Dina
It feels wrong to rate this book.
It's not something I feel comfortable saying is well written or not. This is not about characters, it's about emotions. It's about real people and their experiences, the good and the bad.
Julian Barnes used this as a grieving process. He tells you what it felt like losing his wife so soon when the doctors expected her to live longer. He talks about how things changed now that he's on his own again; how simple things they used to do together and made him feel so happy are now meaningless and make him feel numb.
The book is divided in three parts: “The Sin of Height”, “On the Level” and “The Loss of Depth”.
The first two seem a bit disconnected at first, and some might even find them slightly boring, but once you reach the third part, where Barnes talks about his loss and how things have progressed in 4 years of grieving, it all comes together. He uses things he mentioned in the first two parts to establish a metaphorical connection with in the last part of the book.
Obviously, the last part is the most raw and emotional. I couldn't read it in one sitting because it was so powerful and hit me deep inside. If you're still grieving someone you lost recently, this book will either be what you need or something you need to avoid like the plague, this is not a “one size fits all” situation.
Some may also say that that last part is too depressing. I think it might just be too real. And it provides a different perspective on things, on how Barnes felt when some of his friends refused to mention his wife's name as if it would break him all over again, or those, like the mailman, who, in their innocent ignorance, would ask him about his wife, years after she'd passed away.
I absolutely adored this book, even if I was a bit skeptical in the first parts, with the whole balloon and photography info. But I'm glad I decided to stick to it until the end and see all of this blossom, so tragic and beautifully.
Mr. Barnes, wherever you are, I hope things are much better and that you've found the best way to deal with this loss.
Oh god, okay. So this book had a bit of everything, I guess.
Let's start with an individual review and then give it a global appreciation.
We start with Meg Cabot's “The Exterminator's Daughter”. I give this one 2 stars. It was a mess. The romance was rushed. One minute they don't even care that they're in the same room, the next they're all “oh, I always found them cute/interesting/whatever” and sparks fly. I didn't really enjoy this one.
Lauren Myracle's “The Corsage” had an interesting plot forming, getting the right amount of creepy atmosphere in there, but then the main character makes such a stupid decision in the end, the whole thing flat-lined for me. I was so put off by that ending... I give it 2.5 stars.
“Maddison Avery and the Dim Reaper” by Kim Harrison was such a compelling story. I was really enjoying the whole “more Grim Reapers than just your average Grim Reaper” idea and was sad to see it end. Reading this felt a lot like reading the first five chapters of a book for free and then having to buy the whole thing to continue. Except in this case, there's nothing to continue. At least not that I know of, which is sad, because I really wanted to see where this was going. For that feeling of incompleteness, I'm giving this one 3.5 stars.
Michele Jaffe's “Kiss and Tell” was my favorite of the bunch. I felt like it was the only story with a clear beginning, middle and end structure. I also liked the little “prologue” to wet your appetite. I really enjoyed this one. I think it was wrapped up really nicely and on a positive note. 4 stars for this one.
As for the last one, “Hell on Earth” by Stephenie Meyer, I have to admit I was a bit confused by some of the things happening and all the POV changes without any indication of it. It wasn't as forced and rushed as the first one, I guess, so I'm giving it 3 stars.
So I guess, overall, this gets 3 stars.
Not gonna lie, there are some clichés here and there, and the main character has her moments (where she's being completely obtuse and chooses to not see what's right in front of her until it's too late), but, in general, it was an interesting story. It was far from perfect (mainly for the reasons mentioned above), but it was enjoyable and easily read.
As for the plot twists, you kinda see it all coming. The real killer took me a bit longer, but I got there before the “revelation”, so... Still, I think it somehow managed to fit all the pieces nicely together. There were reasons and motives that explained the actions of certain characters (though the killer's motives were just... I don't even have words for that), so it doesn't leave you with the feeling that everything sort of just dropped from the sky just for the sake of it.
On a final note, Calvin's father is probably on the list of worst scum of the Earth.
I have to admit that, as a whole, the book didn't feel as good as the others did for me. But it was still very enjoyable, so I think I'll give it 3.5 stars.
The way it wrapped up was not entirely what I'd expected. It has a bit of an open ending, like the author decided to stop it there before things got bad again. I don't know.
