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millie1985's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
clare__emm's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting sci-fi/near future worldbuilding but the rest fell a bit flat.
kevinscorner's review against another edition
4.0
One hundred years into the future, and Earth is past the point of no return. The Mars colony can’t sustain itself, and the best and brightest have been shipped out of the solar system. Twenty Five to Life is about the people left behind. Julie is sick of her prospect-less life with the only future left left to her is a cube with a VR addiction. She runs away and joins The Volksgeist, a loose band of misfit caravaners that roams what’s left of the United States.
When describing Twenty Five to Life, I think zombie apocalypse without the zombies or Ready Player One but about the people who’ve shunned the OASIS. This book exemplifies the philosophy of “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” This is a road trip without a set route or a fixed destination. We follow Julie as she meets up and exchanges stories with a wide range of characters on the road. Through trials and conversations, Julie learns to see past her poorly informed beliefs and prejudices and discovers that there may still life worth living in a hopeless world.
I probably would never have picked up Twenty Five to Life as it’s not the typical book I usually read (and the loss would have been mine). It is not a giant science fiction spectacle, but rather a slice of life that explores the world we may very well see in the not-so-distant future. It never gets preachy and doesn’t aim to lecture. It is a short, thought-provoking read that delivers on its premise and leaves us wondering what we would do in this near-dystopian world.
I received a physical copy of this book from Angry Robot Books as part of a book tour in exchange for a post.
When describing Twenty Five to Life, I think zombie apocalypse without the zombies or Ready Player One but about the people who’ve shunned the OASIS. This book exemplifies the philosophy of “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” This is a road trip without a set route or a fixed destination. We follow Julie as she meets up and exchanges stories with a wide range of characters on the road. Through trials and conversations, Julie learns to see past her poorly informed beliefs and prejudices and discovers that there may still life worth living in a hopeless world.
I probably would never have picked up Twenty Five to Life as it’s not the typical book I usually read (and the loss would have been mine). It is not a giant science fiction spectacle, but rather a slice of life that explores the world we may very well see in the not-so-distant future. It never gets preachy and doesn’t aim to lecture. It is a short, thought-provoking read that delivers on its premise and leaves us wondering what we would do in this near-dystopian world.
I received a physical copy of this book from Angry Robot Books as part of a book tour in exchange for a post.
clacksee's review against another edition
5.0
In late twenty-first century America, under 25s have lost virtually all rights. They are bound to their parents with no agency in their own lives. Two years before her 25th birthday, Julie runs away and seeks a new life on the open road.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this one – but once I started reading, I found it difficult to put down. Although the author didn't shy away from the bleak reality of the world he envisioned, the characters were almost all ones I wanted to root for.
An immersive dystopian road-trip through a future America packed with a diverse array of characters with both good and ill intentions.
At various points, I was reminded of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven and J. Scott Coatsworth's Dropnauts – yet it was always fresh and true to itself.
My thanks to the author, Angry Robot, and Queer Sci-Fi for the ARC.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this one – but once I started reading, I found it difficult to put down. Although the author didn't shy away from the bleak reality of the world he envisioned, the characters were almost all ones I wanted to root for.
An immersive dystopian road-trip through a future America packed with a diverse array of characters with both good and ill intentions.
At various points, I was reminded of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven and J. Scott Coatsworth's Dropnauts – yet it was always fresh and true to itself.
My thanks to the author, Angry Robot, and Queer Sci-Fi for the ARC.
ladymacbeth_1985's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book has been on my shelf for something like two years! I always had it on my TBR pile but never got around to it, so, finally, I … got around to it! And I’m glad I did, as Twenty-Five to Life is an engrossing novel that was much more contemplative than I expected.
This novel features an unending road trip - a life constantly in transit.
It’s also a novel about protest, going against the expected grain, and finding adventure despite the risk. Julie decides she doesn't want to live a life only plugged into the VR world, escaping the mundanity and doom around her, and that she’d rather be uncomfortable and have genuine experiences than be comfortable and suffer ennui. She also learns a great deal about herself, society, and growing up. It’s one of those novels with a younger protagonist but it’s not a YA - the novel doesn’t skirt over the dangers of living on the road, but it also shows how most people do look out for one another.
I would almost call this novel pre-apocalyptic. While the world isn’t destroyed, it is environmentally bleak and a great deal of the population has moved to cities, leaving behind abandoned buildings and towns. Cops use drones to patrol these areas, kicking out anyone who tries to squat, but there are a lot of apocalypse tropes in the novel, enough that I think anyone who likes that genre will enjoy this book.
