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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
3.5 stars.
First off, I was into this book the whole way through. It gave me the same "feelings" I got while reading the Hunger Games and Unwind. Which is a great thing!
This book has this sci-fi psychological thriller feel throughout the whole book, which is my jam. Seriously.
What I liked: The characters, they all were very vivid in my mind whilst reading although we didn't know that much about them at any given time, you still felt for them and rather enjoyed them. Rosie and Burnham were my favorite. Rosie was a kick ass protag, who was at times gave an unreliable narrative which was very enticing. And Burnham was just the best.
The plot was pretty good. I can't wait to see where it goes in the second book.
The writing was beautiful, and real.
What I didn't like: Hmmm, there isn't much but if I had to pick at a bone it would be not knowing more about the Greenland War and how that changed the society the book is set in. And the ending was kinda eeeeeeh for me.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was a very fast read. And I'm really looking for to reading more by Caragh M. O'Brian!
First off, I was into this book the whole way through. It gave me the same "feelings" I got while reading the Hunger Games and Unwind. Which is a great thing!
This book has this sci-fi psychological thriller feel throughout the whole book, which is my jam. Seriously.
What I liked: The characters, they all were very vivid in my mind whilst reading although we didn't know that much about them at any given time, you still felt for them and rather enjoyed them. Rosie and Burnham were my favorite. Rosie was a kick ass protag, who was at times gave an unreliable narrative which was very enticing. And Burnham was just the best.
The plot was pretty good. I can't wait to see where it goes in the second book.
The writing was beautiful, and real.
What I didn't like: Hmmm, there isn't much but if I had to pick at a bone it would be not knowing more about the Greenland War and how that changed the society the book is set in. And the ending was kinda eeeeeeh for me.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was a very fast read. And I'm really looking for to reading more by Caragh M. O'Brian!
It just got too annoying at the end. The MC started making stupid inexplicable decisions. Annoying love story.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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
World building is Uglies but the writing is What's Left of Me. Review to come.
The Forge School is a highly selective, highly competitive arts school. 100 incoming sophomores are chosen each year from all over the world to compete for 50 open spots in the curriculum. The catch? The school is also a reality show where each students' lives are broadcast from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to sleep. And the public chooses the 50 students who will continue on with their educations.
Rosie Sinclair needs to stay in Forge. She's a talented filmmaker and a good student, but back home in her abandoned train car, her school has fast tracked her to prison. She could give up art entirely and become a shop-girl, paying her abusive step-father's half of the rent to keep a roof over her little sister's head, or she can make an unprecedented 44 place leap in the Forge rankings in the next 11 hours.
The first half of the story, with its reality show plot is good but not really special in the YA dystopian genre. Like The Unidentified, which has a similar premise, I had trouble with the world building. In 30 years, very little has changed in daily life in America. Teenagers are still using Facebook. Two years after publishing and I'm barely still using Facebook. Thirty years ago we were just seeing early adapters getting online, but in this world nothing has progressed past today? It would be like writing a book where people are still using EFnet in 2020. Except for a few brief references to solar flares, I never once felt a 2044 time period. After the initial cut, Forge's status as reality show is mostly used to keep Rosie from discussing the real plot points out loud.
Something strange happens to Forge at night. Mysterious scabs, like IV marks, appear on girls' arms. Beds are in slightly different positions. Chunks of footage go missing. I really liked the tense, mysterious nature of this part of the book. While I didn't feel it fit seamlessly into the reality show plot, the solitary nature of Rosie's investigations lent to dread and suspicion that really drew me in. Even now, I'm not sure who around her she should have trusted.
The writing is very evocative, especially when describing Rosie's life prior to the Forge. I can see the beauty of the sunsets and Dubbs, her sister, on the train tracks. This prose lends itself very well to the final few chapters, which become very internal following the climax. So while it takes a bit too long for the title to make sense and the world building is practically non-existent, I'm comfortable with my star rating for a very well written second half and a hell of a cliff hanger.
The Forge School is a highly selective, highly competitive arts school. 100 incoming sophomores are chosen each year from all over the world to compete for 50 open spots in the curriculum. The catch? The school is also a reality show where each students' lives are broadcast from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to sleep. And the public chooses the 50 students who will continue on with their educations.
