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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Although this book was a unique take on a dystopia, I was certainly not a fan. The synopsis definietly is not a great representation of the book. I was expecting an epic science fiction take over with a reality show twist. Unfortunately, I was left utterly disappointed. It begins with the characters taking pills before retiring to bed, which should emit a blaring alarm in your head. Why do they have to take pills while on a reality show? Why are they subjected to wearing 'nighties' to bed? Everything wrong with that situation only increases in tension as character true intentions are revealed. What the viewers don't see is a sick way of drugging children, performing medical experiments and taking advantage of them while they sleep. Its just sick. The situations were perdicatble and childish that I just had to step away from this book. It took me much longer than I would've liked.
From sick to weird, I find it odd that the viewers decide their fate and not their natural abilities and talents. It proivdes them with some drama and enterainment while potentinal rewarding the person with a future. The top 50 are allowed to remain at the school, to learn, to thrive, and to achive their dreams. For Rosie, her dream is to be a filmaker one day. I admire her perserverance to remain in the top 50, but her point of view, expecally when she spoke of the details as if she were filming were very confusing. I had to reread most of her work mainly because of the odd style and strange flow of the sentences.
There were many reasons why this book does not deserve 5 stars, a strong female lead is not one of them. I love a powerful, independent female character but acting on a whim, disobeying a smarter character's advice, and just simply being stupid does not make an admirable character.
The world building did not captivate me one bit. There are small, brief hints as to what life was like outside of the school, but besides what Rosie mentions, we're still greatly in the dark.
And then there is the instant love. I'm not a big fan of romance in the first place so reading this only added to my dislike. I get it, you want to write the parts where the characters are together more, but at least ease your way into it and give the readers some mystery while ommiting a love triangle.
Just another book that falls into the category of instant love and disappointment.
Don't waste your time.
From sick to weird, I find it odd that the viewers decide their fate and not their natural abilities and talents. It proivdes them with some drama and enterainment while potentinal rewarding the person with a future. The top 50 are allowed to remain at the school, to learn, to thrive, and to achive their dreams. For Rosie, her dream is to be a filmaker one day. I admire her perserverance to remain in the top 50, but her point of view, expecally when she spoke of the details as if she were filming were very confusing. I had to reread most of her work mainly because of the odd style and strange flow of the sentences.
There were many reasons why this book does not deserve 5 stars, a strong female lead is not one of them. I love a powerful, independent female character but acting on a whim, disobeying a smarter character's advice, and just simply being stupid does not make an admirable character.
The world building did not captivate me one bit. There are small, brief hints as to what life was like outside of the school, but besides what Rosie mentions, we're still greatly in the dark.
And then there is the instant love. I'm not a big fan of romance in the first place so reading this only added to my dislike. I get it, you want to write the parts where the characters are together more, but at least ease your way into it and give the readers some mystery while ommiting a love triangle.
Just another book that falls into the category of instant love and disappointment.
Don't waste your time.
An interesting start... this really felt like only the beginning of a story, and not a story in itself - nothing was resolved in the slightest. I liked Rosie, Janice and Burnham as characters, and some interesting problems were brought up. I enjoyed it enough that I'll probably bother to read the second book.
Grade: C-
This e-galley was provided by Roaring Book Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Well, this book was...interesting. I snagged it when it was available as Read Now for a select number of members; otherwise, I'm not sure I would've read it. It ended up being a good read, but kind of weird, too. I can definitely note that it took awhile for Rosie to even unearth the secret mentioned in the synopsis. I noted at 61% of the way in that I felt like more should've happened by that point. This was also a book whose plot was better developed than its characters. I'm still not sure what Linus's or the other dude's (I can't remember his name) deal was. I couldn't tell you much about Rosie's personality beyond that she seems to love to break rules and she's overly curious. (Seriously, did she want to die???) Also, Dean Berg was beyond creepy and that ending... That's when it got really weird. There are some sick minds out there, and I'm not sure any of them should read this book, lest they get some ideas. I would've liked to see more of the students actually learning in class. Film is such an interesting field, and I never got the sense that Rosie was truly interested in it. It was just a means of fulfilling certain plot elements. Janice was a cool character, though; I mean, she was gender-bending Hamlet!
Not much foul language that I can think of. Romance stayed pretty clean.
The Verdict: Lovers of sci-fi and thrillers may like this more than I did. I think this a book everyone will have to judge for themselves.
