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nancydrewblood's review against another edition
4.0
Good quick read. Left me wanting more though, is there a series coming?
kdahlo's review against another edition
4.0
I ended up liking this book a lot, although I found the start a bit slow and a bit incongruous with how the book turns out. I found the narrator quite interesting, and I enjoyed particularly her fights with her parents which I thought were very nicely observed, the way that habits of attack and defense can emerge suddenly and against the will of the participants. The book picks up a lot in the second and third sections, the book takes a while to build up speed and get going. I definitely want to read more books from this author because I thought the narrator's voice was great, and I would love to see how much of that character was invented, vs. it being a voice that comes through across the works of this author.
I heard of this book from Code Switch, where it was described as a 'pandemic read' because it deals with themes of isolation and apocalypse. Definitely true, and there are some nice parallels between this book and reality that made me giggle. I still found it sufficiently escapist that it wasn't a slog to read.
I heard of this book from Code Switch, where it was described as a 'pandemic read' because it deals with themes of isolation and apocalypse. Definitely true, and there are some nice parallels between this book and reality that made me giggle. I still found it sufficiently escapist that it wasn't a slog to read.
laurenboys's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kaitlynlw_04's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
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
5.0
hilaryannbrown's review against another edition
3.0
Hovering between a 3 and 4 on this one. It gave me a lot to think about and I even got teary at the last line. I thought this book would be about the experience of indigenous adoptees who were raised away from their people. It ended up being more about climate change, eugenics, and forced pregnancy. This book takes way too much from The Handmaid's Tale without acknowledging that as its source. If the premise of this book had been that it's a retelling of The Handmaid's Tale that centers indigenous women...I would've bought in to the story more.
birdybutt24's review against another edition
5.0
i cried reading this. beautiful depiction of the resilience of people, i especially loved the structure of the book and the way information about events slowly emerged from the characters limited understanding. definitely something to look back on and draw from in writing dystopian literature
kaleyamo's review against another edition
3.0
It's not a requirement for me that a book has loose ends tied up nicely in a bow in order for me to classify that book as "good."
That's definitely the case here. This book is good. But I'm struggling with the book overall because I don't understand the motivations behind certain actions. I'm looking for the long-term goal of certain characters, and I can't figure it out. The author doesn't clue us in.
It's definitely an intentional choice. It's one I can respect the author for. But it's still one that I, personally, struggle with as a reader.
I can't see the end goal here. And it drives me crazy.
Also — it's less than 300 pages, but it felt like it took me an exceptionally long time to read. I wouldn't exactly say it was slow. It's more that there was so much happening that I would feel that I'd read 20 pages only to look at the page number and realize it'd only been four.
This is a good, well-written book. It's just not among my favorites because of my own personal preferences.
That's definitely the case here. This book is good. But I'm struggling with the book overall because I don't understand the motivations behind certain actions. I'm looking for the long-term goal of certain characters, and I can't figure it out. The author doesn't clue us in.
It's definitely an intentional choice. It's one I can respect the author for. But it's still one that I, personally, struggle with as a reader.
I can't see the end goal here. And it drives me crazy.
Also — it's less than 300 pages, but it felt like it took me an exceptionally long time to read. I wouldn't exactly say it was slow. It's more that there was so much happening that I would feel that I'd read 20 pages only to look at the page number and realize it'd only been four.
This is a good, well-written book. It's just not among my favorites because of my own personal preferences.
kat42's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I read this for an English class in college, and I think that helped me appreciate it more. Although the dystopian/weird evolution stuff is an important backdrop, this leans much more towards literary fiction in my opinion. So don't go into it expecting really heavy scifi. If that's what you're looking for, I think you'll be disappointed, but it's a solid book.