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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars. Really enjoyed this! Good story about magic, science and nature intersecting near the apocalypse.
It was a book full of interesting ideas and a lot of potential.
However, a considerable chunk of the plot happened "behind the scenes" - our understanding of much of the main conflict is supposed to come from the characters reminiscing and their reflection on past events. I think it's supposed to signify that the constant "nature-vs-technology" war is irrelevant and the only thing that matters, the only thing that can save the world is love or empathy.
Unfortunately, this writing style just comes across as lazy, especially because the author is quite happy to spend a good chunk on detailing the childhood bullying of the main characters. Which is quite harrowing to read and then it becomes quite irrelevant in the second half of the book. Sure, it cements the idea of the two main characters staying loyal to each other. But if developed a bit more, this traumatic childhood experience could have fleshed the characters out more, especially as they became "superpowered" over the course of the book. It could have given an interesting nuance to the characters, the way they could have fallen back on bad coping mechanisms, developed during childhood, as their power, their importance and their responsibilities grew.
The author also glides over the part where the main characters are supposed to fall in love, which means that the book doesn't even hold up as much of a romance. We are just supposed to believe that the two characters are madly in love, but we never see them enjoy each others' company one small bit. At first they hang out due to sheer necessity, then they are being awkward around each other then there's a time skip and suddenly they are in love. There's a bit of chemistry between the characters, sure, but it's often undermined by the fact that they are constantly being horrid to each other.
All in all, the story reads as if the author was on a deadline or had a limit to her word count and she had edited out the wrong parts of her book in a hurry to finish it.
However, the chunky style does lend a certain kind of dynamism to the book. The author has an enjoyable writing style and if you don't mind too much that you have to invent much of the plot yourself while the author just gives you a couple flashes of it and you have to string together the story from these context clues, then you will probably have a good time.
However, a considerable chunk of the plot happened "behind the scenes" - our understanding of much of the main conflict is supposed to come from the characters reminiscing and their reflection on past events. I think it's supposed to signify that the constant "nature-vs-technology" war is irrelevant and the only thing that matters, the only thing that can save the world is love or empathy.
Unfortunately, this writing style just comes across as lazy, especially because the author is quite happy to spend a good chunk on detailing the childhood bullying of the main characters. Which is quite harrowing to read and then it becomes quite irrelevant in the second half of the book. Sure, it cements the idea of the two main characters staying loyal to each other. But if developed a bit more, this traumatic childhood experience could have fleshed the characters out more, especially as they became "superpowered" over the course of the book. It could have given an interesting nuance to the characters, the way they could have fallen back on bad coping mechanisms, developed during childhood, as their power, their importance and their responsibilities grew.
All in all, the story reads as if the author was on a deadline or had a limit to her word count and she had edited out the wrong parts of her book in a hurry to finish it.
However, the chunky style does lend a certain kind of dynamism to the book. The author has an enjoyable writing style and if you don't mind too much that you have to invent much of the plot yourself while the author just gives you a couple flashes of it and you have to string together the story from these context clues, then you will probably have a good time.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The most common descriptor of this book is "weird." Maybe my threshold for weirdness is unusually high, but I didn't think its weirdness was its most salient feature. What it really is, is an unusual and refreshing blend of science fiction and fantasy that not only tells an engaging story but makes (in a not-preachy manner) an important statement about the world. That makes it sound so lame, but whatever. Read it. You'll see.
What a fantastic story... a girl seeking magic, and a boy steeped in technology, and a lifetime of encounters between the two, culminating in world-altering events. How does one stave off what seems to be an inevitable apocalypse?
Some of the timeline bounces threw me for a loop at first, but they work themselves out as the story unravels.
Some of the timeline bounces threw me for a loop at first, but they work themselves out as the story unravels.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced