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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A nice collection of short stories with brilliant concepts. The artwork felt perfectly related to the stories and was just as beautiful. The last 2 stories have characters from 'Carve the Mark' (I think) and I liked the extra information they gave and that it was not just focused on the main characters.
Inertia - 5⭐️/5⭐️
The spinners - 4.5⭐️/5
Hearken - 4.5⭐️/5⭐️
Vim and Vigor - 3⭐️/5⭐️
Armored Ones - #1- 2⭐️/5⭐️
- #2-4⭐️/5⭐️
The Transformationist - 5⭐️/5⭐️
The spinners - 4.5⭐️/5
Hearken - 4.5⭐️/5⭐️
Vim and Vigor - 3⭐️/5⭐️
Armored Ones - #1- 2⭐️/5⭐️
- #2-4⭐️/5⭐️
The Transformationist - 5⭐️/5⭐️
Inertia - the tech in this reminded me of a Black Mirror episode and the writing reminded me why I loved Roth's writing as a teenager. The story was very sweet and the few illustrations complimented it.
The Spinners - I liked the focus on sisters but feel like it could've been explored further. The alien aspect was cool but I didn't like the execution. This was probably my least favourite and least memorable story.
Hearken - quite emotive like Inertia and with complex family dynamics. I feel like this succeeded where The Spinners failed and though the ending was a tad predictable, I liked it.
Vim and Vigor - I liked the message in this one and the ending, but I felt the subject matter of grief could've been expanded on. It felt very surface level and I finished it wanting more.
Armored Ones - this was sort of 2 stories mushed together, which didn't really work for me. I really liked the first one but it felt unfinished. The second one was fine but I didn't see the point to it.
The Transformationist - I loved the theme and representation, as well as the ending, but the way things unfolded felt underwhelming. I love the idea that love solves everything, but I think stories need more than this.
Overall, a worthy collection and I really don't get the low ratings, but some stories are a lot stronger than others.
The Spinners - I liked the focus on sisters but feel like it could've been explored further. The alien aspect was cool but I didn't like the execution. This was probably my least favourite and least memorable story.
Hearken - quite emotive like Inertia and with complex family dynamics. I feel like this succeeded where The Spinners failed and though the ending was a tad predictable, I liked it.
Vim and Vigor - I liked the message in this one and the ending, but I felt the subject matter of grief could've been expanded on. It felt very surface level and I finished it wanting more.
Armored Ones - this was sort of 2 stories mushed together, which didn't really work for me. I really liked the first one but it felt unfinished. The second one was fine but I didn't see the point to it.
The Transformationist - I loved the theme and representation, as well as the ending, but the way things unfolded felt underwhelming. I love the idea that love solves everything, but I think stories need more than this.
Overall, a worthy collection and I really don't get the low ratings, but some stories are a lot stronger than others.
The 1st story is the only story that really moved me. The rest were not bad. But after the 1st story it was hard to want to move on to new worlds and characters.
The 1st story was about change, grappling with loss- with how we react to loss personally and interpersonally- about being okay with receiving help and trying to feel better than nothing. It was also a love story. How we don't always see it for what it is, or say what we should but maybe we should just try...
The 1st story was about change, grappling with loss- with how we react to loss personally and interpersonally- about being okay with receiving help and trying to feel better than nothing. It was also a love story. How we don't always see it for what it is, or say what we should but maybe we should just try...
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Even though I felt some stories felt stronger then others for me, the illustrations were nice (rare to find in novels teen+) and was more eager to read in compare to Divergent.
These were cute. I usually don’t go for short stories, but I was impressed by about half of these ones. Quick to get through.
An interesting collection of short stories - a very mixed bag on if I liked them or not. There weren't that many so I can talk a little about each one.
Inertia
This was a great way to start off the set. A futuristic setting where one can have a last visitation before you die with someone you choose and get to share your greatest memories. It's both touching and heartbreaking. The idea that you could get to say goodbye to someone in a memory of your choice. It's a lot. This one hit on some emotions.
The Spinners
This was all right. The story of two sisters who recently lost their mother and have very different ways of coping. Also set in a world with aliens. One sister is failing out of school while the other is continuing the life of hunting rogue aliens that she did with her mother. On a mission to track the alien who killed their mom, they must come to terms with a future without her and what that means for them. Very wild wild west like.
Hearken
Another one that I liked. Imagine being able to hear someone's life or death song. It's a very special skill in this dystopian world and one that our MC possesses. A sad story overall when you really think about it - it's about loss and finding the beauty in life - and I felt for our MC and the route she chose to take.
Vim and Vigor
This was probably the most YA out of all of them. Very high school. A group of girls who loved superheroes but had a falling out after the death of one of their own. It's a story about reconnecting but took a really weird route. And was weirdly obsessed with prom.
Armored Ones
This was one of my least favorites mainly because it felt so unfinished. There was zero resolution to any of the stories in it. I kept expecting more. I know it was a short story but there still should have been some closure to it. The best part was the armored one but that didn't turn out so well, so meh
The Transformationist
Another really sad story about loss. Roth just loves to write about loss in her dystopians. Our MC is in some sort of juvenile detention for a crime that wasn't really his fault but he suffers from so much guilt that he believes he should be there. And his brother can just suck it. It was a really sweet story though toward the end about hope and forgiveness. I enjoyed this one.
Inertia
This was a great way to start off the set. A futuristic setting where one can have a last visitation before you die with someone you choose and get to share your greatest memories. It's both touching and heartbreaking. The idea that you could get to say goodbye to someone in a memory of your choice. It's a lot. This one hit on some emotions.
The Spinners
This was all right. The story of two sisters who recently lost their mother and have very different ways of coping. Also set in a world with aliens. One sister is failing out of school while the other is continuing the life of hunting rogue aliens that she did with her mother. On a mission to track the alien who killed their mom, they must come to terms with a future without her and what that means for them. Very wild wild west like.
Hearken
Another one that I liked. Imagine being able to hear someone's life or death song. It's a very special skill in this dystopian world and one that our MC possesses. A sad story overall when you really think about it - it's about loss and finding the beauty in life - and I felt for our MC and the route she chose to take.
Vim and Vigor
This was probably the most YA out of all of them. Very high school. A group of girls who loved superheroes but had a falling out after the death of one of their own. It's a story about reconnecting but took a really weird route. And was weirdly obsessed with prom.
Armored Ones
This was one of my least favorites mainly because it felt so unfinished. There was zero resolution to any of the stories in it. I kept expecting more. I know it was a short story but there still should have been some closure to it. The best part was the armored one but that didn't turn out so well, so meh
The Transformationist
Another really sad story about loss. Roth just loves to write about loss in her dystopians. Our MC is in some sort of juvenile detention for a crime that wasn't really his fault but he suffers from so much guilt that he believes he should be there. And his brother can just suck it. It was a really sweet story though toward the end about hope and forgiveness. I enjoyed this one.