Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
This was both within my realm of favourite things, and outside of it (mostly because all my other favourite heist-based YA romps are set in decidedly more fantastical worlds, but I very much appreciated and enjoyed a “Real World” take).
I loved all the characters, and I loved the multiple discussions of morality, of right vs. wrong, of “wow is it actually okay for us to hack and steal our way to a quarter of a million dollars?”
I felt the ending was a taaaaaad too squeaky clean, maybe a little too perfect. A part of me wishes there had been more severe repercussions.
This was both within my realm of favourite things, and outside of it (mostly because all my other favourite heist-based YA romps are set in decidedly more fantastical worlds, but I very much appreciated and enjoyed a “Real World” take).
I loved all the characters, and I loved the multiple discussions of morality, of right vs. wrong, of “wow is it actually okay for us to hack and steal our way to a quarter of a million dollars?”
I felt the ending was a taaaaaad too squeaky clean, maybe a little too perfect. A part of me wishes there had been more severe repercussions.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
CW: bullying, aphobia.
I received an earc of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review
Original review posted on my blog : Word Wonders
Hello, what do you do when you read a book and love the cast of characters so much you want to adopt them and would die for their safety and happiness? Because. That’s me. With this book. Immoral Code has been on my radar for a while because 1/ Contemporary teen heist book (!!!) and 2/ One of the MCs is aroace!!!! So when I got the chance to review it, I jumped on it and started reading right away and it did NOT disappoint.
The writing is just like I absolutely love it to be, it’s fun, engaging, with EXTREMELY distinct narrative voices, every main character got their quirks and peculiarities that made them stand out from the rest, which is a necessity when you have five different point of views that all have equal importance. It’s also smooth in switching between action scene narration style and beautiful prose when it’s exploring feelings and emotions and that’s something I really appreciate in a book. It also genuinely felt like being inside teenagers’ heads with a lot of inner ramblings and thought processes getting sidetracked at times, which I really enjoyed.
The book starts when Bellamy, one of our five main characters gets denied for financial aid to attend MIT because of her super uber wealthy estranged father. Only trouble is, Bellamy is poor and definitely can’t afford MIT without it, and said father is estranged to the point where she’s never seen him, talked to him, and is NOT paying for college. Enter, Narioka (Nari, for short), hacker extraordinaire and Bellamy’s best friend, who proposes they steal the money she’s owed from her father’s company bank accounts. Heist and complications ensue.
The one criticism I have for this book is that I wish there was more of the heist? I didn’t mind that much (I mean…I still rated it 4.5 stars) since I adored the characters, but I just wanted *more* about the heist itself and a more in depth, detailed, view into the logistics of it all. That being said, the heist itself GAVE ME HEART PALPITATIONS!!!! These teenagers are such brave, amazing, smart fools. And my heart is so full of love for them that I could NOT handle them being in a precarious situation like that. Other than that, I wouldn’t really call this book *fast-paced*, it has a good pace, but it’s very much character oriented.
The fact that this book centers a heist in a contemporary setting, committed but people who cannot be farther away from criminals, gave way for a discussion of right, wrong and morality. And through having multiple main characters who are very different individuals we got to see very different takes on the issue as well as those views sometimes clashing and sometimes meeting in the middle for a compromise. From the “WHAT WE’RE DOING IS WRONG, PLAIN WRONG!!!” take to the “Bellamy is owed this!!!!” take, including the “Yes it’s wrong, but wrong thing for the right reasons” take and that was extremely interesting to read.
My favorite thing about the book is the characters, hands down, no questions asked. Immoral Code gets you to care so very deeply and so very fast about each one of them. I found myself rooting for them and wanting to know more about them a couple chapters into the book. And the more I learned, the more I loved them and more I wanted to know about them. And I genuinely cannot pick a favorite, which is something that’s never happened to me, I always have a soft spot for one character in big casts like this, but NOPE, not this time.
