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vonwortchiller's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the technical portions of the book.
The genetically modified corn that could keep you healthy, but only if you were treated with Activax.
The Solar Bears, which were created when "government scientists tried to save polar bears from extinction by crossing them with grizzly bears and splicing in a dab of coyote DNA."
The GreyDevils, who are are activax treated, but urcorn deprived, so they drink an intoxicant known as parts wash to satisfy their dependency, and have huge bonfires everynight.
The only characters I liked in this book, were Toad, a total hyperbole of my own father with his wordplay. Tom and Toby. The maniac chicken Hatchet, which reminded me of my own pet chicken growing up, Hamilton,. And of course, the bonfire starting GreyDevils.
The genetically modified corn that could keep you healthy, but only if you were treated with Activax.
The Solar Bears, which were created when "government scientists tried to save polar bears from extinction by crossing them with grizzly bears and splicing in a dab of coyote DNA."
The GreyDevils, who are are activax treated, but urcorn deprived, so they drink an intoxicant known as parts wash to satisfy their dependency, and have huge bonfires everynight.
The only characters I liked in this book, were Toad, a total hyperbole of my own father with his wordplay. Tom and Toby. The maniac chicken Hatchet, which reminded me of my own pet chicken growing up, Hamilton,. And of course, the bonfire starting GreyDevils.
ahai's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this book. It was packed with adventure, however it had a mysterious edge to it as well as quite a few guarded secrets. Highly recommended!
galexie64's review against another edition
5.0
I won this book through Goodreads. I was very impressed with the quality of the book. Ford Falcon is a very likable character, tough, smart, but very human. I also like the importance of family and friends in the book. Ford never goes out on her own without help. Toad is also a fun character, it was a little hard to get into his speech at first but grew on me as I got into it. There is enough action and surprises to the story interesting and not predictable. I like how you follow along with Ford and never know anymore than she does. I do wish there was more on the background on the GreyDevils.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
timberwolf's review
adventurous
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
5.0
kazalicious's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed- except for the cross talk by Toad. Was never fully aware what age Ford might be.
thistlechaser's review against another edition
3.0
The first third of this book was some of the best reading I did all year.
Set in the near future, everything happening right now (global warming, scary political stuff) has gotten worse. Fear mongering has driven most of the American population to live in "bubble cities". Kept safe. Jobs for everyone. Food for everyone. Healthcare for everyone. But all that comes with a price.
CornVivia, a massive agriculture company, has geneteched its corn to be the perfect food for everyone, and to cure basically any illness. But to get those benefits, you need an injection. That injection makes you unable to eat anything other than their corn, and if you can't get any of it, you turn into sort of a zombie (not dead or undead, but otherwise people act just like zombies).
A few people saw through all that, and chose not to go live in the bubble cities. Maggie (or Ford Falcon as she renames herself) is one of those people. She and her family live out in the non-bubble world, fighting the corn-zombies, wild animals, and trying to keep themselves fed.
The first third of the book was all wonderful, wonderful worldbuilding. Then the author gave a massive info dump, which lead to the plot of the book. While I loved the first third, the info dump was a bit much, and the plot wasn't bad at all, but... I liked the worldbuilding part best.
I really can't say enough about how well all the worldbuilding was handled. Emily Dickinson/poetry, a whole new language, "Patriotic Partnership", word-play, a whole new way to handle money/banking when the US dollar has no value. Jobs that could be held after the world changed so much. It was all so good.
This is a middle grade book, but other than Maggie's age (preteen), there's no way I'd have guessed it was meant for younger readers. The best MG and YA books are like that: Perfect for adult readers, too.
Random thing I didn't like: The bad guys were so cartoony. One was very overweight, the other was ugly. In a story where every other character was realistic, they were flat and straight out of some cartoon.
Random thing I liked: This is a stand-alone book! Not the start of a trilogy or series! How rare is that nowadays? I really, really liked all the unanswered questions.
Set in the near future, everything happening right now (global warming, scary political stuff) has gotten worse. Fear mongering has driven most of the American population to live in "bubble cities". Kept safe. Jobs for everyone. Food for everyone. Healthcare for everyone. But all that comes with a price.
CornVivia, a massive agriculture company, has geneteched its corn to be the perfect food for everyone, and to cure basically any illness. But to get those benefits, you need an injection. That injection makes you unable to eat anything other than their corn, and if you can't get any of it, you turn into sort of a zombie (not dead or undead, but otherwise people act just like zombies).
A few people saw through all that, and chose not to go live in the bubble cities. Maggie (or Ford Falcon as she renames herself) is one of those people. She and her family live out in the non-bubble world, fighting the corn-zombies, wild animals, and trying to keep themselves fed.
The first third of the book was all wonderful, wonderful worldbuilding. Then the author gave a massive info dump, which lead to the plot of the book. While I loved the first third, the info dump was a bit much, and the plot wasn't bad at all, but... I liked the worldbuilding part best.
I really can't say enough about how well all the worldbuilding was handled. Emily Dickinson/poetry, a whole new language, "Patriotic Partnership", word-play, a whole new way to handle money/banking when the US dollar has no value. Jobs that could be held after the world changed so much. It was all so good.
