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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
-Septuagésimo cuarto libro del Goodreads Challenge
-Primer libro para el Autumnthon 2015 (Libro en el que haya un romance)
-Primer libro para el Autumnthon 2015 (Libro en el que haya un romance)
Basically my old review was written long before I actually got into ~reviewing~ so I had to redo it....
“Are you sure this isn't a nightmare?" he asked quietly. "And that we won't just wake up?" I stared ahead at the road, the way the dust blowing in from the desert covered it with a faint golden sheen even as gray clouds began to gather over us.
"Yes," I said after some time. “Because dreamers always wake up and leave their monsters behind.”
Do you guys ever just start reading a book and get so swept up that it consumes you until you've gobbled up every last word? Well that's what happened to me these past few days as I've reread Never Fade and In the Afterlight. There's something about certain YA books that really affects me. It's not that I haven't found other books that I've loved or have made me feel things, it's just that none of them have reached in and grabbed my very heart and soul like those special YA ones I’ve found. This series and these characters will always be a prime example of this.
I read these for the first time a while ago, probably shortly after they came out, and the first time around I really wasn’t sure how to feel about this book. I mean, the ending was intense but when I started it this time, my expectations were a little lower because I remembered the problems that I had with it earlier. I don’t know what it was about this time around but it had me clinging to every word like I depended upon them to breathe fully. Like I started even looking forward to when I would have to feed my daughter in the middle of the night because it meant that since I was already awake, I might as well get some reading in.
This whole time, from the moment we met, he’d been waiting for me to realize he’d known me all along, and he had never once wanted me to change.
Mind you, I still recognized those same problems I had the first time around—not much at all happened for the first, oh 75% of the book, Ruby was being a pain in the ass, Liam was being a pain the in ass, COLE was being a pain in the ass…that list kind of goes on and on, lol. I can see how some people didn’t like this because of those reasons…but. But. The ending. The ending that had my heart pounding and had me crying—again—even though this time around I knew exactly what was going to happen.
It might be because this, to me, is a dystopian plot that is the most realistic of any that I have read. I mean come on..it starts out with the threat of chemical warfare and spirals when our government tries combating that by adding a substance to the water that ended up causing a mutation in kids. And to top it off, the very government that made the decision to put said substance in the water without telling ANYONE is the same one that builds the camps, keeps the kids there for “rehabilitation,” say that the outside world hasn’t send aid because they gave up on the people of the United States (even though they have sent rations, medicine, etc.), and whatever other shitty thing they did to cause the wreck the country became. Like that just doesn’t even seen close to out of the realm of possibility.
Another reason these books are so addicting is that the characters are so real. In fact, I’ve been thinking about it for about a day now and I think that Ruby might seriously be my favorite female (or at least top five) character of all time. Her character arc in this series is INCREDIBLE. She starts off as a meek, timid girl and winds up being the person responsible for shutting the camps down. Yes she had help but let’s face it, it wouldn’t have happened without her. She makes mistakes and I got so pissed at her time and time again in this book for thinking she wasn’t good enough or not confiding in Liam because she thought he couldn’t handle it but…that’s so human. She’s SEVENTEEN and has never actually been able to be a teen but she is still allowed to act like one from time to time.
I could go on and one for several more pages about everyone else but I’ll just say that Liam is a sweet cinnamon roll who is literally too good for this earth (he’s also hands down in my top five BBFs), I was heartbroken over, elated at Zu’s first words, and cracking up over Vida and Chubs’ banter/relationship, and felt so fucking giddy when Ruby was reunited with Sam and got the hell out of that camp. It honestly gave me the goosebumps when she was begging Liam, Harry, and Vida to help her walk out because after all she’d been through, she needed to walk out on her own two legs. And she did.
It rained the day they brought us to Thurmond.
And it rained the day I walked out.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
“Are you sure this isn't a nightmare?" he asked quietly. "And that we won't just wake up?" I stared ahead at the road, the way the dust blowing in from the desert covered it with a faint golden sheen even as gray clouds began to gather over us.
"Yes," I said after some time. “Because dreamers always wake up and leave their monsters behind.”