This trilogy made me wish a lot of people were dead, and that's just strange, creepy and worrying. I know they're all fictional, but still... I can't deny I'm glad many of those did.
There were still a few things left not completely explained, you don't know what happened to a few people by the end of this, and I guess there are a couple moments there where the drama seems kinda forced.
SpoilerOh, and let's talk about that sex scene that spans out for like 10 pages, with only a couple paragraphs in each of them, being told from the perspectives of the two people involved. That was so strange...
Anyway, I think it started really well. I felt angry for what was being done to Mara, and I'm glad she turned things around. Being in her position during those scenes would have been mortifying for me. SpoilerTo be stripped of your will just like that and then be used as a lab rat? Not cool!
All in all, it was an enjoyable read, but as the last book of a trilogy, I expected a little more. Or maybe not more, necessarily, just for what happened to have been more developed or well-explained. Sometimes I'm okay with finishing a book and not getting an answer to everything, but those are usually the more philosophical ones. I expected answers out of this, some I didn't get. So, yeah. 3.5 stars.
I don't even know how to describe it.
Let me just say that the atmosphere is different from the first one, now that we know more things than we did going into this.
My level of frustration with everyone who thinks Mara is crazy keeps escalating.
The creepiness from the first book is still present here. When first there were crazy hallucinations and random killings, now there's memories from another time, a lot of insane people, and lots of stalking.
This whole series keeps you on edge, and I'm constantly pulled in by its mix of darkness and light fun and sarcasm. And the plot twists!
I have to say, though, the fact that these characters don't seem to be able to see things that are so obvious right away is something that makes me roll my eyes a lot. If someone steals your house keys and then shit happens in your house when you're away or asleep, who do you think could possibly have anything to do with it? Obvious, right?
All in all, I continue being amazed by this series and I love it, flaws and all!
Oh, man, where to start?
There was so much wrong with this book for me.
Not everything was bad. In general, it was okay, I guess. But there were some things that just didn't sit right with me.
Trying to avoid going into spoilers, let me just say that there were some really unnecessary deaths that obviously only happened to heighten the drama, some character development that ends up being completely destroyed in the end, the rushed way the author tried to wrap it all up (both the romantic side of the story and the whole revolution thing), the way certain things conveniently happened to move the plot the way the author seemed to want it to go, ...
Then there is also the fact that the book doesn't feel quite whole. It's like the first part of the book doesn't quite fit with the last. The first part is very descriptive of things that needn't be too descriptive about, and the last part, in contrast, could have used with some more details in certain scenes, as well as a more slow-paced ending.
As for the whole feeling of the book and how it gets really dark at some points, I'll admit that it fits with the whole war atmosphere, with the anticipation and planning before, and then the mourning of losses and the celebration of the victory in the end, but still it felt a bit too much sometimes. It became really depressing towards the end there. And, again, it feels like a very realistic outlook on this situation and all the traumas that come from everything they go through, but it could have been done in a way where we still know that it's a thing that's happening without having to feel so suffocated by it.
To be honest, I don't know what rating I should give it. I feel very disappointed in the way some things turned out, and I expected much more from the last book in the trilogy. Again, it's not that it was bad, it's just that it felt too rushed in some parts, some things just didn't click with the rest of the scenario, and some characters had some good development only to see it all go to waste in the end.
To be honest, it took me longer to read this one. Don't ask me why, I can't really pinpoint a specific reason. Maybe it was a combination of a few things.
First off, the whole subject matter still puts me off a bit, but the story is interesting enough to keep me around.
Then there's the whole love triangle. Really? Must a book always have a romantic story involving three people? I think the fact that Katniss doesn't really want to get married or have kids – for reasons we can all understand, given the context – would have been enough to drive some wedges in the romantic plot of the book. She could have romantic feelings for either Gale or Peeta and still be somewhat reluctant to get too involved because of the whole Hunger Games thing. Instead, we get Katniss being all over Gale back home and then all over Peeta in the arena. I mean, I get it girl, they're both handsome and stuff, but really...
I don't know. It's not that it was a BIG problem for me, it's just that I think it was completely unnecessary. Look at all the problems that got her into. Couldn't things with Gale just stay friendly? sigh
Moving on...