First up, we have Nari, Japanese-American hacktivist, coding genius, and style icon. She exudes so much confidence and her presence is just so…loud and eclipsing, it’s not only something we’re told from other characters’ POVs about also something that just translated through the pages from her perspective. She’s a natural leader, loud, sassy and very protective of her friends, especially Bellamy, who’s been her best friend since second grade. So much confidence can also make her arrogant at times which she can bite her fingers over later on.
Next is Keagan, Nari’s boyfriend and your local Soft Boy. He’s sensitive, caring, and the definition of a good person and their moral compass throughout the mission. I sincerely believe that they would have gone much farther in their heist if he wasn’t there to pull back a little every time. He’s also the only one of the group who has no big dreams and no clear idea of what he wants from his life after high school, which he’s quite content with, until…he’s not. He starts feeling insecure, especially with having friends with such big dreams and I loved that there was a discussion around this and it was normalized, because teenagers are under so much pressure to have everything figured out at eighteen when…they’re barely starting out on life. So the fact that this book says “Yes that’s cool and all, but not having a clue what you want is cool too” is a huge win for me.
Then we have Bellamy, physics genius, aspiring astronaut and the heart of the mission. She’s somewhat of a shy girl with a heart of gold, she just doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone so she just sort of just…goes with the flow. I also loved how much of a well of informations she was, she just has fun facts about anything and everything. Next up we have Santiago, Mexican-American swimmer boy whose biggest dream is to make it into the Olympics, a dream that’s met with some push back from his parents who want him to focus on school to secure himself a good stable future, which…diving doesn’t guarantee. He’s funny and kind of the bomb diffuser of the group, whenever there’s some tension, he’s the one doing the most to get it under control.
Last but not least, Reese my aroace queen. She has such a “I don’t give a cent about your opinion” attitude and vibe about her because caring about what people think gives them power over you and she is NOT here for that. Her policy is ignorance and she also does not like to meddle in people’s business, even when said people are her best friends, as long as their business makes them happy, that’s all she cares about, she doesn’t need the details of it all (especially when it comes to romance). She’s so utterly comfortable with who she is. I adored that her aroace-ness was never an issue or source of conflict for her, and I adore the discussion around it.
I loved every single relationship in this. The group friendship was great, no one was ever left out of made to feel like a dead weight (especially with there being two couples-ish + Reese) and the way they cared about each other just felt so… real and genuine, they had all kinds of conversations ranging from silly to deep at 3 in the morning. I also appreciated that there was care put not only into the group friendship but into every individual friendship as well.
And can we talk about the romances? Nari and Keagan’s relationship sturdiness and their complete fate for their love in each other and their future together warmed my heart. Even when they fight and disagree, they never thought things wouldn’t work out and that made me so emotional *cries*. And in contrast, we had Bellamy and Santiago, for whom everything is new after so long being friends, the tentativeness of it all was so soft and the way Santiago talked about her as if she hang the moon was CUTE. I just loved it all. And I liked that the author showed more than one example of what it’s like to be in a relationship in high school.
Immoral Code is so nerdy and science oriented, it made my little nerdy heart happy. And that ending was an EMOTIONAL rollercoaster while still being immensely satisfying. I just *clenches fist* LOVE THIS SO MUCH, and the rep that I got through Reese meant the world to my aromantic heart.
CW: bullying, aphobia.
I received an earc of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review
Original review posted on my blog : Word Wonders
Hello, what do you do when you read a book and love the cast of characters so much you want to adopt them and would die for their safety and happiness? Because. That’s me. With this book. Immoral Code has been on my radar for a while because 1/ Contemporary teen heist book (!!!) and 2/ One of the MCs is aroace!!!! So when I got the chance to review it, I jumped on it and started reading right away and it did NOT disappoint.
The writing is just like I absolutely love it to be, it’s fun, engaging, with EXTREMELY distinct narrative voices, every main character got their quirks and peculiarities that made them stand out from the rest, which is a necessity when you have five different point of views that all have equal importance. It’s also smooth in switching between action scene narration style and beautiful prose when it’s exploring feelings and emotions and that’s something I really appreciate in a book. It also genuinely felt like being inside teenagers’ heads with a lot of inner ramblings and thought processes getting sidetracked at times, which I really enjoyed.
