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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
The good news is I was able to skip paragraphs at a time because it constantly recaps the events in Flawed. The bad news is…I read the rest if it.
First, I sincerely hope Ahern has changed editors since these were written. Repeating actions that were already performed a few sentences/paragraphs earlier with no mention of a reset that would warrant a repeat. Words missing mid-sentence (ie. “They weren’t letting me [go] home for the trial.”) And the quote was “I’ll COME find you” yet they’ve been getting this one wrong since right after it was said. Still wrong here. Oh, and I should’ve kept track of how many times we’re reminded that Summer was “a famous model.” If I can find this while half-heartedly paying attention, someone who does this for a living should not have missed it all.
At the most basic level, this book’s plot is as follows:
1) A characters does a stupid thing
2) They are surprised when it goes wrong, and other characters chastise them for doing something so dumb
3) Then, that other character turns around and does something eerily similar and is confused when the first character isn’t supportive
4) Repeat.
This wanted so badly to be Mockingjay. It only made it to Birdbrained.
First, I sincerely hope Ahern has changed editors since these were written. Repeating actions that were already performed a few sentences/paragraphs earlier with no mention of a reset that would warrant a repeat. Words missing mid-sentence (ie. “They weren’t letting me [go] home for the trial.”) And the quote was “I’ll COME find you” yet they’ve been getting this one wrong since right after it was said. Still wrong here. Oh, and I should’ve kept track of how many times we’re reminded that Summer was “a famous model.” If I can find this while half-heartedly paying attention, someone who does this for a living should not have missed it all.
At the most basic level, this book’s plot is as follows:
1) A characters does a stupid thing
2) They are surprised when it goes wrong, and other characters chastise them for doing something so dumb
3) Then, that other character turns around and does something eerily similar and is confused when the first character isn’t supportive
4) Repeat.
This wanted so badly to be Mockingjay. It only made it to Birdbrained.
If you loved the Hunger Games, and have been craving another dystopian novel with a very young heroine, who nevertheless saves the world, or at least the country, you'll probably love this series.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
I liked it a lot; I was eager to keep turning the pages, and the pace was fast and exciting. I had not read the previous book in this series, but was able to put together the events that occurred prior to this book, without drowning in backstory.
That said, there were a couple of tropes I am beginning to find tiresome in y.a. dystopia: the love triangle, the way the heroine miraculously outwits a combination of baddies who have many years more experience and, at least theoretically, as much smarts as she does. I did like the family loyalty and the storytelling itself was excellent.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
I liked it a lot; I was eager to keep turning the pages, and the pace was fast and exciting. I had not read the previous book in this series, but was able to put together the events that occurred prior to this book, without drowning in backstory.
That said, there were a couple of tropes I am beginning to find tiresome in y.a. dystopia: the love triangle, the way the heroine miraculously outwits a combination of baddies who have many years more experience and, at least theoretically, as much smarts as she does. I did like the family loyalty and the storytelling itself was excellent.
cartea asta m a facut sa realizez ca traim intr o
societate
foarte enervant ca tot erau reluate lucruri abia citite in prima carte sau intamplate acum cateva capitole
societate
foarte enervant ca tot erau reluate lucruri abia citite in prima carte sau intamplate acum cateva capitole
The second book of this series I don’t have much to add to the review of book 1
I was a bit confused as to why there should be a perfect brand in the branding room that the narrator brands herself with in the end it might have mace more sense for her to brand herself somehow using the bracket her boyfriend had given her in the first book
I was a bit confused as to why there should be a perfect brand in the branding room that the narrator brands herself with in the end it might have mace more sense for her to brand herself somehow using the bracket her boyfriend had given her in the first book
Actual rating 3.5 stars.
As much as I enjoyed the sequel ‘Perfect,’ it did not feel as engaging as ‘Flawed.’ Even though I completed this in two sittings, staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish it, there was an element of preachiness to the narrative as our protagonist Celestine gave many long pointed speeches.
There was a bit of swinging between indecisive and lost teenager to leader of a rebel cause with Celestine, but I found that realistic and true to her character, where I know in a different context it would have annoyed the willies off me. Because of the nature of this story, it deals with pride, confidence, and determination. These traits are compelling to read, but as previously mentioned, at times bored me a little with all the self-flagellation.
The other aspect around Celestine was her scheming – like she alone was more intelligent than Judges, Doctors, Politicians, and other adults. Sometimes I was like ‘yes! Rise up young woman!’ and others just elicited an eyeroll. It came off as trite. But even having said that, I was still wrapped up in her plight and revelled in the story from start to finish.
I did like how we got a resolution to the whole love triangle thing… it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and I didn’t like how the introduction of Carrick kicked off what I’m interpreting as insta-lust at the start of this series. I wasn’t sold. Though I ended up liking this pairing more in ‘Perfect.’ Her boyfriend from the debut (‘Flawed’) Art, has a more prominent role in this book, and is treated with intelligence and maturity. I think I must have had a flame burning for him from the outset, because I was realy shipping their pairing… As much as I loathe love triangles, the one in this duology just scraped past my sensor because it felt more organic.
The surprise I got with this novel came from the periphery characters and subtext. It touches on bullying, body-shaming, discrimination, and oppression. It conjures strong images of ‘The Scarlet Letter’ with how the Flawed are forced to wear their shame, and human rights are stripped away under the guise of (social) justice. There are some great zingers about self-worth and learning from your mistakes. About community and peaceful rebellion. ‘Perfect’ feels like an entirely different creature to ‘Flawed.’