I like how they turned things on the Capitol near the end there. The district 13 thing didn't come as a surprise, I'm afraid. I suspected it from the beginning. The Head Gamemaker part... I suspected that too, after the whole exchange with Katniss at that party. And before you say anything like “you probably knew about it before reading it, considering pretty much everyone and their grandmothers have read this already”, believe me when I say I stayed remarkably unspoiled for these books. I only knew what happened in the first one because I watched the movie first.
Not gonna lie, one of the things I keep getting with these books was that sometimes the story would move too fast and I'd be left feeling like I missed something or didn't quite grasp what happened or why, and other moments I'd feel like we were getting way too much info on something that wasn't particularly relevant, or not as much as some of the other things that go down in the story in which we're lacking some important details.
All in all, apart from me having to struggle a little to move further into the story somewhere halfway in the book, it was an easy and interesting read. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the conclusion of this trilogy, and hoping these guys will take the Capitol down and all the mess that is the Hunger Games.
Okay, first of all, I have to say it took me this long to read this because I watched the movie first and it kind of put me off.
The whole “let's sacrifice two of our children each year and not do anything about it for years” thing upsets me. I know, I know, the last district that tried to do anything about it got erased from existence. If all the other districts got together against the Capitol, I'm sure there would have been some impact. This is just utter bullshit, sorry.
But, regardless, and because there are some books that you just have to set aside some ideals in order to enjoy them or you'll end up resenting the whole thing and hating yourself for picking them up to start with, I pushed all my feelings aside and went into this with a clean slate. Or as clean as possible, bearing in mind that I already knew how things would go down.
By doing this, I could see past the biggest problem of it all – which the main character seems to agree with on many levels as well – and enjoy the story for what it was, I guess.
I'd still cringe at the deaths, especially of the younger ones, but, as a whole, it was a smooth ride.
The book isn't too long, but still dealing with certain descriptions to get you used to this reality and thoughts going through our main character's head, it was an easy read. You get pulled into it and can't help but turn page after page to see how these characters will face the obstacles that keep being put in their way by the powers that be.
I like the tone of rebellion against the Capitol and whoever had the stupid idea of putting 24 kids in an arena and wait for them to kill each other, while watching it all go down from their comfortable couch, eating some popcorn and laughing at their deaths. The whole thing is just purely vile and... ugh. Don't go there, Dina...
Anyway. I'd say this wasn't a 100% solid 4 stars for me, but it was close enough that I'd give it that extra push. I still don't quite get all the hype, but I admit I see why people could get super involved in it and would stick around for the whole trilogy, and then even the movies.
Words cannot describe.
I just really enjoyed it. I wasn't too sure about it in the beginning, but, man, how my thoughts and feelings changed!
I felt compelled to read this book almost as much as Blake felt the book taking him to all those different places.
I really loved it. There's mystery and an element of creepiness, but it all comes together quite nicely.
Okay, so here's the thing: this book comes at you when you least expect it.
Not gonna lie, there are some twists that you see coming, or at least guess that the story will probably go there. But there are some twists that are just... whoa.
This book has my kind of humor, definitely. I found myself chuckling over the stupidest little things, but, hey! It definitely amused me.
There's a lot of creepiness going on here, but I guess the ups and downs between the scary stuff and the humor kind of broke the moment in various occasions for me. I'm not saying it didn't work, I'm just saying it would have worked better if the change between the light and dark atmospheres had been smoother.
The main relationship is a bit of a cliché, but it's not necessarily bad. It's actually fun in some parts.
What I did find strange was how everyone liked Noah right off the bat. I'm not saying they shouldn't, I'm just saying that when Mara's family is still dealing with what happened to her before the move and is constantly worried about her mental state, I don't see them just automatically embrace the first guy that comes knocking on their door to pick up their daughter. I don't know, that felt kinda weird for me. Again, let me say that it's not because I think he doesn't deserve their trust. I was a bit suspicious of him in the beginning, but I'm cool with him now. I still don't see how everyone simply accepted him without a question.
I did not see that last twist coming at all. But it was good. It makes for a great cliffhanger to create a bridge between the first and second book, I guess. (which I still don't have, so who knows when I'll be able to read it)
All in all, it was a good book, had a good balance between the dark, weird stuff and the light, fun things going on. It can get a bit confusing sometimes, because of all the “visions” or “hallucinations” or “memories of that night”, but if you take some time to really concentrate on it, then you should be fine. Sometimes things aren't clear enough when you read them, but a few pages later they're explained, so you're never really left hanging, I guess.
