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dreizehn's reviews
1164 reviews
Swipe by Evan Angler
3.0
Swipe was generally a good read. The writing is geared toward the younger set, and it is primarily a mystery with dystopian flavor. In the American Union, the Mark is the gateway to adulthood. Pledge yourself to the government on your thirteenth birthday, receive your Mark, and gain your freedom to get a job, to shop, to do everything normal, model citizens do. But what happens to those that don’t come back from their Pledge? Supposedly they don’t exist; they are only a myth, an idle threat parents allude to to keep children on their best behavior. Logan Langly knows that they are not an urban legend, because when his sister went to get her Mark, she never returned. And ever since, Logan cannot shake the feeling that he is being watched, intruded upon. When Logan accidentally finds the wire going to his bedroom window, all hell breaks loose.
Swipe is a fast-paced mystery about Logan’s battle to find the truth. He meets Erin, the new girl in town, along the way. When he tells her his backstory, he finds in her an unexpected ally–someone that, for the first time in his life, might actually believe his paranoia is legitimate. Can they find the answers before it is too late? Will they even be worth the cost?
Although I felt Swipe was generally good, there were things I didn’t particularly like about this book. One was the cursing without actually cursing. Perhaps it was mainly to add a menacing nature to the group of villainous Unmarked, as they were the ones that did this most. However, to me, it just came off as absurd and disrupted the immersion in the story. The Dust are not the only ones that used these made-up slurs, which made this effect more noticeable and worse to me.
Another thing I wasn’t a fan of was the violence in the story. It wasn’t the mere fact that the violence existed in the story. It was, again, that the way in which it was presented that disrupted the flow of the story for me as a reader. The violence often didn’t make sense. Why were the members of the Dust constantly hitting each other? Is this supposed to be realistic? It came off like the hyenas in The Lion King to me. Absurd. And I don’t think Angler was going for the funny angle. I think it was supposed to add intimidation to the gang. It didn’t do that for me.
The last issue was a lack of depth to the characters. I felt there was very little development, excepting Logan. I also felt that the emotional reactions in this novel were too low-key and unrealistic. It seemed like the reactions were dulled by a net of apathy, which made it harder to connect with any of the characters.
Overall, I think this book would be a good read for younger children who like mysteries, particularly those who may be interested in getting into the dystopian trend but may be too young to read some of the other books out there, or who are just looking for something else to read. It was enjoyable, and I will probably read the sequel when it comes out to find out what happens to Logan after the cliffhanger.
This book was obtained freely from the publisher, Tommy Nelson, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Swipe is a fast-paced mystery about Logan’s battle to find the truth. He meets Erin, the new girl in town, along the way. When he tells her his backstory, he finds in her an unexpected ally–someone that, for the first time in his life, might actually believe his paranoia is legitimate. Can they find the answers before it is too late? Will they even be worth the cost?
Although I felt Swipe was generally good, there were things I didn’t particularly like about this book. One was the cursing without actually cursing. Perhaps it was mainly to add a menacing nature to the group of villainous Unmarked, as they were the ones that did this most. However, to me, it just came off as absurd and disrupted the immersion in the story. The Dust are not the only ones that used these made-up slurs, which made this effect more noticeable and worse to me.
Another thing I wasn’t a fan of was the violence in the story. It wasn’t the mere fact that the violence existed in the story. It was, again, that the way in which it was presented that disrupted the flow of the story for me as a reader. The violence often didn’t make sense. Why were the members of the Dust constantly hitting each other? Is this supposed to be realistic? It came off like the hyenas in The Lion King to me. Absurd. And I don’t think Angler was going for the funny angle. I think it was supposed to add intimidation to the gang. It didn’t do that for me.
The last issue was a lack of depth to the characters. I felt there was very little development, excepting Logan. I also felt that the emotional reactions in this novel were too low-key and unrealistic. It seemed like the reactions were dulled by a net of apathy, which made it harder to connect with any of the characters.
