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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I’m really torn on this book. While I found it very gripping from start to end, anyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for a good thriller, there were some aspects of this plot I found very disturbing and not in the way I expected. I’m not quite sure what this book is trying to say. By putting Franklin’s actions on a a chip in his brain, it takes away any responsibility and agency his character has in legit any of his actions so how am I to understand anything he did? I took it as a scifi twist because there’s no way to actually turn off and on someone’s consciousness so easily, so I guess you have to take that with a grain of salt, but I don’t love the message that sends. I also really hate queer characters being constantly represented in such a negative light, it’s horrific representation and for two of the queer characters in this book to be an abusive bully and the other a murderer is really not great. I liked the concept of meddling with someone’s empathy and if that could really change a person, but once the idea of his sexual interest in Rem became a thing I just don’t know how to take it. A lot of the “psychology” if we can really call it that behind this plot and these characters just felt not only wrong but detrimental to anyone impressionable who could read this. Also making Franklin entirely mood dependent on the chip just seemed like an odd way to justify what he did which is multiple murders! Like, I’m just super concerned!! And then how nothing was solved and the fucked up things his mom does seem to keep happening, I just feel so incredibly baffled, not to mention how none of that was wrapped up in the conclusion. I don’t know, I’m truly at a loss. While the book was fun and I wanted to know what happened, with the more mysteries it unfolded the answers I received greatly concerned me and from the multiple high reviews on this book it feels like no one felt the same. I really just feel disconcerted and unsure how I feel on the whole, which I’m sure is clear from my rambling. Interesting concept, not sure it properly handled the material it attempted to cover though.
hella messed up with a million morally grey characters yipeee
I literally gasped at what Franklin did at the end and had to put the book down for a brief moment to process everything before I could continue reading. TBH, I was devastated but I couldn’t think of a more perfect ending than that.
I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher.
Tattoo Atlas was totally gripping and I could barely put it down. Reading it was kind of like experiencing a really good action movie, and I felt the same way about Floreen’s first book, Willful Machines. The very first sentence is masterfully crafted and the story captivated me from there.
My first thought when I finished this book is that it's not for the faint of heart. It combines a school shooting, a lot of death, a violent video game, questionable human motivations, and some pretty intense technological concepts.
Jeremy, or Rem, lives with his mom and has lost many loved ones. His brother was killed in a war and one of his best friends was killed by another student named Franklin in a school shooting that took place one year before the book begins. It turns out that his mom, a scientist, is trying an experimental treatment on Franklin. She’s trying to understand what causes someone to pull the trigger, or not. Franklin’s treatment is the science fiction aspect of the story, but it doesn’t feel very far from reality at all. Rem is gay and is involved with a friend from his friend group. His sexuality doesn’t dominate the story but it does play an important role. This isn’t a book about being gay. It’s a book about all of the topics I listed above and the main character happens to be gay. He has romantic interests, just like most teens in YA literature.
Rem is mourning his friend and his brother, navigating friendships and possible romance, and developing a more complex relationship with his mother. His experiences feel realistic to me, and I think that many teens will relate to them. I'm a middle school librarian and I would recommend it to mature early high school readers and then any older reader who would be comfortable with these topics. It would be a great young adult book for adults to read, too. I wouldn’t recommend it to middle schoolers or students who have a hard time with violence. It may be appropriate for readers who have lost family or friends, but that would depend on the person.
Tim Floreen is writing very interesting stories and I am looking forward to reading his next book!
Tattoo Atlas was totally gripping and I could barely put it down. Reading it was kind of like experiencing a really good action movie, and I felt the same way about Floreen’s first book, Willful Machines. The very first sentence is masterfully crafted and the story captivated me from there.
My first thought when I finished this book is that it's not for the faint of heart. It combines a school shooting, a lot of death, a violent video game, questionable human motivations, and some pretty intense technological concepts.
Jeremy, or Rem, lives with his mom and has lost many loved ones. His brother was killed in a war and one of his best friends was killed by another student named Franklin in a school shooting that took place one year before the book begins. It turns out that his mom, a scientist, is trying an experimental treatment on Franklin. She’s trying to understand what causes someone to pull the trigger, or not. Franklin’s treatment is the science fiction aspect of the story, but it doesn’t feel very far from reality at all. Rem is gay and is involved with a friend from his friend group. His sexuality doesn’t dominate the story but it does play an important role. This isn’t a book about being gay. It’s a book about all of the topics I listed above and the main character happens to be gay. He has romantic interests, just like most teens in YA literature.
