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alyssa_hollingsworth's review
5.0
Great book to make you sob on a plane in front of strangers. A+ highly recommend. đ
alyssa_hollingsworth's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
saccalai's review
3.0
I loved all the sciency facts throughout the book. It was a bit confusing at first but hard to say why without spoilers! It's probably easier to understand if reading instead of listening. This was such an interesting concept, I wonder if it could be true in the future!
himissjulie's review against another edition
A great introduction to the multi-verse sci-fi trope for middle grade readers.
erincharnleyy's review against another edition
4.0
I did not expect to be so captivated by this especially when considering its length. This book was wonderfully strange but also highly emotional. I expected the mind-bending sci-fi elements and I have to say these aspects did not disappoint I loved reading about a child genius I thought that idea was really fun and fascinating to read about. However, this book was so much more than a thought-provoking sci-fi, it had. heavy focus on family and sisterhood. This was unprecedented for me but I loved it and it really elevated my appreciation and connection to this story.
babbityrabbity's review against another edition
3.0
Full review can be found here, but here's what you need to know:
Other reviewers mentioned that thereâs an awful lot of science in this book, and I didnât really take them seriously⌠but wow. Thereâs a TON of science in hereâI mean that in terms of quantity, not density.
This is obviously what the book is going forâ a riff on the major breakthroughs of the last 50/100 years in physics, seen through the eyes of a 10-year-old prodigy having the weirdest day. Itâs a great idea, and some of it is executed very well. Edge does a great job boiling down some of the more complex and theoretical concepts to a paragraph and using MG-appropriate language.
In my opinion, however, there are just too many different concepts crammed into this one book. The story would have been much stronger if he had picked two or three of these ideas (say, relativity, infinity/Mobius strip, and black holes) and given them more room to breathe. The book jumped to a new major idea every couple of pages, and if I werenât already familiar with these terms, I wouldnât have had the stamina to follow them.
This book will likely be appealing to a young reader who is on the verge of jumping right into adult sci-fi but would just as soon read something with a more relatable character. I worry, however, that many will be turned off by the protagonist (why is she a next-level prodigy? wouldnât the story work just fine if she were a garden-variety genius?) and the sheer volume of mini science lessons.
I also want to mention that the story has a dark edge that I wasnât expecting. Thereâs some emotional weight to the last quarter of the book that will probably fall on readers who arenât ready for it (in fun twisty ways and in jarring, horrifying ways). By the end, however, itâs all come together into something rather sweet and uplifting.
A final note: This book might have gotten four stars from me if it werenât for a baffling scene of street harassment inserted halfway through the story apropos of nothing. While walking with her young teenage sister, Maisie sees some boys catcall her sister. One even goes to far as to physically block their path until the sister obeys his demand to smile. Maisie is taken-aback by the incident, but her sister doesnât really discuss it; the implication seems to be that Maisie is getting a glimpse into growing up and that capitulating to bullying and sexual harassment is just the price of doing business. The incident is never addressed by the book. I was floored. This single scene brought the book down a whole star for me, and I wavered about going all the way down to two. In 2019, I donât understand why this is acceptable.
I received a free eARC of this book from Delacourte Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Other reviewers mentioned that thereâs an awful lot of science in this book, and I didnât really take them seriously⌠but wow. Thereâs a TON of science in hereâI mean that in terms of quantity, not density.
This is obviously what the book is going forâ a riff on the major breakthroughs of the last 50/100 years in physics, seen through the eyes of a 10-year-old prodigy having the weirdest day. Itâs a great idea, and some of it is executed very well. Edge does a great job boiling down some of the more complex and theoretical concepts to a paragraph and using MG-appropriate language.
In my opinion, however, there are just too many different concepts crammed into this one book. The story would have been much stronger if he had picked two or three of these ideas (say, relativity, infinity/Mobius strip, and black holes) and given them more room to breathe. The book jumped to a new major idea every couple of pages, and if I werenât already familiar with these terms, I wouldnât have had the stamina to follow them.
This book will likely be appealing to a young reader who is on the verge of jumping right into adult sci-fi but would just as soon read something with a more relatable character. I worry, however, that many will be turned off by the protagonist (why is she a next-level prodigy? wouldnât the story work just fine if she were a garden-variety genius?) and the sheer volume of mini science lessons.
I also want to mention that the story has a dark edge that I wasnât expecting. Thereâs some emotional weight to the last quarter of the book that will probably fall on readers who arenât ready for it (in fun twisty ways and in jarring, horrifying ways). By the end, however, itâs all come together into something rather sweet and uplifting.
A final note: This book might have gotten four stars from me if it werenât for a baffling scene of street harassment inserted halfway through the story apropos of nothing. While walking with her young teenage sister, Maisie sees some boys catcall her sister. One even goes to far as to physically block their path until the sister obeys his demand to smile. Maisie is taken-aback by the incident, but her sister doesnât really discuss it; the implication seems to be that Maisie is getting a glimpse into growing up and that capitulating to bullying and sexual harassment is just the price of doing business. The incident is never addressed by the book. I was floored. This single scene brought the book down a whole star for me, and I wavered about going all the way down to two. In 2019, I donât understand why this is acceptable.
I received a free eARC of this book from Delacourte Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
tharcblack's review against another edition
5.0
What a marvelous read! Smart, full of interesting science and with a narrator that's compelling and likeable. Wonderful book!
bookishoutsider's review against another edition
5.0
I have now cried at every Christopher Edge book I've read (3!) and his talent continues to amaze me. What starts off as an intriguing middle grade read quickly becomes something far more moving and beautiful. Everyone should read Infinite Lives, whether you're 9 or 90, and I defy you not to shed a tear...
cancan_jpg's review against another edition
4.0
âHow do you know you really exist?â
I borrowed this book from the BorrowBox app straight after watching the âA Wrinkle In Timeâ film; I heard about it on Twitter, and was excited for another middle-grade book about science!
