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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I appreciate that the author was doing something interesting and unique. Unfortunately I missed a few critical plot points along the way and didn't quite understand everything that happened.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is not bad in a technical way, but it is very much not to my taste, and I assume it will only be loved by a niche subsect of readers.
Firstly, the blurb makes it sound like it is a stronger fantasy work, but this is very much a magical realism/slice of life kind of book. You will not get strong plot points or strong character development. It's more about the beauty of the mundanity of life. You will get every little thought all of the time. You will get things like a single chapter about a character that will never come up again. Some things could have and probably should have been cut.
The prose itself is pretty, but the work as a whole is weak. This book runs at a glacial pace. Again, the blurb says it's three teens back from the dead doing magical tests. They don't even start those until about 300 pages in a 600-page book. This is a book for people who want to meditate on a subject. You need to be in an absolute mood to savor because this book was not built to be devoured.
The characters do have the air of real teens, but despite the premise, they aren't reacting as real teens to unreal problems. Again, it is dwelling on the beauty of the mundanity of life. The teens are reacting mostly to real teen problems. Who kissed who, break ups, college, etc. The subject matter very much comes across as YA because of that. I also do not care to read sex scenes about teenagers, which you will get.
tldr: not for most readers, not for me, but not terrible and will be good for some.
Firstly, the blurb makes it sound like it is a stronger fantasy work, but this is very much a magical realism/slice of life kind of book. You will not get strong plot points or strong character development. It's more about the beauty of the mundanity of life. You will get every little thought all of the time. You will get things like a single chapter about a character that will never come up again. Some things could have and probably should have been cut.
The prose itself is pretty, but the work as a whole is weak. This book runs at a glacial pace. Again, the blurb says it's three teens back from the dead doing magical tests. They don't even start those until about 300 pages in a 600-page book. This is a book for people who want to meditate on a subject. You need to be in an absolute mood to savor because this book was not built to be devoured.
The characters do have the air of real teens, but despite the premise, they aren't reacting as real teens to unreal problems. Again, it is dwelling on the beauty of the mundanity of life. The teens are reacting mostly to real teen problems. Who kissed who, break ups, college, etc. The subject matter very much comes across as YA because of that. I also do not care to read sex scenes about teenagers, which you will get.
tldr: not for most readers, not for me, but not terrible and will be good for some.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s a crazy ride and sometimes slow but it comes together in the end. Not good if you want definite endings. Reminded me of Mr Norrell and Jonathan Strange, in all the good ways
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really struggled with this book. I think from the macroscopic level, I liked the world and the idea of the book, but on the microscopic level, all the characters felt flat and one dimensional to me. Their actions and the things that they said didn’t feel true nor relatable to me, and except for a few cases, they all kind of felt the same. It was a struggle to get through, despite how well it was written
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-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:
Yes