Overall, I think this book would be a good read for younger children who like mysteries, particularly those who may be interested in getting into the dystopian trend but may be too young to read some of the other books out there, or who are just looking for something else to read. It was enjoyable, and I will probably read the sequel when it comes out to find out what happens to Logan after the cliffhanger.
This book was obtained freely from the publisher, Tommy Nelson, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sneak by Evan Angler
4.0
One of my first thoughts about Sneak, having read Swipe over eight months ago, is that the book could have done with a little more review. I am used to having some of the events and characters of previous novels glossed over to some extent in series books. Particularly since it is targeted to a middle grade audience, I believe some overview would have been beneficial to enhance the reader’s understanding, familiarity, and comfort with what has happened so far and how that is affecting the beginning of the novel.
However, once I got back into the flow of things, I found myself really enjoying Sneak. When I first read Swipe, I hadn’t really picked up on the Christian connections. However, between Logan finding the bible in Sneak, the marked faces, and a friend’s casual comment about the series, I started to put it together. Sneak is still definitely enjoyable if you aren’t a Christian, or don’t know the stories very well. It is a well-played, solid dystopian novel that’s got enough thrills for young adults (and adults, if they choose), but clean enough for the younger set. However, when you consider the parallels with Revelation and the mark of the Beast, Sneak becomes even more clever. (Look at the cover! All the sets of the three numbers add up to six! The devil’s in the details :P )
Sneak picks up where Swipe left off, with Logan searching for leads on Acheron, the mysterious place which holds his sister. DOME is cracking down on the Markless harder and harder, enraged after the Dust and Logan slipped through their fingers. As threads of the stories of Logan, Erin, Hailey, Peck, and the other Dust intertwine, we discover more and more about DOME and how they really treat the Markless, the Marks, and a bit about how things were before. Angler weaves the political and religious themes through the characters and dystopian science fiction story with a deft hand, never feeling like he is forcing them on the reader.
I recommend this book to people of all ages who think they might want to pick it up. The series is well-crafted and clean enough for young readers. While there is violence, it is not particularly graphic. Any curses or slurs are manufactured for this futuristic world, so the language is clean. Also, the characters are mostly young (Logan had just turned thirteen). Overall, I feel that is very suited for a middle grade audience and up. Sneak continues an interesting story set forth by Swipe, and leaves a lot more excitement to come. I definitely look forward to the next installment!
This book was obtained freely from the publisher, Tommy Nelson, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
However, once I got back into the flow of things, I found myself really enjoying Sneak. When I first read Swipe, I hadn’t really picked up on the Christian connections. However, between Logan finding the bible in Sneak, the marked faces, and a friend’s casual comment about the series, I started to put it together. Sneak is still definitely enjoyable if you aren’t a Christian, or don’t know the stories very well. It is a well-played, solid dystopian novel that’s got enough thrills for young adults (and adults, if they choose), but clean enough for the younger set. However, when you consider the parallels with Revelation and the mark of the Beast, Sneak becomes even more clever. (Look at the cover! All the sets of the three numbers add up to six! The devil’s in the details :P )
Sneak picks up where Swipe left off, with Logan searching for leads on Acheron, the mysterious place which holds his sister. DOME is cracking down on the Markless harder and harder, enraged after the Dust and Logan slipped through their fingers. As threads of the stories of Logan, Erin, Hailey, Peck, and the other Dust intertwine, we discover more and more about DOME and how they really treat the Markless, the Marks, and a bit about how things were before. Angler weaves the political and religious themes through the characters and dystopian science fiction story with a deft hand, never feeling like he is forcing them on the reader.
I recommend this book to people of all ages who think they might want to pick it up. The series is well-crafted and clean enough for young readers. While there is violence, it is not particularly graphic. Any curses or slurs are manufactured for this futuristic world, so the language is clean. Also, the characters are mostly young (Logan had just turned thirteen). Overall, I feel that is very suited for a middle grade audience and up. Sneak continues an interesting story set forth by Swipe, and leaves a lot more excitement to come. I definitely look forward to the next installment!
This book was obtained freely from the publisher, Tommy Nelson, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.