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missytwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
More of a 3.5, not closer to a 4 or a 3, very much a solid 3.5 star book. Happy that I finally got to this. But man... I'm like... ugh.
I did have a great time reading this, and so much representation is really nice. However, it feels weird that it's ~*~the future~*~ and people are still -phobic? Or like... there's really weird discussions about pronouns. Like, not saying that everyone has to be queer and up with the lingo, but as another reviewer stated, it felt rather modern in such a futuristic setting.
Like I appreciate the parents being chill with a bisexual daughter who has a girlfriend and the girlfriend's mum is chill with her gay daughter. And that Jess' parents are (possibly) chill with their son being (possibly) gay or bi. But yeah it just feels so weird to have folks be -phobic about something that doesn't feel like a big deal. I mean tbh, it's not a big deal here in 2023 but apparently to some it is.
The worldbuilding IDEAS are great, but they feel so like, weird? I love the whole setting, the ideas in this is super neat, but they're not super fleshed out tbh. But I'm glad that C.B. Lee didn't just focus on worldbuilding America which often happens in these books. Immigrants is a huge component of Jess' story, so talking about other countries was sweet (Australia representation!!! Fallout could never).
The plot twists were pretty predictable. Like,it was pretty obvious that M was Abby and I don't understand how Jess can be so oblivious to it. I get that sometimes you can not realise things but the fact that Jess is like oblivious to certain things is just... wild. I will admit, Bells being Chameleon sort of got me, only that Bells was the Chameleon character but I knew something was up with him and knew he had to have powers of sort .
The "villain" felt rather one dimensional too tbh. I know sometimes it's great to have a basic villain, but like... "rahh I'm a bad guy, so I must hate the queers and anyone who isn't white and blahh! I'm secretly a bad guy this WHOLE TIME!". That and the ending felt so rushed and the last ten pages felt like an afterthought.Also why didn't Jess' parents bring up what Claudia did? I don't know if Jess ever explained to them what Claudia is like but yeah.
I enjoyed the romance, a lot, and the characters are great, very cheesy but that's what life is like as a 16 y/o.
Overall, it was a good book to read, but yeah... I just wish it could've been better in some spots. Also noticed some, not just spelling mistakes but there was one section of the book where there was an extra full stop (period). So minute but still weird.
I did have a great time reading this, and so much representation is really nice. However, it feels weird that it's ~*~the future~*~ and people are still -phobic? Or like... there's really weird discussions about pronouns. Like, not saying that everyone has to be queer and up with the lingo, but as another reviewer stated, it felt rather modern in such a futuristic setting.
Like I appreciate the parents being chill with a bisexual daughter who has a girlfriend and the girlfriend's mum is chill with her gay daughter. And that Jess' parents are (possibly) chill with their son being (possibly) gay or bi. But yeah it just feels so weird to have folks be -phobic about something that doesn't feel like a big deal. I mean tbh, it's not a big deal here in 2023 but apparently to some it is.
The worldbuilding IDEAS are great, but they feel so like, weird? I love the whole setting, the ideas in this is super neat, but they're not super fleshed out tbh. But I'm glad that C.B. Lee didn't just focus on worldbuilding America which often happens in these books. Immigrants is a huge component of Jess' story, so talking about other countries was sweet (Australia representation!!! Fallout could never).
The plot twists were pretty predictable. Like,
The "villain" felt rather one dimensional too tbh. I know sometimes it's great to have a basic villain, but like... "rahh I'm a bad guy, so I must hate the queers and anyone who isn't white and blahh! I'm secretly a bad guy this WHOLE TIME!". That and the ending felt so rushed and the last ten pages felt like an afterthought.
I enjoyed the romance, a lot, and the characters are great, very cheesy but that's what life is like as a 16 y/o.
Overall, it was a good book to read, but yeah... I just wish it could've been better in some spots. Also noticed some, not just spelling mistakes but there was one section of the book where there was an extra full stop (period). So minute but still weird.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Racism
Moderate: Biphobia and Toxic friendship
piphux's review against another edition
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Confinement
Minor: Racism and Homophobia
bluberrybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
mengzhenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Although the plot felt a bit predictable at times and there was sometimes a lack of tension or stakes, this book was still a lot of fun and absolutely delightful to read. I loved seeing all the LGBTQIA+ rep that was depicted in this book and loved the concept of the story as well. Good read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Confinement, and Xenophobia
Minor: Forced institutionalization
yvonne_cl's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a lot of fun even though some stuff was a little predictable.
