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kivt's review
3.0
solid YA novel if you like area 51, san francisco, and bisexual teens with feelings, which i do. not really compelling enough to read the sequel though.
smytester's review against another edition
3.0
3.25
could have done with a bit less love triangle and a bit more plot, but hey that's kinda the name of the game in YA
could have done with a bit less love triangle and a bit more plot, but hey that's kinda the name of the game in YA
thebookhaze's review against another edition
1.0
It started out pretty good, but then there were way too many chapters about the romance that didn't do anything for the movement of the plot. Hey, I love romance in YA sci-fi, but it served absolutely nothing to the story. Maybe the romance might've served if I'd read further, but I read up to 40% into the book (ebook) and I got bored with it. Too many books, too little time. I'm moving on.
hayleybeale's review against another edition
3.0
A decent scifi thriller with an interesting twist on the love triangle meme. See my full review
sarahfonseca's review against another edition
3.0
I read this at the onset of springtime and was weirded out every time I heard a bird squawk in the middle of the night or ran across a dead sparrow in a parking lot.
Not the biggest sci-fi fan, but I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel. :)
Not the biggest sci-fi fan, but I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel. :)
claire_taylors_version's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
raequigley's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Originally posted on Drunk On Pop
PLEASE NOTE: I received a free e-galley version of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions held within this review are my own thoughts and feelings and do not reflect upon anyone else.
Alright, we need to get something off our chests right away. Adaptaion was a good book, and Malinda Lo wrote a compelling story with interesting and unique characters. When I was scrolling through reviews on Goodreads I was overwhelmed with the amount of people that were praising Malinda for writing her main character as a bisexual teenage girl. There was also a male asian side character and a full on gay male side character, so yay for diversity! I also praised Malinda in one of my status updates. It's an upsetting fact that main characters in young adult books tend to be straight white females, and so it is of course refreshing to read some diversity. Unfortunately though, the sexuality of the main character seems to be what everyone is focussing on. Adaptation is far more than the sexuality of one character, and while it is exciting and new, it shouldn't be.
So, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about the actual book. I was hooked instantly. The first dozen chapters or so were so incredibly well written. I felt like I was watching a (good) horror movie, and I couldn't put the book down. There were birds falling from the sky, riots happening, major cities becoming completely deserted. Malinda had the framework down perfectly, but somewhere in the middle she lost me. The story went from being a gripping sci-fi novel to being an annoying contemporary romance - complete with love triangle (but yay for bisexual main character!!!!) - with just a few paranormal aspects. Actually, I guess it would be more of a paranormal romance... without the intensity that other paranormal romances have. It was maddening, because the sci-fi aspects that did peek through were phenomenal. While I'm glad we have a bisexual main character, I would have preferred if the entire book had put off romance completely. In this case, yes, the relationships had a somewhat integral part of the story, but I felt like far too much time was spent on these relationships and it took away from my reading experience.
The story was also really weird. Which for the most part was actually kind of wonderful. It has a very X-Files feel to it, which is a huge compliment. There were some pretty decent twists and turns, and who doesn't love a good government conspiracy theory? This book had all of the elements to make it a good story, and overall it was a really good story. I felt like the end was quite forced and completely ridiculous, but I feel like this will all make sense in the sequel. Which, by the way, I was really freaking out at around 83% through the book because I didn't know if there would be a sequel and I knew we needed one. There is definitely a lot more to this story for Malinda to tell, and I am hoping that some of the romance issues aren't as prominent in the next installment.
Originally posted on Drunk On Pop
PLEASE NOTE: I received a free e-galley version of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions held within this review are my own thoughts and feelings and do not reflect upon anyone else.
Alright, we need to get something off our chests right away. Adaptaion was a good book, and Malinda Lo wrote a compelling story with interesting and unique characters. When I was scrolling through reviews on Goodreads I was overwhelmed with the amount of people that were praising Malinda for writing her main character as a bisexual teenage girl. There was also a male asian side character and a full on gay male side character, so yay for diversity! I also praised Malinda in one of my status updates. It's an upsetting fact that main characters in young adult books tend to be straight white females, and so it is of course refreshing to read some diversity. Unfortunately though, the sexuality of the main character seems to be what everyone is focussing on. Adaptation is far more than the sexuality of one character, and while it is exciting and new, it shouldn't be.
So, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about the actual book. I was hooked instantly. The first dozen chapters or so were so incredibly well written. I felt like I was watching a (good) horror movie, and I couldn't put the book down. There were birds falling from the sky, riots happening, major cities becoming completely deserted. Malinda had the framework down perfectly, but somewhere in the middle she lost me. The story went from being a gripping sci-fi novel to being an annoying contemporary romance - complete with love triangle (but yay for bisexual main character!!!!) - with just a few paranormal aspects. Actually, I guess it would be more of a paranormal romance... without the intensity that other paranormal romances have. It was maddening, because the sci-fi aspects that did peek through were phenomenal. While I'm glad we have a bisexual main character, I would have preferred if the entire book had put off romance completely. In this case, yes, the relationships had a somewhat integral part of the story, but I felt like far too much time was spent on these relationships and it took away from my reading experience.
The story was also really weird. Which for the most part was actually kind of wonderful. It has a very X-Files feel to it, which is a huge compliment. There were some pretty decent twists and turns, and who doesn't love a good government conspiracy theory? This book had all of the elements to make it a good story, and overall it was a really good story. I felt like the end was quite forced and completely ridiculous, but I feel like this will all make sense in the sequel. Which, by the way, I was really freaking out at around 83% through the book because I didn't know if there would be a sequel and I knew we needed one. There is definitely a lot more to this story for Malinda to tell, and I am hoping that some of the romance issues aren't as prominent in the next installment.
allysonbogie's review against another edition
4.0
Totally entertaining, fast-paced, and interesting, but nothing really special in terms of science fiction. I just started the sequel.
pewterwolf's review against another edition
3.0
Review Taken From The Pewter Wolf
When birds start suddenly dying, causing flights to be grounded, Reese and David decide to drive back home. But when a bird flies into the car, Reese loses control and the car flips. Almost a month later, she and David wake up in a military hospital from their comas, and the doctors refuse to tell them what happens...
But that's only the start, when she gets home, Reese realises that something has changed within her. As she's trying to figure out what happened to her that can't be humanly possible, she finds herself torn between David, a longterm crush, and Amber, a whirlwind of a girl that crashed into her life.
But what is going on? And who can she trust?
Ok, I am going to admit this. This is one of those books that, when I first heard of it, I was hugely excited over. So to hear that Hodder Children was publishing it in the UK, made me very happy. We don't have any bisexual characters in YA/New Adult so this would be a breath of fresh air. I mean, we always seem to have gay or lesbian characters but when it comes to the LGBT community, the rest seem to be ignored or they are the sidekicks or background character.
And it was. Up to a point. But more on this later.
I am going to be honest with you. I was a little disappointed over this book. There was good points to this, but there was several bad points. A mixed bag.
Ok, the good. I couldn't stop reading it. Even when I was frustrated with it, I had to know what was going to happen next. Malinda's writing made it effortless and I just kept clicking my kindle, wanting to know what happened next.
And the last 20-odd percentage made me read very late into the night!
But, this book isn't perfect. I have two real issues. Characters and genre.
With the three main characters (Reese, David and Amber), I never felt like I "clicked" or connected to them. These are our main leads so we should be rooting for them, but I felt very detached from them. Maybe this is Malinda's point because of what they went through, but still... I want to connect to these characters on some level.
My second issue was a huge problem and it's genre. The book couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Was it a sci-fi novel? Was it is a love triangle story? Was it a conspiracy theory story? It kept changing every other chapter. It only felt like Adaptation only figured it out in the last 20-odd percentage, but seeing as this is a duology (with an eNovella, [b:Natural Selection|21044280|Natural Selection|Malinda Lo|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1394251605s/21044280.jpg|24792792]), I fear that it will fall back into this "What am I?".
Also, the twists in this book, I kinda saw coming. A few felt very obvious to me. I was expecting a lot of moments where I was genuinely shocked. Maybe I did have my expectations over this book too high...
While I'm not 100% certain if I will read the sequel, [b:Inheritance|20696578|Inheritance (Adaptation #2)|Malinda Lo|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1391348438s/20696578.jpg|21740887], I am quite happy that, finally, there seems to be a book out there that has a bi love triangle and that YA readers are treated with respect over how it was written. We YA readers are smarter than most people give us credit for.
When birds start suddenly dying, causing flights to be grounded, Reese and David decide to drive back home. But when a bird flies into the car, Reese loses control and the car flips. Almost a month later, she and David wake up in a military hospital from their comas, and the doctors refuse to tell them what happens...
