kowt
Contains spoilers
Omg it is such a bad idea to be emotionally devastated during one of the most important years of my life but what the hell. God. The doomed siblings. The characters, THE POLITICS, the greys (my friend said that i shouldn’t overthink and there are some ethical black and whites but THIS is what you empathise with when you read a lot of books and art, it’ll make you feel sad, but also a bit hopeful) fuck man. I want to reread this, I flew through this without paying attention to the writing. But, I simply don’t have the time. FUCKKKKK. God, wei and her search for truth. Her judging and knowing Terren, hanwei, and other people, i really liked reading her thoughts. Her mind was an interesting place to be. She was tactful, witty, resilient, adaptable. I admire her understanding of classism, imperialism and politics. (which she built over time, she’s a really quick learner. She had to be) I understood the rationale behind the things she did, even if her actions were not always morally right. Now, terren. I wouldn’t call him a complex character because that would imply that he was hard to understand. He wasn’t. Empathising with him was incredibly easy. Every revelation about his story felt like a punch to the gut. But it provoked conflicting emotions. As, he was cruel and abusive but the world did fail him. It wasn’t hard to imagine how he would’ve ended up the way he did. Maro, He kind of felt a bit unmemorable for me at the end maybe because I was so caught up with terren. But, their love for each other was so interesting. As I mentioned, I love doomed siblings. Adds a level of competitiveness and toxicity. Now, Silian song. She was beautiful and smart and she betrayed me. Haven’t we all been there? Girls? (If not all girls then atleast lesbians?) man I love it. And thank goodness for that. I was dreading a romantic arc between Terren and wei. P.S. And I liked the way hanwei’s voice was written and the difference between his storytelling, maro’s and terren’s.
Contains spoilers
It was a very interesting book. Read it physically and for some reason I couldn’t get into it immediately. Story picked up pace around like 200 pages in? Very very interesting concept. What is human nature? Is it evil or good? Thebookleo’s review is very good. I found it a bit hard to digest (emotionally) snow’s inner monologue because it was so twisted that it was genuinely disgusting at times. So, emotionally, I wanted to put down the book cuz it was hard to read in that aspect. But, if I read it in a detached manner perhaps I could’ve thought about it more. I was very affected by the climax…..when lucy realises snow’s deception (or doesn’t) and snows spiral, and betrayal) He was a very unreliable narrator. We never get to know how Lucy actually was. I was struck by sejanus’ death for some reason, I didn’t think he’d die should’ve appreciated him more……also, the ending is very up to interpretation. Lucy does become a mystery like the girl in the ballad…. I just really really dislike snow which made it hard for me to read his thoughts hence the low rating.
Oh. My. God. I WANT TO EAT THE WRITING. It was so good. It was funny and fantastical. The perfect YA coming of age. Ofc, there was flowery language (AND I love flowery language/purple prose) but it was absolutely delectable. It was full of hope, optimism and wonder while staying grounded. It was fierce and free in the way hope always is. It tackles important questions I’ve always had about love. Can you love someone and also keep your freedom? What does it mean to love when you are not free? How much choice do we have in loving someone?
I loved Demelza’s humor and Arris’ sense of belief. Prava, her father, was an actually intriguing morally grey character. His relationship with Araminta, her mother, felt achingly familiar. I really liked the way family was portrayed in this book as well as the competitors. They felt like entire worlds of their own and they were written beautifully. I would totally be up for a book exploring one of these characters!
P.S. the way food was described actually made my mouth water at one point. I’m not even joking. Loved the creatures and the uniqueness of the ancestor grove as a concept! Luscious. Alluring. It was delicious. I devoured it. (pun intended) I also appreciated the scariness and vulnerability of the love portrayed here. This is why I like YA. They are teenagers. of course, it would feel earth-shattering; it’s their first time. So big big emotions here. Which I ate right up. (i think i’m hungry)
It was pretty good. Not mindblowing. As a teenager though, I could relate with things. The ending was abrupt. I really like the dynamic between tori and micheal. It reiterates the preciousness of curiosity and wonder in a world that seems bleak. The scene where they dance, jump up and down in their beds and for a moment she forgets that she hates herself. It’s the small things. When you’re depressed, you can’t really appreciate them. When she says, yes, I am going to have fun, yes, I am going to feel happy, there’s a certainty to it.