Rep: Vietnamese-Chinese bisexual female MC, sapphic female love interest, Black trans male side character, Latinx side character.
CWs: Forced imprisonment/confinement, drugging of characters against their will, kidnapping, racism, violence, discussions of coming out, physical assault that leads to injury/scarring.
Rep: Vietnamese-Chinese bisexual female MC, sapphic female love interest, Black trans male side character, Latinx side character.
CWs: Forced imprisonment/confinement, drugging of characters against their will, kidnapping, racism, violence, discussions of coming out, physical assault that leads to injury/scarring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Outing
bluejayreads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I didn't have a lot of expectations going into this book. I needed a book for work, this one was immediately available at the library. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
On the whole, this book was really just fun. There is some dark stuff that happens, high schoolers nearly dying, and some heavy themes, but despite all of that the prevailing mood reading this story is fun. There's superhero stuff and a big conspiracy, sure, but there's also friendship and crushes and romances and high school and in a way it portrays how complicated life is. Jess may have parents and an older sister who are literally superheroes, but she still has to deal with school and internships and a crush on a girl who probably isn't even into girls.
I hope the world gets explored further in the rest of the series, because it was fascinating. It's set in the future, where people watch TV on holoscreens and cars are so self-driving they don't have steering wheels at all and roombas have AI and personalities. And, of course, superheroes exist and are big stars. At first there are only hints that all may not be as cool as it seems, but as Jess and friends start to uncover the big conspiracy, it begins to look like this is a dystopian world where the people in charge are so thorough that nobody even realizes their world is dystopian. I expect and hope there will be more on that in book two.
On one hand, I do have a tendency to guess plot surprises way ahead of time. On the other hand, I feel like all the superhero-related surprises were telegraphed from a mile away. Everything that was superpower- or secret identity-related and trying to be a plot twist I called almost immediately. However, I didn't guess anything related to the big conspiracy. And even though I guessed all the superhero-related twists, I didn't mind too much because I was just having fun with the story.
This was a surprisingly enjoyable book. Not perfect and leaning towards the "mindless entertainment" end of the scale, but I enjoyed it a lot and it was an absolutely fun read. And the biggest plot thread in the book didn't get wrapped up hardly at all, so I totally intend to read the next book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement and Violence
Minor: Kidnapping, Racism, and Xenophobia
Misgendering (one instance, accidental and immediately corrected), being injected with something without consentoutcrye's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Vomit
Moderate: Drug use and Kidnapping
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Racism
maplewrites's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I found the story to be really engaging and fun. The mysteries were well hinted at so that the main character would have no reason to think "oh these people are the same person" (or something similar) but someone reading the book could either ignore the hints or be trying to piece it together and get watch the main character come to the conclusion they did.
This is very much a book about high school kids. I'd give it a reading range of about 8th to 11th grade probably.
This book isn't a romance, there is romance and discussions of romance throughout but it isn't set up like a romance. We get plenty of time before and after the characters get together to appreciate their relationship. It's not about the fact that they're in love at all.
Just because this book is set in the distant future doesn't mean that it isn't relevant to today. Media bias is a theme within the story.
I love reading books about queer children. It makes me feel like a person. I'm not Bisexual, I'm not a trans man, I appreciated seeing a wlw and a trans character none the less. Being seen is fantastic.
This is very much a book about high school kids. I'd give it a reading range of about 8th to 11th grade probably.
This book isn't a romance, there is romance and discussions of romance throughout but it isn't set up like a romance. We get plenty of time before and after the characters get together to appreciate their relationship. It's not about the fact that they're in love at all.
Just because this book is set in the distant future doesn't mean that it isn't relevant to today. Media bias is a theme within the story.
I love reading books about queer children. It makes me feel like a person. I'm not Bisexual, I'm not a trans man, I appreciated seeing a wlw and a trans character none the less. Being seen is fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
needles used for violence, if you don't have a phobia it shouldn't be an issue it's brief.whysomanysams's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia