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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm not starring this one because I DNFed it at about 56%. I just lost interest and felt like things weren't moving quickly enough and that nothing was happening, so I didn't want to put anymore time in. Others may really like this one, it just wasn't for me.
See my full explanation at my original post on my blog!
See my full explanation at my original post on my blog!
Rounded up from 3.5 stars.
What a story! My mind is happy.
The first half is just your typical dystopian novel and it feels kind of blah, but once we get into the nitty gritty stuff, I felt like I was watching Inception or the Sixth Sense. It's not the same idea but it plays with what you think is real and what's not. I loved that!
There's a love triangle which is very cliché and this one in particular was unnecessary. Plus there's mention of a gay couple which I felt was a "Let's make sure we include all the minorities so we don't get boycotted!" attempt.
But I'm really intrigued by Rosie's story and I can't wait until the next book. The Birthmarked series is a favorite of mine so I knew I could expect great things from Caragh. She didn't disappoint.
What a story! My mind is happy.
The first half is just your typical dystopian novel and it feels kind of blah, but once we get into the nitty gritty stuff, I felt like I was watching Inception or the Sixth Sense. It's not the same idea but it plays with what you think is real and what's not. I loved that!
There's a love triangle which is very cliché and this one in particular was unnecessary. Plus there's mention of a gay couple which I felt was a "Let's make sure we include all the minorities so we don't get boycotted!" attempt.
But I'm really intrigued by Rosie's story and I can't wait until the next book. The Birthmarked series is a favorite of mine so I knew I could expect great things from Caragh. She didn't disappoint.
Things to like about this book:
-Casual diversity: numerous characters are nonwhite; one student had two mothers; Rosie's from a poor background. None of this was a big deal (although Rosie's family's financial situation definitely played a role in the plot) -- it was just there, which is nice.
-This line:
Linus stayed where he was in the doorway. Burnham swiveled his chair around and said hi. Linus said hi back.
It wasn't awkward at all. (221)
-There's romance, but it isn't all-encompassing -- Rosie has more important things to worry about.
-It's not always clear who's good and who's bad. That is, some people are obvious -- but there are a lot more who fall into a grey area.
-Rosie's not above manipulation. She's not always great at it -- but she wants to be at the Forge School (and thus on the show), and if that means playing to the cameras...well then.
-Really interesting conceptually.
Places I wanted more:
-There are some undercurrents of abusive behaviour, not only at the top level but also from the techies and other people involved in more of the gruntwork. It adds to the something-isn't-right-here feeling, but that's about it.
-No resolution with Rosie's stepfather. We don't get much about Rosie's family, or about her background at all...I'm not sure if this is something that's going to be covered in a future book (kind of sorry that this isn't standalone, though, frankly), but there's definitely untapped potential there.
-Rosie never watches any of the other students. This is a school within a reality show (or vice versa), and the students are filmed constantly...but aside from occasional nods to Rosie's fluctuating rank (i.e., popularity among viewers), and the knowledge that somebody's eyes are always on her, the reality-show aspect is largely ignored. They do make the point that they've avoided turning it into a trashy show, but more probably could have been pulled out of the 'reality' aspect.
Along those lines, there ends up being very little about either classes or rank, which are supposed to be significant parts of the school... Maybe this is just me and my love of boarding-school books, but I would've liked more in terms of everyday details.
-Timing seems a little off. This far in the future, people still make Facebook memorial pages?
-I actually suspect -- and this is really just an observation -- that if the Powers That Be at the Forge School (or behind it) looked for willing volunteers for what they're doing, they'd find them pretty easily. Maybe only a select few are suitable? But if not...well, I can imagine clamour to participate.
All that being said:
Interesting, enjoyable, etc. Will be fun to see what happens in book 2 (and potentially beyond).
-Casual diversity: numerous characters are nonwhite; one student had two mothers; Rosie's from a poor background. None of this was a big deal (although Rosie's family's financial situation definitely played a role in the plot) -- it was just there, which is nice.
