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abnightshade's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
redbee9's review
adventurous
emotional
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
4.25
shaylaw's review
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
nedge's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ksanfelice's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
1madchild's review
1.0
humm seems i missed the memo.
BOring!
throught the premise would be interesting kind of "the rest of us just live here vibe".
alas.
should have dnfs but wanted to know what happened, kind of statasfiying. mostly disapointing.
shut up about david combs for gods skake.
BOring!
throught the premise would be interesting kind of "the rest of us just live here vibe".
alas.
should have dnfs but wanted to know what happened, kind of statasfiying. mostly disapointing.
shut up about david combs for gods skake.
gingerbread_void's review
4.0
“the apocalypse began at Starbucks,” that was all it took to sell me on this book. I loved Hutchinson pervious work “We are the Ants” and I was eager for this book. He always does a good job of creating a world like ours but somehow so much more magical, so very mysteries. This book was no exception to that.
The character of Elena is both unique yet somehow so very familiar. She is unique in the way all of Hutchinson’s characters are but she also holds a sense of selfish familiarity that anyone can relate to. She is angry and selfish and in denial of both these facts. She is kind and giving as well. She is layered in a way all humans are. She is not a perfect hero, she may not even be a hero at all but she is a fantastic character all things consider.
Just as his main character is both unique and familiar so is the world he creates. He crafts a world that feels so much like our own yet has a sense of uniqueness and magic. The worlds he crafts feels like it could or even is happening and unfolding around the reading without them even realizing it.
Hutchinson’s true gift though does not lie in his ability to make unique characters and worlds but his ability to make you doubt everything you reading. He give you just enough proof to make you want to believe the things the narrator says are true but he also provides plenty of reasons to doubt them as well. See the story though the eyes of his character’s can either make you feel like you are seeing the world as miracles and the fantastical unfold all around you or it can make you feel like you are seeing the would though the eyes of someone who can not handle the world and is creating this fanatics world around them cope. Either way you read the book weather you believe the narrator is telling the truth, or things they are, or even if they are just plain lying you are in for a wild ride.
Though I can not point out all of Hutchinson’s good qualities without stating the one major thing that bothered me about this book. The ending felt like it was a just a clever rewrite of the ending to his previous work. The book had the same structure as the previous work only with a different character and he replaced his aliens with “magical” voices or gods as they called it. Yes he did add a few things here and there and to change the story o to flesh it out but it was the sam basics and the ending was nearly identical like he couldn’t be bothered to create a new so he just recycled it. Despite the similarities or maybe become of them I still loved this book.
The character of Elena is both unique yet somehow so very familiar. She is unique in the way all of Hutchinson’s characters are but she also holds a sense of selfish familiarity that anyone can relate to. She is angry and selfish and in denial of both these facts. She is kind and giving as well. She is layered in a way all humans are. She is not a perfect hero, she may not even be a hero at all but she is a fantastic character all things consider.
Just as his main character is both unique and familiar so is the world he creates. He crafts a world that feels so much like our own yet has a sense of uniqueness and magic. The worlds he crafts feels like it could or even is happening and unfolding around the reading without them even realizing it.
Hutchinson’s true gift though does not lie in his ability to make unique characters and worlds but his ability to make you doubt everything you reading. He give you just enough proof to make you want to believe the things the narrator says are true but he also provides plenty of reasons to doubt them as well. See the story though the eyes of his character’s can either make you feel like you are seeing the world as miracles and the fantastical unfold all around you or it can make you feel like you are seeing the would though the eyes of someone who can not handle the world and is creating this fanatics world around them cope. Either way you read the book weather you believe the narrator is telling the truth, or things they are, or even if they are just plain lying you are in for a wild ride.
Though I can not point out all of Hutchinson’s good qualities without stating the one major thing that bothered me about this book. The ending felt like it was a just a clever rewrite of the ending to his previous work. The book had the same structure as the previous work only with a different character and he replaced his aliens with “magical” voices or gods as they called it. Yes he did add a few things here and there and to change the story o to flesh it out but it was the sam basics and the ending was nearly identical like he couldn’t be bothered to create a new so he just recycled it. Despite the similarities or maybe become of them I still loved this book.
el_mackattack's review
3.0
I'm really conflicted about how I felt about this book overall. Because for some reason, I couldn't seem to put it down, but any time I thought about the book when I wasn't reading it, I couldn't help but feel more negative emotions about it than positive.
