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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
This started out so great, and it was so beautiful and whimsical, and I would have given it 5 stars.... but then the kids grew up and became toxic, unlikeable characters. :(
A magical slow burn. I got big Neil Gaiman vibes in part 1 and 2, that were hard to shake. I think partly because those parts of the book follow two extraordinary kids with majorly useless adults in their lives
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AtBitS goes on to be an allegory and a love story. Pleasant. Dreamy writing. I have made up my mind about what happened in the last paragraph and won't accept it as anything other than cannon.
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AtBitS goes on to be an allegory and a love story. Pleasant. Dreamy writing. I have made up my mind about what happened in the last paragraph and won't accept it as anything other than cannon.
Extremely compelling and a very unique take on magic. The language and narrative style was superb and shifted perfectly to create and change the mood as needed. I loved watching the characters grow and change and genuinely wanted to know what happened next with each page turn.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Forced institutionalization, War
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As one of the most highly rated books of 2016 I went into this expecting something fascinating - and while the latter half of the book was excellently crafted, you must suffer through the first half of the book to get there.
The character development for the two main characters takes quite a long time to set up, and in some places can seem like a test in patience. The concrete direction of the story doesn't show up until roughly that halfway point and when it was presented, I was hesitant to trust that's what was happening because I thought the whole novel was just going to cover the birth-to-death of two interesting people, rather than have an actual point. That's not to say that reading about those people was unsatisfying or boring - but it felt somewhat pointless.
Even when that point is discovered, it becomes a somewhat slow build towards the climax - which is definitely an awesome culmination of events.
The character development for the two main characters takes quite a long time to set up, and in some places can seem like a test in patience. The concrete direction of the story doesn't show up until roughly that halfway point and when it was presented, I was hesitant to trust that's what was happening because I thought the whole novel was just going to cover the birth-to-death of two interesting people, rather than have an actual point. That's not to say that reading about those people was unsatisfying or boring - but it felt somewhat pointless.
Even when that point is discovered, it becomes a somewhat slow build towards the climax - which is definitely an awesome culmination of events.
I loved this so much. I'm a sucker for misfit main characters, I mean the kind that just seem to be the wrong shape for the world at large. Add to that a delightful blend of science and magic and the end of the world, and I'm a happy bunny.
The rating is supposed to be a 2,5/5, which I generously rounded down to 2 stars.
This book is weird. It starts out promising enough, with two young children (later young teenagers) who are weird and quirky in a charming way, and also both social outcasts due to their respective quirks and abilities. Of course they bond with each other, fight, make up, that whole prepubescent friendship thing. It's like an absurdist but endearing coming-of-age story.
And then you reach the 20% mark or so and get a time skip some ten years into the future. Both protagonists are adults now. They didn't stay in touch and they've both got their share of adult problems to deal with. Not in an endearing way, or as a building-character-thing. They're just a mess. And things get even messier when they meet again and their storylines intertwine. Why would an author do this to their perfectly good magic teenagers scifi adventure novel?
This book is weird. It starts out promising enough, with two young children (later young teenagers) who are weird and quirky in a charming way, and also both social outcasts due to their respective quirks and abilities. Of course they bond with each other, fight, make up, that whole prepubescent friendship thing. It's like an absurdist but endearing coming-of-age story.
And then you reach the 20% mark or so and get a time skip some ten years into the future. Both protagonists are adults now. They didn't stay in touch and they've both got their share of adult problems to deal with. Not in an endearing way, or as a building-character-thing. They're just a mess. And things get even messier when they meet again and their storylines intertwine. Why would an author do this to their perfectly good magic teenagers scifi adventure novel?