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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Actual Rating: 3.75
I AM FREEEEEEEEEEEE. I'm finished. It took me FOUR months.
My raw, unfiltered thoughts:
•My actual reaction when I got the final page: "What the f*ck? What the f*ck did I just read? My brain."
•I enjoyed the second half better than the first half.
•I loved the writing. There was just something so lyrical and immersive about it. The vibes were immaculate.
•Sasha ends up being less annoying by the end. I have to credit the way the authors made her growth realistic.
•THIS IS NOTHING LIKE HARRY POTTER. Not even close. Harry Potter is about a child who learns he's a wizard and everyone wants to kill him. Vita Nostra is about a girl recruited into quantum physics level school and the sacrifices she must make. There are so many grey areas and no cut and dry story of "good versus evil." I feel like when people compare this to Harry Potter, it means they haven't read any other fantasy book with an academic focus. I wouldn't recommend this for HP fans at all.
•The ending of this book altered by brain chemistry.
•Vita Nostra is if Catherine House and Middlegame had a baby.
-At 50 percent-
Likes:
•This reminds me of Catherine House in the sense that the character attends a school and no one tells them why the heck they are there and the rules make no sense.
•Though quite ambiguous, I actually like the writing style.
Dislikes:
•Sasha cries a lot. She is a big baby. She has probably cried at least 10x in the first 200 pages.
•For a complex story, it's characters are not. Sasha kind of bumbles around not knowing who she is or what she wants. She's merely told what to do. She can't break any rules without serious consequences, which makes the story boring. What's the point of a magic school, if you can't challenge authority?
I AM FREEEEEEEEEEEE. I'm finished. It took me FOUR months.
My raw, unfiltered thoughts:
•My actual reaction when I got the final page: "What the f*ck? What the f*ck did I just read? My brain."
•I enjoyed the second half better than the first half.
•I loved the writing. There was just something so lyrical and immersive about it. The vibes were immaculate.
•Sasha ends up being less annoying by the end. I have to credit the way the authors made her growth realistic.
•THIS IS NOTHING LIKE HARRY POTTER. Not even close. Harry Potter is about a child who learns he's a wizard and everyone wants to kill him. Vita Nostra is about a girl recruited into quantum physics level school and the sacrifices she must make. There are so many grey areas and no cut and dry story of "good versus evil." I feel like when people compare this to Harry Potter, it means they haven't read any other fantasy book with an academic focus. I wouldn't recommend this for HP fans at all.
•The ending of this book altered by brain chemistry.
•Vita Nostra is if Catherine House and Middlegame had a baby.
-At 50 percent-
Likes:
•This reminds me of Catherine House in the sense that the character attends a school and no one tells them why the heck they are there and the rules make no sense.
•Though quite ambiguous, I actually like the writing style.
Dislikes:
•Sasha cries a lot. She is a big baby. She has probably cried at least 10x in the first 200 pages.
•For a complex story, it's characters are not. Sasha kind of bumbles around not knowing who she is or what she wants. She's merely told what to do. She can't break any rules without serious consequences, which makes the story boring. What's the point of a magic school, if you can't challenge authority?
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
truly an unexplainable read
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There aren't many books I feel lucky to have read. This is one of them. Vita Nostra is a confounding, compelling, and absolutely brain-bending jewel box of a novel. It is a coming-of-age fantasy/sci-fi story that manages to be at once warm with an icy breeze, comforting and sinister, frustrating and perfectly satisfying. I fell in love with the protagonist, Sasha, at once and then again by degrees as I got to know who and what she is. Even when she was infuriating, she was an amazingly realized character, lovable for both her flaws and her strengths. Her relationships are as beautifully complex as she is. And as stark as the world that Sasha inhabits is, the novel thrums with human honesty and joy. I (obviously) loved this book, and it will live with me for a long time.
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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