You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Combine reality television with high-end talent and creativity among a group of high-schoolers in a dystopian environment, and you have a book that keeps you turning pages and trying to stay ahead of whatever is coming next.
Rosie Sinclair comes from hard-scrabble family conditions in Arizona. She tried out for a reality TV program which features a school for the performing arts. Viewers actually vote on who should be in the school based on a variety of things. A popularity rating of 50 or higher means Rosie gets to stay in the school where she just wants to learn how to make good films. The competition is a bit twisty, since everyone is essentially manipulating one another in an effort to enhance his or her score on the show. A higher score means more ad dollars per student, and the kids get a piece of those ad revenues.
But Rosie is perhaps a bit different from her piers. Her spartan upbringing innately draws her closer to a member of the kitchen staff, a young man who has a difficult past of his own. Additionally, Rosie wonders why the school is so strict regarding the sleep patterns of the students. There's no socializing or night life to speak of. Everyone crawls into coffin-like sleeping shells at six p.m., and no one is allowed to arise until six a.m. Further, to ensure that students do indeed sleep, they are medicated. One night, missing the sight of the stars in the night sky, Rosie only pretends to swallow the pill given her by the nurse. She lies awake long into the night with the lid to her sleeping shell open, and that's when she sees things in the room that tip her off to the fact that sinister things are happening at the school at the camera's edge, and Rosie determines somehow to find out why girls are being connected to I.V. ports while they sleep.
Her ultimate discovery will leave you with thoughts of distorted frankenstein-like creations and a kind of horror that human beings can and do treat others so badly in the name of science and experimentation.
There are pieces of the book that jangled my nerves a bit. Ok, I know I'm supposed to suspend disbelief just a bit for this dystopian young-adult stuff, but the long-time ham radio operator in me just wouldn't let me breeze through those sections of the book that referenced ham radio. Ham radio doesn't use channels, for example. About now, you're encouraging me to get over myself. The thing is, this is indicative of sloppy research, which seems to be a bit of a pattern for this author. In book two of her Birthmarked trilogy, the author includes a tiresome inaccurate scene in which a blind character insists on feeling the face of a new acquaintance. Good grief! That's the stuff sloppy research is made of, and this ham radio thing was a bit like that for me. It wasn't even close to a deal breaker, and I very much enjoyed the book. Further, I don't think O'Brien is obligated to do super-accurate hard science in her books. I'm only pointing out that the ham radio thing, which almost no one else is going to notice or care about, kind of broke the spell I think O'Brien was trying to weave me into, and that's unfortunate, since it was preventable.
My insignificant whining aside, I can tell you that I enjoyed the book, and I'm going hunting for the second installment.
Rosie Sinclair comes from hard-scrabble family conditions in Arizona. She tried out for a reality TV program which features a school for the performing arts. Viewers actually vote on who should be in the school based on a variety of things. A popularity rating of 50 or higher means Rosie gets to stay in the school where she just wants to learn how to make good films. The competition is a bit twisty, since everyone is essentially manipulating one another in an effort to enhance his or her score on the show. A higher score means more ad dollars per student, and the kids get a piece of those ad revenues.
But Rosie is perhaps a bit different from her piers. Her spartan upbringing innately draws her closer to a member of the kitchen staff, a young man who has a difficult past of his own. Additionally, Rosie wonders why the school is so strict regarding the sleep patterns of the students. There's no socializing or night life to speak of. Everyone crawls into coffin-like sleeping shells at six p.m., and no one is allowed to arise until six a.m. Further, to ensure that students do indeed sleep, they are medicated. One night, missing the sight of the stars in the night sky, Rosie only pretends to swallow the pill given her by the nurse. She lies awake long into the night with the lid to her sleeping shell open, and that's when she sees things in the room that tip her off to the fact that sinister things are happening at the school at the camera's edge, and Rosie determines somehow to find out why girls are being connected to I.V. ports while they sleep.
Her ultimate discovery will leave you with thoughts of distorted frankenstein-like creations and a kind of horror that human beings can and do treat others so badly in the name of science and experimentation.
There are pieces of the book that jangled my nerves a bit. Ok, I know I'm supposed to suspend disbelief just a bit for this dystopian young-adult stuff, but the long-time ham radio operator in me just wouldn't let me breeze through those sections of the book that referenced ham radio. Ham radio doesn't use channels, for example. About now, you're encouraging me to get over myself. The thing is, this is indicative of sloppy research, which seems to be a bit of a pattern for this author. In book two of her Birthmarked trilogy, the author includes a tiresome inaccurate scene in which a blind character insists on feeling the face of a new acquaintance. Good grief! That's the stuff sloppy research is made of, and this ham radio thing was a bit like that for me. It wasn't even close to a deal breaker, and I very much enjoyed the book. Further, I don't think O'Brien is obligated to do super-accurate hard science in her books. I'm only pointing out that the ham radio thing, which almost no one else is going to notice or care about, kind of broke the spell I think O'Brien was trying to weave me into, and that's unfortunate, since it was preventable.
My insignificant whining aside, I can tell you that I enjoyed the book, and I'm going hunting for the second installment.