On a weird note, for those of you who have played Life Is Strange, ever notice that Chloe Price sounds just a teensy weensy bit like Freddie? Both in dialogue and appearance? Think about it, Freddie's literal description in one passage is wearing ripped jeans, an over-sized tank top, and she's got blue hair. Chloe's description: a beanie, ripped jeans, a tank top, and blue hair. Coincidence? I dunno, but either way, it gave me some weird deja vu.
ANYWAYS...
Here's Why I Liked It:
Representation: The main character, Elena, is both Cuban and bisexual, and there isn't really a huge "internal conflict" over that, which I really appreciate. Fadil, Elena's best friend, is Muslim, and we find out later that he may fall on the asexual spectrum. Freddie is also bisexual (or possibly a lesbian, because I don't recall her ever talking about having a crush on a guy) and she struggles with depression.
Narration Style: I actually quite liked Elena as a character, because she almost seemed to have a Fleabag-esque style of narration (meaning she almost seemed to break the 4th wall a couple of times), which I think was what got me so into the book. Also, Elena's sense of sarcasm and her one-liners are hilarious.
Philosophy and Moral Debates: The book embraces existential debates and questions about things like free will, our influence over other people, how we view our crushes from afar vs. up close, how we treat our friends, and whether or not a person deserves redemption. Leaves you with some food for thought!
Here's Why I Didn't Like It:
The middle is SLOW/Didn't seem to advance the plot: The beginning is quick, the end is quick, but a good portion of the middle of the book seemed to serve no purpose besides slowing down the main plot and giving the book length. I do think this book could've been cut down by at least 30 pages (I don't really think the book needed to be more than 400 pages). There are a lot of interactions in the middle of the book that I don't really remember, and by extent, I don't really see a purpose for them.
Character Interactions: This is a subjective opinion, but it really ended up being a big reason why I was so frustrated with the book. I felt like a majority of the character interactions between Elena and pretty much ANYONE who wasn't trying to investigate her in some capacity, was either to argue with her about what she's doing wrong (either as a person or as miracle worker), or give her advice. She even got advice from her dead beat alcoholic step-dad! It felt a lot like the characters were more just platforms for more opinions to be pushed at Elena than they were characters. That got really repetitive and really frustrating real quick. Especially because more than half the time, the conversation wasn't really important to the plot, or it would be repeated somehow in a later conversation, almost like deja vu (this is particularly visible with Elena and Freddie's arguments).
Elena and Freddie's Chemistry: Now, I'm all for the enemies-to-lovers trope, I don't have a problem with it and I think it's a fun way to approach a romance. It's just that I felt like Freddie and Elena spent too long in the "enemies" portion of that trope for me to really buy the "lovers" chemistry at the end. I'd been looking forward to the moment when they finally got together, but it felt kind of weird since they had spend a majority of the book arguing.
Loose Ends/Plot Holes There aren't many loose ends, it's just the ones that are there are kind of hard to ignore and are kind of crucial "reader's closure" details when it comes to the end of the book.
Overall, I didn't HATE this book, but I'm not gonna say I liked it either. The book makes you re-examine your own relationships, which I definitely think is a nice quality with a YA novel in particular. It was really nice to see how the "friends-to-lovers" is laughed at so much in the book by Elena and Fadil (because believe it or not, IT IS POSSIBLE for a girl to be friends with a guy without them developing feelings!) and I really thought their friendship, including their fights, was actually really realistic and different from other books because oftentimes, the quality and flaws of friendships are never really put under the microscope.
But in conclusion, it's not a bad book, it's just not for everyone.
On a weird note, for those of you who have played Life Is Strange, ever notice that Chloe Price sounds just a teensy weensy bit like Freddie? Both in dialogue and appearance? Think about it, Freddie's literal description in one passage is wearing ripped jeans, an over-sized tank top, and she's got blue hair. Chloe's description: a beanie, ripped jeans, a tank top, and blue hair. Coincidence? I dunno, but either way, it gave me some weird deja vu.
