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lisamparkin's review against another edition
5.0
At first, I really didn't know what to expect. This story starts off with Adri preparing herself for a (permanent) trip to Mars. She seems like an odd bird, and as she interacts with her long lost relative Lily, the narrative really starts to come to life.
Then you're drawn into the history (via letters) of Adri and Lily's family, and I was completely sucked in.
This is definitely a case of a slow and steady start with a deep and emotionally powerful ending. I loved every inch of this book!
Then you're drawn into the history (via letters) of Adri and Lily's family, and I was completely sucked in.
This is definitely a case of a slow and steady start with a deep and emotionally powerful ending. I loved every inch of this book!
amandareadsmore's review against another edition
I tried.. I thought this book was going to be some sort of sci-fi novel and when it wasn't, it fell short for me. I couldn't get into Midnight at the Electric and found myself getting distracted easily. So this is a DNF for me.
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars, I guess? I liked this, but I didn't love it as much as I felt like I should. I found myself thinking way too much about Cloud Atlas while reading this.
molly_dettmann's review against another edition
3.0
3 intertwined stories, 1 set in the future- a girl getting ready to go to Mars and 2 set in the past-told through journal entries and letters. Part historical fiction and part sci fic I'm not sure where this book fits in in terms of readership, but teens that enjoy historical fic with a heavy dose of mystery, love, and family will enjoy this one.
gloomylamp's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
b_tellefsen_rescuesandreads's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 4.25/5
What a gem of a book! So much packed within a small amount of pages!
Kansas, 2065: Adri has been offered the coveted role of Colonist, a select group of young people who will be going to live on Mars. During her training, she is sent to live with an old and distant relative she never knew existed. And while living in her house, she uncovers the journal of a woman who lived there 130 years prior and becomes captivated by this woman's fate, feeling inexplicably drawn to her in ways she can't explain.
Kansas, 1935: Living on a rural farm amidst the The Dust Bowl, Catherine worries for her sister Beezie, who is showing signs of dust pneumonia. Their mother refuses to leave, and Catherine feels their only hope may be The Electric, a travelling nighttime carnival whose professor promises immortality for all who pay a fee and lay hands on a globe of electricity. But when that doesn't seem to work, Catherine will have to make a hard decision to sacrifice everything she loves, including their farmhand, Ellis, to save her sister.
London, 1919: In the aftermath of The Great War, Lenore is grieving the loss of her brother, a fallen British soldier, and longing for the shores of America where she hopes to be reunited with a childhood friend. But as time passes, she meets a mysterious stranger who ends up teaching her about grief and bravery, and giving her a priceless gift.
The one thread combining each of them is Galapagos, an ancient sea turtle who has lived through it all and has touched each of their lives in separate ways.
Told in three separate timelines, with two perspectives being epistolary (one in journal entries, one in letters) Jodi Lynn Anderson weaves a magical and whimsical tale that seamlessly combines science-fiction and historical fiction elements and tells a compelling story of three different women braving the unknown in search of a better life.
This book was such a nice surprise. I had heard great things about this recently but I was surprised how just how sweet and touching this was, and how drawn I was to each perspective. Though this was a fast read, it was impactful and one I will definitely remember through years to come.
What a gem of a book! So much packed within a small amount of pages!
Kansas, 2065: Adri has been offered the coveted role of Colonist, a select group of young people who will be going to live on Mars. During her training, she is sent to live with an old and distant relative she never knew existed. And while living in her house, she uncovers the journal of a woman who lived there 130 years prior and becomes captivated by this woman's fate, feeling inexplicably drawn to her in ways she can't explain.
Kansas, 1935: Living on a rural farm amidst the The Dust Bowl, Catherine worries for her sister Beezie, who is showing signs of dust pneumonia. Their mother refuses to leave, and Catherine feels their only hope may be The Electric, a travelling nighttime carnival whose professor promises immortality for all who pay a fee and lay hands on a globe of electricity. But when that doesn't seem to work, Catherine will have to make a hard decision to sacrifice everything she loves, including their farmhand, Ellis, to save her sister.
