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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An exciting, ambitious idea that almost lost me with a muddled middle. 4 stars.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
I remembered absolutely loving The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - and sure enough, checking now, I did rate that five stars (no review, of course; it was a 2016 x 52 books read, I didn't have time for reviews). This was good, but not quite as good, although I can't entirely say why since I don't recall anything about Harry August but that I loved it. A deeply ironic fact, given the plot of this one.
I imagine in 2016, this would have read like the plot of a Black Mirror episode. It still does, perhaps even more so; the grotesque encroachments social media and advertising have made into every aspect of life in the last seven years makes this a deeply uncomfortable read at times. It's entirely too easy to picture these events unfolding in real time, absolutely believable that people you know would attempt to attain the 106, the 206.
At times it was a wee bit contrived (Dollhouse did sleeper phrase cues perfectly, these fell slightly flat), but generally very well done and worth the read.
I imagine in 2016, this would have read like the plot of a Black Mirror episode. It still does, perhaps even more so; the grotesque encroachments social media and advertising have made into every aspect of life in the last seven years makes this a deeply uncomfortable read at times. It's entirely too easy to picture these events unfolding in real time, absolutely believable that people you know would attempt to attain the 106, the 206.
At times it was a wee bit contrived (Dollhouse did sleeper phrase cues perfectly, these fell slightly flat), but generally very well done and worth the read.
4,2
Liked the characters, the theme and the plot of the book. The way the characters who regularly interact with Hope dealt with always forgetting her was one of my favourite things in the book. The doubt and anxiety about your own mind betraying you. The book took quite a dark turn at one point which caused me fear and anxiety in a good way while reading the book. The ending was beautiful to my surprise. Can't really say much more without spoiling the plot.
Worth a read.
Liked the characters, the theme and the plot of the book. The way the characters who regularly interact with Hope dealt with always forgetting her was one of my favourite things in the book. The doubt and anxiety about your own mind betraying you. The book took quite a dark turn at one point which caused me fear and anxiety in a good way while reading the book. The ending was beautiful to my surprise. Can't really say much more without spoiling the plot.
Worth a read.
Another book in which Claire North explores, fascinatingly, the concept of identity - what does it mean to be a person, what makes us behave responsibly, what is morality? The central character, Hope, is unmemorable - quite literally. No-one can remember meeting her within minutes of an interaction. To survive she must steal, and her thefts bring her closer and closer to a deeply sinister and horribly credible social phenomenon. I felt there were strong echoes of the earlier books published under this name, and possibly of Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse". The style is sometimes challenging, but the narrative is gripping and the philosophcal issues demand thought.
3.5 stars. Wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I appreciate what the author was going for, but something about the tone just felt "off." I could never really buy into the main character as a protagonist - I felt little sympathy or empathy for her, despite agreeing with her and thinking I "should" have.
After reading the first few lines in this book I concluded that no matter what followed, I was going to like this book.
I can say I wasn't disappointed one bit. Even though the writing style was sometimes confusing, I loved the originality of both it and the story
I can say I wasn't disappointed one bit. Even though the writing style was sometimes confusing, I loved the originality of both it and the story
Claire North writes stunning characters, all I can say right now.