Rosie Sinclair needs to stay in Forge. She's a talented filmmaker and a good student, but back home in her abandoned train car, her school has fast tracked her to prison. She could give up art entirely and become a shop-girl, paying her abusive step-father's half of the rent to keep a roof over her little sister's head, or she can make an unprecedented 44 place leap in the Forge rankings in the next 11 hours.
The first half of the story, with its reality show plot is good but not really special in the YA dystopian genre. Like The Unidentified, which has a similar premise, I had trouble with the world building. In 30 years, very little has changed in daily life in America. Teenagers are still using Facebook. Two years after publishing and I'm barely still using Facebook. Thirty years ago we were just seeing early adapters getting online, but in this world nothing has progressed past today? It would be like writing a book where people are still using EFnet in 2020. Except for a few brief references to solar flares, I never once felt a 2044 time period. After the initial cut, Forge's status as reality show is mostly used to keep Rosie from discussing the real plot points out loud.
Something strange happens to Forge at night. Mysterious scabs, like IV marks, appear on girls' arms. Beds are in slightly different positions. Chunks of footage go missing. I really liked the tense, mysterious nature of this part of the book. While I didn't feel it fit seamlessly into the reality show plot, the solitary nature of Rosie's investigations lent to dread and suspicion that really drew me in. Even now, I'm not sure who around her she should have trusted.
The writing is very evocative, especially when describing Rosie's life prior to the Forge. I can see the beauty of the sunsets and Dubbs, her sister, on the train tracks. This prose lends itself very well to the final few chapters, which become very internal following the climax. So while it takes a bit too long for the title to make sense and the world building is practically non-existent, I'm comfortable with my star rating for a very well written second half and a hell of a cliff hanger.
The last 20% of the book was really good. The rest was pretty slow, but that's ok. The next one should be exciting!
3 stars
The Vault of Dreamers instantly intrigued me with its premise, which basically promised me some mix of Big Brother and Inception. The result is a really intriguing thriller with some awesome science fiction aspects. However, with a confusing romance and cut-off ending putting me on the hook for a series, it wasn't quite the total package.
The premise is indeed what got me hooked, and from page one I was completely absorbed by this book. Rosie is a student at the Forge School, a private boarding school for students of the creative arts which doubles as a national reality television show. However, there's something odd about this school. They are forced to sleep 12 hours per night "to optimize their creativity" (during which the TV show can rerun the previous 12 hours) in these odd sleeping pods. Rosie, skipping her sleeping pill one night, soon finds out that mysterious things happen during the night and tries to find out as much as she can and expose the school. It was a truly intriguing story for me. I felt so engrossed, trying to puzzle it out alongside Rosie, and it had the right kind of creepy vibe that keeps you on your toes. And all of the technology that revealed this really was a futuristic setting (though close enough to the present) made my sci-fi loving heart very happy. Awesome gadgets paired with a great background in psychology to explain the purpose of the Forge School made the world building vivid, realistic, and truly fascinating.
However, the pacing of the story is a bit odd. It starts when Rosie has already been at the school for 7-10 days or something, the night before the day that the class would be cut in half - with only the students who pull in the most viewers being allowed to stay. It was jarring to me to have to catch up with exactly what this school was for, who Rosie was, why she was there, etc. I'm generally not a fan of a lot of back story being told via flashbacks, and I think The Vault of Dreamers did that a bit too much for me. It also made it really hard to swallow that in that single day she jumps from being ranked in the 90s to somehow still surviving the cut. Also, she just kept to herself for all that time and FINALLY started talking to some other people that exact day? Like, she just realized that it was important to do that, or she'd be forced to leave? I just think a lot of what I thought was implausible could have been smoothed over if the book started on day 1 at the Forge School.
