Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold

3 reviews

spacecadelliot's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A book published in 2021 with HP references hmmmmm definitely bums the book out

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betweentheshelves's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

At the beginning, this kind of reminded me of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. The flu wiping everyone out (maybe not necessarily something you'd want to read at the moment, but eh), and little groups of people hunkering down across the US. It has that very post-apocalyptic feel to it, which usually I really love. But, I think you have to be in a certain kind of mood for this book and it just didn't connect with me at the moment.

There are some beautiful lines in here, and overall, the book is really philosophical about life and time and circumstances. However, I didn't really connect with any of the characters. Nico's sections were probably my favorite, and her character really felt the most fleshed out to me. She really is what drove the overall story forward. Maybe I'll try this again another day when I'm in the right mindset and I'll have a better connection to the story.

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bookcrushin's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Electric Kingdom is a deeply character driven, interwoven tale of survival, family, and the importance of stories. This book is a mind expanding work of fiction that just must be experienced. The words, phrases, and references were all to be consumed and tasted and stewed upon. This book is a total experience and I don't know how else to explain it.

This is a post-apocalyptic,  pandemic story that weaves us through the experiences of a few teenagers, who set off looking for a better chance of survival and maybe ultimately their destiny. Yes, it is a pandemic story, yes there is graphic imagery, but ultimately I found myself clinging to the hope in the pages, the love and the pureness of our main characters. 

There are 3 main POVs and you experience the story through each of their experiences. At many points they intersect and I absolutely love how the story was laid out for the reader to grab little crumbs of the past, present, and future. This is a book to pay attention to details, because knowing them as you progress really ties in the whole aspect of this world and what it means. The payoff of the ending is worth the journey. I took my time reading this one because a lot is happening and I wanted to keep the feeling of not knowing for as long as I could, then around 80% it was finish and be enlightened as fast as possible!

Let's be clear, this book is dark, grim, and a reflection of society and what truly matters...? It's weird and brilliant and references so many fun aspects of sci-fi, literature, and again the importance of stories, whether verbally passed down, or read from books, or journaling one's own experiences. I literally said when I finished, I need to buy a journal. Our lives matter, and maybe one day in the future, my journal may give insights to those reflecting back. 

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic fiction, sci-fi, and character driven stories - if I directly mention other books it could very well spoil the reading experience.


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