Rem is mourning his friend and his brother, navigating friendships and possible romance, and developing a more complex relationship with his mother. His experiences feel realistic to me, and I think that many teens will relate to them. I'm a middle school librarian and I would recommend it to mature early high school readers and then any older reader who would be comfortable with these topics. It would be a great young adult book for adults to read, too. I wouldn’t recommend it to middle schoolers or students who have a hard time with violence. It may be appropriate for readers who have lost family or friends, but that would depend on the person.
Tim Floreen is writing very interesting stories and I am looking forward to reading his next book!
A student begged me to read this. As a sci-fi fan, it didn't take much convincing. It was good. The summary sums it up well. I don't know if it lives up to the description that it "redefines the boundary between good and evil. A modern-day Jekyll and Hyde." It's an okay sci-fi thriller.
Highlights:
*Male protagonist
*Loads of action - great appeal value for reluctant readers
*Satisfying-ish ending
Highlights:
*Male protagonist
*Loads of action - great appeal value for reluctant readers
*Satisfying-ish ending
I'm a sucker for a good story, and this is definitely one!
It was interesting to see how each of the characters dealt with their grief and loss, I especially loved that realtionship between Rem & Tor had a messy, but 100% relatable depiction in the book. The narrative is gripping, and the characters' motivations - for everything they do - genuine & understandable... yes, even Franklin's and Rem's mom's.... and I think that's the best thing about this whole book.
It was interesting to see how each of the characters dealt with their grief and loss, I especially loved that realtionship between Rem & Tor had a messy, but 100% relatable depiction in the book. The narrative is gripping, and the characters' motivations - for everything they do - genuine & understandable... yes, even Franklin's and Rem's mom's.... and I think that's the best thing about this whole book.
4.5
Everyone knows that Franklin Kettle is evil. One year ago, he stood up during history class, donned a mask from his favorite first-person-shooter, and shot Pete Lund dead.
Although Rem, Tor, Lydia, and Callie don't understand why Franklin murdered their friend, they have tried to accept the loss and move on. But when Rem's neuroscientist mother is given the okay to implant a capsule into Franklin's brain that will "fix" his sociopathy, Rem is forced to confront Franklin, and eventually, his views about what good and evil actually are.
Great choice for a discussion book - lots of meaty topics including bullying, video game violence, war, being "nice" vs. being "good," and how much control people ultimately have over their own actions. The suspense and action keeps it from being bogged down by issues, and the writing style and quick chapters could make this work for even reluctant readers. Good to pair with nonfic titles like [b:Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science|1000990|Phineas Gage A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science|John Fleischman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348247052s/1000990.jpg|986481] or [b:The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales|63697|The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales|Oliver Sacks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447047702s/63697.jpg|882844].
Everyone knows that Franklin Kettle is evil. One year ago, he stood up during history class, donned a mask from his favorite first-person-shooter, and shot Pete Lund dead.
Although Rem, Tor, Lydia, and Callie don't understand why Franklin murdered their friend, they have tried to accept the loss and move on. But when Rem's neuroscientist mother is given the okay to implant a capsule into Franklin's brain that will "fix" his sociopathy, Rem is forced to confront Franklin, and eventually, his views about what good and evil actually are.
Great choice for a discussion book - lots of meaty topics including bullying, video game violence, war, being "nice" vs. being "good," and how much control people ultimately have over their own actions. The suspense and action keeps it from being bogged down by issues, and the writing style and quick chapters could make this work for even reluctant readers. Good to pair with nonfic titles like [b:Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science|1000990|Phineas Gage A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science|John Fleischman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348247052s/1000990.jpg|986481] or [b:The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales|63697|The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales|Oliver Sacks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447047702s/63697.jpg|882844].
Second novel of this author and I loved it again. His writing and his characters are just so on par, I can't wait for his next novel. This one really made me feel everything, it ended on a final note and I could really feel for the snowy like setting.
