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theeuphoriczat's review against another edition
4.0
Let me start by saying that the vibes in this book was simply immaculate!
Thanks to #pridebooktours for making this book available to me as part of the Instagram tour.
"You read me the book, I'll sing you the tune"
Set in a not so distant future, aliens arrive on earth. They are immediately seen as a threat and they are treated as such. With the same level of hate and vitriol that the world runs on. When the Aliens strike back, the humans were not ready. [Side note: I have always found it funny that we humans seem to believe that we are the only sentient and intelligence being in the cosmos which is just utter rubbish. We cannot even substantiate that individually we exist outside our own head. Our collective unconscious solipsistic nature rears its head again]
"We are music and stories brought to life ... by love"
Alien takeover everything. They locked humans up and took away everything that tie us humans together, literature [Books & Music]. The aliens (who call themselves Ilori) created vaccines that they used to take over human minds. But deeper than just taking over human consciousness, their goal was to make Earth into their 'vacation paradise'. However, before they can achieve this, they have to make the air and earth breathable and liveable for them. So this goes beyond just attacking humans. The Ilori know that taking away things that promote free thinking such as books, movies, music etc. is the only way that they can actually force people to not revolt.
"Music is human expression. Human expression is dangerous and leads to free thinking. Revolt. Death. And so true Ilori leadership has banned it "
There are two types of Ilori. The true Ilori who cannot come to earth yet because it is not pure & sustainable enough for them to survive. And the lab made Ilori, those grown from the cells of the true Ilori for a specific purpose and they are the only ones who are on earth as they were created to be like humans. Morrison is a lab made Ilori who created the vaccine but he hides a secret that no one must find out. He likes music and books even though they are banned. This brings him in contact with Janelle who runs an illegal library system for other humans living in the Ilori compound.
At first, she is sceptical, as she should but soon she finds herself falling in love with Morrison even though he is an alien. She has to continually re-evaluate her opinions of the aliens and Morrison. Can she trust him? but more importantly, how would the Andarrans see this when they live both in the past, present and future?! Anyways, Janelle and Morrison go on a journey to save humanity from bureaucracy and hate that made them so easy to conquer in the first place.
I loved how this book explored themes such as race, classism, socio-economic discrepancy, alienation, parental relationship, LGBTQIA+ relationships, the power of music and the arts and of course LOVE.
Highly recommend.
Thanks to #pridebooktours for making this book available to me as part of the Instagram tour.
"You read me the book, I'll sing you the tune"
Set in a not so distant future, aliens arrive on earth. They are immediately seen as a threat and they are treated as such. With the same level of hate and vitriol that the world runs on. When the Aliens strike back, the humans were not ready. [Side note: I have always found it funny that we humans seem to believe that we are the only sentient and intelligence being in the cosmos which is just utter rubbish. We cannot even substantiate that individually we exist outside our own head. Our collective unconscious solipsistic nature rears its head again]
"We are music and stories brought to life ... by love"
Alien takeover everything. They locked humans up and took away everything that tie us humans together, literature [Books & Music]. The aliens (who call themselves Ilori) created vaccines that they used to take over human minds. But deeper than just taking over human consciousness, their goal was to make Earth into their 'vacation paradise'. However, before they can achieve this, they have to make the air and earth breathable and liveable for them. So this goes beyond just attacking humans. The Ilori know that taking away things that promote free thinking such as books, movies, music etc. is the only way that they can actually force people to not revolt.
"Music is human expression. Human expression is dangerous and leads to free thinking. Revolt. Death. And so true Ilori leadership has banned it "
There are two types of Ilori. The true Ilori who cannot come to earth yet because it is not pure & sustainable enough for them to survive. And the lab made Ilori, those grown from the cells of the true Ilori for a specific purpose and they are the only ones who are on earth as they were created to be like humans. Morrison is a lab made Ilori who created the vaccine but he hides a secret that no one must find out. He likes music and books even though they are banned. This brings him in contact with Janelle who runs an illegal library system for other humans living in the Ilori compound.
At first, she is sceptical, as she should but soon she finds herself falling in love with Morrison even though he is an alien. She has to continually re-evaluate her opinions of the aliens and Morrison. Can she trust him? but more importantly, how would the Andarrans see this when they live both in the past, present and future?! Anyways, Janelle and Morrison go on a journey to save humanity from bureaucracy and hate that made them so easy to conquer in the first place.
I loved how this book explored themes such as race, classism, socio-economic discrepancy, alienation, parental relationship, LGBTQIA+ relationships, the power of music and the arts and of course LOVE.
