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unboxedjack's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Trafficking, Sexual content, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexism
tlbignerd's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexism
whenimreading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This book was highly anticipated for me and it didn’t disappoint, it was more character driven but I enjoyed the parallels to current climate change effects and how the author portrayed humans’ survival, the abuse of fossil fuels, eroding coastlines and rising temperatures. The mood is eerie and apocalyptic if you pay attention to anything happening in our real world.
Featuring three POVs, each of the characters unique and interesting in their own way, you can’t help but to empathize with their dreams and struggles. The nonlinear timeline was well executed, the White Alice chapters made me take notes to figure out the mystery, I think they were my favorite.
The final climax of the novel brings all the characters together and leaves the story open-ended, personally I loved that impact and it left me inspired and hopeful for them!
Gritty and dark but hopeful, I give this 4 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, and Death
elysareadsitall's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
I really thought I would love this book and was highly anticipating it. First, I'll say what I liked. The author did a good job creating suspense on a writing level.
That's it. The suspense made me excited for the reveals, but I don't have the words to explain how disappointed I was in the reveals. The characters are bland. The men are unbelievably stupid to the point that the plot becomes implausible. The White Alice chapters are weird and seemed like a different book. When it all comes together, it made no sense.People were left on purpose for decades to prove Americans should be able to own that land? WHAT?! HOW?!
Then there are the issues in the book. The theme is "Men bad. Ladies good." It focuses on how men do what they want, when they want, and therefore, they should die. There's no nuance of privilege in there. It's just a black and white divide between men and women. This book is supposedly climate change fiction, but the setting is just Earth with a changed climate; there's no explanation of how it got that way, how it could be changed, lessons to learn about climate change, or any kind of actual commentary about it. The characters (all white except the main character who is white/Korean) randomly say that it's bad that land was taken from the First Nations people, but there's no representation of First Nations people or lessons/consequences/commentary about the stolen land. It's not enough to state issues; they need to be explored in a nuanced way to make it interesting for fiction.
I don't relish ripping a creative work apart publicly, but this is bad.
That's it. The suspense made me excited for the reveals, but I don't have the words to explain how disappointed I was in the reveals. The characters are bland. The men are unbelievably stupid to the point that the plot becomes implausible. The White Alice chapters are weird and seemed like a different book. When it all comes together, it made no sense.
Then there are the issues in the book. The theme is "Men bad. Ladies good." It focuses on how men do what they want, when they want, and therefore, they should die. There's no nuance of privilege in there. It's just a black and white divide between men and women. This book is supposedly climate change fiction, but the setting is just Earth with a changed climate; there's no explanation of how it got that way, how it could be changed, lessons to learn about climate change, or any kind of actual commentary about it. The characters (all white except the main character who is white/Korean) randomly say that it's bad that land was taken from the First Nations people, but there's no representation of First Nations people or lessons/consequences/commentary about the stolen land. It's not enough to state issues; they need to be explored in a nuanced way to make it interesting for fiction.
I don't relish ripping a creative work apart publicly, but this is bad.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, and Sexual violence
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