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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I didn't know what to expect from this book... I didn't want to read any opinion about it because it was my first time reading this author and I needed to be surprise.
So this is going to be completely honest...
It felt real.
The characters were absolutely common and with so much to tell. The existential traumas they live is exactly what we have to go through every day, and sometimes we don't even know it... Or we like to ignore it!
Living the story through Mikey's mine was incredibly interesting, considering how much this kid has to face in his day by day. I liked this character a lot!
And "the Indie kids" I want to get to know them better, they were such a mystery.
... I also sensed a kind of John Green writing style, maybe because of the realness of the personalities and the story, it felt familiar.
And... I don't know if this is something that Ness does very often but that magical "thing" at the end was really good.
So I guess "Sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in the ordinary", right?...
So this is going to be completely honest...
It felt real.
The characters were absolutely common and with so much to tell. The existential traumas they live is exactly what we have to go through every day, and sometimes we don't even know it... Or we like to ignore it!
Living the story through Mikey's mine was incredibly interesting, considering how much this kid has to face in his day by day. I liked this character a lot!
And "the Indie kids" I want to get to know them better, they were such a mystery.
... I also sensed a kind of John Green writing style, maybe because of the realness of the personalities and the story, it felt familiar.
And... I don't know if this is something that Ness does very often but that magical "thing" at the end was really good.
So I guess "Sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in the ordinary", right?...
This wasn't what I was expecting, but I enjoyed the chapters starting out with what was happening with the indie kids and then continue with what was going in with everyone else. The narrator reminded me slightly of Greg Gaines from Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl with less self-pity. I thought the indie kids always facing supernatural events was kinda tired, but there were some good moments of self-reflection as the world surrounding the main characters was falling apart/changing- end of high school, relationships, family struggles are all things that most people can relate to. Overall it wasn't too bad.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this but it was also quite strange. A mix of contemporary mixed in with fantasy. The characters were likable enough and the issues Mikey and his friends are facing are real and teens will probably relate (and maybe wish for some of the fantastical parts of this story to spice up their own lives).
Summary: What if you aren't the Chosen One? The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you're like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week's end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshiped by mountain lions.
Summary: What if you aren't the Chosen One? The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you're like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week's end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshiped by mountain lions.
This book was pretty -meh- for me. At the beginning of each chapter, you see what the "indie" kids (who would've been the main characters in any other story) are up to while main characters are dealing with their own personal drama. I kept hoping throughout the book that Mikey and his friends would end up getting involved with the background plot that the indie kids were involved in. As some other reviews have mentioned, I liked the concept of following the background characters a lot more than the execution.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought the premise was very clever, but the characters and the situations they faced were real and heart wrenching. I felt the chapter introductions were a little distracting at first but then as I got used to the cadence of the book, they began to make more sense and reflect themselves into the narrative. A familiarity with Buffy is probably beneficial here because I felt that a lot of this book was actually pretty lovely homage. This was a very different book.
Most people are just regular folks. They go to school, go to work, fall in love, have issues. They are not the ones chosen to save the world from vampires or immortals or whatever brand of crazy seems to be happening today. This is their story. Mike and his friends are in their senior year of high school. They just want to make it through the year without the school blowing up (again) and go to college in the fall. They know something is going on because the "Indie" kids keep turning up dead and there are blue lights around town, but for the most part those things don't affect anyone else. Mike is dealing with his love for Henna and whether he can ask her out. He also seems to be having episodes related to his OCD. His sister is a recovering anorexic and the fact that their mom is now running for U.S. Senate doesn't seem to help either of them. Prom and graduation are on the horizon, however, and life just keeps happening.
I found this book oddly intriguing. I love the premise of the rest of us. Those who are not the chosen ones fighting evil, but the ones living in their world. I absolutely loved the intros to each chapter that told what the indie kids were up to while fighting the immortals and how it really didn't affect the rest of us. Mike and his friends are all pretty normal with normal issues and lives. All except Jared who seems to have a cat goddess in his family. I did think it was weird that the adults didn't seem to know anything was going on even though there are constant remarks about the past "incidents" with vampires and such. You would think they would remember these things, but they don't appear to. Mike's mom does mention "seeing things" but never elaborates and never seems to connect her past with what is happening. Of course it is just like every other book, movie and TV show with chosen ones where the adults are oblivious. Listening to this book really made me want to rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I found this book oddly intriguing. I love the premise of the rest of us. Those who are not the chosen ones fighting evil, but the ones living in their world. I absolutely loved the intros to each chapter that told what the indie kids were up to while fighting the immortals and how it really didn't affect the rest of us. Mike and his friends are all pretty normal with normal issues and lives. All except Jared who seems to have a cat goddess in his family. I did think it was weird that the adults didn't seem to know anything was going on even though there are constant remarks about the past "incidents" with vampires and such. You would think they would remember these things, but they don't appear to. Mike's mom does mention "seeing things" but never elaborates and never seems to connect her past with what is happening. Of course it is just like every other book, movie and TV show with chosen ones where the adults are oblivious. Listening to this book really made me want to rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Such an original concept, and as a Buffy fan I did love the not so subtle homage. But something was a bit off for me, I just didn't love it like I wanted to.
There is a chapter on this book about anxiety that everyone should read. And the by play between the indie kid chapter summaries and the actual chapters are pretty great too.