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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It took me a few chapters to figure out how the author was playing this: this is a book about the lives of non-protagonists in a world where it seems every generation has a Chosen One-type event, but as kind of a tongue-in-cheek joke about all the dramatic popular YA novels that always have some kind of teen Chosen One or Special Girl/Boy around whom great and dramatic (and probably romantic) events happen (vampire romances, zombie attacks, interdimensional portals, etc), the start of every chapter includes a paragraph summarizing what dramatic Chosen One stuff is happening while our 'normal' kids' story goes on as the focus of the novel. In a not-quite-breaking-the-4th-wall thing, everyone knows and takes for a given that every generation has its own weird (potentially apocalyptic) events involving special teens (referred to as 'indie kids')--kinda like "remember the vampire invasion of '08?"--and just rolls with it as a matter-of-fact thing, while the teens themselves sometimes question why the adults don't find this weird.
The main story here is about a group of high school friends in their final year before graduation dealing with the unknowns and last-chances of their final year before graduation and its accompanying life changes--including a guy struggling with OCD and feelings of inadequacy and too shy to confess his feelings to his lifelong friend, whose parents are planning to take her with them on a missionary trip to Africa after grad; his older sister, recovering from anorexia while their local politician mom is too absorbed in campaigning to pay enough attention to her kids' problems or her husband's alcoholism (nonviolent, non-abusive, but the addiction still puts strain on the family); and their other friend, a big goodhearted guy who inherited certain traits from his Chosen-One-events grandmother but is not an 'indie kid' himself.
It's a sympathetic and realistic story of relationships--friendship or romantic--and the pressures and anxieties of graduation time, when you know your posse will soon split up towards different colleges or other destinations and worry how that will change (or maybe break?) the bonds you love. There are lots of good, thoughtful lines about relationships and mental health, and the frustrations of having things decided for you, or having your life so affected by the decisions or choices of others. Realistically, though the friends have a lot of love for each other, they do also argue and fight, and that was relatable too (and the author didn't choose to do eye-roll-worthy stupid-drama fights!).
Recommended for readers who may have once enjoyed but are now a bit tired of the dramatic Chosen One YA stories, or who like thoughtful stories of friendships and how they may change over time, or about realistic pre-graduation anxieties/worries.
The main story here is about a group of high school friends in their final year before graduation dealing with the unknowns and last-chances of their final year before graduation and its accompanying life changes--including a guy struggling with OCD and feelings of inadequacy and too shy to confess his feelings to his lifelong friend, whose parents are planning to take her with them on a missionary trip to Africa after grad; his older sister, recovering from anorexia while their local politician mom is too absorbed in campaigning to pay enough attention to her kids' problems or her husband's alcoholism (nonviolent, non-abusive, but the addiction still puts strain on the family); and their other friend, a big goodhearted guy who inherited certain traits from his Chosen-One-events grandmother but is not an 'indie kid' himself.
It's a sympathetic and realistic story of relationships--friendship or romantic--and the pressures and anxieties of graduation time, when you know your posse will soon split up towards different colleges or other destinations and worry how that will change (or maybe break?) the bonds you love. There are lots of good, thoughtful lines about relationships and mental health, and the frustrations of having things decided for you, or having your life so affected by the decisions or choices of others. Realistically, though the friends have a lot of love for each other, they do also argue and fight, and that was relatable too (and the author didn't choose to do eye-roll-worthy stupid-drama fights!).
Recommended for readers who may have once enjoyed but are now a bit tired of the dramatic Chosen One YA stories, or who like thoughtful stories of friendships and how they may change over time, or about realistic pre-graduation anxieties/worries.
I read this book quicker than I expected but it was an interesting take on the post apocalyptic genre that's been popular with young adult novels for a while now. I really enjoyed the characters and there was a resolve on the "unrequited love" front that turned out better than I expected. My only complaint was that there was a really good opportunity to make a character bisexual that wasn't seized and I think it should have been.
this book was strange to say the least. but despite it being weird, ridiculous, and out of pocket, i couldn’t put it down (hence finishing it in two days). i will say i was very caught off guard by all the supernatural aspects (ie the narrator just casually mentioning vampires and ghosts previously attacking his peers, and his best friend just so happens to also be part god??) it felt a little bit like this book couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. i did find it entertaining though, and the main protagonist was relatable and (fairly) likable (jared- the one who is for some reason a god of cats- was my fav)
This book was hilarious and sarcastic and weird and sweet. I loved it! Each chapter begins with what the indie kids are doing, the "Chosen Ones", and it's so obviously a parody of Harry Potter, and Buffy, and the Hunger Games and Twilight. The main story is about the kids in the background, and it was really a story about love and friendship. With a little supernatural stuff thrown in. The narrator, Mike, is such a typical teenage boy, and yet he suffers from crippling anxiety and OCD. His sister is fighting anorexia. His best friend is gay and...something else (I won't spoil it) and he thinks he's in love with his sister's best friend. A really fun easy read!
Really gripping and the characters totally sucked me in. Playful fun-poking at the common tropes of Young Adult books that made me laugh quite a few times. Great ending, bittersweet but very real.
In a nutshell: I picked up the book looking for some playful poking-fun at ‘chosen-one’ tropes, but stayed for the multi-faceted characters and well-written interpersonal relationships.
I was drawn to this book because of the unique premise. As someone who grew up loving the ‘chosen-one’ stories like Harry Potter, the Hunger Games and Twilight, the idea of getting to see the day-to-day lives of the background characters in these ‘extraordinary teenager’ stories was too compelling to resist.
The book was more thoughtful and touching than I anticipated. Each and every one of the ensemble cast was well-developed and it perfectly captured the confusion and uncertainty one can feel during their teenage years. I liked that all of these ‘normal kids’ were dealing their own (sort of) everyday demons because it made it easy to empathize with their characters. The relationship dynamics between the friend group were realistically turbulent and touching without ever descending into over-the-top dramatics.
There was a lot of interesting details in the world building: I particularly liked how the book explored the question about the adults in the town and whether they are blind to the strange happenings or if they choose to live in denial (possibly because they are carrying some ‘strange happenings’-related baggage from their own childhood).
I was drawn to this book because of the unique premise. As someone who grew up loving the ‘chosen-one’ stories like Harry Potter, the Hunger Games and Twilight, the idea of getting to see the day-to-day lives of the background characters in these ‘extraordinary teenager’ stories was too compelling to resist.
The book was more thoughtful and touching than I anticipated. Each and every one of the ensemble cast was well-developed and it perfectly captured the confusion and uncertainty one can feel during their teenage years. I liked that all of these ‘normal kids’ were dealing their own (sort of) everyday demons because it made it easy to empathize with their characters. The relationship dynamics between the friend group were realistically turbulent and touching without ever descending into over-the-top dramatics.
There was a lot of interesting details in the world building: I particularly liked how the book explored the question about the adults in the town and whether they are blind to the strange happenings or if they choose to live in denial (possibly because they are carrying some ‘strange happenings’-related baggage from their own childhood).