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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
" 'My life plan involves never understanding my parents.' "
" ' ... no matter what you do, people are going to expect you to be someone you're not. But if you're clever and lucky and work your butt off, then you get to be surrounded by people who expect you to be the person you wish you were.' "
" 'This planet is a speck, and we are specks on a speck. But our little habitat is fragile, and we cannot live without it.' "
" ' ... no matter what you do, people are going to expect you to be someone you're not. But if you're clever and lucky and work your butt off, then you get to be surrounded by people who expect you to be the person you wish you were.' "
" 'This planet is a speck, and we are specks on a speck. But our little habitat is fragile, and we cannot live without it.' "
If you get past the first 100 pages, which are awful, this is a wonderful read.
All the Birds in the Sky is a very different book. Part science fiction and part fantasy, it also has a feel of magical realism. It follows the friendship of Patricia, a witch, and Laurence, a science genius, from middle school to adulthood.
On the surface the story is about the collision of the worlds of magic and science set against the decline of both the natural world and society. Embedded in that context is the more personal story of friendship and love, what that means, and how it can take time to truly appreciate.
The writing is very fresh and the tale is skillfully told by Anders as she makes these characters come to life. This probably isn't a book for everyone, but I loved every minute of it.
On the surface the story is about the collision of the worlds of magic and science set against the decline of both the natural world and society. Embedded in that context is the more personal story of friendship and love, what that means, and how it can take time to truly appreciate.
The writing is very fresh and the tale is skillfully told by Anders as she makes these characters come to life. This probably isn't a book for everyone, but I loved every minute of it.
Overall this book was very readable. It never felt slow, and the prose was wonderful. However, there were quite a few things I didn't love about it. Mostly what bothered me was the ending. It felt very abrupt, like the author just decided not to write the final chapter or something. I was thinking this book would be 4 stars, but it lost a star because of the ending.
So great! I'm glad I didn't notice that it's classified as science fiction because I might not have picked it up, but it really transcends that label. It's a really great story of friendship and knowledge and how to overcome our limited resources on earth.
My version was installed with interesting characters and an imaginative world, but didn't come with a plot, which would have been a good addition.
What the hell did I just read? Anyways, I enjoyed it. There were parts I disagreed with. There were parts I thought I disagreed with but really came around to. Certainly a lot of parts that made me think. May have made a mistake reading this during a semi-apocalyptic isolation. I need time to process how I feel about it but overall I’m glad I read it. Much of it was all over the place and parts of it made me uncomfortable, but somehow this book felt both fast and slow. IDK.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall a great read. Doesn’t fall into the trap of all things “nature” are good and all things “artificial” are evil. Plenty of easy to imagine side characters. The protagonists are kind of cringey but in a very relatable way.
Honestly this book was generally amazing, except for a weak ending.
Honestly this book was generally amazing, except for a weak ending.
I got about 20% of the way through this book and decided it wasn't for me. Child abuse and animal torture are described in a whimsical matter-of-fact way quite often and I just wasn't enjoying it. Every so often, the writing style makes something legitimately funny, like its description of driving in Boston or an assassin getting lost in a mall and trying to enjoy a cake. But those are few and far between and most of my feelings listening to this book were boredom mixed with occasional disgust at how the children and animals are treated.
A truly beautiful speculative fiction, which builds steam as it goes, from a tale of a childhood crush to a globe-spanning disaster. I loved the writing, especially, which painted vivid scenes and felt very in-the-moment.