Do you guys ever just start reading a book and get so swept up that it consumes you until you've gobbled up every last word? Well that's what happened to me these past few days as I've reread Never Fade and In the Afterlight. There's something about certain YA books that really affects me. It's not that I haven't found other books that I've loved or have made me feel things, it's just that none of them have reached in and grabbed my very heart and soul like those special YA ones I’ve found. This series and these characters will always be a prime example of this.
I read these for the first time a while ago, probably shortly after they came out, and the first time around I really wasn’t sure how to feel about this book. I mean, the ending was intense but when I started it this time, my expectations were a little lower because I remembered the problems that I had with it earlier. I don’t know what it was about this time around but it had me clinging to every word like I depended upon them to breathe fully. Like I started even looking forward to when I would have to feed my daughter in the middle of the night because it meant that since I was already awake, I might as well get some reading in.
This whole time, from the moment we met, he’d been waiting for me to realize he’d known me all along, and he had never once wanted me to change.
Mind you, I still recognized those same problems I had the first time around—not much at all happened for the first, oh 75% of the book, Ruby was being a pain in the ass, Liam was being a pain the in ass, COLE was being a pain in the ass…that list kind of goes on and on, lol. I can see how some people didn’t like this because of those reasons…but. But. The ending. The ending that had my heart pounding and had me crying—again—even though this time around I knew exactly what was going to happen.
It might be because this, to me, is a dystopian plot that is the most realistic of any that I have read. I mean come on..it starts out with the threat of chemical warfare and spirals when our government tries combating that by adding a substance to the water that ended up causing a mutation in kids. And to top it off, the very government that made the decision to put said substance in the water without telling ANYONE is the same one that builds the camps, keeps the kids there for “rehabilitation,” say that the outside world hasn’t send aid because they gave up on the people of the United States (even though they have sent rations, medicine, etc.), and whatever other shitty thing they did to cause the wreck the country became. Like that just doesn’t even seen close to out of the realm of possibility.
Another reason these books are so addicting is that the characters are so real. In fact, I’ve been thinking about it for about a day now and I think that Ruby might seriously be my favorite female (or at least top five) character of all time. Her character arc in this series is INCREDIBLE. She starts off as a meek, timid girl and winds up being the person responsible for shutting the camps down. Yes she had help but let’s face it, it wouldn’t have happened without her. She makes mistakes and I got so pissed at her time and time again in this book for thinking she wasn’t good enough or not confiding in Liam because she thought he couldn’t handle it but…that’s so human. She’s SEVENTEEN and has never actually been able to be a teen but she is still allowed to act like one from time to time.
I could go on and one for several more pages about everyone else but I’ll just say that Liam is a sweet cinnamon roll who is literally too good for this earth (he’s also hands down in my top five BBFs), I was heartbroken over
Spoiler
Cole’s deathIt rained the day they brought us to Thurmond.
And it rained the day I walked out.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE TBH
BUT IM REALLY HAPPY WITH HOW THINGS ENDED UP
EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER FROM START TO FINISH.
BUT IM REALLY HAPPY WITH HOW THINGS ENDED UP
EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER FROM START TO FINISH.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It rained the day they brought us to Turmond... And it rained the day that i walked out
Wauw what an ending to an amazing series. Im going to miss these characters so much, i really grew to love them. Ruby, Vida, Zu, Liam, Chubs, Jude, Cole, Nico and even Clancy a little bit.. Im going to miss them so much. What i really hope for this series is that it is going to be picked up by a producer or something, i want to see this on the screen like right now..
All of them grew up so much through the course of the series, and I really like it when it's the case. Ruby's character development was the most interesting and the most remarkable. She positioned herself as leader, she came from being a scared little girl to being this strong women.
As for Liam, i found him sometimes a bit irritating. He came up with tons of plans but never put them in the group, he just went out and did them without consulting anyone. He more than once could have been killed because of that. I got why he felt left out though, they treated him like he was made out of glass and couldn't handle a thing. He ultimatly saved the day.. Liam and Ruby's relationship frustrated me immensely. During half of the book, if not more, I couldn't even tell they were a couple. They were speaking to each other occasionally, and when they were, it was usually to argue about Ruby not trusting and not telling him what was going on between her and Cole. Of course, not in the sense “are you guys making out behind my back?” but rather “can you guys tell me what the hell you're preparing that you're not sharing with the rest of us?”. Now that I've finished the book, I wouldn't say they don't belong with each other, but still. Very, very frustrating.