This e-galley was provided by Roaring Book Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Well, this book was...interesting. I snagged it when it was available as Read Now for a select number of members; otherwise, I'm not sure I would've read it. It ended up being a good read, but kind of weird, too. I can definitely note that it took awhile for Rosie to even unearth the secret mentioned in the synopsis. I noted at 61% of the way in that I felt like more should've happened by that point. This was also a book whose plot was better developed than its characters. I'm still not sure what Linus's or the other dude's (I can't remember his name) deal was. I couldn't tell you much about Rosie's personality beyond that she seems to love to break rules and she's overly curious. (Seriously, did she want to die???) Also, Dean Berg was beyond creepy and that ending... That's when it got really weird. There are some sick minds out there, and I'm not sure any of them should read this book, lest they get some ideas. I would've liked to see more of the students actually learning in class. Film is such an interesting field, and I never got the sense that Rosie was truly interested in it. It was just a means of fulfilling certain plot elements. Janice was a cool character, though; I mean, she was gender-bending Hamlet!
Not much foul language that I can think of. Romance stayed pretty clean.
The Verdict: Lovers of sci-fi and thrillers may like this more than I did. I think this a book everyone will have to judge for themselves.
This book kept me all the way through, but the ending ruined it a bit for me
I have tried to read this book several times and honestly just get bored. The writing doesn't grab me and the plot seems really contrived. Sad as the blurb held such promise. DNF at 25%
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The arc was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
When Rosie Sinclair first hears about The Forge Show, she never imagines that one day she'll make it into the distinguished art school where the show is filmed. In the process of trying to make the show, she makes new friends and meets the cute behind-the-scenes dishwasher who help her to survive the elimination round. But she quickly discovers her new school and reality show life aren't all they're cracked up to be. One night, Rosie discovers something sinister is happening to the students while they sleep and she's determined to find out what it is but feels as though she is losing her mind in the process. MTVs Real World meets Joss Whedon's Dollhouse in this science fiction/mystery story by Caragh M. O'Brien. Although the galley had a handful of grammatical errors sprinkled throughout, the story was mostly solid though a bit predictable. The side characters were interesting but were ultimately left to fall by the wayside; this was especially frustrating when that character happened to be Burnham Fister, the son of the people responsible for the sleeping medication the students were forced to take to nurture their creativity, or Linus, the guy Rosie develops feelings for and in whom she learns to confide. It is my sincere hope that their roles were not merely to provide her with random assistance, never to be heard from again. Based on the somewhat strange, definitely abrupt ending, I am not too concerned that this is all there is to the story even as I fear I know exactly what the ending meant (and despise it). Teens won't be terribly picky and will find reasons to fall in love with this book.
When Rosie Sinclair first hears about The Forge Show, she never imagines that one day she'll make it into the distinguished art school where the show is filmed. In the process of trying to make the show, she makes new friends and meets the cute behind-the-scenes dishwasher who help her to survive the elimination round. But she quickly discovers her new school and reality show life aren't all they're cracked up to be. One night, Rosie discovers something sinister is happening to the students while they sleep and she's determined to find out what it is but feels as though she is losing her mind in the process. MTVs Real World meets Joss Whedon's Dollhouse in this science fiction/mystery story by Caragh M. O'Brien. Although the galley had a handful of grammatical errors sprinkled throughout, the story was mostly solid though a bit predictable. The side characters were interesting but were ultimately left to fall by the wayside; this was especially frustrating when that character happened to be Burnham Fister, the son of the people responsible for the sleeping medication the students were forced to take to nurture their creativity, or Linus, the guy Rosie develops feelings for and in whom she learns to confide. It is my sincere hope that their roles were not merely to provide her with random assistance, never to be heard from again. Based on the somewhat strange, definitely abrupt ending, I am not too concerned that this is all there is to the story even as I fear I know exactly what the ending meant (and despise it). Teens won't be terribly picky and will find reasons to fall in love with this book.
picked it up on a whim during my last library visit and enjoyed it much more than I expected to. Surprised but glad to find it it's the first book of a series.
i absolutely loved this book and read trough it in less than 3 days. the writing had me captivated until the end.
But the ending left me with too many questions.
. Who/ what is this voice she keeps hearing? does she die in the end? does she manage to follow her dream out of her body? is her family looking for her? what did they tell the forge show viewers? .
i can only hope that part 2 will answer my questions.
But the ending left me with too many questions.
i can only hope that part 2 will answer my questions.
When I hear about dreams I instantly become interested. Dreams and hopes people have funny mainly dreams created from their subconscious. I love to try to remember my own dreams. This book reminded me of Inception with seeding. Planting an idea into someone's head through a dream giving their brain the idea and having it believe it was it's own then having it grow from there. This book had some romance but lots of mysteries. Definitely now on my favourites list! Can't wait for the next one in the series!!! AMAZING