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mattiedancer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Most of the characters are interesting and the central dilemmas of the book feel real. I loved the robot U-me and Cee’s routine on the island. However, I thought the romance was extremely silly and the ending was a little muddled.
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Cancer, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Alcohol
merle_bookdragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
So far I can tell that this is definitely a challenging book but I enjoyed the challenge! I must admit that I was confused for a long time of like *what was actually going on* behind all the mysterious events and statements but I think that is the point of the book. I also feel like I wouldn't have been near as invested if I knew the *plot twist* from the very beginning. This way I was SO curious of what was the explanation and I was truly shook because I did not see ANY of this coming. The book definitely did not end like I thought it would when I started reading.
At the moment I won't go into plot/spoilers but that will surely follow!
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
f18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent
emily_mh's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I docked my rating half a star for two reasons. The first is that the writing could be very confusing from Kasey's perspective, both in terms of world-building and interpreting her personality. The pacing in this perspective also grew to be quite erratic. The second reason was the romance.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Alcohol
courtneyfalling's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Even without that huge sticking point, I struggled relating to any of the main characters. Kasey is so science-focused to a fault, where it almost felt like Joan He was trying as hard as possible to make Kasey bot-like and unlikeable (and part of what rubbed me really wrong about this was that it ended up with Kasey feeling autism-coded and her most autism-coded traits being the 'worst' parts of her representation). By comparison, Cee seemed so much more human, and I feel like that was an obvious point. The twist happened, I was like what for maybe a chapter or two, and then it just sunk in, like duh.
Also... idk. I like enemies-to-lovers sometimes but the whole plot line between Cee and Hero was hard to connect with.
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Suicide, and Murder
lilifane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I absolutely loved 2/3 of the book. It had everything I enjoy, and I didn't expect any of it to be honest. But then, the last third and especially the ending left me a little disappointed. But the more I think about this last third... the more I like aspects of it. And the more I think about the ending, the more I understand what it did... I think I actually like it now. I still think there are some things that could have been handled better to make it perfect for me.
But first, what I really really loved about this book:
The structure of the book, the two perspective, the way they related to each other. This was fantastic. Even up to the chapter numbers that were different for the two perspectives you follow and fit the story perfectly.
That being said, the first 2/3 of the book were totally confusing, and I LOVED it. I just loooove how I had to piece everything together on my own because the author definitely doesn't take you by the hand and lead you. Every time you think you know what is going on, another details is revealed the next chapter, and you have to adjust your thoughts and theories and your understanding of the world and the story. I think it is remarkable that everything makes sense in the end. That details you were confused about were actually hints you just didn't have enough information to decipher yet.
Then we have the setting, the world building and the atmosphere that I really liked. And here again, you are thrown into the world and have to piece it together from the information scattered throughout the chapters. This I found a little bit more difficult than piecing together the story. There were a lot of things about the world that were only hinted at, and I just had to accept this and hope it would be explained at some point or not be that important. And I personally enjoyed the moments when I understood an aspect of the world by connecting two dots. The two locations, the island and the city, were really great contrasts.
Lastly, the discussions about climate change, responsibilities of the individual but also of society as a whole, were super interesting and very much relevant. In addition to that, there were also discussions about what makes you you. Are your needs more important than the needs of others? Or what are you willing to sacrifice to save someone else? And who should be involved in this decision? So so so many interesting thoughts.
What I didn't like this much:
I think my main critique is the characters. Although I loved the premise, the two separated sisters and I loved the discussions about different relationships among the characters... I had a hard time understanding them. I spent a lot of time in their heads, witnessed their thoughts and struggles, but they still stayed distant. And so in the last third when most of the plot was revealed, the mysteries were uncovered, and it came down to the characters making decisions... I didn't relate to or feel for them. This could have been really emotional, but it wasn't. Which is kind of sad. This was mainly due to the way dialogues and thoughts were written in the last third. Even more than at the beginning, they were very vague and abstract, so I had a hard time following what was actually being said. There were these big ideas and questions about morality and identity. But for this, the small things that make you fall in love with characters were sacrificed along the way.
But I still enjoyed the reading process a lot and loved the majority of the book. And I think the story won't leave me that quickly because there is so much to think about. Which is really impressive and doesn't happen often.
But also, how beautiful is this cover and the end pages?!?!?!
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer and Sexual content
mo345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
nyoom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Racism, and Excrement