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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Hmmm
Of you're a young woman feeling oppressed and need a delusional boost of female empowerment then I highly recommend this book to you.
Of you're a young woman feeling oppressed and need a delusional boost of female empowerment then I highly recommend this book to you.
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh boy. What a rollercoaster. This review also got way longer than I wanted, haha.
The story kept me reading, but… it wasn't the best book ever, and with the Goodreads score and Neal Shusterman being the author, I expected more.
I LOVED Scythe and how well thought out that was. Dry... not so much.
I LOVED Scythe and how well thought out that was. Dry... not so much.
The ending dropped my score a whole point (will come to that way down).
I do really like the premise and how it gets you thinking about all the "what ifs." Like, you only think about the people needing water first. And then you get a look into all the animals and all the companies, but also things like fires—and it just keeps being more and more things where you're like, "oh shit... that also takes water!"
That’s also a good thing that the snapshot parts did: they gave a good view of other influences. I think those were done very nicely and added to the story.
Also, there was quite some character development in Alyssa and Kelton and how they’re dealing with the situation.
BUT (here we go):
- For the private household things: I think the buildup went waaaay too fast. People panicking on day 1? Everyone has some extra fluids at home, and you wouldn’t think it’s that serious in one day. Also, like—there are no other drinks than just water? You need hydration, not per se water. I would be more annoyed with the toilet and shower than not having plain water in the first week. Even I, in an average Dutch household, would last at least two weeks with the extra stuff I’ve got in the house with liquid. I don’t even drink a liter a day per se and get the rest out of food. But now they make it seem like after two days without just water, we’re already in an apocalypse and everyone’s going insane. Same with all the grass going brown in two days—grass can take a couple of weeks without water before it dies.
I would have liked a bigger time jump, so: first two days, and then “three weeks later” or something, and then just the same plot as it was with all the things starting to build up—people getting angry, the power going out, etc. That would make it more realistic.
Because that is the scary factor of the book: in theory, this could be something that happens. - WTF happened to the rest of America like it doesn’t exist? Pretty much zero help from outside? If there is a country that would be too proud to let their people die, it would be America. The president would intervene, and they’ve got more than enough resources to help out. It just doesn’t feel like this would happen in the chaotic, logistic way it did now. And if there was a reason the rest of America couldn’t help, it should have been described and explained (which could totally have worked in those in-between snapshots).
- No spoilers, but if you know you know: THE ENDING COULD HAVE GOTTEN SO DARK AND PERFECT. I was extremely bummed out by the sudden, out-of-nowhere twist just before the last part. I would have loved a super, super dark ending. Now it ended like freaking Easter with all the resurrections going on.
So. Conclusion:
Even though I read this book pretty fast because I did want to know what was coming next, and the writing style is very nice and there really are some smart and cool things… the timeline and logistics leave a big plot hole for me. And the ending just made me feel like I read it for nothing.
Even though I read this book pretty fast because I did want to know what was coming next, and the writing style is very nice and there really are some smart and cool things… the timeline and logistics leave a big plot hole for me. And the ending just made me feel like I read it for nothing.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
The setting and characters were really realistic , but I couldn’t stop wondering if it was messed up to be reading about kids living through these things. Like, Parable of the Sower was already right there, simultaneously darker and more hopeful.
fast-paced