Reviews

I wanted an easy reread as I plow through my dry non-fiction book. If you're looking for a YA dystopian along the lines of Hunger Games, you will probably enjoy this.

The best part about it being a reread is that I could skip the journey from the city to the Smoke. That section is way too long. Because I first read this book as a teenager, it brings lots of warm nostalgia with it which was exactly what I was looking for.

honeyinseattle1723's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

tdasilva26's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was really long but totally worth it! I absolutely loved the characters even if I did get frustrated with them at times! The romance was super cute but also very subtle! This book takes place in a dystopian city where for the first 16 year of your life you are told you are ugly, everyone counts down the days until the turn 16 so that they can get an operation that will turn them pretty. Yet as Tally Youngblood gets closer to her birthday and makes a new friend over the summer she realizes the whole concept might be more than meets the eye. It was so cool to read Tally’s journey as she tries to figure out who to trust. This book was so good and had me on the edge of the seat the whole time!

solrac1245's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Slow read that picks up halfway through. Lots of fluff, especially at the start. The last third really picked up the pace and was a better read.

"The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit" was a hint of how bad the early parts of the book would be.

I will still read the next book, because my wife adores the series from reading it a decade earlier.

sketchy_reader's review against another edition

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5.0

I've already read this series but it has been ages. I've decided all my rereads will be audio books so I don't take any reading time away from new books.

kayjersey's review against another edition

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3.0

First half rating - 1-2/5
Second half - 3/5

I have had this book on my kindle half read for nearly a year and I had no real intention of finishing it, as much as I love Scott Westerfeld this just wasn't griping me. On a whim I decided to finish it today and I am glad I went back to it as the second half is vastly superior compared to the first. The pace was better, the characters became more relatable and the book was just generally more interesting.

If you had told me the second half would improve so much that I would decide to read the next in the series I would have pulled my signature 'Bitch please' face but I will be reading pretties, it's not going to the top of my to-read list but I will get there.

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