The concept was interesting, there are some good twists, but I feel like there was something missing and I'm not sure what it could possibly be.
It also felt kinda weird how some things happened out of nowhere sometimes. I don't know, it felt like a really okay book, but nothing more. I might read the next one to try and get closure on some subjects, but I won't be reading it because I'm super excited about it, that's for sure.
Though I will say that that last twist was good. It makes it almost like a prophecy happening, how Eldest mentioned those three reasons for discord, and now guess what? They're all there when shit goes down! That was good. I liked that.
I didn't like the whole Season concept, but I guess we really are meant to feel the way Amy does in this place. Everything is weird and doesn't make sense, and I'm sure it'd anger me if I was there to see it all first hand.
Still, 3 solid stars from me and nothing else.
I've given it some thought. I'm going with 3 stars.
I liked the first book better, for sure. I find that the whole “I'm going back home, wait, I want to escape, but, wait, now I have to go back, and then we're all gonna escape again” thing is starting to grow old on me. Hopefully, the third book won't play this old game of back and forth again or my eyes might roll back into my skull. So that was definitely a down side for me.
I liked Cassian way better in this book than in the first one, so that's a plus. I also really liked that Tamra finally got something good going on for her. I felt really bad for her in the first and last parts of the first book. I'm glad things are settling in a good way for her. SpoilerEven if the guy she always liked is now bonded to her sister. Hopefully they'll fix that in the last book.
Not going to lie, my opinion of Jacinda is changing towards the bad side. She's reckless at times (at the very worst times!), and like Cassian pointed out, she can be very selfish. Girl, make up your mind! Either you leave and never come back and let the dust settle around those left behind, or you stay in order to not make them suffer and get over your feelings and whatever. You can't keep going back and forth. It only makes things a million times worse. SpoilerLook what happened to Cassian's sister! I know she was snooping, but come on, you could have tried harder to get her to escape with you.
Cassian's cousin creeps me out. They need to deal with that guy. Permanently. He's nothing but trouble and pure wrongness.
All in all, it was an okay book. I expected more from it after the first one. Firelight was so intriguing and interesting.
I liked that, in this book, we get to learn more about other drakis and their powers, Spoileras well as the whole deal with Will's blood and his draki-like abilities, but apart from that, there's a lot of unnecessary drama and love triangles, and plain stubborness from the main character.
I'll read the last one, because I want to finish the trilogy, but unless it gets better than Vanish, it'll be nothing but disappointment.
I should probably start by saying that I accidentally spoiled myself the ending of this book before I got to it, so I already knew what was going to happen like 30 pages into the book. I know, I know, part of me cried inside because spoilers, you know?
Anyway, I still enjoyed it, even if I spent most of the time thinking “ugh, no, don't go there, don't do it, just don't” and then I'd sigh deeply and accept that whatever it was happened anyway.
Okay, let's start with the story itself. I find it interesting, this idea that there's a sort of subspecies of dragons that are hunted for their abilities (both to cure illnesses and to find precious stones and other valuables). It makes sense... in the fantasy world this is set in, obviously. But it's one of those things where, if the drakis really existed in our world, you just know the hunters would be all over that for personal gain and wouldn't mind killing them for it. Which is so sick, but so true...
The characters, okay, so... there's the main character, Jacinda – granted, the situation she's in is absurdly bad and she feels like there's nowhere she could possibly escape to and just be her true self – but, come on, there are certain parts of the book where I feel like she's not even seeing the whole picture. She only cares about that. And, again, I understand that it's not fair that she has to go through this to protect herself and her family, but... sigh I don't know. She saying that her mother and sister don't understand her and don't think about her, but when her sister tells her that she felt like she didn't belong before they moved, she sort of shrugs it off after a while. And that's just not fair, man. So, yeah, that was the one thing with which I had a real problem in regards to this character. Apart from that, she's not a super special heroine or anything. She's just a regular girl, just wanting to be free. Can't blame her for that.
