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manteiga's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
The story telling is just incredible. Inspiring writing.
t_barnett207's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
alongreader's review
3.0
3.5 rounded up. Years after a devastating hurricane, Kairos City is divided into three strata; Paragons, Freedoms and Foragers. Freedom children labour on Freedom Farms, hand pollinating the plants that feed everyone. Shifa is determined that she and her brother Themba will not wither away there. She hatches a plan to run for it and expose the Farms.
I want to rate this higher, as it's fabulously written, looks at a very possible future for our planet, and covers a lot of good topics. However, two small things prevented me. Even after reading it, I'm not sure how the divisions came into play or how they're enforced. I think Shifa and Themba are Freedoms with a carer, so they don't have Freedom as a surname, but I'm not sure, and I don't know what Lottie is.
The other problem is that it doesn't seem to occur to anyone to wonder why a company whose mandate is to feed as many people as possible is wasting space and workers' time on lilies, roses and bird of paradise flowers. Sunflowers I can understand, as the seeds are a food source, but as far as I know the others just look pretty. Shifa evens notes that the smell has been bred out of them.
However, apart from those two things, this is an amazing book with a wonderful heroine and I recommend it to everyone. Even if I did cry a lot at the end.
Receiving a proof copy did not affect my review in any way.
"That's it then! You lot had better get your acts together when we're gone. You're on your own now with the bad apples!" Chirelle sighed. When they went off to shower, Shifa hovered by the door, listening.
Ailish's voice drifted through the shower water's flow. "I feel like we're abandoning a sinking ship. It was nothing like this when we got here. It's only when I see it though Shifa's eyes that I realise how bad it's got. It's like a whole new regime. I don't know how we survived it."
"We had each other! Shifa's not our problem now. We're out of here!" Chirelle said as the shower water cut out.
I want to rate this higher, as it's fabulously written, looks at a very possible future for our planet, and covers a lot of good topics. However, two small things prevented me. Even after reading it, I'm not sure how the divisions came into play or how they're enforced. I think Shifa and Themba are Freedoms with a carer, so they don't have Freedom as a surname, but I'm not sure, and I don't know what Lottie is.
The other problem is that it doesn't seem to occur to anyone to wonder why a company whose mandate is to feed as many people as possible is wasting space and workers' time on lilies, roses and bird of paradise flowers. Sunflowers I can understand, as the seeds are a food source, but as far as I know the others just look pretty. Shifa evens notes that the smell has been bred out of them.
However, apart from those two things, this is an amazing book with a wonderful heroine and I recommend it to everyone. Even if I did cry a lot at the end.
Receiving a proof copy did not affect my review in any way.
"That's it then! You lot had better get your acts together when we're gone. You're on your own now with the bad apples!" Chirelle sighed. When they went off to shower, Shifa hovered by the door, listening.
Ailish's voice drifted through the shower water's flow. "I feel like we're abandoning a sinking ship. It was nothing like this when we got here. It's only when I see it though Shifa's eyes that I realise how bad it's got. It's like a whole new regime. I don't know how we survived it."
"We had each other! Shifa's not our problem now. We're out of here!" Chirelle said as the shower water cut out.
laura_cookson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
kira_mg's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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? No
3.0
eliana12's review
5.0
4.5 stars. This book has so much heart and soul. The details are beautiful and the interactions between characters are heartbreaking. The underlying story it told of climate change and natural decline is devastating and needed. While difficult to read at times, other times is full of love and hope. This is such a wonderful story of love, resilience, and resistance.