London, 1919: In the aftermath of The Great War, Lenore is grieving the loss of her brother, a fallen British soldier, and longing for the shores of America where she hopes to be reunited with a childhood friend. But as time passes, she meets a mysterious stranger who ends up teaching her about grief and bravery, and giving her a priceless gift.
The one thread combining each of them is Galapagos, an ancient sea turtle who has lived through it all and has touched each of their lives in separate ways.
Told in three separate timelines, with two perspectives being epistolary (one in journal entries, one in letters) Jodi Lynn Anderson weaves a magical and whimsical tale that seamlessly combines science-fiction and historical fiction elements and tells a compelling story of three different women braving the unknown in search of a better life.
This book was such a nice surprise. I had heard great things about this recently but I was surprised how just how sweet and touching this was, and how drawn I was to each perspective. Though this was a fast read, it was impactful and one I will definitely remember through years to come.
brianna_4pawsandabook's review against another edition
3.0
I definitely see why people love this. It was an amazing concept, but there was so much intricacy in this story that I wanted it to be 200 pages more.
afox98's review against another edition
4.0
A somewhat melancholy but beautiful story about three womens' lives intertwined across time - Adri, a Mars colonist in 2065, Catherine, a daughter of the Dust Bowl in 1934, and Lenore, an affluent English woman preparing to sail to America to reconnect with her childhood friend. Adri is preparing to go to Mars when she finds a series of letters in the home of her cousin she's staying with in rural Kansas. Determined to go through with her mission, she nonetheless finds herself drawn into the mystery of what happened to the women who wrote those letters over a century before. A quiet story about relationships, love, and loss. Poignant, yet hopeful too.
meagan_kay's review against another edition
4.0
I'm honestly not sure what I expected from this book, but it was very different than I though it would be. When I started reading it, I had no real idea of what it was about, and all I knew about it was the description on the book jacket (which is basically just a short description of each main character). I think that I expected the book to have some sort of magical/sci-if element to it, but I'm really not sure.
At one point, while I was reading the book, I thought to myself "What's the point of this story?" It has no main goal for the characters to accomplish or evil for them to defeat, it is simply a story about the characters' lives (and how they intertwine). This idea was a bit foreign to me, not because I'd never read or watched anything like it before, but because I didn't expect this book to focus on this concept. The story didn't really contain a shocking twist at the end or a surprising revelation, which I was expecting, but the plot had no need for these things. The telling of the characters' story was enough to make the book intriguing.
The one thing that I didn't really enjoy about the book was that Andri's chapters were not written in 1st person. It is rare that I enjoy reading books in this perspective, and I'd normally be thrilled that her story had a 3rd person POV, but in this case, I think that 1st person would have made more sense. Not only was the rest of the book in 1st person (due to the letters/diary entries), but, to me, the writing just felt like it should be in 1st person (it actually felt more awkward in 3rd person, which is unusual)
Regardless of my uncertainty about my expectations, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and (sometimes) relatable, and I found myself very invested in their stories.
I'm not sure if I would give this book 4 or 4.5 stars, so I'll just call it somewhere in between.
At one point, while I was reading the book, I thought to myself "What's the point of this story?" It has no main goal for the characters to accomplish or evil for them to defeat, it is simply a story about the characters' lives (and how they intertwine). This idea was a bit foreign to me, not because I'd never read or watched anything like it before, but because I didn't expect this book to focus on this concept. The story didn't really contain a shocking twist at the end or a surprising revelation, which I was expecting, but the plot had no need for these things. The telling of the characters' story was enough to make the book intriguing.
The one thing that I didn't really enjoy about the book was that Andri's chapters were not written in 1st person. It is rare that I enjoy reading books in this perspective, and I'd normally be thrilled that her story had a 3rd person POV, but in this case, I think that 1st person would have made more sense. Not only was the rest of the book in 1st person (due to the letters/diary entries), but, to me, the writing just felt like it should be in 1st person (it actually felt more awkward in 3rd person, which is unusual)
Regardless of my uncertainty about my expectations, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and (sometimes) relatable, and I found myself very invested in their stories.
I'm not sure if I would give this book 4 or 4.5 stars, so I'll just call it somewhere in between.