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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol
Moderate: Incest, Toxic friendship
Minor: Death, Death of parent
I adored this book!
As a huge Gossip Girl fan I can say that it did ring familiar with an essence of those stories bit also was unique in its world. Showing that even with a new life style and great new technology, we'll probably be just the same as we are now, making the same friends, same mistakes, same lives for ourselves. At the end of the day we're all humans out to survive and I LOVED how much this book conveyed this.
Each character has an interesting and engaging story and they intertwined and wonderful and imaginative ways. I would high recommend this book. I already went out and bought a physical copy even though I already read it digitally because I had to have this on my shelf!
As a huge Gossip Girl fan I can say that it did ring familiar with an essence of those stories bit also was unique in its world. Showing that even with a new life style and great new technology, we'll probably be just the same as we are now, making the same friends, same mistakes, same lives for ourselves. At the end of the day we're all humans out to survive and I LOVED how much this book conveyed this.
Each character has an interesting and engaging story and they intertwined and wonderful and imaginative ways. I would high recommend this book. I already went out and bought a physical copy even though I already read it digitally because I had to have this on my shelf!
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've read this book so many times and I've loved it every time. There's so many great twists
I don't want to sound repetitive, but I have to start this review by saying what pretty much every other reviewer has already said about this book: this is, in a nutshell, futuristic [b: Gossip Girl|22188|Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl, #1)|Cecily von Ziegesar|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1398814332s/22188.jpg|3061184]. And since I devoured that series when I was younger, making it one of my favorites (nope I'm not ashamed), this was a pretty good read for me. It was easy enough to go through, and very quick once you're in the mood for it. But if you're not a fan of reading about petty teenage drama and first world problems, this will definitely not be the one for you.
We follow a cast of five different characters, each with their own questions and problems. There's Avery, the genetically engineered Serena Van der Woodsen of the group, who hails from the richest family and is the most beautiful human in the world but hides some pretty ugly secrets of her own; Leda, who just got off from a stint in rehab and will do anything to keep that part of her life a secret; Eris, who receives unexpected news from her parents that will completely change her life forever; Rylin, whose mom passed away a while ago, forcing her to drop out of school and get a job to keep custody of her little sister; and Watt, who's trying to save for his college fund by performing illegal hacking jobs for people all over the Tower. In the middle of it all, we deal with a drug addiction, drug dealing, some light incest (yeah I know wasn't expecting it either) and money problems. Some of these kids are friends and some of them have never met before, but somehow, all of their problems end up intertangling with each and they gotta find a way out of the mess they created.
I'll be honest, some of the storylines were more interesting than others to me, and some characters were just plain annoying. I honestly could not stand Avery and her "woe is me" attitude to life simply because she couldn't be with the boy she loved. She was incredibly selfish but still had this holier than thou air around her simply because, in her eyes, she was the one suffering the most. I honestly just wanted to smack her. But other than her, I actually enjoyed pretty much all the characters, especially Watt and Rylin. In the midst of all the crazyness of the millionaire people, it was nice to see the perspective of two people who couldn't just go on a shopping spree to calm their nerves every time shit went down.
And also props to the diversity of this book! It has SUCH a great representation of a variety of characters, in a way I've hardly ever seen before.
My main problems with this was the lack of worldbuilding, and the sexist attitudes from the male highliers (aka people who live on the highest floors) who went by unnoticed.
Seeing as this is a futuristic, slightly sci-fi novel, the reader needs worldbuilding to understand the story better. But absolutely nothing is explained, only briefly mentioned, and I had a really hard time understanding the concept of the Tower. At first I thought the entire city of New York had been transferred to inside the tower, but then at various times there are mentions to characters going outside to visit the rest of the city, like Brooklyn. Does the tower encompass half the city? Just one borough? Why did so many people leave their homes, where they probably led more comfortable, middle-class lives, to live in the lower floors of the Tower in terrible housing? Were they in danger, was there climate change? I thought the construction of the Tower had to do with a heat wave (because climate inside is controlled and at many points, when characters are talking about NY outside the tower, they mention the horrible heat), but then some people go overseas to Paris and Florence and no one mentions anything about climate changes, so... Also, the current currency are ~nanodollars~ and actual paper money is illegal, but does that apply to the people who don't live inside the Tower as well? How do they deal with their finances since they don't have access to as many technological stuff as the people inside? SO MANY QUESTIONS WE DON'T HAVE ANSWERS TO!
And in regards to the sexism:
The rich boys were INCREDIBILY misoginystic at a numbers of times, and NO ONE called them out on it. On the quote I highlighted, I understand why Rylin wouldn't have said anything, because she was, at the time, working as a maid and probably would've gotten in trouble for saying something to the brother of the man who hired her. But she doesn't even think anything about it. She's seen as a piece of meat, clearly harrassed, and she doesn't even exclaim "fuck you" in her head. This happens a number of time throughout the novel; there are plenty of situations where the boys are clearly harrassing and staring at girls like they're made solely for their observation, and they catcall and make gross remarks about them, and the girls say absolutely nothing. There's not even a sentence afterwards that could be interpreted as "hey, this is not actually a nice thing!" They just go on doing their thing like that's normal. It's not. Men don't have the right to stare at girls like they're pieces of meat and exist solely for their gaze. That was a pretty upsetting thing for me.
Overall, it was a fun, fast-paced, light book. Definitely recommend reading it if you're tired of heavier books and just needs something quick to get through.
