Scan barcode
guillevaldata's review against another edition
2.0
2.50, actually. Tengo muchas opiniones... pero me las guardo para la reseña en mi canal así me puedo explayar más...
kellyoneill's review
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
eesh25's review against another edition
3.0
I finally understand why this novel is getting so many three stars. It's not because this is a bad novel. Just an underwhelming one.
The concept of the novel is great. Even when I didn't know about it (or maybe before it came out), I wondered if someone would write about the people who weren't the chosen ones or in the thick of things. You know, the rest of the people. And then I heard of this novel and was pretty freaking excited. But the lukewarm response gave me pause. Finally read it though.
Like I said, it's about the people who aren't the protagonists. In this case, that's Micky. Bad shit is going on with beams of lights and fissures to another world, but none of it is happening to Micky. He's just living his life, worried about graduation, going to college, his OCD, a girl he's been in love with since forever. It's all normal stuff. He doesn't know much about what's going on with the "indie" kids. "Indie kids", in this novel, are the usual MCs to whom bad shit happens.
At first, I found Micky to be interesting. But then it turns out that it was his disorder that I found interesting, not him. I'm not sure if that's insensitive, but take away his struggle with anxiety, and he's just a guy pining after a girl who seems to be stringing him, and another guy, along. He's also prone to douchiness caused by jealousy.
Safe to say, he's not very likable. His older sister is better, but not that much. His best friend, Jared, is okay. The girl he's pining after, Henna, and the whole arc between her and Micky, is nothing but a source of annoyance. And there's this other guy who's just... there. It's like all the character have a gimmick. Micky's obsessive-compulsive, his sister has history with anorexia, his friend is one-quarter god, Henna's the love interest and the one going away soon, Nathan's the new guy who's part of the love-triangle. These are the gimmicks, and we don't explore the characters much further than these facts. We don't really get to know them and, therefore, don't connect to them.
There were things I liked. The disorders for one, especially Micky's, and how they was portrayed. I thought it was a really good representation. There was a chapter in which mental illness and it's perception was discussed which was my favourite chapter.
Also, at the start of each chapter, we would get a paragraph summarising what was going on with the "indie" kids (I still don't know what, specifically, makes someone an indie kid). Those paragraphs were great. They played with common genre tropes. They were funny and I loved the contrast between the shit going on in them and the normal stuff with Micky.
I wish the rest of the novel had that humorous tone because the overall tone was really off. On one hand, we got the summaries of supernatural stuff going on, the talk about "indie" kids and how some shit like that happened once every decade and yet adults never got involved and basically tried to pretend that they didn't know anything. On the other hand, we has serious stuff like OCD, anorexia, and Henna's parents taking her to a country that's in the middle of a war. There wasn't a proper balance between the two.
Overall, like I said before, this is not a bad novel. Very readable and with some good parts and truly good insight into OCD. But it didn't live up to its potential.
The concept of the novel is great. Even when I didn't know about it (or maybe before it came out), I wondered if someone would write about the people who weren't the chosen ones or in the thick of things. You know, the rest of the people. And then I heard of this novel and was pretty freaking excited. But the lukewarm response gave me pause. Finally read it though.
Like I said, it's about the people who aren't the protagonists. In this case, that's Micky. Bad shit is going on with beams of lights and fissures to another world, but none of it is happening to Micky. He's just living his life, worried about graduation, going to college, his OCD, a girl he's been in love with since forever. It's all normal stuff. He doesn't know much about what's going on with the "indie" kids. "Indie kids", in this novel, are the usual MCs to whom bad shit happens.
At first, I found Micky to be interesting. But then it turns out that it was his disorder that I found interesting, not him. I'm not sure if that's insensitive, but take away his struggle with anxiety, and he's just a guy pining after a girl who seems to be stringing him, and another guy, along. He's also prone to douchiness caused by jealousy.