The book starts when Bellamy, one of our five main characters gets denied for financial aid to attend MIT because of her super uber wealthy estranged father. Only trouble is, Bellamy is poor and definitely can’t afford MIT without it, and said father is estranged to the point where she’s never seen him, talked to him, and is NOT paying for college. Enter, Narioka (Nari, for short), hacker extraordinaire and Bellamy’s best friend, who proposes they steal the money she’s owed from her father’s company bank accounts. Heist and complications ensue.
The one criticism I have for this book is that I wish there was more of the heist? I didn’t mind that much (I mean…I still rated it 4.5 stars) since I adored the characters, but I just wanted *more* about the heist itself and a more in depth, detailed, view into the logistics of it all. That being said, the heist itself GAVE ME HEART PALPITATIONS!!!! These teenagers are such brave, amazing, smart fools. And my heart is so full of love for them that I could NOT handle them being in a precarious situation like that. Other than that, I wouldn’t really call this book *fast-paced*, it has a good pace, but it’s very much character oriented.
The fact that this book centers a heist in a contemporary setting, committed but people who cannot be farther away from criminals, gave way for a discussion of right, wrong and morality. And through having multiple main characters who are very different individuals we got to see very different takes on the issue as well as those views sometimes clashing and sometimes meeting in the middle for a compromise. From the “WHAT WE’RE DOING IS WRONG, PLAIN WRONG!!!” take to the “Bellamy is owed this!!!!” take, including the “Yes it’s wrong, but wrong thing for the right reasons” take and that was extremely interesting to read.
My favorite thing about the book is the characters, hands down, no questions asked. Immoral Code gets you to care so very deeply and so very fast about each one of them. I found myself rooting for them and wanting to know more about them a couple chapters into the book. And the more I learned, the more I loved them and more I wanted to know about them. And I genuinely cannot pick a favorite, which is something that’s never happened to me, I always have a soft spot for one character in big casts like this, but NOPE, not this time.
First up, we have Nari, Japanese-American hacktivist, coding genius, and style icon. She exudes so much confidence and her presence is just so…loud and eclipsing, it’s not only something we’re told from other characters’ POVs about also something that just translated through the pages from her perspective. She’s a natural leader, loud, sassy and very protective of her friends, especially Bellamy, who’s been her best friend since second grade. So much confidence can also make her arrogant at times which she can bite her fingers over later on.
Next is Keagan, Nari’s boyfriend and your local Soft Boy. He’s sensitive, caring, and the definition of a good person and their moral compass throughout the mission. I sincerely believe that they would have gone much farther in their heist if he wasn’t there to pull back a little every time. He’s also the only one of the group who has no big dreams and no clear idea of what he wants from his life after high school, which he’s quite content with, until…he’s not. He starts feeling insecure, especially with having friends with such big dreams and I loved that there was a discussion around this and it was normalized, because teenagers are under so much pressure to have everything figured out at eighteen when…they’re barely starting out on life. So the fact that this book says “Yes that’s cool and all, but not having a clue what you want is cool too” is a huge win for me.
Then we have Bellamy, physics genius, aspiring astronaut and the heart of the mission. She’s somewhat of a shy girl with a heart of gold, she just doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone so she just sort of just…goes with the flow. I also loved how much of a well of informations she was, she just has fun facts about anything and everything. Next up we have Santiago, Mexican-American swimmer boy whose biggest dream is to make it into the Olympics, a dream that’s met with some push back from his parents who want him to focus on school to secure himself a good stable future, which…diving doesn’t guarantee. He’s funny and kind of the bomb diffuser of the group, whenever there’s some tension, he’s the one doing the most to get it under control.
Last but not least, Reese my aroace queen. She has such a “I don’t give a cent about your opinion” attitude and vibe about her because caring about what people think gives them power over you and she is NOT here for that. Her policy is ignorance and she also does not like to meddle in people’s business, even when said people are her best friends, as long as their business makes them happy, that’s all she cares about, she doesn’t need the details of it all (especially when it comes to romance). She’s so utterly comfortable with who she is. I adored that her aroace-ness was never an issue or source of conflict for her, and I adore the discussion around it.