Cole.. oh Cole. my heart is crying. He was something special, the only red in the group.. no one knew about him except Ruby. I felt like he should have opened up more, i would have loved to learn more about him. I also found it dissapointing that they never explained how Cole came to be a Psy to.. like he was to old to have powers. . He's very different from his brother but my heart also melts each time he calls Ruby “Gem”. Much like Ruby, you can see that he's doing everything in his power to protect his family, although Liam didn't see that. He lacked subtlety with his brother but I was not blinded by his callousness. I loved his relationship with Ruby and the fact that only they could understand how living with such powerful and dangerous abilities was like.
Now, I did find that the pacing was way too slow. The beginning was great, but after their arrival at the Ranch, nothing exciting happened and it sometimes became a bit boring. Almost the entire book is about scheming and plotting, putting up a strategy in ordor to free the kids from the camps, and more specifically preparing a big hit on Thurmond, the camp where Ruby was detained for most of her life. But the book made up for it by making some fantasic things happen which i cant say BECAUSE OF SPOILERS, but wauw.. im so happy! Loved loved loved it.
Wauw what an ending to an amazing series. Im going to miss these characters so much, i really grew to love them. Ruby, Vida, Zu, Liam, Chubs, Jude, Cole, Nico and even Clancy a little bit.. Im going to miss them so much. What i really hope for this series is that it is going to be picked up by a producer or something, i want to see this on the screen like right now..
All of them grew up so much through the course of the series, and I really like it when it's the case. Ruby's character development was the most interesting and the most remarkable. She positioned herself as leader, she came from being a scared little girl to being this strong women.
As for Liam, i found him sometimes a bit irritating. He came up with tons of plans but never put them in the group, he just went out and did them without consulting anyone. He more than once could have been killed because of that. I got why he felt left out though, they treated him like he was made out of glass and couldn't handle a thing. He ultimatly saved the day.. Liam and Ruby's relationship frustrated me immensely. During half of the book, if not more, I couldn't even tell they were a couple. They were speaking to each other occasionally, and when they were, it was usually to argue about Ruby not trusting and not telling him what was going on between her and Cole. Of course, not in the sense “are you guys making out behind my back?” but rather “can you guys tell me what the hell you're preparing that you're not sharing with the rest of us?”. Now that I've finished the book, I wouldn't say they don't belong with each other, but still. Very, very frustrating.
Cole.. oh Cole. my heart is crying. He was something special, the only red in the group.. no one knew about him except Ruby. I felt like he should have opened up more, i would have loved to learn more about him. I also found it dissapointing that they never explained how Cole came to be a Psy to.. like he was to old to have powers. . He's very different from his brother but my heart also melts each time he calls Ruby “Gem”. Much like Ruby, you can see that he's doing everything in his power to protect his family, although Liam didn't see that. He lacked subtlety with his brother but I was not blinded by his callousness. I loved his relationship with Ruby and the fact that only they could understand how living with such powerful and dangerous abilities was like.
Now, I did find that the pacing was way too slow. The beginning was great, but after their arrival at the Ranch, nothing exciting happened and it sometimes became a bit boring. Almost the entire book is about scheming and plotting, putting up a strategy in ordor to free the kids from the camps, and more specifically preparing a big hit on Thurmond, the camp where Ruby was detained for most of her life. But the book made up for it by making some fantasic things happen which i cant say BECAUSE OF SPOILERS, but wauw.. im so happy! Loved loved loved it.
It was okay, not as good as the first two. I found this much slower and not as engaging, especially at the start. I also found some choices the characters made confusing. It had a satisfying ending.
adventurous
dark
I fell into a reading slump. I plan on picking it back up at a later date.
I might have read this book 5 years too late, I have outgrown my dystopia phase and the story does not tug at my inner teenager.
At least I got to finish this series.
At least I got to finish this series.