Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
2.5 Stars
I guess I can say kudos for writing a book that blends fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism and romance. I guess the kudos would be more heartfelt if I had liked the book more.
The first part of this book is well-written, trying to blend Patricia's nascent magic and Laurence's nebbish nerdiness. I enjoyed the Parliament Tree and Ch@ng3m3/Peregrine (nope, not lost on me that even Ch@ng3me became a bird). But somewhere after the first third of the book CJA seems to have lost me. I didn't find the adult versions of Patricia and Laurence as compelling and I found the plot of the so-called battle between science and magic to be unconvincing and unnecessary, almost an afterthought as far as the actual plot. It felt like the nice velvet curtain backdrop for an obvious romance.
I wanted it to be more. It had the potential to be more. It lacked depth in both magic and science. I really don't think there was any in-depth plan for the plot other than magical girl meets science-y boy, drama ensues, collision of world views, catastrophes, resolution, sell rights for a heavily CGI'd film adaptation!
BTW, what the hell with promising to take care of Berkeley and then just abadoning him to the odious parents and the psychopath sister? He was her "familiar," but oh well, never hear about him again...? Further evidence of no real start-to-finish plan. Because what was the point of introducing Berkeley, exactly? He served no purpose in the plot other than being another discarded rescue? Great plan.
Edited to note: I listened to the audio version and was amazed to hear the surname of physicist Richard Feynman mispronounced. Shouldn't the audio director have caught that? Couldn't they have verified pronunciation if they weren't sure? In a battle between magic and science, let's pronounce world famous scientist's names correctly.
I guess I can say kudos for writing a book that blends fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism and romance. I guess the kudos would be more heartfelt if I had liked the book more.
The first part of this book is well-written, trying to blend Patricia's nascent magic and Laurence's nebbish nerdiness. I enjoyed the Parliament Tree and Ch@ng3m3/Peregrine (nope, not lost on me that even Ch@ng3me became a bird). But somewhere after the first third of the book CJA seems to have lost me. I didn't find the adult versions of Patricia and Laurence as compelling and I found the plot of the so-called battle between science and magic to be unconvincing and unnecessary, almost an afterthought as far as the actual plot. It felt like the nice velvet curtain backdrop for an obvious romance.
I wanted it to be more. It had the potential to be more. It lacked depth in both magic and science. I really don't think there was any in-depth plan for the plot other than magical girl meets science-y boy, drama ensues, collision of world views, catastrophes, resolution, sell rights for a heavily CGI'd film adaptation!
BTW, what the hell with promising to take care of Berkeley and then just abadoning him to the odious parents and the psychopath sister? He was her "familiar," but oh well, never hear about him again...? Further evidence of no real start-to-finish plan. Because what was the point of introducing Berkeley, exactly? He served no purpose in the plot other than being another discarded rescue? Great plan.
Edited to note: I listened to the audio version and was amazed to hear the surname of physicist Richard Feynman mispronounced. Shouldn't the audio director have caught that? Couldn't they have verified pronunciation if they weren't sure? In a battle between magic and science, let's pronounce world famous scientist's names correctly.
O.M.G. How did this get such good reviews? I got to 51%, was still bored, not interested in main characters, and totally put off by the odd writing. Don't read anything else by this author.
This book was just so frustrating!!! Like, I loved everything about the first half. The magic and Patricia talking to animals and trees, and Laurence and his science and the 2 second time machine, and Peregrine and the assassin who became their guidance counselor. And I loved Patricia and Laurence's friendship of circumstance, how they were the only ones who understood one another but also weren't as close as they should've been. Like, Patricia even remarks that either of them would drop the other in a heartbeat if they could be accepted by the other kids, and Laurence basically does drop her multiple times. And all of that was great! I loved it!!!
And then the second half happened. And it was… fine, I guess? But so much less enchanting. I mean, I liked the idea of the healing vs. trickster magic, and the different magic people around Patricia were interesting, and all the side characters were good (although I felt we got too little of them and they weren't fully developed enough. i had a hard time remembering who was who).