I loved the characters. Julie is naive and a bit sheltered, but she’s determined to prove her worth and value to herself and her driving partner, Ranger. The latter holds her cards close to her chest, but as Julie gets to know her, so do we. We don’t know her as much as we do Julie, but she serves as a great mentor character to Julie. It sometimes feels like we’re learning the ropes of the transient lifestyle as much as Julie is.
One thing I also really enjoyed was the concept of upping the legal age to twenty-five. Julie can’t do all the things she wants to do: move out on her own, get a job, etc, because she’s not allowed. This, while not entirely realistic, works more as a parallel to the situation of many young people today - those who want to work but their fields are full of those who won't retire (or companies who only hire contract employees), young people who can’t afford housing or even rent, and young people who are held back by the coddling bestowed upon them by their parents (and who are then blamed for it). Like a lot of people today, Julie feels trapped by society itself. It’s an understandable issue - I think anyone, even those who grew up in affluence, understands being in your early twenties and just wanting to get out and explore.
Speaking of exploration, all the action aspects of the novel move at a good pace and it's clear what's going on. Nothing felt too over-the-top (either in the dangers they face or how they escape situations), and it was wholly engaging. It was also nice to have a story about a young woman - especially one written by a dude - where romance wasn’t her end goal or even a part of the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I stayed up way too late reading "just one more chapter." I definitely recommend this novel, which is what seems to happen when you leave things to ferment on your TBR!
This novel features an unending road trip - a life constantly in transit.
It’s also a novel about protest, going against the expected grain, and finding adventure despite the risk. Julie decides she doesn't want to live a life only plugged into the VR world, escaping the mundanity and doom around her, and that she’d rather be uncomfortable and have genuine experiences than be comfortable and suffer ennui. She also learns a great deal about herself, society, and growing up. It’s one of those novels with a younger protagonist but it’s not a YA - the novel doesn’t skirt over the dangers of living on the road, but it also shows how most people do look out for one another.
I would almost call this novel pre-apocalyptic. While the world isn’t destroyed, it is environmentally bleak and a great deal of the population has moved to cities, leaving behind abandoned buildings and towns. Cops use drones to patrol these areas, kicking out anyone who tries to squat, but there are a lot of apocalypse tropes in the novel, enough that I think anyone who likes that genre will enjoy this book.
I loved the characters. Julie is naive and a bit sheltered, but she’s determined to prove her worth and value to herself and her driving partner, Ranger. The latter holds her cards close to her chest, but as Julie gets to know her, so do we. We don’t know her as much as we do Julie, but she serves as a great mentor character to Julie. It sometimes feels like we’re learning the ropes of the transient lifestyle as much as Julie is.
One thing I also really enjoyed was the concept of upping the legal age to twenty-five. Julie can’t do all the things she wants to do: move out on her own, get a job, etc, because she’s not allowed. This, while not entirely realistic, works more as a parallel to the situation of many young people today - those who want to work but their fields are full of those who won't retire (or companies who only hire contract employees), young people who can’t afford housing or even rent, and young people who are held back by the coddling bestowed upon them by their parents (and who are then blamed for it). Like a lot of people today, Julie feels trapped by society itself. It’s an understandable issue - I think anyone, even those who grew up in affluence, understands being in your early twenties and just wanting to get out and explore.
Speaking of exploration, all the action aspects of the novel move at a good pace and it's clear what's going on. Nothing felt too over-the-top (either in the dangers they face or how they escape situations), and it was wholly engaging. It was also nice to have a story about a young woman - especially one written by a dude - where romance wasn’t her end goal or even a part of the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I stayed up way too late reading "just one more chapter." I definitely recommend this novel, which is what seems to happen when you leave things to ferment on your TBR!
clacksee's review against another edition
5.0
In late twenty-first century America, under 25s have lost virtually all rights. They are bound to their parents with no agency in their own lives. Two years before her 25th birthday, Julie runs away and seeks a new life on the open road.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this one – but once I started reading, I found it difficult to put down. Although the author didn't shy away from the bleak reality of the world he envisioned, the characters were almost all ones I wanted to root for.
An immersive dystopian road-trip through a future America packed with a diverse array of characters with both good and ill intentions.
At various points, I was reminded of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven and J. Scott Coatsworth's Dropnauts – yet it was always fresh and true to itself.
My thanks to the author, Angry Robot, and Queer Sci-Fi for the ARC.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this one – but once I started reading, I found it difficult to put down. Although the author didn't shy away from the bleak reality of the world he envisioned, the characters were almost all ones I wanted to root for.