Aside from the mystery that definitely kept me turning the pages like a beast, this story has a romance as well. And. Well. I'm not sure what I think about it. I definitely liked it at first, because Linus definitely does not like Rosie during their first interaction, and he makes that no big secret. Then, he kind of saves her by doing a fake romance - and you guys know how I usually fall for that stuff. But then it kind of petered off for me, because their feelings just seem to be genuine from that moment on. I mean, they get very little time to consider how they really feel, since they have to put on an act for the cameras, but they do find ways to communicate off screen. But while I appreciate how much they talk and really get to know each other - making this no instalove NO SIR - I still didn't really get the chemistry between them. Of course, I was possibly expecting too much from this because I was not completely in the loop about the fact that this was a series...
The ending on this one is a really frustrating one, which is made even more annoying because I read it right after The Jewel. Both books have the same problem: they end in the middle of a conflict, which the whole book was working toward - but we get none of the resolution or reward for our patience and instead discover we'll have to wait for the sequel for that. I didn't even really realize that The Vault of Dreamers was a series. I was SO CONFUSED. I couldn't find anything about it on Goodreads, except for a question the author answered on her page where she said a sequel would be coming next year. So I used my librarian powers to make this a little clearer for other readers because GODDAMN there's nothing more annoying than finding out a book's the first in a series only when you reach the END and there's no conflict resolution at all. I was so confused where this story ended, and that leaves me with a really bad taste in my mouth. I don't know what to make of this anymore.
Summing Up:
I won't say I disliked this book, but I didn't love it either. I feel like it left too much up in the air - particularly that ending, but also the romance and the character depth. I didn't get absorbed emotionally by this story, though I did truly enjoy the world building bits and the many mysteries of the plot. So much scheming, so much intrigue! I just wish it were resolved better at the end. Now it's another cliffhanger getting me on the hook for another series. *sigh*
GIF it to me straight!
My feelings regarding the ending. -.-
Recommended To:
Fans of futuristic thrillers with a background in psychology, like Uninvited.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review.
The Vault of Dreamers instantly intrigued me with its premise, which basically promised me some mix of Big Brother and Inception. The result is a really intriguing thriller with some awesome science fiction aspects. However, with a confusing romance and cut-off ending putting me on the hook for a series, it wasn't quite the total package.
The premise is indeed what got me hooked, and from page one I was completely absorbed by this book. Rosie is a student at the Forge School, a private boarding school for students of the creative arts which doubles as a national reality television show. However, there's something odd about this school. They are forced to sleep 12 hours per night "to optimize their creativity" (during which the TV show can rerun the previous 12 hours) in these odd sleeping pods. Rosie, skipping her sleeping pill one night, soon finds out that mysterious things happen during the night and tries to find out as much as she can and expose the school. It was a truly intriguing story for me. I felt so engrossed, trying to puzzle it out alongside Rosie, and it had the right kind of creepy vibe that keeps you on your toes. And all of the technology that revealed this really was a futuristic setting (though close enough to the present) made my sci-fi loving heart very happy. Awesome gadgets paired with a great background in psychology to explain the purpose of the Forge School made the world building vivid, realistic, and truly fascinating.
However, the pacing of the story is a bit odd. It starts when Rosie has already been at the school for 7-10 days or something, the night before the day that the class would be cut in half - with only the students who pull in the most viewers being allowed to stay. It was jarring to me to have to catch up with exactly what this school was for, who Rosie was, why she was there, etc. I'm generally not a fan of a lot of back story being told via flashbacks, and I think The Vault of Dreamers did that a bit too much for me. It also made it really hard to swallow that in that single day she jumps from being ranked in the 90s to somehow still surviving the cut. Also, she just kept to herself for all that time and FINALLY started talking to some other people that exact day? Like, she just realized that it was important to do that, or she'd be forced to leave? I just think a lot of what I thought was implausible could have been smoothed over if the book started on day 1 at the Forge School.
Aside from the mystery that definitely kept me turning the pages like a beast, this story has a romance as well. And. Well. I'm not sure what I think about it. I definitely liked it at first, because Linus definitely does not like Rosie during their first interaction, and he makes that no big secret. Then, he kind of saves her by doing a fake romance - and you guys know how I usually fall for that stuff. But then it kind of petered off for me, because their feelings just seem to be genuine from that moment on. I mean, they get very little time to consider how they really feel, since they have to put on an act for the cameras, but they do find ways to communicate off screen. But while I appreciate how much they talk and really get to know each other - making this no instalove NO SIR - I still didn't really get the chemistry between them. Of course, I was possibly expecting too much from this because I was not completely in the loop about the fact that this was a series...
