Reviews

Severance by Ling Ma

trankz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

hillaryhope's review against another edition

dark emotional funny slow-paced

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

4.0

lavenderbooks_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

This book was such a fun and thrilling journey to unravel! I felt so good getting lost in the pages and just seeing how Ling Ma created this post-apocalyptic world with its details on the pandemic being eerily quite similar to what we went through in 2020. — I felt very drawn to the writing style and the perspective of our main character, Candace. Although there were moments where I questioned her and her choices, it was easy to get attached to her story and want to know what was next for her. I couldn’t help but be upset for her or be annoyed at her! It was so fun to keep on going to see what happens, but it definitely was a darker read to step into. This feeling of being captured by the story is a sign of this author’s incredible writing as she was able to pull in the audience through her storytelling. Loved this one and although the conclusion to this felt a little bit too soon for me, I think the book overall was a great read worth trying!

hannahsutherland's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

Ling Ma's knowledge of how society would function in a pandemic is spooky. So hard to belive this was written pre-2020! What?!
The ending left me unsatisfied, but also with a lot of thoughts, so I guess that was kind of the point. 

hezzyt's review against another edition

dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

nellethebelle's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-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? No

3.25

maggie1025's review against another edition

Not the right time for this book

melodys_library's review against another edition

4.0

This book hit hard. The mask mandates, quarantining, travel bans, airborne sickness…It was just wildly timely. This fever and its effects that the author imagined really make you think about your daily life and what’s important to you. I grew so attached to Candace. The author did a thorough job with her backstory and character- and world-building. I don’t know why everyone is so bent out of shape about the ending. I liked it!

lucyqwang's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

jillybeanxo's review against another edition

3.0

That this pandemic post-apocalyptic book was published in 2018 is unreal