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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
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