Will... he's sort of mysterious throughout most of the book, but I totally saw that last revelation coming. I saw it right from the start. (Trying not to stumble into spoiler territory here!) But he seems like a nice guy, if you overlook the little lies here and there. He almost mirrors the main character, in the sense that he feels trapped by his family as well.
Jacinda's mother, well, I understand her reasons. She sacrificed it all so bad things wouldn't happen to her daughter. I can't be mad at her for wanting to “kill” part of Jacinda, because it was the only way to protect her. And the father story... So sad, man.
Tamra is... well, she's a normal teenage girl who's finally getting what she always wanted and never got before they moved. Obviously, she comes off cold and selfish sometimes, but again, she's been living on the other side. She's been where Jacinda is now, so I can't really fault her for being happy when her sister isn't, because, again, it used to be the other way around. I don't really think she should be seen as one of the “mean” characters, because she's not doing it because she likes to see her sister hurt. In fact, there was a nice little scene in there with the sisters that I really enjoyed and I feel that people may overlook that because she always seems so unaffected by her sister's pleas to return home.
Cassian, though... guys, I can't begin to tell you how many creepy vibes I get from this dude. I don't like him, I don't trust him, I want him gone. Basically, I just want him to leave Jacinda and her family alone. Which, well, we'll see how that goes in the second book, I guess.
All in all, it was a nice read, nothing too spectacular. There are a few little plot twists, but you might see some (if not all) of them coming. Now moving onto the second book!
Let me start off by saying that I struggled a lot when it came down to picking a rating.
The story is really good and the characters are very relatable, and there were times while reading this (especially family-related parts) that almost made me cry... but, overall, it's an ordinary story. There's nothing super fantastical or a huge plot twist that makes you go “OH!”. So I'm going to give it 3 (very solid!) stars.
Looking back on my first year of college, I see a lot of myself in Cather. I was never really the party girl, so I'd end up in my room a lot, just reading or writing, or even just studying, really. But I made a lot of friends. You don't really need to go to parties all the time to make friends. And it took me a while to see that that was okay. And I feel like Cather is also going through some similar realizations.
I think the family stuff was what got to me the most. I really liked that, for once, when a character's parent has left them at an early age and then decides to come back years later and reestablish that lost connection, the main character doesn't immediately bow down “because they're family”, because life doesn't work like that. You're family when you're present, when you're around in the most important moments of their life, be them good or bad. In contrast, you just happen to share some DNA characteristics when you're related and don't bother to build a relationship with them. It's different. You don't owe the latter anything. And I'm glad someone finally figured that out and wrote it as it should be. I enjoyed it immensely. Kudos to Rainbow Rowell for that!
As for everything else, it was good, sure. I'd see parts of myself in there, and I loved Cath's thoughts about the whole writing process, and I understand that thing about wanting to finish her fanfic before the last book in the series was out. Levi was super sweet, too. I wasn't sure at the beginning if they were going to get romantically involved, but it was nice when it happened, even if I wasn't fervently hoping it would.
All in all, it's a great book, a fantastic read, it just feels a bit like an ordinary contemporary thing. Still, would definitely recommend. =)
Okay, let me just say that I love the whole rock and stone thing going on.
I like the idea that someone would collect stones and use them as snapshots of times past, of memories. It's got some sort of poetic tone to it.
But I just can't get over the 3 book parts and the chapters, how the rocks relate to the story itself. I think that was so very well done, really, so kudos to the author!
Now the story... I mean, I liked it, but it wasn't quite... I don't know. It didn't click enough for me. I felt various emotions throughout this reading experience, though, so it obviously was good enough to elicit some sort of response.
Either way, this book was good, and though I know some people might not be comfortable with the romance depicted in it, I still think it was a lovely story of ups and downs.
To be quite honest, I was actually enjoying it very much at first. If it had kept going that well, I'd have given it a solid 4 stars. I don't think I'd ever give it 5 stars, though.
The writing itself didn't bother me that much. It was weird in the beginning, but it's something you eventually get used to. I did mind a bit the lack of quotation marks. I don't know, it just threw my brain for a loop at times when, in the same sentence, you had two different people talking and all you had to go for was a capital letter in the middle of a sentence giving you a heads up. But putting that aside, the language itself was interesting and pretty consistent (only found one or two instances where I frowned at it because that word had appeared before and it wasn't written that same way, so that's not so bad).
