Reviews

Smoketown by Tenea D. Johnson

remigves's review

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

zlibrarian's review against another edition

5.0

I owe this strong novel a longer review, and hope to post one later. For now I will say this: fascinating world-building and inclusion of believable cultural and environmental elements. Likeable, imperfect, intelligent heroine. The complexity, humor, and pacing of this novel take it far beyond typical dystopian themes.

This is no simple dystopia: in this world artists earn money by capturing and altering reality for those able to purchase escapism, and the simple beauty of birdsong has become an unsettling rarity. Fear of disease and of other people restrict daily life. Creativity and magic become even more powerful when blended with technology in Johnson's vividly rendered, well paced, and compelling story.

missprint_'s review against another edition

2.0

Writing really kept reader at a distance. Anna is 30. Not sure about teen appeal. Felt more dystopian than post-apocalyptic which I think of as having more immediacy to it.

silodear's review against another edition

This book was not for me. The ideas were interesting but I had trouble getting into the writing.

pnw_michelle's review against another edition

4.0

I was captivated by the simultaneous bleakness and beauty of this story, and by the ending that gave some resolution but also possibility for a world continuing to change. The magical elements of the story were woven in so deftly I had to stop a few times and say "Whoa, that just happened!".

I did struggle to follow the story line a little bit, there were several point of view shifts, but it wasn't badly done, just required me to focus. Overall quite gorgeous.

kieranlit's review against another edition

2.0

Too much jumping around--nonlinear narrative itself is fine, but you gotta mark when you're changing time periods if you want me to follow the plot.

linds4y's review against another edition

4.0

Could have used with more explanation on her ability. Besides that, awesome!

lmshearer's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This is an interesting concept for a novel, but poorly executed. The multiple POV introduced many characters but left them all underdeveloped. Had this book been longer, it would have been a DNF. One star for brevity, one star for character diversity.

the_lyon_reads_tonight's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

This was an interesting little novella. The world building had solid legs, there were some truly unique aspects. However, there were just some things that were left unexplained that made it more difficult to be totally immersed. I think this suffered from too many good ideas, imperfect execution. The characters were strong but the reader didn’t get to spend enough time getting to know them. It’s rare that I say a book should have been longer but I think this story deserved some extra space. Will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author. 

bina's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0