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sarah_3141's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
latadych's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 - i read the first book in this duology like 3 years ago and loved it but for some reason could not get myself to finish this one. i started it like 4 separate times. but 2 days ago i downloaded the audiobook and restarted it and now ive finally read the whole thing! it's very good. i think it finishes the story well and my only very small problem with it is how it felt a little preachy at times. i think that's a natural side effect of a book like this tho.
sassmaster14000's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sesealyah's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
this review is brought to you by Miranda's #1 fan.
so many emotions were elicited from this novel but mainly fear?? like, can we actually imagine a life where we just spend 24 hours a day completely addictive to VR and a tech-based megacorporation just controls everything? scary!
this book did a lot of things right. I loved the multi-POVs (especially Miranda's and I will talk more about her later). it's been a minute since I read An Absolutely Remarkable Thing but I remember not entirely loving reading the story from April's POV so I was really happy when I started reading the sequel and we had a little break from that. I also really loved the way grief was portrayed in the beginning.
it was also just well written - there were a lot of subplots that flowed really nicely together. I enjoyed how the world-building was supported by brief multi-media anecdotes at the beginning of each chapter. I felt like I was reading a really smart book written for pretty dumb people (that's me).
three small things really pricked me and annoyingly I can't stop thinking about them and it's preventing me from giving it a five star rating:
#1. it was mentioned more times than necessary how attractive April was. honestly, one mention would've been fine (maybe even unnecessary?? idk) but after a few mentions it was starting to feel off-putting.and I understand that after getting her limbs and skin replaced by something completely otherworldly is traumatizing and obviously she's going to have a new and difficult relationship with her appearance, but even if she wasn't pretty, she would still be struggling with a chance in her appearance? i can't put my finger on it but something felt icky.
#2.I knew The Thread was going to be related to Altus, but I was so psyched when One revealed themselves to be Justin Bieber! that was hilarious! honestly, One being Carl's brother was just like low-hanging fruit. it was funnier as Justin Bieber.
#3.I just couldn't wrap my head around who Carl's brother was supposed to be. again, maybe this is because I'm on the dumber side of the intended audience, but I was expecting more of a personified image of them (like Carl as a monkey) and while I'm okay I didn't get that, I was ultimately unsatisfied with how they just literally fizzled out and disappeared. it felt a little anti-climatic.
okay, now let's chat about Miranda!! Miranda, who has completely unsuspectingly joined my Favorite Characters of All-Time list! Miranda, whose chapters literally made me cry every time until about halfway through the book! Miranda, who was done so dirty by the rest of the cast!! I could've read a whole book from Miranda's POV honestly. I am dying for a Miranda spin-off. I think she was so multi-faceted, and funny, and strategic, and her character just had so much depth. she was so interesting to read about.
overall, a great read! can definitely see myself binge reading the duology in the future.
so many emotions were elicited from this novel but mainly fear?? like, can we actually imagine a life where we just spend 24 hours a day completely addictive to VR and a tech-based megacorporation just controls everything? scary!
this book did a lot of things right. I loved the multi-POVs (especially Miranda's and I will talk more about her later). it's been a minute since I read An Absolutely Remarkable Thing but I remember not entirely loving reading the story from April's POV so I was really happy when I started reading the sequel and we had a little break from that. I also really loved the way grief was portrayed in the beginning.
it was also just well written - there were a lot of subplots that flowed really nicely together. I enjoyed how the world-building was supported by brief multi-media anecdotes at the beginning of each chapter. I felt like I was reading a really smart book written for pretty dumb people (that's me).
three small things really pricked me and annoyingly I can't stop thinking about them and it's preventing me from giving it a five star rating:
#1. it was mentioned more times than necessary how attractive April was. honestly, one mention would've been fine (maybe even unnecessary?? idk) but after a few mentions it was starting to feel off-putting.
#2.
#3.
okay, now let's chat about Miranda!! Miranda, who has completely unsuspectingly joined my Favorite Characters of All-Time list! Miranda, whose chapters literally made me cry every time until about halfway through the book! Miranda, who was done so dirty by the rest of the cast!! I could've read a whole book from Miranda's POV honestly. I am dying for a Miranda spin-off. I think she was so multi-faceted, and funny, and strategic, and her character just had so much depth. she was so interesting to read about.
overall, a great read! can definitely see myself binge reading the duology in the future.
mollywonders's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
Finished reading: May 30th 2024
“It's important to remember that we all change each other's minds all the time. Any good story is a mind-altering substance.”
WARNING: it's another unpopular opinion review!!
I know that this isn't exactly my typical read, but I was pleasantly surprised by the first book back when I read it two years ago. I then discovered that the sequel fitted more than one 2024 challenge, and I decided to pick up A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor on a whim. I'm not sure if I was simply in the wrong reading mood or if this sequel is really quite different from the first book, but the fact is that I ended up struggling immensely with this story. I came close to DNFing more than once, and I kind of wish I had to be honest. Don't get me wrong, this series in general has a very interesting concept and the Carls were fascinating to read about. It was in the execution and plot structure where this story lost me... A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor uses a multiple POV structure on top of mixed media pieces inserted into the plot, and the result ended up being a bit of a muddled and chaotic mess. The plot jumps all over the place, and certain POVs are extremely tedious and slow down the pace a LOT. There was an overdose of focus on politics and social issues, and at times it felt more like propaganda rather than a YA sci-fi read. Seriously, I was bored to tears at times, and I caught myself skimreading more than once. The social media angle and virtual reality addiction was neat, but it kind of got buried under too many other elements to make a real impact. The plot itself was slowgoing with so much focus on the 'propaganda' part, and as a result the story dragged considerably and was simply way too overlong. I confess that I skimread most of the second half, and I kind of wish I had just DNFed it instead... There is no doubt that A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor and me REALLY didn't get along. That said, I seem to be in the minority, so it might just be my fickle reading mood acting up again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Racism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Addiction, Blood, Confinement, Grief, and Physical abuse
kitkat962's review against another edition
5.0
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is even more than what I expected from a sequel: it did not suck. The book is telling of the time we are living in human history: pandemic, possibilities of war, climate change, concentration of power in the selected few and society disconnection. I guess the reason I don't like sci-fi is that most of them are outdated, but omnipotent AIs, monopolies of data, brain-computer interfaces are all too real, and we have the rights to be worried. Hank's concerns are not at all subtle, though, and at times, it may seem glaringly preaching, but I didn't mind that much.
In this sequel, the plot twist got me most of the time. I also see and appreciate the side characters more (Andy, Miranda, Maya), their struggles, fears and impulses. I am not a fan of multi-viewpoints, but this book is an exception: I couldn't imagine writing it in another format.
If I have to criticize, my pet peeves would be Carl's explaining any loopholes in his actions, his plans, his moral constriction or whatsoever that did end the story right there.
In this sequel, the plot twist got me most of the time. I also see and appreciate the side characters more (Andy, Miranda, Maya), their struggles, fears and impulses. I am not a fan of multi-viewpoints, but this book is an exception: I couldn't imagine writing it in another format.
If I have to criticize, my pet peeves would be Carl's explaining any loopholes in his actions, his plans, his moral constriction or whatsoever that did end the story right there.
riverlethe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
qpmnguyen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ha_twig's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.75