As for the plot itself, it started off well, and though Saba seemed cruel towards her younger sister, it kind of made sense from her point of view, since, for her, she's the reason their mother died. I'm not saying it's right, but it definitely makes sense that she'd be more hostile towards her sister if this is what's constantly on her mind.
I have to agree with what someone else said in a review, and that is that I will never understand how Emmi kept going with them. She's 9. Yes, she kicks ass, yes, she helps at times, but more often than not, she's more of a hardship than actual help. She held Saba back during that desert part before they were taken, she was held at gunpoint closer to the end of the book... Man, just not good. And I preferred earlier Saba, because she didn't let her come with. Sure, she didn't do it because she had her sister's best interests in mind, but at least she was safe and wouldn't keep getting in the way unintentionally. That may sound harsh, but that's how I see it.
Which brings me to Jack. Man, he was cool and confident and I didn't really have any problem with him... until he basically forced Saba to take Emmi with them. Like, dude, I know your heart's in the right place, and, sure, someone would have to eventually show Saba that she was being unfair towards her sister about the whole mother thing, but going somewhere as dangerous as Freedom Fields with a stubborn 9 year-old? Not the brightest idea!
I liked the cage fighting parts. I think it was probably one of the few moments in the book that made me really feel the character. Her hot rage, how she had that one goal in mind - save her brother - and would do anything to make that happen, even if she wasn't too happy about it. It was that low point the character had to go through, you know, the end justifies the means and all that.
But, yeah, as the book went on, her character changed, but I don't think it was for the best. Not all of it. I'm glad she's on good terms with her sister now and that she opened up to someone other than her twin brother, but she went from being all goal-oriented and doing things the right way to just “winging it” and risking everything (even having to kill one of her friends). I didn't like that.
All in all, it was okay, I think. Nothing too special. Had good high points there where I could understand the character's feelings, thoughts and choices, but towards the end, it just went a bit downhill for me. The way the book ends sort of gives me the choice to stop it here. It doesn't wrap up everything as nicely as it would, were I to finish the series, but I just can't. I feel like I can't really connect to the main character anymore, and the story isn't strong enough to keep me around for two more books.
Okay, first of all, let me tell you that while I don't really have a problem with this sort of thing, and even after reading some of the reviews here, I didn't expect this book to get that dark.
So if you're one of those people who read the reviews so you can get a feel for a book before actually committing to reading it, know that there are many triggers here. There's a lot of abuse here, in the form of violence and non consensual sexual situations. There is also an overall negative feel around the victim and many slurs, and also a lot of misunderstandings regarding these sensitive situations.
You get 4 POVs from 2 brothers, Alex and Kyle, from Philadelphia and 2 sisters, Katie and Julie, from New Jersey. During the summer, they all go to this place with their Russian families and that's basically where they meet. They sort of lead double lives. During these summers, they all pretend to be someone they're not during the other three seasons, back home.
Obviously, these lies never stick, and something happens that will eventually - and inevitably - ruin the painting. When it does, it goes bad. Really bad.
I have to say that I only really liked one character from beginning to end, and that was Kyle. I wasn't too big on Katie in the beginning, but then things happened and I wanted to hug her forever and stop her from making bad choices and just find her some help, really. Julie was okay in the beginning, but I ended up the book feeling such a deep hatred for her, you have no idea. Alex was ups and downs. In the beginning, I liked the summer version of Alex (or Sasha, as they called him), but eventually, it all crumbled down and he only made things worse for Katie in the end. I sort of understand how he thinks about things a certain way, given what happened at home after his father died, but still... Either way, I hate Julie more. She made everything about her when she wasn't even close to the real problem.
Anyway, it was definitely a heavy and emotionally dark thing to read. I punched a cushion a few times because certain characters were driving me up the wall, but it was so... raw at the same time. I'd find myself conflicted most times. I'd think “don't worry, Dina, this is all fictional, this never happened”. But then again, another part of me would go “actually, although this particular story is fictional, this happened (and still happens) to so many people out there in the real world” and it would make me sick to my stomach considering this harsh truth.
I particularly liked the last pages with resources for people needing help fighting these situations. That was a nice touch.