-This line:
Linus stayed where he was in the doorway. Burnham swiveled his chair around and said hi. Linus said hi back.
It wasn't awkward at all. (221)
-There's romance, but it isn't all-encompassing -- Rosie has more important things to worry about.
-It's not always clear who's good and who's bad. That is, some people are obvious -- but there are a lot more who fall into a grey area.
-Rosie's not above manipulation. She's not always great at it -- but she wants to be at the Forge School (and thus on the show), and if that means playing to the cameras...well then.
-Really interesting conceptually.
Places I wanted more:
-There are some undercurrents of abusive behaviour, not only at the top level but also from the techies and other people involved in more of the gruntwork. It adds to the something-isn't-right-here feeling, but that's about it.
-No resolution with Rosie's stepfather. We don't get much about Rosie's family, or about her background at all...I'm not sure if this is something that's going to be covered in a future book (kind of sorry that this isn't standalone, though, frankly), but there's definitely untapped potential there.
-Rosie never watches any of the other students. This is a school within a reality show (or vice versa), and the students are filmed constantly...but aside from occasional nods to Rosie's fluctuating rank (i.e., popularity among viewers), and the knowledge that somebody's eyes are always on her, the reality-show aspect is largely ignored. They do make the point that they've avoided turning it into a trashy show, but more probably could have been pulled out of the 'reality' aspect.
Along those lines, there ends up being very little about either classes or rank, which are supposed to be significant parts of the school... Maybe this is just me and my love of boarding-school books, but I would've liked more in terms of everyday details.
-Timing seems a little off. This far in the future, people still make Facebook memorial pages?
-I actually suspect -- and this is really just an observation -- that if the Powers That Be at the Forge School (or behind it) looked for willing volunteers for what they're doing, they'd find them pretty easily. Maybe only a select few are suitable? But if not...well, I can imagine clamour to participate.
All that being said:
Interesting, enjoyable, etc. Will be fun to see what happens in book 2 (and potentially beyond).
I dunno, I guess I wasn't fond of the ending. I adored the rest of it. Linus and Rosie and Burnham <3
I must say I am *very* skeptical about the next book, The Rule Of Mirrors. And I'm not sure how fond I am of the excerpt I read of it at the end of Vault of Dreamers.
. . .
I suppose I'll just have to see.
If it weren't for the ending (and I'm talking about the very last chapter), I would have put this book on my Best shelf. . .
I must say I am *very* skeptical about the next book, The Rule Of Mirrors. And I'm not sure how fond I am of the excerpt I read of it at the end of Vault of Dreamers.
. . .
I suppose I'll just have to see.
If it weren't for the ending (and I'm talking about the very last chapter), I would have put this book on my Best shelf. . .
Review cross-posted from http://www.readnowsleeplater.org/blog/2014/8/the-vault-of-dreamers
For students at The Forge School, every day is more than just a popularity contest. It's the most prestigious arts school in the country, true, but it's also the set of The Forge Show, a reality television series. Students attending Forge give up all of their privacy, except for the half day that they sleep, in exchange for 3 years of first-class creative education and revenue from ad sales, which they can later use to fund college studies.
For Rosie Sinclair, it's the chance to escape a life of poverty and obscurity. Just one problem: she's not very popular, and just before half of the sophomore class gets cut, she skips her sleeping pill so she can watch the rain fall on the dorm at night. Might as well make some good memories before she has to go back to the disused railway car her family calls home.
Except she doesn't get "voted off the island". A series of circumstances results in her blip rank rising high enough to stay. She gets to know a few of the kids in her classes, as well as a kitchen worker, Linus Pitts. But she also discovers that at Forge, not all of what you see is what you get... and there are eyes watching everywhere.