âThe Infinite Lives of Maisie Dayâ manages to expertly intertwine science, family drama, and the emotions of adolescence, with everything connecting in a tight storyline, and every single infinitessimally small detail adding to the story. At times, certain parts of the book feel like an Alice In Wonderland type of concept, albeit with more Logic and less surrealism and absurdism (and with less of a fantastical aesthetic).
As a book that deals with chapters alternating POV between two different realities, the book does a masterful job of blending the narrative between each chapter, with the events of the end of one chapter connecting smoothly with the events of the next, despite not even being set in the same universe!
I felt like this book did an excellent job of handling the stress of being a child known for their academic excellence, since I was also someone who experienced a lot of academic pressure as a kid, and who is now friends with a lot of people that were once âacademically giftedâ children turned into stressed adults.
The bookâs handling of the siblingsâ dynamic also kicked me in the heart a bit, as someone who is also a younger sibling with a sometimes-strained relationship with their elder sibling.
I will say that I kind of wished the book described how the characters look earlier on? I suppose it is part of the charm that Maisie isnât really focused on appearances, but Iâd spent a good half of the book imagining her in my own way before the narration finally tells me sheâs blonde and pale (which was the opposite of how Iâd personally pictured her), and I had a mental conflict of whether I should completely change my mental image of her in the middle of the story. But that might just be me.
I also kind of felt sad that they didnât resolve the fact that Maisie doesnât have friends, due to her academic gifts making her leave school for university at an excessively young age. I understand itâs not the point of the story, and that the most prominent friendship is that between Maisie and her sister Lily, but it did make me a bit sad.
The writing gave me such an emotional attachment to Maisie, and did a good job of drawing me into these charactersâ lives in as short a time as possible! As such the endingreally messed me up a bit, and I found myself almost crying when Lily explains the existence of the alternate universe as a computer generated simulation, after Maisie had passed away in the real world. Maisie, however, uses her knowledge of science and her dadâs video games to try get herself back home, and prevent her own death. The ambiguity of the ending is interesting for a middle grade novel, and Iâd almost forgotten how many of my favourite MG novels delt with these sorts of dark concepts. In my opinion, this is a very important book for children to read!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and marathoned through it quickly in almost a single evening, so Iâm sure many kids Maisieâs age will be enthralled with it as well! The way Edge uses science in this book will get many kids fascinated with learning what Maisie knows, even after the novel, and I really enjoy that Christopher Edge provides his scientific reading list in the Acknowledgements at the end - Iâm definitely saving that for myself for later! Also, on a personal note, I really got a kick out of the references to âThe Hitchhikerâs Guide to the Galaxyâ and even The Cure, early on in the book (if youâre giving this book to a kid, you could maybe even recommend them Hitchhikerâs Guide later on!).
It was a really enjoyable, albeit very short read, and a very important novel for Middle-Grade readers!
I borrowed this book from the BorrowBox app straight after watching the âA Wrinkle In Timeâ film; I heard about it on Twitter, and was excited for another middle-grade book about science!
âThe Infinite Lives of Maisie Dayâ manages to expertly intertwine science, family drama, and the emotions of adolescence, with everything connecting in a tight storyline, and every single infinitessimally small detail adding to the story. At times, certain parts of the book feel like an Alice In Wonderland type of concept, albeit with more Logic and less surrealism and absurdism (and with less of a fantastical aesthetic).
As a book that deals with chapters alternating POV between two different realities, the book does a masterful job of blending the narrative between each chapter, with the events of the end of one chapter connecting smoothly with the events of the next, despite not even being set in the same universe!
I felt like this book did an excellent job of handling the stress of being a child known for their academic excellence, since I was also someone who experienced a lot of academic pressure as a kid, and who is now friends with a lot of people that were once âacademically giftedâ children turned into stressed adults.
The bookâs handling of the siblingsâ dynamic also kicked me in the heart a bit, as someone who is also a younger sibling with a sometimes-strained relationship with their elder sibling.
I will say that I kind of wished the book described how the characters look earlier on? I suppose it is part of the charm that Maisie isnât really focused on appearances, but Iâd spent a good half of the book imagining her in my own way before the narration finally tells me sheâs blonde and pale (which was the opposite of how Iâd personally pictured her), and I had a mental conflict of whether I should completely change my mental image of her in the middle of the story. But that might just be me.
I also kind of felt sad that they didnât resolve the fact that Maisie doesnât have friends, due to her academic gifts making her leave school for university at an excessively young age. I understand itâs not the point of the story, and that the most prominent friendship is that between Maisie and her sister Lily, but it did make me a bit sad.
The writing gave me such an emotional attachment to Maisie, and did a good job of drawing me into these charactersâ lives in as short a time as possible! As such the ending
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and marathoned through it quickly in almost a single evening, so Iâm sure many kids Maisieâs age will be enthralled with it as well! The way Edge uses science in this book will get many kids fascinated with learning what Maisie knows, even after the novel, and I really enjoy that Christopher Edge provides his scientific reading list in the Acknowledgements at the end - Iâm definitely saving that for myself for later! Also, on a personal note, I really got a kick out of the references to âThe Hitchhikerâs Guide to the Galaxyâ and even The Cure, early on in the book (if youâre giving this book to a kid, you could maybe even recommend them Hitchhikerâs Guide later on!).
It was a really enjoyable, albeit very short read, and a very important novel for Middle-Grade readers!