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im_gay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
prosewhore's review against another edition
3.0
Despite the bad writing style and the neverending repetitions of words, sentences even (at the end of the book for example) I kept on reading and after a couple of chapters I was completely sucked in and ended up reading the it all in one sitting. I'm disapointed that there wasn't more information about Lucas, I know it didn't matter, that this book was adressing other issues, like ignorance, but they made a big mistery out of him and I'm just not satisfied with the ending. On the other hand, I must admit that the book was very cleverly written. It was a quick read, and there were beautiful moments, things that really resonated with me. So not so bad after all.
hannahslibrary92's review against another edition
4.0
Gripping! This was a really intense story, I was hooked. Great read.
Full review on my blog: www.thebooktower.webs.com
Full review on my blog: www.thebooktower.webs.com
ambababy's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Wow. Wow.
Ok I'm going to write this review as best I can. I mean really try. This book deserves it.
Lucas. Ah, Lucas. The meaning of this book is so sincere so true so raw. It is such a written manifestation of the reality of grief, life , society. That it hurts to read. The love and friendship. The reality of every feeling is put into this book.
As I read it I am constantly thinking about the uses of language. Of words that add vagueness to what could be obvious. The issues and scenarios addressed in this book reveal humanities tendencies. For the good and the bad. This book also identifies the hidden gems of a person when everyone around are the worst.
Kevin Brooks writing is flawless. Absolutely flawless. I recommend this book to everyone. Students, adults, teens. This is a book which deserves to be on your shelf for continuous re-reads. My god it was and is beautiful. What a wonderful treat to open up my reading year of 2015.
Kevin Brooks your awesome.
Ok I'm going to write this review as best I can. I mean really try. This book deserves it.
Lucas. Ah, Lucas. The meaning of this book is so sincere so true so raw. It is such a written manifestation of the reality of grief, life , society. That it hurts to read. The love and friendship. The reality of every feeling is put into this book.
As I read it I am constantly thinking about the uses of language. Of words that add vagueness to what could be obvious. The issues and scenarios addressed in this book reveal humanities tendencies. For the good and the bad. This book also identifies the hidden gems of a person when everyone around are the worst.
Kevin Brooks writing is flawless. Absolutely flawless. I recommend this book to everyone. Students, adults, teens. This is a book which deserves to be on your shelf for continuous re-reads. My god it was and is beautiful. What a wonderful treat to open up my reading year of 2015.
Kevin Brooks your awesome.
angryette_'s review against another edition
2.0
really weird but i catch myself thinking about it once in a while even though it’s been years since i read it
itstoniy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
cultclassics's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars out of 5 stars.
I have read somewhere that there is a difference between a good writing and a great writing: a good writing holds your attention by having twists and turns every now and then. It flows smoothly and everything makes sense in the conclusion. It is an interesting read - it will make you feel emotions but those emotions will slowly fade in time. However, a great writing does not simply hold your attention; it commands your attention. It is ambiguous enough to urge you to continue reading. It makes you think and ask questions. You can't stop reading because it drives you mad to know the answers. A great writing's goal is not to simply be mysterious but to be the mystery itself. A great writing is haunting because even after you have finished reading, it will still make you wonder. You will find yourself still pondering on it after a couple of years. A great writing sticks to you until it becomes a part of you.
I think this book, Lucas by Kevin Brooks, belongs to the Great Writing category. That's why I gave it a 5-star rating.
The story is set in Hale, an island off the coast of England [I wanted to know whether this place is fictitious or not so I did some research on it but my investigation resulted in vain. I suspect it is Hayling Island, but who knows, perhaps it is part of the book's mystery.]. The surroundings – the sea, the mudflats, the woods, and the town – are clearly and vividly detailed. When the narrator is taking a walk in the woods, it’s like I’m walking with her while hearing the birds chirp in the distance and breathing the earthly smell of the place. Hale Island is one of the highlights of this book which I think make the book unique and the readers won’t forget. The narrator is the 15-year-old Caitlin McCann. From her perspective, she tells the alarming and sad events that have happened in Hale during one fateful summer when a mysterious drifter who goes by the name Lucas arrives in the island. She meets Lucas and from then on nothing in her life is the same. He is that kind of character who makes you utterly curious. Cait does not know who he is, where he came from, what kind of story he has. But she knows he is beautiful. And strange. Beautiful and strange. She can tell he is kind, that he means no harm to others. However, the locals of Hale think otherwise so they start to conspire against him by spreading malicious lies about him. In a small community where everyone knows each other and preposterous rumors – even the smallest senseless lies – have substantial weight, the locals think it’s better to have a monster they know than a mystery they don’t.
