Zero and its sequel, Day One.
A funny thing happened when I finished one and started the other, however. It quickly became apparent that the version of Day Zero I read had some major changes made to it before final publication. My version of Day Zero revolved around Jinx and her stepsiblings, Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson, who just happened to be Black and from Atlanta. Let me tell you that when reading a political thriller, the entire context of the story changes a lot when two of the main characters are Black and from the south. As 2020 showed the world, their experiences dealing with the police are completely different than a white person’s experiences.
While not perfect and definitely in need of some sensitivity reader feedback, I liked the version of Day Zero I read. Ms. deVos uses Tyrell and Makeeba to address police brutality and systemic racism before the world acknowledged it. Even better, she acknowledges that the Anderson siblings come from wealth but that wealth does not protect them from racial prejudice. The story has a completely different feel when Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson from Atlanta become Toby and MacKenna Novak from Denver. Suddenly, the politics of the story, which is the entire plot, are much less inclusive and incomplete.
The thing is, I rather liked the politics in my version of Day Zero. It is all too easy to envision 45 doing something as extreme as declaring a national emergency and calling the military to step into police roles. Even better, the opposition addresses what could happen if we fully adopted socialism while addressing racial barriers and cultural roadblocks long established by the founders of the country. It makes for a prescient story, a year ahead of the rest of the world. Except, that is not the route Ms. deVos and her editors ultimately chose.
As I did not read the final version of Day Zero, I can’t say whether I liked it. I can extrapolate, however, based on my reaction to Day One, which is not favorable. The story itself loses a lot of timeliness and gravitas when Makeeba goes from being a strong, politically aware Black young woman to MacKenna, a rather selfish, impetuous white girl of privilege.
Plus, Jinx is not nearly as commanding and forceful in the sequel as she was in the first book. In Day One, she lets others dictate her actions rather than taking the initiative. This is not the Jinx we get to know in the first book, and there again, the story suffers as a result.
As a result, much of Day One becomes an exercise in suspension of disbelief as the story takes one outlandish turn after another. By the time someone we thought dead in the first novel makes an appearance, the whole thing has become so ridiculous as to be disappointing.
Again, I have no idea if I would feel similarly about Day Zero in its end form, but I do imagine my feelings would be less positive than they were simply because having key characters to help draw attention to systemic racism in a political thriller is a massive gamechanger to the story. I have never had a review copy change SO much from the published novel, and the changes made are, in my opinion, a poor choice.
A funny thing happened when I finished one and started the other, however. It quickly became apparent that the version of Day Zero I read had some major changes made to it before final publication. My version of Day Zero revolved around Jinx and her stepsiblings, Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson, who just happened to be Black and from Atlanta. Let me tell you that when reading a political thriller, the entire context of the story changes a lot when two of the main characters are Black and from the south. As 2020 showed the world, their experiences dealing with the police are completely different than a white person’s experiences.
While not perfect and definitely in need of some sensitivity reader feedback, I liked the version of Day Zero I read. Ms. deVos uses Tyrell and Makeeba to address police brutality and systemic racism before the world acknowledged it. Even better, she acknowledges that the Anderson siblings come from wealth but that wealth does not protect them from racial prejudice. The story has a completely different feel when Tyrell and Makeeba Anderson from Atlanta become Toby and MacKenna Novak from Denver. Suddenly, the politics of the story, which is the entire plot, are much less inclusive and incomplete.
The thing is, I rather liked the politics in my version of Day Zero. It is all too easy to envision 45 doing something as extreme as declaring a national emergency and calling the military to step into police roles. Even better, the opposition addresses what could happen if we fully adopted socialism while addressing racial barriers and cultural roadblocks long established by the founders of the country. It makes for a prescient story, a year ahead of the rest of the world. Except, that is not the route Ms. deVos and her editors ultimately chose.
As I did not read the final version of Day Zero, I can’t say whether I liked it. I can extrapolate, however, based on my reaction to Day One, which is not favorable. The story itself loses a lot of timeliness and gravitas when Makeeba goes from being a strong, politically aware Black young woman to MacKenna, a rather selfish, impetuous white girl of privilege.
Plus, Jinx is not nearly as commanding and forceful in the sequel as she was in the first book. In Day One, she lets others dictate her actions rather than taking the initiative. This is not the Jinx we get to know in the first book, and there again, the story suffers as a result.
As a result, much of Day One becomes an exercise in suspension of disbelief as the story takes one outlandish turn after another. By the time someone we thought dead in the first novel makes an appearance, the whole thing has become so ridiculous as to be disappointing.
Again, I have no idea if I would feel similarly about Day Zero in its end form, but I do imagine my feelings would be less positive than they were simply because having key characters to help draw attention to systemic racism in a political thriller is a massive gamechanger to the story. I have never had a review copy change SO much from the published novel, and the changes made are, in my opinion, a poor choice.
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