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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was wildly addictive to read. I don’t think I even understood it. It’s one I’ll have to re-read to fully grasp. I have not read Harry Potter but I doubt that this book is anything similar except it’s a “magic school.” But it’s not really. It’s so disturbing and like I’ve mentioned, it doesn’t even make sense. This whole book is a mood of its own. I love it. I’m mesmerized by it. I don’t get it.
I love weird books. I'll come back and add a proper review if my brain ever starts working again.
I need to read the next book, Im not sure I’ve completely grasped the ending (or, you know, the middle either). But I really enjoyed this weird ass book.
I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn’t so weird about the sex lives of young women, the authors dropped the ball in that regard. Otherwise, really interesting.
I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn’t so weird about the sex lives of young women, the authors dropped the ball in that regard. Otherwise, really interesting.
Gaudeamus igitur,
Juvenes dum sumus;
Post icundum iuventutem,
Post molestam senectutem
Nos habebit humus.
Vita nostra brevis est,
Brevi finietur;
Venit mors velociter,
Rapit nos atrociter;
Nemini parcetur.
Let us therefore rejoice,
While we are young;
After our youth,
After a troublesome old age
The ground will hold us.
Our life is brief,
It will shortly end;
Death comes quickly,
Cruelly snatches us;
No one is spared.
My mind is bent, blown and flown. This Russian language series is being translated into English and the second installment of the four book series is due in 2023. I can't wait!
Sasha has a simple life with her mother. She's a straight-A student and she has plans for college and career, until a strange man shows up at her seaside vacation and convinces her to undertake an uncomfortable task. He uses fear for her family's safety to motivate her and it becomes his method as he increasingly pushes her life off the path she had set. She finds herself attending an Institute of Special Technologies. No one can explain what the "special technologies" are. The older students all seem to have been mentally or physically damaged by their time at the school, but no one will tell her why. She is forced to study books that make no sense and memorize passages that defy memorization. The reader experiences everything with her, from the confusion to the dawning realization of something much bigger happening. The school song, shown above, lingers like a threat over every page.
The translator, Julia Meitov Hersey, has kept the distinctly Eastern European rhythm to the language. That, along with the dark, atmospheric writing and convoluted themes create a novel that you won't be able to put down.
Juvenes dum sumus;
Post icundum iuventutem,
Post molestam senectutem
Nos habebit humus.
Vita nostra brevis est,
Brevi finietur;
Venit mors velociter,
Rapit nos atrociter;
Nemini parcetur.
Let us therefore rejoice,
While we are young;
After our youth,
After a troublesome old age
The ground will hold us.
Our life is brief,
It will shortly end;
Death comes quickly,
Cruelly snatches us;
No one is spared.
My mind is bent, blown and flown. This Russian language series is being translated into English and the second installment of the four book series is due in 2023. I can't wait!
Sasha has a simple life with her mother. She's a straight-A student and she has plans for college and career, until a strange man shows up at her seaside vacation and convinces her to undertake an uncomfortable task. He uses fear for her family's safety to motivate her and it becomes his method as he increasingly pushes her life off the path she had set. She finds herself attending an Institute of Special Technologies. No one can explain what the "special technologies" are. The older students all seem to have been mentally or physically damaged by their time at the school, but no one will tell her why. She is forced to study books that make no sense and memorize passages that defy memorization. The reader experiences everything with her, from the confusion to the dawning realization of something much bigger happening. The school song, shown above, lingers like a threat over every page.
The translator, Julia Meitov Hersey, has kept the distinctly Eastern European rhythm to the language. That, along with the dark, atmospheric writing and convoluted themes create a novel that you won't be able to put down.
This was such a unique, fascinating and exciting book!
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book hurt my brain, and confused me, but I couldn't put it down I had to know what was happening and why! And the ending brought everything together, but my brain still hurt!
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
I didn't have a scooby doo what was happening in this book. Ut mind you neither did the main character. The way the story and mystery unfolded was a treat. This is translated and there were some cultural aspects that were difficult to understand but that's the reality of translated works.