All in all, it was a really good book, a solid 4.5 stars, even if I can't give it that. It really got to me. I kept going from anger to sadness between pages, and would occasionally yell a victorious “yes!” whenever a character got to hear some really hard and well-deserved truths. A lot of people in this book could do with a few reality slaps. Or punches. But, yeah, I'm going to cool off a bit now. This book messed me up.
Okay, let me start off by saying that I gave this one a try because I read The Maze Runner trilogy and Dashner's writing style actually clicked with me. I love the wit and sarcasm and the random plot twists that come out of nowhere and make you yell at a bunch of pages while your family and/or friends judge you quietly a few seats away from you. Also, the plot for this series seemed interesting.
Now for this book, I think I managed to connect with Michael much more and much quicker than I ever did with Thomas in The Maze Runner. I like this main character a lot, to the point where I get worried about him and don't want anything bad to happen to him.
I liked his friends, too. They each add a little something to it, be it a larger sense of rationality into their mission or some good belly laughs or just that comfort you feel when you're doing something risky, but have someone you trust and care about walking that path with you, giving you that extra strength. Makes the whole thing seem more real and grounded, I think.
The plot is interesting and scary at times. To think it might come a time in our own very real world where AIs gain full consciousness and free will? Whoa. Talk about frightening consequences! But crazy theories aside, I like that Dashner sort of walks you through this new world. He lets you get familiarized with it, so you don't get confused with how some things work with the Deep and the Wake and all that. It's not always an easy task when books are set in alternative (or alternative-ish) realities or universes.
As for the violence and overall creepiness depicted in this book, if you've read The Maze Runner trilogy, it won't come as a surprise for you, even if you may find yourself thinking you really didn't need that mental image at times.
The ending wasn't as surprising as it could have been. If you pay attention to the clues throughout the book, you get to a point where that seems to be the only logical thing, you know? I'm not saying you'll visualize the whole thing exactly as it happens, but that ending twist? You might find yourself suspecting it, at least, along the way. You may question it and even think “no, that can't be it”, but I'm sure it'll eventually cross your mind.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to getting my hands on the second part!
I really liked how different Ari and Dante were in this. How they became best friends even if one was softer and the other was harder.
Dante's thing with shoes was weirdly interesting. He likes dogs because they don't have to wear shoes. Ha!
I felt for the main character with his whole brother thing. His parents should have told him from the start, instead of pretending he didn't exist.
I also had this feeling that this character kept so much inside that when he finally cracked, it would be bad. And that he'd be in denial for a long while if something big were to happen.
The part where Dante moved to Chicago for a few months... I didn't like that Ari wouldn't write back at first. But I guess I understand he was going through a rough moment in his life, so...
I lost it at the part with Dante's letter about masturbation. I laughed so hard. The whole book in itself made me laugh and made me sad, too, at times. But that part. Ari's reaction to it... I could almost see him as if he was standing in front of me, letter in his hand, going “who the hell does he think he is, sending me this?”.
Let me start by saying that I hesitated, but this book deserves the 5 stars, really.
It took me almost 2 years to get my hands on this book, but I did it! Success!
Anyway, the story is told from two POVs: Craig's and Lio's. They both have their problems and they're both working them out throughout the book, hitting their lows and their highs along the way.
The whole plot around Craig and his missing animals hit me hard because I've been in a similar situation recently and it suuuuucks. I'm glad that by the end of the book he didn't let himself be too hung up on it and decided to move on. That's the best he could do, really.Spoiler I do think, though, that fourteen animals are in no way a substitute to therapy when you really need it. And, come on, if I were his mother and he was crying like 10 times a day and not sleeping most nights, I probably would have found a way to get him to see a professional, because that's not good, man.
As for Lio, the whole story behind his hair was just... heartbreaking, man. I can only imagine what it feels like knowing your twin brother didn't make it when you both went through the same things, both good and bad. His therapist was really cool, too.
All in all, the story is beautifully written and I really liked the style, where it's like you're listening to these characters tell you their stories, instead of just reading about them. The pauses, the repetitions, the run-on sentences. It somehow all adds more depth to the story and the feelings you get out of it. I found myself both laughing and on the verge of tears while reading certain parts. I could also see a lot of myself in these characters' thoughts, which probably helped me connect with them more.
I'd say more, but I can't trust myself not to give it all away, so I'll stop here. I loved this book and it'll always have a special little space in my heart.