I loved every single relationship in this. The group friendship was great, no one was ever left out of made to feel like a dead weight (especially with there being two couples-ish + Reese) and the way they cared about each other just felt so… real and genuine, they had all kinds of conversations ranging from silly to deep at 3 in the morning. I also appreciated that there was care put not only into the group friendship but into every individual friendship as well.
And can we talk about the romances? Nari and Keagan’s relationship sturdiness and their complete fate for their love in each other and their future together warmed my heart. Even when they fight and disagree, they never thought things wouldn’t work out and that made me so emotional *cries*. And in contrast, we had Bellamy and Santiago, for whom everything is new after so long being friends, the tentativeness of it all was so soft and the way Santiago talked about her as if she hang the moon was CUTE. I just loved it all. And I liked that the author showed more than one example of what it’s like to be in a relationship in high school.
Immoral Code is so nerdy and science oriented, it made my little nerdy heart happy. And that ending was an EMOTIONAL rollercoaster while still being immensely satisfying. I just *clenches fist* LOVE THIS SO MUCH, and the rep that I got through Reese meant the world to my aromantic heart.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-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
This book was a little dialogue heavy. The beginning of the book didn't flow as well for me. I was hoping to jump right into it and let it take me to a great action-packed story, but it had so much back information right away that it dragged the story down. I liked the characters and the concept of the book. But overall this book fell flat for me, nothing really grabbed my attention to keep me invested in the characters. It was an ok, but enjoyable read, but not something I would highly recommend.
My full review can be found on the Epilie Aspie Chick blog!
Thank you to Knopf Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
From the outside, this looks like a story about five friends willing to go all the way for one another. In reality, what you get is a poorly conceived plot where the author spent so much time building the characters, she didn't bother to properly construct the story. I get that college is expensive, but no offense: this shouldn't have come as a surprise to Bellamy and crime isn't your only (or best option) here. I went to community college for 2 years to afford my bachelor's degree. Others apply for a litany of scholarships or explain the extenuating circumstances. This is a case of lack of imagination and the far too happy ending makes it clear that the author never stuck to her deadbeat father personality all that seriously.
Thank you to Knopf Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
From the outside, this looks like a story about five friends willing to go all the way for one another. In reality, what you get is a poorly conceived plot where the author spent so much time building the characters, she didn't bother to properly construct the story. I get that college is expensive, but no offense: this shouldn't have come as a surprise to Bellamy and crime isn't your only (or best option) here. I went to community college for 2 years to afford my bachelor's degree. Others apply for a litany of scholarships or explain the extenuating circumstances. This is a case of lack of imagination and the far too happy ending makes it clear that the author never stuck to her deadbeat father personality all that seriously.
I quit Immoral Code at the 60% mark, but I'm adding my write up to Goodreads, since I don't see any other ace reviewers discussing this book.
I love heist stories, and this follows five teenagers who are planning a heist to take seventy thousand from their friend’s estranged father. He’s never even met her, but his massive fortune means she was denied financial aid and wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend MIT. I thought the concept sounded really fun, and Immoral Code has the added bonus of including an aroace protagonist, Reese, one of the five. I reached 60% before I decided to quit. Here’s the main problem: all five members of the heist crew have their own first-person POV sections, and their voices are almost completely indistinguishable. I constantly was having to flip back to the name at the start of the chapter to remember whose head I was in. Plus, the narration style is very rambly and not in a way that was working for me. The heist elements also weren’t super prominent in the part I read, which was more concerned about the group dynamics… which would have worked better if I cared more about the characters.
