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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As an audiobook it was intriguing enough to keep listening to, but I can’t say I was excited to continue every time I put on my headphones. The books feels lacking by the end, and you really only see the missed opportunities. A pair of strangers knocks on your door in the middle of the night claiming they one the place — within the first day alone there would be pages and pages of conflict, suspicion, and awkward moments. It felt like all of that was dropped 5 minutes into meeting the couple. It seemed very irresponsible to let two strangers stay inside the house while you have two kids there.
I was expecting the main conflict to come from the tension between the families, not from the mystery of what’s happened. That story could and should be told without the Washingtons. Remove them from this plot and everything basically happens the same. No tv, no phones, go explore the city, find a distressed lady, return, sickness, then leave.
I enjoyed it enough to finish, but I can’t say I would recommend it.
I was expecting the main conflict to come from the tension between the families, not from the mystery of what’s happened. That story could and should be told without the Washingtons. Remove them from this plot and everything basically happens the same. No tv, no phones, go explore the city, find a distressed lady, return, sickness, then leave.
I enjoyed it enough to finish, but I can’t say I would recommend it.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
really excited to read this one and it was a bit of a let down. the themes of the book I really enjoyed and could get behind, and some aspects of the writing I found interesting, but overall the pacing and honestly lacklustre plot just made this an unpleasant read. I kept hoping it would get better as I read, and it did pick up a bit, but not nearly as much as I was hoping it would
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Vomit
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmmm :/ I did not vibe with the structure of this one. It’s wobbled between very omnipotent third person and closer to the character perspective and it bounces around between characters too much imo. I am also not a fan of dystopian that doesn’t tell you how the world ended.
Tak tohle jsem potřebovala chvíli rozdýchat.
Strašně nerada píšu negativní recenze a i když věřím, že si tato kniha třeba i najde čtenáře, který z ní bude nadšený, mně neskutečným způsobem nesedla. Snad jediné pozitivum, které se mi na ní podařilo najít je, že naštěstí není dlouhá a jen díky tomu neskončila na seznamu DNF. Jinak v relativně nezajímavém a nespecifickém příběhu, figurují nesympatické postavy, s pro mě, naprosto nelogickým a nepochopitelným chováním. To vše je pak završeno koncem, který je ve své podstatě otevřený a o ničem.
Za mě tedy tato kniha rozhodně ne a to platí i pro ostatní autorovy knihy. Není to styl, který by mě lákal.
Strašně nerada píšu negativní recenze a i když věřím, že si tato kniha třeba i najde čtenáře, který z ní bude nadšený, mně neskutečným způsobem nesedla. Snad jediné pozitivum, které se mi na ní podařilo najít je, že naštěstí není dlouhá a jen díky tomu neskončila na seznamu DNF. Jinak v relativně nezajímavém a nespecifickém příběhu, figurují nesympatické postavy, s pro mě, naprosto nelogickým a nepochopitelným chováním. To vše je pak završeno koncem, který je ve své podstatě otevřený a o ničem.
Za mě tedy tato kniha rozhodně ne a to platí i pro ostatní autorovy knihy. Není to styl, který by mě lákal.
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I hated this book and almost didn't finish it, I wish I hadn't.
I get where our author was going, we don't know what is going to happen later today, tomorrow, the day after. We live each day with plans for our future, but who knows what could happen.
Now in the midst of some unknown possible disaster, what are these two families to do? Do they stay put because they are in a safe place? Do they go for medical help when needed? Do they try to find out more information?
While the idea was there, the execution was not.
For starters, we have multiple POV's in each chapter, so it can get confusing as to who is talking, is it Ruth, is it Amanda? They jump so much in each chapter it's confusing and honestly didn't make any sense at all.
There is SOOO much unnecessary details, I don't need to know every item that Amanda bought at the grocery store, what purpose does this serve? We already know they don't have a huge food supply, Rose even mentions towards the end they are running low on food. However we know GH has a supply of emergency goods in the basement as it was also mentioned multiple times. But we never get to needing these things, we never get to what is going on.
This book is ambiguous as it mentions about multiple deaths that will take place, but not yet. This person will survive, this person will not get to experience this thing. It's all very cryptic and it didn't make me love the story more, it made me angry that I spent all of this time reading/listening to this book for nothing.
I do not recommend. I know Netflix is making a movie or a show out of this mess, but honestly I don't even thing the magic of a screen can save this mess.
I get where our author was going, we don't know what is going to happen later today, tomorrow, the day after. We live each day with plans for our future, but who knows what could happen.
Now in the midst of some unknown possible disaster, what are these two families to do? Do they stay put because they are in a safe place? Do they go for medical help when needed? Do they try to find out more information?
While the idea was there, the execution was not.
For starters, we have multiple POV's in each chapter, so it can get confusing as to who is talking, is it Ruth, is it Amanda? They jump so much in each chapter it's confusing and honestly didn't make any sense at all.
There is SOOO much unnecessary details, I don't need to know every item that Amanda bought at the grocery store, what purpose does this serve? We already know they don't have a huge food supply, Rose even mentions towards the end they are running low on food. However we know GH has a supply of emergency goods in the basement as it was also mentioned multiple times. But we never get to needing these things, we never get to what is going on.
This book is ambiguous as it mentions about multiple deaths that will take place, but not yet. This person will survive, this person will not get to experience this thing. It's all very cryptic and it didn't make me love the story more, it made me angry that I spent all of this time reading/listening to this book for nothing.
I do not recommend. I know Netflix is making a movie or a show out of this mess, but honestly I don't even thing the magic of a screen can save this mess.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd watched the film long before realising it was based upon the novel, and prior to reading, had been to a talk with the author for his second book, so going in, I had a pretty solid idea of, not just the plot, but the wider context and other social influences of the time. It's a very short and easy read, which builds the tension even further, and I find the characters to be written exceptionally. I'm not usually a fan of modern dystopia because I find that it never really works or effectively uneases me, but for the week after finishing this, I was constantly wondering about the fate of the characters. Leaving their ending vague and open-ended in comparison to other characters, both named and not, who we are informed of their slow and dismal deaths, creates a lasting feeling of anxiousness.