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ameserole's review
2.0
I have received this ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Zero O'Clock seemed like it was going to be an easy book to devour. As someone who isn't necessarily obsessed with a band or singer, it was interesting to read about a person who was obsessed with a group: BTS.
Unfortunately, after meeting Geth it didn't take me long to realize that I'm not a huge fan of her. I didn't like how she looked down against people. Especially ones she didn't even know that well or at all. I did like how her and her friends would do GoT comments here and there but at times it just felt weird for my eyes to read it. Sometimes it worked and other times I got secondhand embarrassment.
Another thing I liked was it's take of living through a pandemic. Especially when it came to her mom, who is a nurse, and would come home crying every day after work. It hurt my heart because that's what my uncle went through and actually went into early retirement so that he didn't have to do that anymore.
In the end, it was an okay book but had potential to be a lot better in my eyes.
Zero O'Clock seemed like it was going to be an easy book to devour. As someone who isn't necessarily obsessed with a band or singer, it was interesting to read about a person who was obsessed with a group: BTS.
Unfortunately, after meeting Geth it didn't take me long to realize that I'm not a huge fan of her. I didn't like how she looked down against people. Especially ones she didn't even know that well or at all. I did like how her and her friends would do GoT comments here and there but at times it just felt weird for my eyes to read it. Sometimes it worked and other times I got secondhand embarrassment.
Another thing I liked was it's take of living through a pandemic. Especially when it came to her mom, who is a nurse, and would come home crying every day after work. It hurt my heart because that's what my uncle went through and actually went into early retirement so that he didn't have to do that anymore.
In the end, it was an okay book but had potential to be a lot better in my eyes.
alongreader's review
3.0
2020 was probably the most significant year we'll see in a long time. Fiction set in that time is starting to arrive on our shelves now. And I can definitely say, this is - one of those.
There isn't really a plot, as such. It's an almost day by day narration of Geth's life as the Covid crises looms, crashes, peaks and retreats (a bit). Geth's mother is an ER nurse so Geth knows better than most how things are going. It doesn't help that her mother's boyfriend has decided to move his ex-wife's son in, and into Geth's bedroom besides.
There's a scene relatively early on that kind of exemplifies my problem with this book. Geth is thinking about Donald Trump, the then president, but rather than uses his name she uses a variety of names of villians from Game of Thrones, never the same name twice, and doesn't explain this decision until right at the end of the section. Believe it or not, there are people out there who didn't watch Game of Thrones, wouldn't have picked up those names, and thus would have spent that whole section wondering who all these people that Geth was angry at are. If the explanation had come first, things would have been better.
I didn't hate this book, it isn't awful, but it's probably not one I'll revisit, sadly.
There isn't really a plot, as such. It's an almost day by day narration of Geth's life as the Covid crises looms, crashes, peaks and retreats (a bit). Geth's mother is an ER nurse so Geth knows better than most how things are going. It doesn't help that her mother's boyfriend has decided to move his ex-wife's son in, and into Geth's bedroom besides.
There's a scene relatively early on that kind of exemplifies my problem with this book. Geth is thinking about Donald Trump, the then president, but rather than uses his name she uses a variety of names of villians from Game of Thrones, never the same name twice, and doesn't explain this decision until right at the end of the section. Believe it or not, there are people out there who didn't watch Game of Thrones, wouldn't have picked up those names, and thus would have spent that whole section wondering who all these people that Geth was angry at are. If the explanation had come first, things would have been better.
I didn't hate this book, it isn't awful, but it's probably not one I'll revisit, sadly.
roseannearchy's review
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
themuffintopthief's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
laceyc1's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical trauma, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia
jcc_22's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tonstantweader's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Zero O’Clock is the story of Geth, a Black high school senior in New Rochelle, and her friends and family all navigating the COVID crisis, the alienation, and fear, and the summer’s uprising after the murder of George Floyd. Get is smart, though not as smart as her best friend Tovah, who has been preparing her valedictory speech for years. They are also good friends with Diego, the star quarterback who recently started going to their school and became friends with them after seeking out tutoring in Mandarin class from Geth.
Geth’s mother is a nurse. Keith is her mom’s live-in boyfriend, a freelance journalist whose career has stalled. Geth is unhappy with the relationship. She’s a levelheaded teen who struggles with OCD compulsions that make her take longer to do things, but she still gets them done. She’s a fan of BTS and the way she talks about them makes me want to tune in.
Navigating Zoom classes, protest marches, and COVID, Deth remains a force and in the end a force who found her voice.
I loved Zero O’Clock. I really fell in love with the characters. There were some “learning moments” for white characters who suddenly recognized their privilege, for example, fighting with a cop when Geth, a Black teen, was present and likely to bear the brunt of police reaction. But Geth is learning, too. I liked how the story of her father unrolls in small increments over the course of the book because, for Geth, it’s too much to talk about. There is just so much that feels authentic and immediate. I also love how current it feels, some of these conversations are happening right now on Twitter. It is a Young Adult book, so it is very easy reading. I am definitely not its target audience, but I loved it anyway.
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2021/12/08/9781617759758/
themaddiest's review
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.75
there's some really good stuff here, but it's truly the epitome of a mixed bag. in many ways, this feels so incredibly fresh that reading it was retraumatizing instead of cathartic. the pacing is very weird, some of the references don't quite work, and the characterization is...uneven.
this might get better the further we get from 2020? but my guess is that we'll see such a slew of other attempts to derive meaning from what has happened (and is still happening) that this might get lost in the shuffle.
this might get better the further we get from 2020? but my guess is that we'll see such a slew of other attempts to derive meaning from what has happened (and is still happening) that this might get lost in the shuffle.
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