In the book’s description, it says that Caitlin had an encounter with the ugly side of humanity. She did. The encounter was infuriating, ridiculous, terrifying, unfair, awful and most of all, sad. It is sad because it is true. What it makes it even sadder is that Cait – or we – can only do so little about it. There are people who know the truth but choose to look the other way; people who know what is right but refuse to listen to reason and instead become driven by the spur of the moment and the crowd’s mood; people who are powerful and vicious to do anything they want and lead others who do not know what they want to do what is wrong. They exist. While I was reading it, witnessing Cait’s struggle to defeat this ugly side and to protect Lucas, I thought, “What can a girl – who is in the midst of adolescence – do about something that seems to be beyond her control?” I can’t help but picture a rabbit surrounded by wolves, all eager to pounce on the lone prey.
On the bright side, Cait did not only see the humanity’s ugly side – she saw its beauty as well. There are people who care for others – who put their faith in them regardless of the consequences; people who will risk their lives and go to a great extent to protect those they care about. They exist too. This book made me realize with complete confidence that people can be good and/or bad, but one thing is for sure: people are unpredictable.
Lucas is the core of this book’s mystery. He is not mysterious; he is the mystery. I love him. Right now I still can’t put in order the thoughts I have about him, but he is definitely a character I will never forget. He will haunt me.
This book has peaceful moments and harsh injustices. It's beautifully sad.
I have read somewhere that there is a difference between a good writing and a great writing: a good writing holds your attention by having twists and turns every now and then. It flows smoothly and everything makes sense in the conclusion. It is an interesting read - it will make you feel emotions but those emotions will slowly fade in time. However, a great writing does not simply hold your attention; it commands your attention. It is ambiguous enough to urge you to continue reading. It makes you think and ask questions. You can't stop reading because it drives you mad to know the answers. A great writing's goal is not to simply be mysterious but to be the mystery itself. A great writing is haunting because even after you have finished reading, it will still make you wonder. You will find yourself still pondering on it after a couple of years. A great writing sticks to you until it becomes a part of you.
I think this book, Lucas by Kevin Brooks, belongs to the Great Writing category. That's why I gave it a 5-star rating.
The story is set in Hale, an island off the coast of England [I wanted to know whether this place is fictitious or not so I did some research on it but my investigation resulted in vain. I suspect it is Hayling Island, but who knows, perhaps it is part of the book's mystery.]. The surroundings – the sea, the mudflats, the woods, and the town – are clearly and vividly detailed. When the narrator is taking a walk in the woods, it’s like I’m walking with her while hearing the birds chirp in the distance and breathing the earthly smell of the place. Hale Island is one of the highlights of this book which I think make the book unique and the readers won’t forget. The narrator is the 15-year-old Caitlin McCann. From her perspective, she tells the alarming and sad events that have happened in Hale during one fateful summer when a mysterious drifter who goes by the name Lucas arrives in the island. She meets Lucas and from then on nothing in her life is the same. He is that kind of character who makes you utterly curious. Cait does not know who he is, where he came from, what kind of story he has. But she knows he is beautiful. And strange. Beautiful and strange. She can tell he is kind, that he means no harm to others. However, the locals of Hale think otherwise so they start to conspire against him by spreading malicious lies about him. In a small community where everyone knows each other and preposterous rumors – even the smallest senseless lies – have substantial weight, the locals think it’s better to have a monster they know than a mystery they don’t.
In the book’s description, it says that Caitlin had an encounter with the ugly side of humanity. She did. The encounter was infuriating, ridiculous, terrifying, unfair, awful and most of all, sad. It is sad because it is true. What it makes it even sadder is that Cait – or we – can only do so little about it. There are people who know the truth but choose to look the other way; people who know what is right but refuse to listen to reason and instead become driven by the spur of the moment and the crowd’s mood; people who are powerful and vicious to do anything they want and lead others who do not know what they want to do what is wrong. They exist. While I was reading it, witnessing Cait’s struggle to defeat this ugly side and to protect Lucas, I thought, “What can a girl – who is in the midst of adolescence – do about something that seems to be beyond her control?” I can’t help but picture a rabbit surrounded by wolves, all eager to pounce on the lone prey.
On the bright side, Cait did not only see the humanity’s ugly side – she saw its beauty as well. There are people who care for others – who put their faith in them regardless of the consequences; people who will risk their lives and go to a great extent to protect those they care about. They exist too. This book made me realize with complete confidence that people can be good and/or bad, but one thing is for sure: people are unpredictable.