lawbooks600's review
3.0
Representation: Side character with autism
Trigger warnings: bullying, near death experience in a river, child labour, death of a child, death of a friend in a river
6/10, after I read Where the World Turns Wild by Nicola Penfold which was another British middle grade dystopian novel I was hoping that I'd enjoy this over the mediocre ones I've read, sadly this wasn't the case and I doubt that I would pick this up again due to the glaring flaws in this, where do I begin. It begins with a small backstory about a hurricane destroying Kairos and ten years later they rebuilt the city but things have changed since then; most notably the new dystopian government and what they did to society. The main story revolves around Shifa and Themba who enjoy normal lives at first until they get sent to a new place called Freedom Fields where the government makes children do essentially child labour for five years by pollinating the plants so they and the rest of the country could eat since the bees were all gone apparently. Of course Shifa and Themba didn't like working there especially after they experienced the oppression of the Freedom Fields program and even saw another person named Yara die a horrible death in the river; after that they finally manage to escape and here's where the flaws begin to show.
First off is the characters, I didn't really connect to them since they weren't really that developed and the author probably made them as an afterthought and secondly is the worldbuilding since the book said the bees were gone and humans had to fill their role but they were discovered somewhere else; I wondered why haven't the bees returned to Kairos after the hurricane and pollinated the crops, an obvious plot hole that's for sure; what was the point of the government making the Paragon, Forager and Freedom classes which were just mentioned and weren't fully fleshed out. Finally the problems that Shifa and Themba faced were easily overcome which I found unrealistic. Anyways they cross a river, got under the fence and they escaped as easily as that and the second half of the book was really fast paced as Shifa and Themba somehow manage to survive on their own and then eventually they found their way home; there's an epilogue which seems completely disconnected from the main plot as a girl finds a poetic note and that ends the book rather underwhelmingly. This book isn't nearly as good as other dystopias out there like the Legend series by Marie Lu and you can try that instead of this.
Trigger warnings: bullying, near death experience in a river, child labour, death of a child, death of a friend in a river
6/10, after I read Where the World Turns Wild by Nicola Penfold which was another British middle grade dystopian novel I was hoping that I'd enjoy this over the mediocre ones I've read, sadly this wasn't the case and I doubt that I would pick this up again due to the glaring flaws in this, where do I begin. It begins with a small backstory about a hurricane destroying Kairos and ten years later they rebuilt the city but things have changed since then; most notably the new dystopian government and what they did to society. The main story revolves around Shifa and Themba who enjoy normal lives at first until they get sent to a new place called Freedom Fields where the government makes children do essentially child labour for five years by pollinating the plants so they and the rest of the country could eat since the bees were all gone apparently. Of course Shifa and Themba didn't like working there especially after they experienced the oppression of the Freedom Fields program and even saw another person named Yara die a horrible death in the river; after that they finally manage to escape and here's where the flaws begin to show.
First off is the characters, I didn't really connect to them since they weren't really that developed and the author probably made them as an afterthought and secondly is the worldbuilding since the book said the bees were gone and humans had to fill their role but they were discovered somewhere else; I wondered why haven't the bees returned to Kairos after the hurricane and pollinated the crops, an obvious plot hole that's for sure; what was the point of the government making the Paragon, Forager and Freedom classes which were just mentioned and weren't fully fleshed out. Finally the problems that Shifa and Themba faced were easily overcome which I found unrealistic. Anyways they cross a river, got under the fence and they escaped as easily as that and the second half of the book was really fast paced as Shifa and Themba somehow manage to survive on their own and then eventually they found their way home; there's an epilogue which seems completely disconnected from the main plot as a girl finds a poetic note and that ends the book rather underwhelmingly. This book isn't nearly as good as other dystopias out there like the Legend series by Marie Lu and you can try that instead of this.
clairer23's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-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? No
4.25
valereads2105's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I went into this with no expectations or idea of what it was about, so I was very positively surprised.
I do wish I had known before reading that the bullying of an autistic child was a somewhat major plot point though.
C- 7.5
A- 8.5
W- 7.5
P- 8
I- 7.5
L- 8
E- 8.5
I do wish I had known before reading that the bullying of an autistic child was a somewhat major plot point though.
C- 7.5
A- 8.5
W- 7.5
P- 8
I- 7.5
L- 8
E- 8.5