We follow a cast of five different characters, each with their own questions and problems. There's Avery, the genetically engineered Serena Van der Woodsen of the group, who hails from the richest family and is the most beautiful human in the world but hides some pretty ugly secrets of her own; Leda, who just got off from a stint in rehab and will do anything to keep that part of her life a secret; Eris, who receives unexpected news from her parents that will completely change her life forever; Rylin, whose mom passed away a while ago, forcing her to drop out of school and get a job to keep custody of her little sister; and Watt, who's trying to save for his college fund by performing illegal hacking jobs for people all over the Tower. In the middle of it all, we deal with a drug addiction, drug dealing, some light incest (yeah I know wasn't expecting it either) and money problems. Some of these kids are friends and some of them have never met before, but somehow, all of their problems end up intertangling with each and they gotta find a way out of the mess they created.
I'll be honest, some of the storylines were more interesting than others to me, and some characters were just plain annoying. I honestly could not stand Avery and her "woe is me" attitude to life simply because she couldn't be with the boy she loved
Spoiler
BECAUSE HE'S HER BROTHER SO IT'S NOT LIKE THAT IS TOO MUCH OF A TRAGEDYAnd also props to the diversity of this book! It has SUCH a great representation of a variety of characters, in a way I've hardly ever seen before.
My main problems with this was the lack of worldbuilding, and the sexist attitudes from the male highliers (aka people who live on the highest floors) who went by unnoticed.
Seeing as this is a futuristic, slightly sci-fi novel, the reader needs worldbuilding to understand the story better. But absolutely nothing is explained, only briefly mentioned, and I had a really hard time understanding the concept of the Tower. At first I thought the entire city of New York had been transferred to inside the tower, but then at various times there are mentions to characters going outside to visit the rest of the city, like Brooklyn. Does the tower encompass half the city? Just one borough? Why did so many people leave their homes, where they probably led more comfortable, middle-class lives, to live in the lower floors of the Tower in terrible housing? Were they in danger, was there climate change? I thought the construction of the Tower had to do with a heat wave (because climate inside is controlled and at many points, when characters are talking about NY outside the tower, they mention the horrible heat), but then some people go overseas to Paris and Florence and no one mentions anything about climate changes, so... Also, the current currency are ~nanodollars~ and actual paper money is illegal, but does that apply to the people who don't live inside the Tower as well? How do they deal with their finances since they don't have access to as many technological stuff as the people inside? SO MANY QUESTIONS WE DON'T HAVE ANSWERS TO!
And in regards to the sexism:
"Ah," Bryce said quietly, his eyes traveling up and down her body. "Well, I'm glad Cord's taste is improving. You're certainly better than the last one."
The rich boys were INCREDIBILY misoginystic at a numbers of times, and NO ONE called them out on it. On the quote I highlighted, I understand why Rylin wouldn't have said anything, because she was, at the time, working as a maid and probably would've gotten in trouble for saying something to the brother of the man who hired her. But she doesn't even think anything about it. She's seen as a piece of meat, clearly harrassed, and she doesn't even exclaim "fuck you" in her head. This happens a number of time throughout the novel; there are plenty of situations where the boys are clearly harrassing and staring at girls like they're made solely for their observation, and they catcall and make gross remarks about them, and the girls say absolutely nothing. There's not even a sentence afterwards that could be interpreted as "hey, this is not actually a nice thing!" They just go on doing their thing like that's normal. It's not. Men don't have the right to stare at girls like they're pieces of meat and exist solely for their gaze. That was a pretty upsetting thing for me.
Overall, it was a fun, fast-paced, light book. Definitely recommend reading it if you're tired of heavier books and just needs something quick to get through.
I give this book a three and a half star rating. It was entertaining but I felt like the plot was a little lack luster.
I got this book as an ARC from Netgalley
This book gives you a real feel of what the future could be like, suggesting the difference between the upper and lower classes will be bigger, but people's acceptance of others will be better. I didn't feel like I was rooting for any character in particular, and didn't feel empathy for their dilemmas, that said I found the book engrossing and felt disappointed when I didn't learn all of their final fates at the end.
This book gives you a real feel of what the future could be like, suggesting the difference between the upper and lower classes will be bigger, but people's acceptance of others will be better. I didn't feel like I was rooting for any character in particular, and didn't feel empathy for their dilemmas, that said I found the book engrossing and felt disappointed when I didn't learn all of their final fates at the end.
Honestly, this would have been a DNF from me if I hadn't taken it on a trip as my plane read. I truly disliked this book. Every character was dislikable, the POVs for half the characters were extremely repetitive, and I'm baffled by the choice to use a scifi futuristic setting as the backdrop for average, predictable teenage drama.
The fact that these characters all live in a super-skyscraper really means nothing, since it just translates to same "uptown-downtown" classism with very little nuance. I would even say the way Rylin and Watt's storylines were written was downright racist: Watt is described a Middle Eastern and uses his genius with computers to commit crimes on the dark web, while Rylin is a mixed-race maid who turns to stealing. Don't even get me started on the Yikes that was her romance with Cord, aka her boss who basically tries to buy her affection (and it works??) And this isn't even touching Avery, who is described as genetically perfect in every way: so of course that means she has white features, blonde hair, etc.
The fact that these characters all live in a super-skyscraper really means nothing, since it just translates to same "uptown-downtown" classism with very little nuance. I would even say the way Rylin and Watt's storylines were written was downright racist: Watt is described a Middle Eastern and uses his genius with computers to commit crimes on the dark web, while Rylin is a mixed-race maid who turns to stealing. Don't even get me started on the Yikes that was her romance with Cord, aka her boss who basically tries to buy her affection (and it works??) And this isn't even touching Avery, who is described as genetically perfect in every way: so of course that means she has white features, blonde hair, etc.