Reviews

Storm by D.J. MacHale

anniemariek's review

3.0

Finally finished this. It fell short of my expectations for a D.J. MacHale book. I wanted more actual plot and less confusing, unnecessary love triangle. Or quadrilateral or whatever was happening here.

Review to come.

spattee's review against another edition

3.0

Good story, but poorly edited and too much repetition. I'll read the final book in the trilogy just to see what happens.

jackslynn's review

3.0

One of the better young adult books I have read lately. It deserves more than three stars, but I can't give it four. I'd give it a 3.75.

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I'm only here for Kent Berringer, even though he's a rich spoiled edgelord who most likely would be a Trump supporter omg yet despite that is the only one who actually has semblance of character development bc Tucker is so irritatingly stupid and self-righteous (even for a 14 yo get real) and Tori is so tiresome with her gaslight gatekeep girlboss. The story is kinda ok and the book isn't bad as a sequel but DJM keeps rehashing his most known tropes and plot twists (fake deaths, resuscitations, flip flopping attitudes in his characters etc.) Like I'm a long time DJM reader and I like his storytelling and Pendragon means so much to me that I excuse a lot of questionable stuff he does but being honest the book has a lot of problems (typos and continuity issues like changing Captain Granger's name out of the blue??) Mainly nothing major is revealed and when it is it's just crumbs. There's also a lot of problematic and insensitive writing here and there e.g. Kent being racist for funsies. Though Kent and the Paiute Elder's exchange was funny somewhat bc at least DJM had the presence of mind to make the Paiute Elder a sarcastic king. Still, it bothers me that DJ MacHale couldn't be bothered to give the Elder a name or have one of the kids ask him. Also, I was so caught up in the exchange between Kent and the Paiute elder that I failed to see how brainless the elder's conclusion about the evil that's befall them and who's behind it is, I'm sorry! Like I've said in my notes, sometimes there's no escaping a white man has written this bc how can a Native person find it hard to believe humans would destroy each other when they've experienced first hand the colonizers wrath and hatred? But still, I'm invested in this trilogy and I wanna know what's the deal with the Retros, how they got their name, and how did SYLO came to be so I'll definitely read book 3, where everything will be info dumped to hell. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and War

Minor: Murder

krisis86's review

2.0

I felt like a lot of things about this book didn't really make sense. There were very few answers given. And it was frustrating that the characters kept getting into difficult situations constantly. At a certain point, it became more like "really? again?" rather than adding suspense to the story. And this book definitely suffered from Middle Volume Syndrome. Too long, not enough substance, and the characters kind of started to really grate on me. Particularly Tori and the main character's infatuation with her. Gag.

cgroff's review

adventurous tense fast-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? No

4.5

I didn’t think I would like this series as much as I do. I can’t wait to read the conclusion. 

randyribay's review

3.0

Some interesting moments, but I'm not a fan of his writing and the unfocused nature of series. Full review at The Book Mark.

lanierashley's review

5.0

This was great! I read the first book in the series last year (and twice) and had partially read this book once before. Finishing it and getting ready for the final book is great because I’ve been meaning to for years. This is a great series and this book looks long but is totally worth it.

squeakadillo's review

1.0

I feel stupider after having listened to this book.

tragiccharacter's review

5.0

Satisfying sequel

Satisfying sequel that still leaves us with many unanswered questions. A great adventure novel series for the thriller or sci/fi fan.