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rclairel's review
3.0
The first thing I noticed about this book was the cover. I was scrolling through the First Reads Giveaways (from which I received my copy) page and was attracted by the vibrant, crisp, contrasting colors of the cover. As I read the book I discovered that the cover reflects the two stories within it perfectly: they are vibrant, crisp, contrasting, and fascinating.
Above, the first book (or at least the on I read first) transported me into the Loftian world of clean floating cities, seemingly utopian, blooming with perfection and . Stephanie Campisi has crafted beautiful sentences that capture the etherealness, and the contrasting dark side, of the Loftian cities. She uses metaphors especially well. The story itself, apart from the words used to tell it, was one of the kind that don't explain themselves as you read them: the ones leave you with the enjoyable task of putting the pieces together to figure them out. Although the ending of the leaves you wondering about the future of the characters in the book, it's not a cliffhanger: it's a pleasant sort of imagine-what-happens-next kind of wondering. I definitely enjoyed this book.
Below, Above's opposite, tells the story of Dirt, earth as it exists in this union of books. Just like Campisi does in Above, Ben Peek utilizes just the right words not only to describe the world of Dirt, but also to give the reader a sensation of Dirt, as if you can feel yourself being choked by the pervasive pollution everywhere. Peek's writing style is, appropriately, not as decoratively metaphorical and lush as Campisi's and fits perfectly with the content of the story. Dirt is the opposite of Loft in almost every way; the exception to this rule being the ending of Below being the same sort of imagine-what-happens-next type as Above.
I certainly loved these two books. They provided the perfect afternoon escape into two perfectly contrasting worlds. And, I must say, I love the layout of the book just as much as the story: it was a stroke of brilliance on the part of whoever designed the cover and layout to put the books upside down relative to each other.
Above, the first book (or at least the on I read first) transported me into the Loftian world of clean floating cities, seemingly utopian, blooming with perfection and . Stephanie Campisi has crafted beautiful sentences that capture the etherealness, and the contrasting dark side, of the Loftian cities. She uses metaphors especially well. The story itself, apart from the words used to tell it, was one of the kind that don't explain themselves as you read them: the ones leave you with the enjoyable task of putting the pieces together to figure them out. Although the ending of the leaves you wondering about the future of the characters in the book, it's not a cliffhanger: it's a pleasant sort of imagine-what-happens-next kind of wondering. I definitely enjoyed this book.
Below, Above's opposite, tells the story of Dirt, earth as it exists in this union of books. Just like Campisi does in Above, Ben Peek utilizes just the right words not only to describe the world of Dirt, but also to give the reader a sensation of Dirt, as if you can feel yourself being choked by the pervasive pollution everywhere. Peek's writing style is, appropriately, not as decoratively metaphorical and lush as Campisi's and fits perfectly with the content of the story. Dirt is the opposite of Loft in almost every way; the exception to this rule being the ending of Below being the same sort of imagine-what-happens-next type as Above.
I certainly loved these two books. They provided the perfect afternoon escape into two perfectly contrasting worlds. And, I must say, I love the layout of the book just as much as the story: it was a stroke of brilliance on the part of whoever designed the cover and layout to put the books upside down relative to each other.
anna_hepworth's review
4.0
I like the idea of the paired double, that tells you more about the first story when you read the second. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of Peek's writing, and his part of the work did not improve this. Campisi's part is lyrical, beautiful, but as with Peek's, ultimately unsatisfying either as prose or a polemic.
What I will say about Peek - he has put his practice in writing/being an Angry Young Man to good use here, with a story that seems intent on milking that for all it is worth.
What I will say about Peek - he has put his practice in writing/being an Angry Young Man to good use here, with a story that seems intent on milking that for all it is worth.
techno_mystic's review
4.0
I really liked this. The plot about a sky city falling out of the sky really attracted my attention. This is then layered on with political intrigue and class conflict warfare. Good characters.
I found Campisi's prose a bit clunky, which I why I can't give it a full five stars.
I'm a really fussy reader so it's nice to find something that genuinely makes an impact on me.
I found Campisi's prose a bit clunky, which I why I can't give it a full five stars.
I'm a really fussy reader so it's nice to find something that genuinely makes an impact on me.
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