I’m breaking my pattern of “one paragraph per DNFs” to go more in-depth on the aroace representation in Immoral Code, since I haven’t seen much about it beyond that it’s there. I’m asexual and on the aromantic spectrum, and some things about Reese felt off to me. Firstly, the ARC calls her “acearo”, which I’ve never heard before (I’ve only ever heard “aroace”). Maybe “acearo” is used mostly in another country or in some specific corner of the aromantic and asexual communities? There’s also a use of an extended food metaphor to explain asexuality and aromanticism. AKA, “some people don’t like chocolate and that’s okay.” If you are on the aro or ace spectrum, you’ve likely heard this metaphor before, so it me feel like the whole thing was included for non-ace and non-aro people. Which is fine. More people knowing aromanticism and asexuality would make my life easier, but it also kind of made me feel that I wasn’t the target for Reese’s character.
Then there’s Reese’s friend group. It just felt so weird that Reese was the only queer person in the friend group. Out of my close friends from high school, pretty much all of us had come out by the end of our first year of college. Immoral Code does briefly show that Reese has at least one other queer friend, so it’s not like Reese is completely isolated. But it also felt weird that all her straight friends knew so much about asexuality and aromanticism, particularly the in-community stuff. Reese’s friends joke about her being a “space ace” and at one point use the word “allo” (which means non-asexual or non-aromantic). This is the sort of stuff I’d normally only see from other ace or aro people; I’ve never had even my allo queer friends use the word “allo” or reference asexual community puns. Legit, the one time I’ve had the word “allo” used around me was when an ace-exclusionist (AKA queer people who don’t think ace people qualify as queer) told me that the word “allo” was problematic. It’s perfectly possible that other ace and aro people have had friends more like Reese’s, and I don’t want to reject the representation that Immoral Code is offering just because it doesn’t fit my own experiences. In the end, it’s mostly just depressing that what struck me as so unrealistic was the in-depth knowledge and acceptance of her friends.
I love heist stories, and this follows five teenagers who are planning a heist to take seventy thousand from their friend’s estranged father. He’s never even met her, but his massive fortune means she was denied financial aid and wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend MIT. I thought the concept sounded really fun, and Immoral Code has the added bonus of including an aroace protagonist, Reese, one of the five. I reached 60% before I decided to quit. Here’s the main problem: all five members of the heist crew have their own first-person POV sections, and their voices are almost completely indistinguishable. I constantly was having to flip back to the name at the start of the chapter to remember whose head I was in. Plus, the narration style is very rambly and not in a way that was working for me. The heist elements also weren’t super prominent in the part I read, which was more concerned about the group dynamics… which would have worked better if I cared more about the characters.
I’m breaking my pattern of “one paragraph per DNFs” to go more in-depth on the aroace representation in Immoral Code, since I haven’t seen much about it beyond that it’s there. I’m asexual and on the aromantic spectrum, and some things about Reese felt off to me. Firstly, the ARC calls her “acearo”, which I’ve never heard before (I’ve only ever heard “aroace”). Maybe “acearo” is used mostly in another country or in some specific corner of the aromantic and asexual communities? There’s also a use of an extended food metaphor to explain asexuality and aromanticism. AKA, “some people don’t like chocolate and that’s okay.” If you are on the aro or ace spectrum, you’ve likely heard this metaphor before, so it me feel like the whole thing was included for non-ace and non-aro people. Which is fine. More people knowing aromanticism and asexuality would make my life easier, but it also kind of made me feel that I wasn’t the target for Reese’s character.
Then there’s Reese’s friend group. It just felt so weird that Reese was the only queer person in the friend group. Out of my close friends from high school, pretty much all of us had come out by the end of our first year of college. Immoral Code does briefly show that Reese has at least one other queer friend, so it’s not like Reese is completely isolated. But it also felt weird that all her straight friends knew so much about asexuality and aromanticism, particularly the in-community stuff. Reese’s friends joke about her being a “space ace” and at one point use the word “allo” (which means non-asexual or non-aromantic). This is the sort of stuff I’d normally only see from other ace or aro people; I’ve never had even my allo queer friends use the word “allo” or reference asexual community puns. Legit, the one time I’ve had the word “allo” used around me was when an ace-exclusionist (AKA queer people who don’t think ace people qualify as queer) told me that the word “allo” was problematic. It’s perfectly possible that other ace and aro people have had friends more like Reese’s, and I don’t want to reject the representation that Immoral Code is offering just because it doesn’t fit my own experiences. In the end, it’s mostly just depressing that what struck me as so unrealistic was the in-depth knowledge and acceptance of her friends.