3.5 stars
It was good but not great. I was definitely intrigued and wanted to know what was going on at the school and whether Rosie was actually finding out what Dean was doing or if she was just going crazy and hallucinating everything. I liked the end. But again, I didn't love it. It wasn't as shocking or intense as I had hoped. But still good. I enjoyed it.
It was good but not great. I was definitely intrigued and wanted to know what was going on at the school and whether Rosie was actually finding out what Dean was doing or if she was just going crazy and hallucinating everything. I liked the end. But again, I didn't love it. It wasn't as shocking or intense as I had hoped. But still good. I enjoyed it.
3.5 stars
So, how does one bring Hunger Games to Art School? By making it a reality TV series popularity contest. The main characters is somewhat surprised she was selected for this super prestigious art school, and will do whatever it takes to stay in the game (aka the most popular kids on the show). While it is strange that a reality show determines who graduates from Art School, it is not per se evil and it is known that many people in the end don't get to finish it.
What made this particularly evil were the things that happened in the night with the students dream. As anyone could have told these characters - 12h of forced sleep each night (to enrich creativity) is not normal and reeks of ulterior motive.
For me, I quite liked it. It was impossible to take too seriously (what with the reality TV series) and the ending wasn't quite what I would have liked to see, but I was very busy when reading it and it got me through.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Find this and other reviews on https://www.urlphantomhive.com
So, how does one bring Hunger Games to Art School? By making it a reality TV series popularity contest. The main characters is somewhat surprised she was selected for this super prestigious art school, and will do whatever it takes to stay in the game (aka the most popular kids on the show). While it is strange that a reality show determines who graduates from Art School, it is not per se evil and it is known that many people in the end don't get to finish it.
What made this particularly evil were the things that happened in the night with the students dream. As anyone could have told these characters - 12h of forced sleep each night (to enrich creativity) is not normal and reeks of ulterior motive.
For me, I quite liked it. It was impossible to take too seriously (what with the reality TV series) and the ending wasn't quite what I would have liked to see, but I was very busy when reading it and it got me through.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Find this and other reviews on https://www.urlphantomhive.com
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Gaslighting
I hated it. The first half of the book was interesting enough, and I quite enjoyed it. Until about halfway, to a third into it. Then the character Rosie, who wasn't too bright the entire time, turned into a complete idiot. And then the ending was, confusing and unsatisfying. Also, *SPOILER*
It was a good read at first, but eventually it just, turned stupid. Waste of time.
Spoiler
the weird voice in her head, what in the world was that? So stupid and annoying.It was a good read at first, but eventually it just, turned stupid. Waste of time.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Three stars because I actually love the premise and plot....but... I feel a bit of a rant coming on. Full review to come.
DNF. I read probably like 85% of it, and then the character made her zillionth idiotic decision and I couldn't take it anymore.
The Good:
I liked the premise. Rosie Sinclair is at the Forge School, an arts school for students. All students participate in a reality series that follows each student throughout the day. In order to keep the student's creative juices flowing, they are forced to sleep 12 hours a night (they take a sleeping pill before bed). Rosie skips her sleeping pill one night and discovers that all may not be as it seems at the Forge School...
The Bad:
The premise completely unravels after the first few chapters. Rosie is running around at night, filmed by cameras, trying to figure out what is happening and no one stops her? She doesn't think that's weird? Why would the evil overlords of the school even let her do that? They establish that its possible to force her to take her meds and even lock her in her sleeping pod, so why wouldn't they just do that, or, I don't know, kick her out of the school entirely (which, SPOILER, they eventually sort of do, and this is where I stopped, because DAMN GIRL, MAKE A GOOD DECISION FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE).
The main character, Rosie, is boring. She very quickly enters into a pseudo love triangle, which aside from the UGH ANOTHER LOVE TRIANGLE WHY factor, is boring. The other characters in the book? One dimensional and boring.
The Verdict:
Anyway, this was obviously not my favorite book. Its tightly paced, I'll give it that, but the annoying/stupid main character and the insane plot holes drove me to the point where I had no interest in the last 50 pages or so. 1 star.
The Good:
I liked the premise. Rosie Sinclair is at the Forge School, an arts school for students. All students participate in a reality series that follows each student throughout the day. In order to keep the student's creative juices flowing, they are forced to sleep 12 hours a night (they take a sleeping pill before bed). Rosie skips her sleeping pill one night and discovers that all may not be as it seems at the Forge School...
The Bad:
The premise completely unravels after the first few chapters. Rosie is running around at night, filmed by cameras, trying to figure out what is happening and no one stops her? She doesn't think that's weird? Why would the evil overlords of the school even let her do that? They establish that its possible to force her to take her meds and even lock her in her sleeping pod, so why wouldn't they just do that, or, I don't know, kick her out of the school entirely (which, SPOILER, they eventually sort of do, and this is where I stopped, because DAMN GIRL, MAKE A GOOD DECISION FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE).
The main character, Rosie, is boring. She very quickly enters into a pseudo love triangle, which aside from the UGH ANOTHER LOVE TRIANGLE WHY factor, is boring. The other characters in the book? One dimensional and boring.
The Verdict:
Anyway, this was obviously not my favorite book. Its tightly paced, I'll give it that, but the annoying/stupid main character and the insane plot holes drove me to the point where I had no interest in the last 50 pages or so. 1 star.
