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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book. Now that I've finished it, I'm still not sure what to say about it. The first 100 pages are great, easily some of the best writing I've seen in a long time. All the stuff that explores Patricia and Laurence as kids and their early friendship is extremely compelling and Anders crafts a great spell and introduces us to a strange and twisted world.
The middle is where things start to sag. Patricia and Laurence grow up and grow apart and the world descends into chaos, for reasons that are still not entirely clear. The last third of the book felt a bit muddled and a bit rushed to me and it seemed that everything was just left unresolved.
What is great about this book is the writing. The plot needed some polishing but the writing was always solid and always consistent. It made me want to read other stuff by this author.
This book mixes genres and as such it was hard to figure out what it was aiming for. Science fiction? Dystopian fantasy? YA? It had shades of the Magicians; Harry Potter; and even the Chronicles of Narnia.
I did enjoy it even as I also wished that the plot had held together more. Worth the read for sure.
The middle is where things start to sag. Patricia and Laurence grow up and grow apart and the world descends into chaos, for reasons that are still not entirely clear. The last third of the book felt a bit muddled and a bit rushed to me and it seemed that everything was just left unresolved.
What is great about this book is the writing. The plot needed some polishing but the writing was always solid and always consistent. It made me want to read other stuff by this author.
This book mixes genres and as such it was hard to figure out what it was aiming for. Science fiction? Dystopian fantasy? YA? It had shades of the Magicians; Harry Potter; and even the Chronicles of Narnia.
I did enjoy it even as I also wished that the plot had held together more. Worth the read for sure.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’ve been thinking about this book for the last week, so I am upping my rating. There is something so lovely about how the author writes a subtle, yet rich, world of LGBTQ+ characters. They aren’t the main protagonists, but they are part of their lives and I appreciated that. I also liked both the magic & the technology in the story. (Time to read the short & find out what happened to Patricia’s cat.)
This novel was great! It had heart, humor, and humans being, well, very human. It's a compelling read with interesting characters. Anders paints her settings and characters very vividly, but still leaves enough room for the reader's imagination. Recommended!
Didn't mind the world-building holes because of how fully drawn, flawed and fascinating I found the central pair of characters. Definitely not a read-again for me, but super interesting.
If Thomas Pynchon wrote Harry Potter...
It would be something like this. Whip smart dialog, great turn of phrase is married to a twisty plot that carries you along with each original twist. The novel is also a conversation on the environmental situation and the role of science as an alternative form of magic. Entertaining and clever.
It would be something like this. Whip smart dialog, great turn of phrase is married to a twisty plot that carries you along with each original twist. The novel is also a conversation on the environmental situation and the role of science as an alternative form of magic. Entertaining and clever.
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I started this book on trains and on my bed, in the 5pm dark after work, because it's winter and the world seems so short now. I finished this book in a dead sprint, not even breathing for the whole third act, because I wanted and needed everything to be ok. I wanted, needed to believe that the world could be ok.
The power of saying that you don't know. The power of compromising, of learning new ways. Of holding hands instead of shaking them and letting go. This book is what I wanted the Overstory to be. Will it be too trite for some people? Too dissonant? Too unapologetically weird, cliched, magic, somewhere between a kid's book and an adult book? I'm sure it will be. But wow, is this everything that I wanted and needed. By the end, I could breathe again. And what more could you ask for: to breathe, to hold someone's hand. To love.
Anyway, read this, and I'm going to be buying it as a last-minute holiday gift for a couple of my friends, as well as my mom.
The power of saying that you don't know. The power of compromising, of learning new ways. Of holding hands instead of shaking them and letting go. This book is what I wanted the Overstory to be. Will it be too trite for some people? Too dissonant? Too unapologetically weird, cliched, magic, somewhere between a kid's book and an adult book? I'm sure it will be. But wow, is this everything that I wanted and needed. By the end, I could breathe again. And what more could you ask for: to breathe, to hold someone's hand. To love.
Anyway, read this, and I'm going to be buying it as a last-minute holiday gift for a couple of my friends, as well as my mom.