An Exceptional Page-Turning Debut | Review of ‘Immoral Code’
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
Immoral Code is fun and thoughtful. This novel is about five friends as they plan to cyber-steal some money from one neglectful dad to help one of their friends go to college. What a brilliant thought and unique as well. By the synopsis, it almost feels as though it is a reach, as though the narrative would require the reader to suspend too much belief in order to follow the plot, but it does not. These are five kids, each of them brilliant in their small ways, and each narrative, each persona allows the reader to get to know them and connect to them. These are bright kids, and they are all doing this not only for their friend but also for themselves. Following each persona, going into their backstory in little tidbits keeps the momentum of the story going while also building the characters more, allowing them to become more than five names in a book each with a skill set essential for pulling this off. Their internal narratives, their issues both personal and familial layer the story and make it something more significant than some young adult prequel to Ocean’s 8. There is depth to the novel and the characters as they each have to face something, something personal. The heist is a challenge to them, but not because it is some impossible plan that has a slim chance of winning, but because they are forced to challenge their perceptions of right and wrong, of personal choice.
What is also captivating about the characters is that they are not just a gang of hetero-normal white kids; they are diverse. Santiago is Mexican-American, first-generation; Nari is Japanese American, and Reese is asexual/aromantic. These are some of the identifiers that layer the story with intricacies and conflict. The gang all face internal conflict but those bubble out and soon become external conflict which makes the story realistic. They re risking their very bright futures to commit a felony that is bound to create conflict, and to see the conflict bubble up slowly, inching its way through the narrative is captivating. The reader knows there is going to be a blowout, but the when and how is unknown, it keeps the reader hooked because of the characters, because of how different and devoted they are to one another.
It is a page-turning novel that grips the reader through the character development and dynamics flowing at a brilliant page that keeps the reader intrigued throughout. (★★★★★ | A+)
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Google+ | LinkedIn
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
Immoral Code is fun and thoughtful. This novel is about five friends as they plan to cyber-steal some money from one neglectful dad to help one of their friends go to college. What a brilliant thought and unique as well. By the synopsis, it almost feels as though it is a reach, as though the narrative would require the reader to suspend too much belief in order to follow the plot, but it does not. These are five kids, each of them brilliant in their small ways, and each narrative, each persona allows the reader to get to know them and connect to them. These are bright kids, and they are all doing this not only for their friend but also for themselves. Following each persona, going into their backstory in little tidbits keeps the momentum of the story going while also building the characters more, allowing them to become more than five names in a book each with a skill set essential for pulling this off. Their internal narratives, their issues both personal and familial layer the story and make it something more significant than some young adult prequel to Ocean’s 8. There is depth to the novel and the characters as they each have to face something, something personal. The heist is a challenge to them, but not because it is some impossible plan that has a slim chance of winning, but because they are forced to challenge their perceptions of right and wrong, of personal choice.
What is also captivating about the characters is that they are not just a gang of hetero-normal white kids; they are diverse. Santiago is Mexican-American, first-generation; Nari is Japanese American, and Reese is asexual/aromantic. These are some of the identifiers that layer the story with intricacies and conflict. The gang all face internal conflict but those bubble out and soon become external conflict which makes the story realistic. They re risking their very bright futures to commit a felony that is bound to create conflict, and to see the conflict bubble up slowly, inching its way through the narrative is captivating. The reader knows there is going to be a blowout, but the when and how is unknown, it keeps the reader hooked because of the characters, because of how different and devoted they are to one another.
It is a page-turning novel that grips the reader through the character development and dynamics flowing at a brilliant page that keeps the reader intrigued throughout. (★★★★★ | A+)
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Google+ | LinkedIn