But that's only the start, when she gets home, Reese realises that something has changed within her. As she's trying to figure out what happened to her that can't be humanly possible, she finds herself torn between David, a longterm crush, and Amber, a whirlwind of a girl that crashed into her life.
But what is going on? And who can she trust?
Ok, I am going to admit this. This is one of those books that, when I first heard of it, I was hugely excited over. So to hear that Hodder Children was publishing it in the UK, made me very happy. We don't have any bisexual characters in YA/New Adult so this would be a breath of fresh air. I mean, we always seem to have gay or lesbian characters but when it comes to the LGBT community, the rest seem to be ignored or they are the sidekicks or background character.
And it was. Up to a point. But more on this later.
I am going to be honest with you. I was a little disappointed over this book. There was good points to this, but there was several bad points. A mixed bag.
Ok, the good. I couldn't stop reading it. Even when I was frustrated with it, I had to know what was going to happen next. Malinda's writing made it effortless and I just kept clicking my kindle, wanting to know what happened next.
And the last 20-odd percentage made me read very late into the night!
But, this book isn't perfect. I have two real issues. Characters and genre.
With the three main characters (Reese, David and Amber), I never felt like I "clicked" or connected to them. These are our main leads so we should be rooting for them, but I felt very detached from them. Maybe this is Malinda's point because of what they went through, but still... I want to connect to these characters on some level.
My second issue was a huge problem and it's genre. The book couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Was it a sci-fi novel? Was it is a love triangle story? Was it a conspiracy theory story? It kept changing every other chapter. It only felt like Adaptation only figured it out in the last 20-odd percentage, but seeing as this is a duology (with an eNovella, [b:Natural Selection|21044280|Natural Selection|Malinda Lo|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1394251605s/21044280.jpg|24792792]), I fear that it will fall back into this "What am I?".
Also, the twists in this book, I kinda saw coming. A few felt very obvious to me. I was expecting a lot of moments where I was genuinely shocked. Maybe I did have my expectations over this book too high...
While I'm not 100% certain if I will read the sequel, [b:Inheritance|20696578|Inheritance (Adaptation #2)|Malinda Lo|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1391348438s/20696578.jpg|21740887], I am quite happy that, finally, there seems to be a book out there that has a bi love triangle and that YA readers are treated with respect over how it was written. We YA readers are smarter than most people give us credit for.
lattelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
THIS WAS SO GOOD. Malinda Lo absolutely does not disappoint. If you're a fan of Jane C. Esther and bisexual ladies and aliens and government agencies then this is the book for you!
Beginning with a strange disturbance in bird flocks who fly into plane engines, Reese is grounded hundreds of miles away from her home. Without any other plan, she, her academic partner, and her teacher all start driving home instead only to be faced with the post-apocalyptic panic and a bird that crashes into their car. When Reese awakes 27 days later, she has strange memories and a desire to go back home.
But when she's back, something is weird. Her scars are fading quickly. She's healing faster than normal. She's being monitored. She's had to sign contracts. Just what happened when she was in that coma, and why did it happen to her?
This book is paced so incredibly well, and has a bisexual character that I personally completely related to in that Reese didn't realize that she liked women until she met one that she did in fact like, having assumed that she was simply not interested in relationships or anything that followed, simply assuming that she liked men, and men only.
Beware though, the ending leaves room for a sequel, which is particularly upsetting if you don't have your hands on the next book quite yet! This book is fun, adventurous, and filled with intrigue. You won't want to miss out!
Review cross-listed here!
Beginning with a strange disturbance in bird flocks who fly into plane engines, Reese is grounded hundreds of miles away from her home. Without any other plan, she, her academic partner, and her teacher all start driving home instead only to be faced with the post-apocalyptic panic and a bird that crashes into their car. When Reese awakes 27 days later, she has strange memories and a desire to go back home.
But when she's back, something is weird. Her scars are fading quickly. She's healing faster than normal. She's being monitored. She's had to sign contracts. Just what happened when she was in that coma, and why did it happen to her?
This book is paced so incredibly well, and has a bisexual character that I personally completely related to in that Reese didn't realize that she liked women until she met one that she did in fact like, having assumed that she was simply not interested in relationships or anything that followed, simply assuming that she liked men, and men only.
Beware though, the ending leaves room for a sequel, which is particularly upsetting if you don't have your hands on the next book quite yet! This book is fun, adventurous, and filled with intrigue. You won't want to miss out!
Review cross-listed here!