But then the romance happened. Listen, like 99% of what I read these days is romance, and it is super rare for me to check out a book if there's no promise of some romantic storyline. So for me to be saying that I would've liked this story 1000 times more if the romance hadn't been included is seriously saying something. I just don't feel like the development between Laurence and Patricia in the first half was enough to lead to what happened between them in the second half. We basically just got once or twice of Laurence finding Patricia attractive and then suddenly they're having sex and telling each other they love one another, and I just didn't buy it! I didn't see where them being in love came from because it's not even like they were super best friends in the first half. Like, they were each other's only friends, but like I said before, they were friends of circumstance. And then they didn't even see one another for like a decade! And what annoyed me the most was like, okay, we got some indications of attraction from Laurence's perspective, but nothing from Patricia's from what I remember. It was all about Laurence's desire for her, and that really bugged me. It made it seem like they got together because Laurence wanted to and Patricia's feelings were irrelevant, or somehow assumed to be on board even though we never got the slightest indication that she was. It was all about what he wanted.
And I just don't feel like the romance was necessary! The second half could've worked just as well (better, even!) if they were just best friends (and like actual best friends, not what they were in the first half) and not in romantic love. Because I was so distracted by not buying that they were in love that I feel like if that element had been removed, I could've enjoyed the actual plot of the second half better. Ultimately I just don't feel like the romance was developed well enough for it to be included.
And, I mean, I did really enjoy the last few chapters. The tree and Peregrine!!!!! I was super into that. The last chapter or two felt more like the first half. But most of the second half I just found myself slogging through, which was such a disappointment when I had found the first half so enchanting. And it's not that I hated the second half, but beyond being annoyed by the lack of proper development of the romance, I just found the plot less interesting. The first half with discovering magic and the technology and everything was so much fun and so fascinating, but the second half felt kind of meh.
Oh, and my other major complaint about the second half was the way things were resolved with Patricia's family. Her parents were basically abusive to her as a child, and her sister was also awful, but in the second half there's this throwaway line about how they tried to make amends with her because her sister had become more overtly terrible and suddenly Patricia was the only good child, and idk, it was just weird to me because it seems like there was this huge jump in their relationship that happened entirely off the page. Her sister even said their parents always loved Patricia more than her and idk if we're supposed to accept that as true or not, but it seemed like a horrible message to send considering how they treated her as a child. And she even has a good relationship with her sister in the end, even though it seemed like her sister was also terrible to her, and we didn't really see her making amends either.
I don't know, I just felt like the entire second half of this book was a giant mess. which is sad because the first part was so good, like 4.5-5 stars for me, and the second half was like… 2 stars. It was just super frustrating. That being said, I did adore the first half, and I read a novelette by this author a couple years ago that I also loved, so I am interested in reading more of her work in the future.
And then the second half happened. And it was… fine, I guess? But so much less enchanting. I mean, I liked the idea of the healing vs. trickster magic, and the different magic people around Patricia were interesting, and all the side characters were good (although I felt we got too little of them and they weren't fully developed enough. i had a hard time remembering who was who).
But then the romance happened. Listen, like 99% of what I read these days is romance, and it is super rare for me to check out a book if there's no promise of some romantic storyline. So for me to be saying that I would've liked this story 1000 times more if the romance hadn't been included is seriously saying something. I just don't feel like the development between Laurence and Patricia in the first half was enough to lead to what happened between them in the second half. We basically just got once or twice of Laurence finding Patricia attractive and then suddenly they're having sex and telling each other they love one another, and I just didn't buy it! I didn't see where them being in love came from because it's not even like they were super best friends in the first half. Like, they were each other's only friends, but like I said before, they were friends of circumstance. And then they didn't even see one another for like a decade! And what annoyed me the most was like, okay, we got some indications of attraction from Laurence's perspective, but nothing from Patricia's from what I remember. It was all about Laurence's desire for her, and that really bugged me. It made it seem like they got together because Laurence wanted to and Patricia's feelings were irrelevant, or somehow assumed to be on board even though we never got the slightest indication that she was. It was all about what he wanted.