The ending on this one is a really frustrating one, which is made even more annoying because I read it right after The Jewel. Both books have the same problem: they end in the middle of a conflict, which the whole book was working toward - but we get none of the resolution or reward for our patience and instead discover we'll have to wait for the sequel for that. I didn't even really realize that The Vault of Dreamers was a series. I was SO CONFUSED. I couldn't find anything about it on Goodreads, except for a question the author answered on her page where she said a sequel would be coming next year. So I used my librarian powers to make this a little clearer for other readers because GODDAMN there's nothing more annoying than finding out a book's the first in a series only when you reach the END and there's no conflict resolution at all. I was so confused where this story ended, and that leaves me with a really bad taste in my mouth. I don't know what to make of this anymore.
Summing Up:
I won't say I disliked this book, but I didn't love it either. I feel like it left too much up in the air - particularly that ending, but also the romance and the character depth. I didn't get absorbed emotionally by this story, though I did truly enjoy the world building bits and the many mysteries of the plot. So much scheming, so much intrigue! I just wish it were resolved better at the end. Now it's another cliffhanger getting me on the hook for another series. *sigh*
GIF it to me straight!
My feelings regarding the ending. -.-
Recommended To:
Fans of futuristic thrillers with a background in psychology, like Uninvited.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the contents of the review.
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this was a fun thriller read . I was rooting for Rosie and Linus always ! what the heck is gonna happen with Linus ? and Burham will we get more of him too? And Janice and Paige and Henrik???
This is not a happily ever after book but the journey is intense. Imagine a reality show that is also an elite school for artists of all varieties. Students are highly creative during the day which is all caught on camera then given sleeping pills at night and put into "sleep pods". The story follows a student named Rosie who dared to not swallow her sleep pills and what she witnessed happening at night. I read this to my 13 year old and we had a hard time stopping at the end of each chapter. The end is intense and not the way you want it to end, but very very good.
Halfway through writing this review everything got deleted, so review to come when I find the time.
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spoilers-ish
This book made me doubt everything. Was Rosie going crazy? Was she actually being lied to? Were the things she saw really there? Ughhh.
Sometimes, i feel like Rosie could have been smarter.
For example,
1. she didnt realise that when she scanned Linus's ID it would be notified in the forge's system that technically Linus just went through that door (And i say technically because he is the card holder but it wasnt him that used the card). ￣ˍ￣ ￣ˍ￣
2. Why did Rosie have to say anything about having footage of bodies in pods, god, keep that knowledge to yourself. Rosie should have trusted Linus and given him the camera. ￣︿￣
Idk about you but i would have take footage, IMMEDIATLY downloaded on a computer or something that can keep the video just incase it get removed from the camera so it would be somewhere then i would just keep filming things that are suspicious. And keep doing that process until i have enough proof to post the truths about the school. Goddammit.
From the start, I liked Linus and Rosie together and i hope they stay togetherrrrrr. =￣ω￣=
This book made me doubt everything. Was Rosie going crazy? Was she actually being lied to? Were the things she saw really there? Ughhh.
Sometimes, i feel like Rosie could have been smarter.
For example,
1. she didnt realise that when she scanned Linus's ID it would be notified in the forge's system that technically Linus just went through that door (And i say technically because he is the card holder but it wasnt him that used the card). ￣ˍ￣ ￣ˍ￣
2. Why did Rosie have to say anything about having footage of bodies in pods, god, keep that knowledge to yourself. Rosie should have trusted Linus and given him the camera. ￣︿￣
Idk about you but i would have take footage, IMMEDIATLY downloaded on a computer or something that can keep the video just incase it get removed from the camera so it would be somewhere then i would just keep filming things that are suspicious. And keep doing that process until i have enough proof to post the truths about the school. Goddammit.
From the start, I liked Linus and Rosie together and i hope they stay togetherrrrrr. =￣ω￣=