Reviews

Falling Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix

evalentine's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

bookmarvel's review

4.0

There was more to this sequel than I expected, especially the two different futurevilles and the relationship between them. Also the ties between this book and the original one were very cool, and the vibes were very similar.
It is interesting to think about how our future might look depending on what choices we all make, but also it didn’t feel like that was the main point of the book which I liked.

abloom1313's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

themartinmama's review

2.0

Not the followup I was hoping for really. A skeleton of ideas but no solid commentary on today or the future.

zbrarian's review

3.0

A middle grade combination of The Jess Show, The Truman Show, Ed and The Village. It started out with promise, with all the VR, etc, but as SOON as I figured everything out, I was done. Yes, I finished it but was disappointed to say the least. Definitely not sci-fi enough. More disturbing is the lengths the grandfather went to make the perfect world, without taking in to account the emotional damage done to Zola and her mother and the other families in the Futurevilles. I could go on, but won’t.

amyfortin's review

3.0

I loved Running Out of Time as a kid, so it was fun to get a follow up 20+ years later. The first half of the book was really engaging, and I enjoyed the build up to Zola learning that her life wasn’t what it seemed. The plot was a bit predictable, and sort of followed the same storyline as the first book, but I think for a younger audience, it would be well-received. The motives behind the society and the resolution were a little less believable to me than what happened in the first book. Still, I felt a lot of nostalgia reading this, so I didn’t mind it too much.

z_brarian's review

3.0

A middle grade combination of The Jess Show, The Truman Show, Ed and The Village. It started out with promise, with all the VR, etc, but as SOON as I figured everything out, I was done. Yes, I finished it but was disappointed to say the least. Definitely not sci-fi enough. More disturbing is the lengths the grandfather went to make the perfect world, without taking in to account the emotional damage done to Zola and her mother and the other families in the Futurevilles. I could go on, but won’t.

ohthatmireille's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

cachrysalis's review

adventurous challenging funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

yuzutart's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I loved Running Out of Time as a kid (and as a later re-read), so I was excited to pick up Falling Out of Time. In this sequel, our main character is living in what she believes is a utopian society, complete with instant closets, virtual worldwide schools, and an all-knowing virtual assistant. Of course, things aren't what she thinks and she is thrust out into the real world after receiving a message asking for help from the outside. The premise seemed pretty solid, but that's... about when things fell apart for me. Zola as a character annoyed me much more than Jessie. Puck was more interesting, and I think could have made a better main character. The plot itself seemed to be riddled with holes and convenient coincidences. I had so many questions about how the utopian museum would function logistically and the motivations for most of the characters.

Overall, a miss for me :/