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faithl's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a dystopian fail. I really wanted to like this book but no matter how many times I talked myself against it, my argument would just fall apart. There were many times during the novel where I was struggling to finish it because I was just not pulled in by the story, writing or characters.
This story was generally very bland. The characters were dull and two dimensional, their voice and motivations lacked something to make them memorable and stand out. Bea is a talented girl who all her life has just wanted to be a sniper for the small, post-apocalyptic world she yearns to fight for and protect against the Erebii who I think is supposed to be this sort of alien who can shift forms. She's a hard working and driven introvert who has lost her father to suicide who was also a sniper, an owl which is like the highest rant of snipers. She has also lost her mother to the Farm which is like a punishment centre for rebels. Now, Bea is left with only her older sister,Joy who is a Stork, a job that pays woman to be surrogates and provide their world with the new generation. And also the youngest, Abby who does not talk. Together, they're supposed to create an unfortunate family who rely on each other. Instead, I felt their relationship was shallow and how they treated each other was like how you treat someone you don't know well. Too much politeness, not enough affection. Bea was such a gullible character. There was so much evidence out there that she had plainly seen that should have made her realise that her world was not what it was said to be but still she whined and whined about how it's a mistake. Blah blah blah
The plot itself was quite uneventful. What was supposed to be a realization and plot twist was actually not surprising. It was a very bland and predictable dystopian book. There was too much talking and not enough action. The ending was very anti-climatic and rushed. What I think was supposed to be a romance, just fell quite flat.
Nothing happened much in this book. I'm really disappointed that I didn't enjoy this one. The idea of the novel didn't pull me in, in the first place. The writing was slow and average, the plot was the same and the characters fell flat, all of them blurring into one.
bookybrookey's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t know what it is but whenever I go into a book written by an Aussie author I expect it to be dull (I think because basically all the mainstream epic fantasies we get are from America so everything looks poorer in comparison). But I really really enjoyed Unwanted and found the world and the writing to be as good as and surpass some of the popular American fantasies/dystopians. It annoys me that books this good don’t reach the international market very often when they deserve to.
I found minor similarities with Divergent and a few others but it really did not matter because Unwanted was so so unique and awesome and such a page turner. I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen next and I loved all the mysteries behind why things were the way they were and who could be trusted.
I’m definitely going to be looking for a copy of the sequel and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
lawbooks600's review against another edition
3.0
dani_bugz's review against another edition
3.0
The reason this got a 2.5 instead of a 1 is because I loved the author's writing style. Her ability to write is admirable and I very much enjoyed the way she structured and paced the novel. I also thought that the erebii bad guys were pretty well thought out. I was really excited after the first couple chaptwrs, hoping to have a kickass story by a great Australian author, but I was let down.
The book itself was quite clumsy. There was an attempted romance and love triangle incorporated but unfortunately it was poorly executed. I didn't really care about Gus, the vest friend, and found him to be obnoxious. There wasn't really any particular reason they were close, no bonding or inside jokes, and so I felt like he was just there for the sake of that ending. Then Red is full on instantly enamoured of Bea and she couldn't give two hoots about him. It really could have done without either of the characters but being YA the author felt the need to include them.
I felt like Bea wasn't a fully fleshed out character either. You can see she has the makings of it, but she just felt very 2D to me. I feel like she needed more motivation for following in her father's footsteps, as all I got was that she wanted to do it because her dad did, not from loyalty of fierce determination or to prove herself or some such other possible motivation. Also, despite being heavily trained she doesn't fight ANYONE or stand up for herself. Pretty much I thought that the author had more of a role in kind for her but didn't humanise her or make her feel real. Even her relationships with her sisters felt pretty flat and watered down.
In the end I just didn't care about this book. I read it for Holohan's writing more than anything, and I can tell that her writing will only improve. So while I felt Unwanted was a bit of a flop, I very much look forward to her future work and will continue to buy her books.
tonks332's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
gothiebiovenom's review against another edition
4.0
mjovyy1's review
3.0
Unwanted was an exceptional dystopian novel, following the story of Bea Azaeli, who discovers that the last standing city in her known world has been holding more secrets than anyone could have possibly imagined.
The book held a lot of unique concepts, mixing the idea of a dystopian city with mythical/fantasy enemies. However, despite all of this, there was still something major lacking. It was difficult to connect with the characters Holohan fabricated, although the storyline was easy to follow, with straight forward ambitions and goals.
The ending, I wasn't very fond of, as there were certain things that were left that were never completed and answered. It ended too quickly, and abruptly, and it wasn't pleasant. So many things were left unanswered as to what happened to Bea and her loved once.
It was a little bland, and boring at times, but the story line was amazing, and there were a few kickass action scenes, although they too, ended a little too quickly.
This book was just...alright.
mjovyy's review
3.0
Unwanted was an exceptional dystopian novel, following the story of Bea Azaeli, who discovers that the last standing city in her known world has been holding more secrets than anyone could have possibly imagined.
The book held a lot of unique concepts, mixing the idea of a dystopian city with mythical/fantasy enemies. However, despite all of this, there was still something major lacking. It was difficult to connect with the characters Holohan fabricated, although the storyline was easy to follow, with straight forward ambitions and goals.
The ending, I wasn't very fond of, as there were certain things that were left that were never completed and answered. It ended too quickly, and abruptly, and it wasn't pleasant. So many things were left unanswered as to what happened to Bea and her loved once.
It was a little bland, and boring at times, but the story line was amazing, and there were a few kickass action scenes, although they too, ended a little too quickly.
This book was just...alright.