This is the story of Caroline, a fourteen-year-old girl who's leading a large group of people away from the soldiers who want to take them and make them their slaves. She's a natural-born leader. In fact, Caroline was one of the scouts trained to be on the lookout for enemies and to fight them if necessary before they reached the town she lived in. Kudos to you, Mr. Lindsey. I don't know how you do it, but I always end up loving your characters.
It's set in Virginia, in a sort of pseudo-future, so it's also funny to read when she talks about what her grandfather used to tell her about the “old times”, when people used to drive cars around, which is a weird concept to her. Her scenes with her grandfather are very emotional and made me feel all sorts of things.
The Kinders are an interesting concept and their backstory makes sense, in a hypothetical way, I mean, which pleases me greatly. I'm looking forward to learning more about them and their powers.
I really enjoyed that last fight scene with Caroline and Finn. The fact that she focused on that little boy and his father to give her strength and a purpose to win against the DAV (Democratic Alliance of Virginia) brought tears to my eyes.
Of course, because this is only the first part, we're left with a cliffhanger. No worries. I'm ready for the next part.
Awesome story and amazing characters. What else could I ask for?
I really liked this book. I think it was a fitting conclusion to the series.
Again, it picks up right where the second book ended, so it's easy to make the transition from one to the other.
I liked Thomas more in this book than I did in the first two, even if he still messed up a bit every once in a while. I can't really blame him, though, considering everything he's been through. Once again he spends like a third of the book falling down or unconscious... it makes you realize you actually miss a few things, since the book's told in his perspective.
I still don't like Teresa. After the second book, I just... SpoilerI get that she sort of redeemed herself or something by the end of this book, and it may sound a bit cold and heartless of me, but it still didn't change my feelings for her.
I like Brenda and Jorge Spoilereven if they're somehow still involved in the whole WICKED endgame or whatever. At least this time around it ended well, I suppose. No more trials and no more unnecessary deaths.
Minho is still my favorite. I think that, throughout the story, he's the one who reacts to things closest to the way I probably would if I were in their shoes. I loved his bond with Thomas and Newt, and I liked that he was still pretty much wary of Teresa after everything she'd done.
As for Newt, good guy, man. SpoilerI got spoiled about his death, so it didn't really come as a surprise. Even though it was probably one of the worst things Thomas had to do, I'm glad he honored his friend's wishes and didn't let him become a full-past-the-Gone crank; he let him die as sane as he could be, let him die before the Flare changed his friend forever.
The Rat Man/Janson, or whatever his name was, was starting to get on my nerves. I'm cool with the way things ended for him.
All in all, it was a good story, and as I already said, a fitting ending. Seems WICKED was good after all. Well, part of it, at least.
Okay, so this is the second book of the trilogy. It starts off from the ending point of the first book.
I have mixed feelings about this book. The trials were different, of course, so I guess I can't really compare it to what they went through in the first one.
I liked that we learnt more about Wicked and the reason behind this (though we still don't know much about it, to be honest) and that in this one, one of their threats was nothing but humans who were sick, basically. The griever thing in the first one got really creepy and kind of disgusting in The Maze Runner.
Anyway, as for the characters, Thomas spends the first half of the book tripping and walking into things, and the second half tripping and falling on his face. I see nothing's changed there. While I'm amused by the frequency of his clumsiness, he's still just a pretty ordinary character to me. And for someone who's like special and clever and whatnot, he sometimes makes some stupid decisions and makes me want to slap his face, but then I also remember he's, what, sixteen? So it's okay to make the wrong decisions as long as he learns from them, which I think is what happens.
I hate Teresa a bit now. She might have had her reasons to do what she did, but I still don't like it, and thus I don't like her. Minho and Newt continue being awesome, especially Minho. He's definitely my favorite, even if there was a large chunk of this book that went Minho-less. That was sad. I like Brenda too, but the last bits of the book made me question that, so now I don't really know how to feel about her. As for Jorge and the girls, I'm pretty neutral to them. I guess we don't know all that much about them in order for me to have a more solid opinion.
All in all, it was a good book. Some scenes had me cringing, because the violence and gore in this trilogy definitely didn't end with the first book, but mostly I enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as the first one, but still it was a good read.