I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. The conclusion doesn't quite satisfy the outlandish premise, but I did find the journey there gripping and hard to put down. I liked Rosie, thought I felt frustration rising as she tried to unravel the mystery surrounding the school: with so much at stake, why jeopardize her position? And yet, I kept rooting for her through all of her obviously bad decisions, because somehow I felt that doing the wrong thing was really the right thing to do.
This novel raises some great discussion questions:
How far would you go to make money and improve your prospects for success?
How important is privacy to you? Are there instances in which you would give up your right to privacy? How is our privacy invaded on a daily basis, and what makes it ok/not ok?
What are dreams? How does the novel play with the different meanings of the word?
When Rosie makes decisions, is she influenced by their potential effect on her blip rank? If she is, is that wrong? Or is she just playing the game as it's supposed to be played?
What is the purpose of reality television? Think about this from several angles: as a subject on the show, as a producer, or as an audience member.
This book caused me at least one sleepless night. The secretiveness of the school's staff, the cinematic pace of the action, and the near-plausibility of the setup will tingle many a reader's spine.
I received this book for free from Macmillan for review purposes.
For students at The Forge School, every day is more than just a popularity contest. It's the most prestigious arts school in the country, true, but it's also the set of The Forge Show, a reality television series. Students attending Forge give up all of their privacy, except for the half day that they sleep, in exchange for 3 years of first-class creative education and revenue from ad sales, which they can later use to fund college studies.
For Rosie Sinclair, it's the chance to escape a life of poverty and obscurity. Just one problem: she's not very popular, and just before half of the sophomore class gets cut, she skips her sleeping pill so she can watch the rain fall on the dorm at night. Might as well make some good memories before she has to go back to the disused railway car her family calls home.
Except she doesn't get "voted off the island". A series of circumstances results in her blip rank rising high enough to stay. She gets to know a few of the kids in her classes, as well as a kitchen worker, Linus Pitts. But she also discovers that at Forge, not all of what you see is what you get... and there are eyes watching everywhere.
I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. The conclusion doesn't quite satisfy the outlandish premise, but I did find the journey there gripping and hard to put down. I liked Rosie, thought I felt frustration rising as she tried to unravel the mystery surrounding the school: with so much at stake, why jeopardize her position? And yet, I kept rooting for her through all of her obviously bad decisions, because somehow I felt that doing the wrong thing was really the right thing to do.
This novel raises some great discussion questions:
How far would you go to make money and improve your prospects for success?
How important is privacy to you? Are there instances in which you would give up your right to privacy? How is our privacy invaded on a daily basis, and what makes it ok/not ok?
What are dreams? How does the novel play with the different meanings of the word?
When Rosie makes decisions, is she influenced by their potential effect on her blip rank? If she is, is that wrong? Or is she just playing the game as it's supposed to be played?
What is the purpose of reality television? Think about this from several angles: as a subject on the show, as a producer, or as an audience member.
This book caused me at least one sleepless night. The secretiveness of the school's staff, the cinematic pace of the action, and the near-plausibility of the setup will tingle many a reader's spine.
I received this book for free from Macmillan for review purposes.
It was just okay, barely. Again, another easy easy read. Rosie was pretty blah, and the romance with Linus was kind of weird; I’m surprised it made it further than the first day. The set up was good, but then it just got pretty boring and unbelievable—how the heck was Rosie able to sneak out so much? definitely won’t be buying the sequels (not even for kindle prices), and probably won’t seek these out at a library.
Spoiler
and the guardianship thing was super weird and out of place, and Rosie’s magic inner voice was also VERY underutilized until the last little bit so that was also WEIRD
This book fucked me up.
There's no nicer way to say this.
It hooked me at the beginning, for whatever reason.
But then ... ugh, it's just creepy.
So very not okay.
But it's so good.
There's no nicer way to say this.
It hooked me at the beginning, for whatever reason.
But then ... ugh, it's just creepy.
So very not okay.
But it's so good.