Highly recommend.
confettiducky's review
adventurous
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
mikime's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
murphy_overbooked's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
hunnybooks's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so much fun. We get to go on an adventure cross country and learn about more than one alien species. There’s a human who just wants to be a librarian and give literature to the world and an alien who just wants music. I loved it so much and it's totally teed up for a sequel that I would 100%.
egbert's review against another edition
1.75
There were multiple instances when I nearly put this book down, never to pick it up again. I wanted to read about a girl who is very human, made so by the lifetimes of experiences she's read in books and her own troubled mish-mash of life experiences. Ellie however, wasn't that character. Many of the book and music references felt more like name drops than inclusions in the greater story or characterization for Ellie and Morris. Ellie herself feels as times a caricature of all discriminated minorities (demisexual, overweight, depressive and anxious, introverted non-white teen who loves books, and someone with invisible medical disabilities (hypothyroidism)). A representation that doesn't give justice to the individual aspects of the protagonist.
The other humans in the book also felt flat. There was no rational for their actions. Outside most of the people in Ellie's apartment, all the other human survivors are treated as if they are animalistic simpletons, despite having built and maintained sanctuaries for years away from the invading aliens.
Overall, the story just fell flat for me. I wasn't surprised by the twists at the end and Ellie and Morris' romance didn't feel....rushed. Yes, the book is four hundred pages, but Ellie herself also specifically states in the book that falling in love in a week is crazy. Yet that's what she does. She goes from hating the alien, to being alright with him, to thinking about an intimate with him before the end of the book. Maybe its because I'm not prone to reading books where romance is the main plot which the rest of the story is built around. Yet, this too felt disingenuous to the character we are told about in the beginning, who we are made to believe Ellie is. A girl who is slow to love, who wants to find a deep long connection with someone before they could ever say they're in love. And if this was the first in a series, or even a duology, (as the ending suggests) this whole romance could have continued to build to a much more satisfying pay off.
There's a few other issues I have but these are the main ones. Over all, it feels like someone watched the 2015 20th Century studio movie Home (Really cute, heart warming movie with Jim Parsons and Rhianna as the two lead voice actors. Loved the animation.) and decided it could make a fun New YA sci fi-romance.
I did like some of the creativity that went into the different worlds Morris describes. That was fun.
The other humans in the book also felt flat. There was no rational for their actions. Outside most of the people in Ellie's apartment, all the other human survivors are treated as if they are animalistic simpletons, despite having built and maintained sanctuaries for years away from the invading aliens.
Overall, the story just fell flat for me. I wasn't surprised by the twists at the end and Ellie and Morris' romance didn't feel....rushed. Yes, the book is four hundred pages, but Ellie herself also specifically states in the book that falling in love in a week is crazy. Yet that's what she does. She goes from hating the alien, to being alright with him, to thinking about an intimate with him before the end of the book. Maybe its because I'm not prone to reading books where romance is the main plot which the rest of the story is built around. Yet, this too felt disingenuous to the character we are told about in the beginning, who we are made to believe Ellie is. A girl who is slow to love, who wants to find a deep long connection with someone before they could ever say they're in love. And if this was the first in a series, or even a duology, (as the ending suggests) this whole romance could have continued to build to a much more satisfying pay off.
There's a few other issues I have but these are the main ones. Over all, it feels like someone watched the 2015 20th Century studio movie Home (Really cute, heart warming movie with Jim Parsons and Rhianna as the two lead voice actors. Loved the animation.) and decided it could make a fun New YA sci fi-romance.
I did like some of the creativity that went into the different worlds Morris describes. That was fun.
speculativeshelves's review
4.0
Super cute, diverse, character-driven YA story about saving the world through stories and music. Loved seeing the references to other YA stories and I appreciated the social commentary that is particularly relevant to the United States post-2016 election.
atrailofpages's review against another edition
3.0
So, I really wanted to like this book, like really REALLY wanted to like it! The synopsis sounded so good, and totally up my alley. Alas, it just was not meant to be
bexxa12345's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning was a little meh, it reminded me of Warm Bodies for no reason and now I can't help but think of it as Warm Bodies but aliens. I like the fact that Morris values consent and expresses it throughout the book when he asks Ellie if he can touch or kiss her. It's sad that a fictional alien gets that better than real life men, women, and everyone in between.
jnwunder's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting but kind of confusing and the way stuff wrapped up in the end felt very anti-climatic.