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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have never been so hot and cold with a book before. There were moments / chapters / even pages that I was eating this up and then in the next it would lose me. I think my expectations, desires, and preferences just didn't always align with the vision of this story. I wanted it to be darker and weirder at times. I wish this was more truly polyphonic because I struggled to understand why the 2 main characters were our main characters. I couldn't always follow the rhythm of this novel. But I only have so many thoughts / critiques because there was so much I also liked!!!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
One day New Yorkers wake up to find that their city has rearranged itself. Buildings and whole boroughs have switched places, displacing thousands of people, destroying the power grid, and causing chaos. It's the Unmapping, a strange phenomenon that seemed to be a hoax but has just proven it's very real. Esme Green works for the Emergency Management team of the city, she is competent and prepared to deal with such events, but she never expected something of this magnitude, or that her fiancé would go missing. Arjun Varma is another worker of this team, he's out there in the thick of it helping people and he enjoys it even, it's finally his time to be the hero. As the Unmapping continues, the locals will have to cope with a completely different way of living and existing, one that will make everyone reevaluate their lives.
The Unmapping as a concept is fantastic, is such a creative plot and opens up a world of possibility. If only the author had stuck more to it instead of the main characters. Esme and Arjun were both unbearable in different ways, did not care for either of them though being stuck in Arjun's POV was way worse. His only personality traits were being annoying and popping his anxiety medication pills. And then the author had the guts to add sporadic POVS from other characters dealing with the aftermath of the event, I felt this was superfluous when you already had two main POVs.
I admit I soft DNFd this at 60% and then skimmed it, but it was so boring. This had no reason being 400 pages long. Waste potential of a great idea. I came for the Unmapping and thinking I was going to get a reflection about global warming perhaps, and got stuck with the world's most annoying character exploration.
One day New Yorkers wake up to find that their city has rearranged itself. Buildings and whole boroughs have switched places, displacing thousands of people, destroying the power grid, and causing chaos. It's the Unmapping, a strange phenomenon that seemed to be a hoax but has just proven it's very real. Esme Green works for the Emergency Management team of the city, she is competent and prepared to deal with such events, but she never expected something of this magnitude, or that her fiancé would go missing. Arjun Varma is another worker of this team, he's out there in the thick of it helping people and he enjoys it even, it's finally his time to be the hero. As the Unmapping continues, the locals will have to cope with a completely different way of living and existing, one that will make everyone reevaluate their lives.
The Unmapping as a concept is fantastic, is such a creative plot and opens up a world of possibility. If only the author had stuck more to it instead of the main characters. Esme and Arjun were both unbearable in different ways, did not care for either of them though being stuck in Arjun's POV was way worse. His only personality traits were being annoying and popping his anxiety medication pills. And then the author had the guts to add sporadic POVS from other characters dealing with the aftermath of the event, I felt this was superfluous when you already had two main POVs.
I admit I soft DNFd this at 60% and then skimmed it, but it was so boring. This had no reason being 400 pages long. Waste potential of a great idea. I came for the Unmapping and thinking I was going to get a reflection about global warming perhaps, and got stuck with the world's most annoying character exploration.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
ok genuinely loved this. an honest examination of how we react in disaster, both our selfish and selfless moments, the ways we come together and the ways we fall apart. it's not saccharine, but it's also not cynical.
challenging
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
This was weird. I liked experiencing the event through different perspectives, but they all felt a bit disjointed. Each perspective was different and interesting in its own way but also didn't feel fully formed or complete. My biggest takeaway is that Marcus is absolutely infuriating. I hated him, and by extension, found Esme unlikable. Really, I didn't connect to any of the characters. Overall, the concept was cool, but the story never really hit its stride for me.
mysterious
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
3.75. Weird story that follows 2 flawed people and intersperses other side stories. I enjoyed it for what it is, but if you like book with explicit closure/explanation this is probably not for you. I would have liked some more concrete answers, but won’t include those as I don’t want to give spoilers.
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated