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emrodav's review against another edition
3.0
I have some conflicting feelings about this book, so I'll do a pro/con list.
Pros:
-A cool premise: the stories of people who aren't the chosen ones
-Great characters: even when they're annoying/unlikeable/horrible, you still root for them and care about them
-A very diverse cast of characters
-Believable, even though its in a fantasy setting - especially the portrayal of mental illness
-World-building
Cons:
-Weirdly enough, the premise: a male author with a male main character making fun of stories written primarily by women for girls is not new or innovative; it's annoying
-Barely any plot
-Lack of humor - this one is probably the fault of the publisher and not the author, but the way the book is sold/presented makes it seem much more lighthearted an comical than what the book actually ends up being
So in the end, I enjoyed the characters but wanted more. It left me wanting to read more about Satchel to be honest, which should not have been the lasting impression.
Pros:
-A cool premise: the stories of people who aren't the chosen ones
-Great characters: even when they're annoying/unlikeable/horrible, you still root for them and care about them
-A very diverse cast of characters
-Believable, even though its in a fantasy setting - especially the portrayal of mental illness
-World-building
Cons:
-Weirdly enough, the premise: a male author with a male main character making fun of stories written primarily by women for girls is not new or innovative; it's annoying
-Barely any plot
-Lack of humor - this one is probably the fault of the publisher and not the author, but the way the book is sold/presented makes it seem much more lighthearted an comical than what the book actually ends up being
So in the end, I enjoyed the characters but wanted more. It left me wanting to read more about Satchel to be honest, which should not have been the lasting impression.
catcervone's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was going to be a little more sci-fi/fantasy, but that element is actually like a sub-plot (which I did not mind at all). This story is about belonging and coming-of-age and relationships between friends, and it’s done masterfully. I really enjoyed it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Eating disorder
longshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I have heard that Ness is good. This was my first experience with him, and honestly I was disappointed. Its not a bad book, but it’s just a bit boring. There were good parts, but the bad parts overweighted the good.
zoefruitcake's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while to get my head into the right gear with this, waiting for there to be even more crossover between the everyday kids and the indie kids but once I got into the swing of it I enjoyed it
sam_hartwig's review against another edition
4.0
I am a huge fan of Patrick Ness and I was hoping for greatness with this book. It was a weird one (as most of his books are) but not entirely in a bad way, and it mostly lived up to my expectations.
I had no idea what this was going to be about, and what didn't help were the slightly confusing chapter descriptions at the beginning of a chapter. The descriptions had nothing to do with what I was reading, but after a few chapters I realised what was going on. It was another story happening/being described inside this story. If that's confusing for you well I'm sorry I can't help you. You just have to read the book to understand it for yourself.
It was such an original idea, but Patrick Ness made a fantasy story of immortals and blue glowing eyed people sound boring in comparison to Mike's story. Mikey and his friends are "normal", they aren't the teenagers off fighting vampires or immortals but even so I found myself really connecting with them.
This wasn't one of his best books, but it's hard to beat The Chaos Walking series or A Monster Calls. Even so, it's still a beautifully written book and I recommend you read it.
On a side note, a fact I found out about Patrick Ness is that he really likes rhinoceroses and he puts them in every book he writes. So of course I was looking out for the mention and I found it. If you're wondering it was page 309.
I had no idea what this was going to be about, and what didn't help were the slightly confusing chapter descriptions at the beginning of a chapter. The descriptions had nothing to do with what I was reading, but after a few chapters I realised what was going on. It was another story happening/being described inside this story. If that's confusing for you well I'm sorry I can't help you. You just have to read the book to understand it for yourself.
It was such an original idea, but Patrick Ness made a fantasy story of immortals and blue glowing eyed people sound boring in comparison to Mike's story. Mikey and his friends are "normal", they aren't the teenagers off fighting vampires or immortals but even so I found myself really connecting with them.
This wasn't one of his best books, but it's hard to beat The Chaos Walking series or A Monster Calls. Even so, it's still a beautifully written book and I recommend you read it.
On a side note, a fact I found out about Patrick Ness is that he really likes rhinoceroses and he puts them in every book he writes. So of course I was looking out for the mention and I found it. If you're wondering it was page 309.
oddcurlew's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
gus_reads's review against another edition
2.0
Me lo leí hace como 6 años y es que no recuerdo nada, sólo un gran 'meh'
klparmley's review against another edition
4.0
This is delightful. It's the story that happens to the kids that AREN'T saving the world from the latest apocalypse.
lilyaulait's review against another edition
4.0
This is an amazing book! I loved it with my whole heart and I would definitely read it again. It's been a while, but I loved seeing the ordinary side of an extraordinary world.
christineponkey's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0