An immersive dystopian road-trip through a future America packed with a diverse array of characters with both good and ill intentions.
At various points, I was reminded of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven and J. Scott Coatsworth's Dropnauts – yet it was always fresh and true to itself.
My thanks to the author, Angry Robot, and Queer Sci-Fi for the ARC.
rbz39's review against another edition
4.0
An entertaining apocalyptic road trip, featuring some eerie possibilities for humanity’s future. I was worried that this was going to be more like The Road but thankfully it had some levity and hope near the latter half of the story. The characterization was engaging and I found myself frequently getting lost in the two main characters adventure and having to pull myself out of the book! The book moves at a quick pace and although it isn’t action packed, I didn’t feel like it was slow - there was always a destination in mind. I did think the ending resolved a bit too quickly for my personal taste but it’s a good way to leave these characters. Fingers crossed reality doesn’t imitate art in this case, although it seems to be coming closer every day!!
intothevolcano's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I greatly enjoyed this quietly hopeful book - it was the first novel in a long time which I just sat and read for several hours, without putting it down. The depictions of the world are vivid, but not overly graphic, and the writing style is really empathic.
I grew extremely fond of Julie and Ranger over the course of the book, but as a whole the narrative perhaps didn't emotionally resonate quite deeply enough for me to rate this a "perfect" 5 star rating.
Twenty-Five to Life was a wonderful read, which will stay with me - I finished it nearly 24 hours ago, and still keep thinking about aspects of it. I look forward to reading more R.W.W. Greene.
4.5 rounded up to 5.
Thanks to Angry Robot and Netgalley for the ARC.
I grew extremely fond of Julie and Ranger over the course of the book, but as a whole the narrative perhaps didn't emotionally resonate quite deeply enough for me to rate this a "perfect" 5 star rating.
Twenty-Five to Life was a wonderful read, which will stay with me - I finished it nearly 24 hours ago, and still keep thinking about aspects of it. I look forward to reading more R.W.W. Greene.
4.5 rounded up to 5.
Thanks to Angry Robot and Netgalley for the ARC.
j3ss1c4r34d5's review against another edition
4.0
Twenty Five to Life follows Julie, two years shy of being the legal age of 25, as she struggles with being left behind for the end of the world. Determined to break free from a monotonous life spent in virtual reality, she runs away from home to join the Volksgeist: a system of travelers living out their days in RVs and converted vans. Taken under the wing of an older woman named Ranger, Julie travels the wasted remains of America and submerges herself in a lifestyle full of the unknown. Faced with obstacles and danger, Julie soon learns that a life based in reality isn't always easy.
I really enjoyed the blend of an apocalyptic and dystopian setting. On one hand, you have a society that chooses to live in government provided cubes and waste away in virtual reality. On the other hand, you have a sliver of society that has abandoned the lifestyle of guaranteed "comfort" and health for an uncertain life on the road. I appreciate how thought-provoking this story turned out to be. Would you abandon a life of monotony for a life that could be riddled with hunger and danger? It's not hard to see that, even with this story taking place far into the future, we as a society are already there in some aspects. The constant loop of wanting to escape reality while also remaining in reality hits very close to home.
Faced with death, no matter what lifestyle you choose, Twenty Five to Life is a captivating coming of age tale. The relationships that Julie forges on the road propel her towards a future rather than one stuck in the past. While the story is mostly character driven, the constant change of location and set of new faces held my attention until the very end.
I highly recommend this book if you love: character driven stories, found family trope, full-time RV life, apocalyptic settings, and dystopian slice-of-life/coming of age plots.
I really enjoyed the blend of an apocalyptic and dystopian setting. On one hand, you have a society that chooses to live in government provided cubes and waste away in virtual reality. On the other hand, you have a sliver of society that has abandoned the lifestyle of guaranteed "comfort" and health for an uncertain life on the road. I appreciate how thought-provoking this story turned out to be. Would you abandon a life of monotony for a life that could be riddled with hunger and danger? It's not hard to see that, even with this story taking place far into the future, we as a society are already there in some aspects. The constant loop of wanting to escape reality while also remaining in reality hits very close to home.
Faced with death, no matter what lifestyle you choose, Twenty Five to Life is a captivating coming of age tale. The relationships that Julie forges on the road propel her towards a future rather than one stuck in the past. While the story is mostly character driven, the constant change of location and set of new faces held my attention until the very end.
I highly recommend this book if you love: character driven stories, found family trope, full-time RV life, apocalyptic settings, and dystopian slice-of-life/coming of age plots.