The whole thing with Celestine’s scars left me squirming a bit. She doesn’t let you forget what was done to her. It’s a visceral feeling reading about her branding. It’s great that it makes the reader uncomfortable. It make you think about your own behaviour – how many shades of Judge Crevan do we have? How many of Celestine? Her story really makes you inspect your own judgement and treatment of people.
The writing style, though preachy in some short parts, is easy and has a quick flow. It’s open to digest quickly and the pacing increases the further you get into the narrative. Things just keep on happening. I was engrossed. On a side note, there was a little bit of jumping around the timeline for the sake of reveals in the storyline that felt cheap and out of character – why it was introduced in this manner so far into the duology I can’t quite swallow. For me, it did not add any impact. In fact I felt a little cheated.
The overall storyline is predictable, the tone of the novel sets you up to believe an inevitable ending; though there were so many little things that took place along the journey which had me excited. I really enjoyed ‘Perfect’ - it was the perfect YA dystopian read.
As much as I enjoyed the sequel ‘Perfect,’ it did not feel as engaging as ‘Flawed.’ Even though I completed this in two sittings, staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish it, there was an element of preachiness to the narrative as our protagonist Celestine gave many long pointed speeches.
There was a bit of swinging between indecisive and lost teenager to leader of a rebel cause with Celestine, but I found that realistic and true to her character, where I know in a different context it would have annoyed the willies off me. Because of the nature of this story, it deals with pride, confidence, and determination. These traits are compelling to read, but as previously mentioned, at times bored me a little with all the self-flagellation.
The other aspect around Celestine was her scheming – like she alone was more intelligent than Judges, Doctors, Politicians, and other adults. Sometimes I was like ‘yes! Rise up young woman!’ and others just elicited an eyeroll. It came off as trite. But even having said that, I was still wrapped up in her plight and revelled in the story from start to finish.
I did like how we got a resolution to the whole love triangle thing… it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and I didn’t like how the introduction of Carrick kicked off what I’m interpreting as insta-lust at the start of this series. I wasn’t sold. Though I ended up liking this pairing more in ‘Perfect.’ Her boyfriend from the debut (‘Flawed’) Art, has a more prominent role in this book, and is treated with intelligence and maturity. I think I must have had a flame burning for him from the outset, because I was realy shipping their pairing… As much as I loathe love triangles, the one in this duology just scraped past my sensor because it felt more organic.
The surprise I got with this novel came from the periphery characters and subtext. It touches on bullying, body-shaming, discrimination, and oppression. It conjures strong images of ‘The Scarlet Letter’ with how the Flawed are forced to wear their shame, and human rights are stripped away under the guise of (social) justice. There are some great zingers about self-worth and learning from your mistakes. About community and peaceful rebellion. ‘Perfect’ feels like an entirely different creature to ‘Flawed.’
The whole thing with Celestine’s scars left me squirming a bit. She doesn’t let you forget what was done to her. It’s a visceral feeling reading about her branding. It’s great that it makes the reader uncomfortable. It make you think about your own behaviour – how many shades of Judge Crevan do we have? How many of Celestine? Her story really makes you inspect your own judgement and treatment of people.
The writing style, though preachy in some short parts, is easy and has a quick flow. It’s open to digest quickly and the pacing increases the further you get into the narrative. Things just keep on happening. I was engrossed. On a side note, there was a little bit of jumping around the timeline for the sake of reveals in the storyline that felt cheap and out of character – why it was introduced in this manner so far into the duology I can’t quite swallow. For me, it did not add any impact. In fact I felt a little cheated.
The overall storyline is predictable, the tone of the novel sets you up to believe an inevitable ending; though there were so many little things that took place along the journey which had me excited. I really enjoyed ‘Perfect’ - it was the perfect YA dystopian read.
Bad, just bad bad YA. I've read, and liked to loved all of Aherns adult novels but this was just formulaic sad stuff.
YA isn't my usual genre, but this story was well-written and told. It hits a little close to home, with current events in the political world trying to outlaw the existence of very people. This story teaches us to fight back for what is right, and that our flaws are the very things that make us unique and beautiful.
***3.5 rounded up to 4***
This one took off like a rocket and didn’t stop until the end. It was so hard to put down with the rapid pacing. I really enjoyed seeing Celestine’s confidence grow, ultimately, providing logical solutions to her problems (though I didn’t keep note of the clues). I really enjoyed the story, despite following some obvious plot lines.
This book wasn’t as verbose as first book. She was actually much more concise. There were times I wished she would go into more detail, especially when it came to other characters. She recaps a lot of events from the first book, and even recounting events from earlier chapters, which was annoying having just read Flawed, but I could see how it would be helpful.
This one took off like a rocket and didn’t stop until the end. It was so hard to put down with the rapid pacing. I really enjoyed seeing Celestine’s confidence grow, ultimately, providing logical solutions to her problems (though I didn’t keep note of the clues). I really enjoyed the story, despite following some obvious plot lines.
This book wasn’t as verbose as first book. She was actually much more concise. There were times I wished she would go into more detail, especially when it came to other characters. She recaps a lot of events from the first book, and even recounting events from earlier chapters, which was annoying having just read Flawed, but I could see how it would be helpful.
I finally sat down and got to read this book which was the ending for a great series and I must say, it ended on a strong note. Readers will cheer and root for the MC hopefully as much as I did. All things come to an end and though I didn't want it to, the ending was what I hoped it would be.
Glad I read this and got to see the ending to this story but I didn’t love it as much as Flawed. There was less character building moments as so much needed to happen to wrap this story up.