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booksmellers's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
3.5?/5 stars
This book had a promising start, it lost me for a bit in the middle, then brought me back for the last quarter. This story has an interesting premise and characters but it has some technical issues that impacted my reading experience. My main problem is that I often felt separated from the action. I think this is partially because Jen chose to write from the dad's perspective throughout the whole book. I really liked his voice in the beginning, but when Gwen leaves home, it creates problems.(After she leaves, instead of seeing her directly we hear about her time at college through letters and through her dad putting a bug on her??? Did not love that.) I think it would've made way more sense to see Gwen's parents' perspectives in Part 1 and 2, and then switch to Gwen's point of view in Part 3, then return to Grant in Part 4.
Additionally, I didn't feel completely sold on the world building. There seemed to be some missing pieces. That being said, there were definitely some compelling aspects of it---for example, the idea that AI in someone's brain would copy their thoughts and create an AI version of that person: terrifying ---I'd be interested to read more about this dystopian America.
I'd still recommend for fans of sci-fi and dystopia. The book isn't as intense as some other dystopias I've read, but still check content warnings!
This book had a promising start, it lost me for a bit in the middle, then brought me back for the last quarter. This story has an interesting premise and characters but it has some technical issues that impacted my reading experience. My main problem is that I often felt separated from the action. I think this is partially because Jen chose to write from the dad's perspective throughout the whole book. I really liked his voice in the beginning, but when Gwen leaves home, it creates problems.
Additionally, I didn't feel completely sold on the world building. There seemed to be some missing pieces. That being said, there were definitely some compelling aspects of it---
I'd still recommend for fans of sci-fi and dystopia. The book isn't as intense as some other dystopias I've read, but still check content warnings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Dementia, Racism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Murder, Gun violence, Rape, and Classism
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