Safe to say, he's not very likable. His older sister is better, but not that much. His best friend, Jared, is okay. The girl he's pining after, Henna, and the whole arc between her and Micky, is nothing but a source of annoyance. And there's this other guy who's just... there. It's like all the character have a gimmick. Micky's obsessive-compulsive, his sister has history with anorexia, his friend is one-quarter god, Henna's the love interest and the one going away soon, Nathan's the new guy who's part of the love-triangle. These are the gimmicks, and we don't explore the characters much further than these facts. We don't really get to know them and, therefore, don't connect to them.
There were things I liked. The disorders for one, especially Micky's, and how they was portrayed. I thought it was a really good representation. There was a chapter in which mental illness and it's perception was discussed which was my favourite chapter.
Also, at the start of each chapter, we would get a paragraph summarising what was going on with the "indie" kids (I still don't know what, specifically, makes someone an indie kid). Those paragraphs were great. They played with common genre tropes. They were funny and I loved the contrast between the shit going on in them and the normal stuff with Micky.
I wish the rest of the novel had that humorous tone because the overall tone was really off. On one hand, we got the summaries of supernatural stuff going on, the talk about "indie" kids and how some shit like that happened once every decade and yet adults never got involved and basically tried to pretend that they didn't know anything. On the other hand, we has serious stuff like OCD, anorexia, and Henna's parents taking her to a country that's in the middle of a war. There wasn't a proper balance between the two.
Overall, like I said before, this is not a bad novel. Very readable and with some good parts and truly good insight into OCD. But it didn't live up to its potential.
faeriesparks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped I would. I loved the premise (main reason why I wanted to read it) and I also liked the diverse cast of characters and their everyday problems. Especially the chapter when Mike talks to his therapist about anxiety (tbh it made me cry a bit).
But for some reason this book has left me feeling ... meh. I don't know. Around the middle of the book I kind of lost interest for two days. I liked the ending but it was nothing spectacular (for me).
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped I would. I loved the premise (main reason why I wanted to read it) and I also liked the diverse cast of characters and their everyday problems. Especially the chapter when Mike talks to his therapist about anxiety (tbh it made me cry a bit).
But for some reason this book has left me feeling ... meh. I don't know. Around the middle of the book I kind of lost interest for two days. I liked the ending but it was nothing spectacular (for me).
emselilly's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED THIS BOOK OMG
I wasn't sure in the beginning but after a few chapters I was absolutely hooked, by the last third i could have read it all in one go, I was almost late to work because I wanted to finish reading it. I loved the story and the concept and the vibes (kinda Stranger Things, Buffy and more) and the characters are so diverse and the writing so beautiful and there's really a lot of meaning behind it. So happy I read this book, I picked it up by chance at comic con so glad I Did!!
I wasn't sure in the beginning but after a few chapters I was absolutely hooked, by the last third i could have read it all in one go, I was almost late to work because I wanted to finish reading it. I loved the story and the concept and the vibes (kinda Stranger Things, Buffy and more) and the characters are so diverse and the writing so beautiful and there's really a lot of meaning behind it. So happy I read this book, I picked it up by chance at comic con so glad I Did!!
groovyjenni's review against another edition
2.0
After reading this, I wonder if maybe I’m just getting to old to really like straight up young adult without any dystopia or fantasy attached to it. This was incredibly boring.
karrama's review against another edition
4.0
I like the self-conscious diversity, but more importantly, the honest portrayal of issues that real people struggle with, all in the universe where people with impossible powers run around saving the world. There aren't easy answers, but there are supportive friends.
madifish97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I loved this book and the concept of how the rest of the people in a “chosen one” story are affected by what is going on. I laughed and cried and was shocked by many parts. Listening to it as an audiobook was like watching a movie and I kept thinking “Wow, it’s crazy how such ordinary parts of life can create such a wonderful story.”
The only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars was the whole cat-god thing. It felt kind of out of place.
The only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars was the whole cat-god thing. It felt kind of out of place.
sleepy_sapling's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thebookishnic's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
2.5