Lucas is the core of this book’s mystery. He is not mysterious; he is the mystery. I love him. Right now I still can’t put in order the thoughts I have about him, but he is definitely a character I will never forget. He will haunt me.
This book has peaceful moments and harsh injustices. It's beautifully sad.
alonso's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 / 5
La historia es interesante de leer, no termino de decidir si me parece buena o regular. El trato que se le da a los personajes es decente en cuanto a Lucas y Cait, pero con los otros es un poco pobre, hay muchos personajes y pues se dificulta un poco empatizar con ellos.
Lo que mas le puedo aplaudir al autor es el tomar situaciones difíciles y tratarlas de modo realista y con un buen manejo de las mismas, ahondando en los pensamientos de la protagonista y sin censura, mas allá de la que ella misma como adolescente se imponía.
Siento que si tuviera 15 o 16 años me hubiese encantado, pero con 19 años resulta ser un libro un poco promedio.
La historia es interesante de leer, no termino de decidir si me parece buena o regular. El trato que se le da a los personajes es decente en cuanto a Lucas y Cait, pero con los otros es un poco pobre, hay muchos personajes y pues se dificulta un poco empatizar con ellos.
Lo que mas le puedo aplaudir al autor es el tomar situaciones difíciles y tratarlas de modo realista y con un buen manejo de las mismas, ahondando en los pensamientos de la protagonista y sin censura, mas allá de la que ella misma como adolescente se imponía.
Siento que si tuviera 15 o 16 años me hubiese encantado, pero con 19 años resulta ser un libro un poco promedio.
trogdor19's review against another edition
4.0
When I finished this book, I was mad and swearing and didn't like it. I hate books with sad endings, especially wehn the author puts in lots of ambiguous stuff that's artsy and doesn't seem necessary to the story and seems like it is pointing strongly to an underlying meaning that just isn't easy to figure out. So why the four star rating, you ask?
Because once I finished it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It nagged my subconscious, begging me to analyze it, even though I prefer books that are fun and don't require much analysis. I never came up with a neat moral, but the themes underlying this book are universal and intriguing. The author touches upon the mutability of personality and how people change depending on who they are with and whether or not that is right or wrong (the book seems to conclude that it is not admirable, but people are what they are).
The main thing that caught me is that the main character, Lucas, is a mirror for others- both to mirror what they are and in some respects to give them what they need. The bad people see Lucas as bad, and Cait, the other main character sees him as good and gentle because that is what she is. He is the only character who is the same person in all situations, though other's perceptions of him change. Similarly, Lucas doesn't make value judgements about things (whether they are good or bad, ugly or pretty). Things just are. Yet he is the only one in the book who acts unerringly morally.
He also helps other characters grow: Cait's brother Dominic, who stopped drinking and screwing around, and he shows Cait that not all violence is bad. She wants to believe that violence is never the answer, but he shows her that the world is more complicated than that.
In the end, the evil and violence of the townspeople is channeled at Lucas, who dissupates it and resets a balance by sacrificing himself and leaving a record of who really committed the crimes he was blamed for, becoming sort of a Christ figure. This was a very thoughtful book, though very slow paced.
Because once I finished it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It nagged my subconscious, begging me to analyze it, even though I prefer books that are fun and don't require much analysis. I never came up with a neat moral, but the themes underlying this book are universal and intriguing. The author touches upon the mutability of personality and how people change depending on who they are with and whether or not that is right or wrong (the book seems to conclude that it is not admirable, but people are what they are).
The main thing that caught me is that the main character, Lucas, is a mirror for others- both to mirror what they are and in some respects to give them what they need. The bad people see Lucas as bad, and Cait, the other main character sees him as good and gentle because that is what she is. He is the only character who is the same person in all situations, though other's perceptions of him change. Similarly, Lucas doesn't make value judgements about things (whether they are good or bad, ugly or pretty). Things just are. Yet he is the only one in the book who acts unerringly morally.
He also helps other characters grow: Cait's brother Dominic, who stopped drinking and screwing around, and he shows Cait that not all violence is bad. She wants to believe that violence is never the answer, but he shows her that the world is more complicated than that.
In the end, the evil and violence of the townspeople is channeled at Lucas, who dissupates it and resets a balance by sacrificing himself and leaving a record of who really committed the crimes he was blamed for, becoming sort of a Christ figure. This was a very thoughtful book, though very slow paced.