This is a middle grade book, but other than Maggie's age (preteen), there's no way I'd have guessed it was meant for younger readers. The best MG and YA books are like that: Perfect for adult readers, too.
Random thing I didn't like: The bad guys were so cartoony. One was very overweight, the other was ugly. In a story where every other character was realistic, they were flat and straight out of some cartoon.
Random thing I liked: This is a stand-alone book! Not the start of a trilogy or series! How rare is that nowadays? I really, really liked all the unanswered questions.
jennybeastie's review against another edition
4.0
Kinda post-apocalyptic survival fic for kids. Good story, and a light touch with the scary/danger elements. Maggie/Ford is beyond plucky and all the way into independent -- smart, brave, full of hard work and no-nonsense practicality.
mackle13's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book for free through the Goodreads' First Reads program.
Climate change has hit our world badly, sending things into chaos and people into panic, so the government, teeming up with corporations, steps in and makes Bubble Cities. You can live InBubble or OutBubble, but once you make your choice come Declaration Day, there are no take backs.
Such is the world that 12-year-old Maggie, aka Ford Falcon, lives in with her family and nearby friends, Toad and Arlinda. Today they scrape out a life, growing some food, but mostly looking for scrap in the nearby trash heaps which they take to town to trade for what they need.
But they also have to contend with Grey Devils and solar bears, and I don't want to go into what they are too much because, well, some of the most interesting thing about this story is the world building, so I wouldn't want to give too much away.
Ford is a strong and feisty character. Only 12, but often comes across as much older because of the world and situation in which she lives. It is she who goes into town with Toad in their armoured, ox-drawn cart, fighting off the Grey Devils with Toad and Toby, another neighbor, and she who does the trading for her family.
And it is she who has to figure things out when her parents go missing and everything falls apart...
Overall, I enjoyed this story a fair bit. The first half of the story is mostly day-in-the-life type stuff, setting up the world and the characters - and they are interesting characters, though Toad has this weird way of talking he calls spoonerism which go wearisome.
Things did start dragging here or there, but whenever I started wishing something would happen, it did, so cheers on the pacing.
My biggest issue is actually with the ending. The author does that whole coy thing at the end where instead of telling you everything, he purposely holds back information to make the big showdown more interesting.
I kinda always get a bit irked when authors do this, especially when we see every freaking stray thought Ford has beforehand, but, mostly, in this case, it was annoying because there ended up being a lot of exposition during the big showdown.
Yes, that's right. The big standoff between Maggie and her family and the bad guys ended up being lots of info-dumps from dear old dad.
I understand why the author/dad had to hold back some information, but having lots of exposition in climax, especially in a book which has been pretty action-adventurey, is just really unsatisfying.
Also, there are some threads left dangling for a possible continuation of the series, but I'm not sure how invested I am in these characters. While I did enjoy the story, overall, I'm not sure I'm committed to continuing with it if more do come out. I guess we'll see.
Climate change has hit our world badly, sending things into chaos and people into panic, so the government, teeming up with corporations, steps in and makes Bubble Cities. You can live InBubble or OutBubble, but once you make your choice come Declaration Day, there are no take backs.
Such is the world that 12-year-old Maggie, aka Ford Falcon, lives in with her family and nearby friends, Toad and Arlinda. Today they scrape out a life, growing some food, but mostly looking for scrap in the nearby trash heaps which they take to town to trade for what they need.
But they also have to contend with Grey Devils and solar bears, and I don't want to go into what they are too much because, well, some of the most interesting thing about this story is the world building, so I wouldn't want to give too much away.
Ford is a strong and feisty character. Only 12, but often comes across as much older because of the world and situation in which she lives. It is she who goes into town with Toad in their armoured, ox-drawn cart, fighting off the Grey Devils with Toad and Toby, another neighbor, and she who does the trading for her family.
And it is she who has to figure things out when her parents go missing and everything falls apart...
Overall, I enjoyed this story a fair bit. The first half of the story is mostly day-in-the-life type stuff, setting up the world and the characters - and they are interesting characters, though Toad has this weird way of talking he calls spoonerism which go wearisome.
Things did start dragging here or there, but whenever I started wishing something would happen, it did, so cheers on the pacing.
My biggest issue is actually with the ending. The author does that whole coy thing at the end where instead of telling you everything, he purposely holds back information to make the big showdown more interesting.
I kinda always get a bit irked when authors do this, especially when we see every freaking stray thought Ford has beforehand, but, mostly, in this case, it was annoying because there ended up being a lot of exposition during the big showdown.
Yes, that's right. The big standoff between Maggie and her family and the bad guys ended up being lots of info-dumps from dear old dad.
I understand why the author/dad had to hold back some information, but having lots of exposition in climax, especially in a book which has been pretty action-adventurey, is just really unsatisfying.
Also, there are some threads left dangling for a possible continuation of the series, but I'm not sure how invested I am in these characters. While I did enjoy the story, overall, I'm not sure I'm committed to continuing with it if more do come out. I guess we'll see.
kevinhendricks's review against another edition
3.0
A middle grade take on the post-apocalyptic story, which is decidedly tame. It's slow to get going, but eventually gives us an interesting dystopian mystery. (These days all the post-apocalytpic tales are really dystopias. I blame Hunger Games.)