ANYWAYS...
Here's Why I Liked It:
Representation: The main character, Elena, is both Cuban and bisexual, and there isn't really a huge "internal conflict" over that, which I really appreciate. Fadil, Elena's best friend, is Muslim, and we find out later that he may fall on the asexual spectrum. Freddie is also bisexual (or possibly a lesbian, because I don't recall her ever talking about having a crush on a guy) and she struggles with depression.
Narration Style: I actually quite liked Elena as a character, because she almost seemed to have a Fleabag-esque style of narration (meaning she almost seemed to break the 4th wall a couple of times), which I think was what got me so into the book. Also, Elena's sense of sarcasm and her one-liners are hilarious.
Philosophy and Moral Debates: The book embraces existential debates and questions about things like free will, our influence over other people, how we view our crushes from afar vs. up close, how we treat our friends, and whether or not a person deserves redemption. Leaves you with some food for thought!
Here's Why I Didn't Like It:
The middle is SLOW/Didn't seem to advance the plot: The beginning is quick, the end is quick, but a good portion of the middle of the book seemed to serve no purpose besides slowing down the main plot and giving the book length. I do think this book could've been cut down by at least 30 pages (I don't really think the book needed to be more than 400 pages). There are a lot of interactions in the middle of the book that I don't really remember, and by extent, I don't really see a purpose for them.
Character Interactions: This is a subjective opinion, but it really ended up being a big reason why I was so frustrated with the book. I felt like a majority of the character interactions between Elena and pretty much ANYONE who wasn't trying to investigate her in some capacity, was either to argue with her about what she's doing wrong (either as a person or as miracle worker), or give her advice. She even got advice from her dead beat alcoholic step-dad! It felt a lot like the characters were more just platforms for more opinions to be pushed at Elena than they were characters. That got really repetitive and really frustrating real quick. Especially because more than half the time, the conversation wasn't really important to the plot, or it would be repeated somehow in a later conversation, almost like deja vu (this is particularly visible with Elena and Freddie's arguments).
Elena and Freddie's Chemistry: Now, I'm all for the enemies-to-lovers trope, I don't have a problem with it and I think it's a fun way to approach a romance. It's just that I felt like Freddie and Elena spent too long in the "enemies" portion of that trope for me to really buy the "lovers" chemistry at the end. I'd been looking forward to the moment when they finally got together, but it felt kind of weird since they had spend a majority of the book arguing.
Loose Ends/Plot Holes There aren't many loose ends, it's just the ones that are there are kind of hard to ignore and are kind of crucial "reader's closure" details when it comes to the end of the book.
Spoiler
For example, we never really find out who the voices are, or why Elena was given powers. Which is more than a little frustrating since they kind of end up being the main antagonist. Also, who were the homeland security agents? Because they never showed up again so I'm confused why they were important...?Overall, I didn't HATE this book, but I'm not gonna say I liked it either. The book makes you re-examine your own relationships, which I definitely think is a nice quality with a YA novel in particular. It was really nice to see how the "friends-to-lovers" is laughed at so much in the book by Elena and Fadil (because believe it or not, IT IS POSSIBLE for a girl to be friends with a guy without them developing feelings!) and I really thought their friendship, including their fights, was actually really realistic and different from other books because oftentimes, the quality and flaws of friendships are never really put under the microscope.
But in conclusion, it's not a bad book, it's just not for everyone.
dabbledev's review
2.0
Preachy and pretentious. It can't make up its mind about the moral. Incredibly interesting premise completely ruining by nonsense.
jujuleigh's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The set up was somewhat interesting, but the idea of the second immaculate birth working at a starbucks just doesn’t feel right. too many heavy subjects are not given the weight they would in the real world. i would’ve much preferred a sci-fi look at the exploitation of WOCs bodies and i think it would’ve made a better story. i did find the concept unique and the mother daughter relationship did work really well at least in the first half. the romance was half baked but a unique idea again. i wish the book had taken these unique ideas and really refined them rather than wasting them half thought out.