And I just don't feel like the romance was necessary! The second half could've worked just as well (better, even!) if they were just best friends (and like actual best friends, not what they were in the first half) and not in romantic love. Because I was so distracted by not buying that they were in love that I feel like if that element had been removed, I could've enjoyed the actual plot of the second half better. Ultimately I just don't feel like the romance was developed well enough for it to be included.
And, I mean, I did really enjoy the last few chapters. The tree and Peregrine!!!!! I was super into that. The last chapter or two felt more like the first half. But most of the second half I just found myself slogging through, which was such a disappointment when I had found the first half so enchanting. And it's not that I hated the second half, but beyond being annoyed by the lack of proper development of the romance, I just found the plot less interesting. The first half with discovering magic and the technology and everything was so much fun and so fascinating, but the second half felt kind of meh.
Oh, and my other major complaint about the second half was the way things were resolved with Patricia's family. Her parents were basically abusive to her as a child, and her sister was also awful, but in the second half there's this throwaway line about how they tried to make amends with her because her sister had become more overtly terrible and suddenly Patricia was the only good child, and idk, it was just weird to me because it seems like there was this huge jump in their relationship that happened entirely off the page. Her sister even said their parents always loved Patricia more than her and idk if we're supposed to accept that as true or not, but it seemed like a horrible message to send considering how they treated her as a child. And she even has a good relationship with her sister in the end, even though it seemed like her sister was also terrible to her, and we didn't really see her making amends either.
I don't know, I just felt like the entire second half of this book was a giant mess. which is sad because the first part was so good, like 4.5-5 stars for me, and the second half was like… 2 stars. It was just super frustrating. That being said, I did adore the first half, and I read a novelette by this author a couple years ago that I also loved, so I am interested in reading more of her work in the future.
A bit disjointed. Pop culture references were fun. But felt like it was written by a blogger, not a writer.
Charming! Lovely characters, engaging read. A bit let down by the ending.
I love a good sci fi and fantasy book. This book is also a love story, so if those three genres are something you are into, you should give this a read.
Can a magic and science work together? Yes, and Charlie Jane Anders proves this in every line of All the Birds in the Sky. Not only do they work together, they also dance, they love, they cry, they create beauty and awe. They just about bring about the end of the world, and then they begin again. To borrow this author's bird imagery, it's like flocks of two very differently plumed birds at first clashing, then forming one murmuration and becoming something altogether new and wonderful.
All those flourishes aside though, what made this book work so well for me was the dialog. The characters spoke in a way that was so plain, funny, and then breath-taking. I'm not usually a reader of fantasy, but the plainspokenness of it all made the magical aspects grounded in an "of course that's what witches do" kind of a way.
Loved it. I could read more of this world, but it's okay that it's not a series. It was damn near perfect.
All those flourishes aside though, what made this book work so well for me was the dialog. The characters spoke in a way that was so plain, funny, and then breath-taking. I'm not usually a reader of fantasy, but the plainspokenness of it all made the magical aspects grounded in an "of course that's what witches do" kind of a way.
Loved it. I could read more of this world, but it's okay that it's not a series. It was damn near perfect.
Mhzzz.. did we mention it is not for everybody? I mean its good.. but kinda weird.. and it for confusing very often..
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good, probably 4.5 stars, but we'll see how long I retain this book. Reminds me a bit much of YA,and really it s since the main characters are under 25. Plusses, good reason Laurence doesn't realize Caddy=Peregrine many paged after the reader and nothing felt gratuitous. Negatives, how current their 10 years into the future felt, even borderline if Patricia and Laurence were teens right now. Hipster beards in 10 years? And also the slightly jarring bits where the cost of things (Dutch coffee) are discussed and the difficulty getting flour, and yet somehow, when things are all going wrong, Laurence has coffee, in what seems a regular habit, ready to be ground, pressed, etc. Minor, but niggling enough to push down to 4 stars vs up to 5. Better than the Country of Ice Cream Star, more positive than some other urban fantasy (yes, even with the SF, that seems more near-future because of the heavy weight of relationships w/o a lot of exposition on the matic and science). Also strikes me like Magicians and Doubt Factory.