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bella613's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Great YA novel!
Took me a few chapters to get into it, and the story was very predictable, but it was entertaining and well written. The beginning of the book kind of dragged, and the premise has definitely been done, and in better ways. It was like every ~girl finds out she has superpowers and learns to control them~ story mixed with every ~dystopian country in an oppresive civil war needs teenage girl to be the face of a rebellion against cruel leadership~ story. But there's nothing wrong with that, and YA readers eat that stuff up. I wish I could have read this in middle school. It still would have been predictable, but my complaints for this book are also true of the hunger games and divergent, and I loved those back then. I'm rating it pretty high because I did enjoy listening and I think I would have loved it if I were the age it's meant for (like 10 years ago).
I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series. I hope that we will get to know Mare's brothers better, that Cal will become a round character, and that we'll get more unique plot points.
Took me a few chapters to get into it, and the story was very predictable, but it was entertaining and well written. The beginning of the book kind of dragged, and the premise has definitely been done, and in better ways. It was like every ~girl finds out she has superpowers and learns to control them~ story mixed with every ~dystopian country in an oppresive civil war needs teenage girl to be the face of a rebellion against cruel leadership~ story. But there's nothing wrong with that, and YA readers eat that stuff up. I wish I could have read this in middle school. It still would have been predictable, but my complaints for this book are also true of the hunger games and divergent, and I loved those back then. I'm rating it pretty high because I did enjoy listening and I think I would have loved it if I were the age it's meant for (like 10 years ago).
I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series. I hope that we will get to know Mare's brothers better, that Cal will become a round character, and that we'll get more unique plot points.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, Grief, Blood, Classism, Torture, and Violence
fuelledbymonster's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Suicide, Torture, Murder, Violence, Police brutality, Blood, and Genocide
aggielexi's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
There were parts of this book I really liked, The last 100 pages specifically. But getting to that point was just ok. Then I kept reminding myself, oh hey, this is book one in a series....I MIGHT be intrigued enough to look at possibly reading the second book. But I'm not committing to it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Torture, and Death
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I was looking forward to this book, as it seemed like it had a lot of potential for an interesting story. Unfortunately I didn’t feel like it kept that potential as the story went on.
Overall I found it slow and a bit tedious with minimal action happening. Something about the pacing just didn’t grab me. Which was disappointing as I found the concept interesting and thought it could be executed well.
The characters too just felt very flat and one note. I can’t tell you much about any of the characters. I didn’t really find them or their relationships overly compelling. There were a few moments here and there I did think a character or dynamic would really shine, but overall it rarely felt earned.
The writing style also wasn’t all that impressive to me. There were a few instances where something was described in a weird way, but outside of that it read like your typical YA fantasy.
I definitely think the book had some potential, especially the concept. In the end I think it just fell a bit flat.
Overall I found it slow and a bit tedious with minimal action happening. Something about the pacing just didn’t grab me. Which was disappointing as I found the concept interesting and thought it could be executed well.
The characters too just felt very flat and one note. I can’t tell you much about any of the characters. I didn’t really find them or their relationships overly compelling. There were a few moments here and there I did think a character or dynamic would really shine, but overall it rarely felt earned.
The writing style also wasn’t all that impressive to me. There were a few instances where something was described in a weird way, but outside of that it read like your typical YA fantasy.
I definitely think the book had some potential, especially the concept. In the end I think it just fell a bit flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Police brutality, Racism, Classism, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture
unremi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Epic dystopian
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Death, War, Genocide, and Stalking
eowyn_zoe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Classism, and Death
Minor: Torture and Murder
maresuju's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Torture, Classism, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Slavery, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
tiffanne11's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.25
The premise of this book was very interesting but it just didn't do it for me. There wasn't anything about it that wowed me and I felt like every twist had been done before.
The brother isn't dead. The radioactive area is actually safe and where the rebels are. The girl who fell into being chosen isn't alone in her specialness.
And I'm not sure if the whole red/silver thing is supposed to be a metaphor but if it was... It was poorly executed.
And I'm not sure if the whole red/silver thing is supposed to be a metaphor but if it was... It was poorly executed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Torture, Death, Murder, Slavery, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Xenophobia, and Violence
jpt007's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I have seen this book in every store for years now, so I though I’d finally take a few days to read it. I actually really loved it, while it did take a second to get into it, and I am looking forward to reading book 2.
Characters- 3.5/5*
They were interesting characters. Obviously the author put a lot of thought into creating them.I especially liked the fact she didn’t have Cal join then in the end it felt very true to his nature. I sometimes feel like Mare wasn’t 3D, that she was the classic protagonist you could put yourself into. So that would be my one complaint.
Characters- 3.5/5*
They were interesting characters. Obviously the author put a lot of thought into creating them.
Conflict- 4/5*
So the revolution was the overall conflict. I really thought it was clever and interesting but it took awhile to get there.
Plot- 3/5*
This is the category I really have problems with. Don’t get me wrong the plot was engaging but the story structure was off. It felt like too much exposition but at the same time too little. It felt like there were 5 different climaxes. At one point I even thought the book must be basically over and then it felt like we went into book 2.
This is the category I really have problems with. Don’t get me wrong the plot was engaging but the story structure was off. It felt like too much exposition but at the same time too little. It felt like there were 5 different climaxes. At one point I even thought the book must be basically over and then it felt like we went into book 2.
Setting- 3.5/5*
It seems interesting but I want more details. This was a key part of the exposition that I felt was lacking. They told us about a bunch of locations but didn’t describe them. I don’t need Scott Fitzgerald but I would like some description to build my world view.
It seems interesting but I want more details. This was a key part of the exposition that I felt was lacking. They told us about a bunch of locations but didn’t describe them. I don’t need Scott Fitzgerald but I would like some description to build my world view.
Theme- 4/5*
That’s what draws me to keep reading. The heart of this book is its theme. Bringing up this topic of what differences make you inferior vs superior. I think it’s a really interesting was the author brings it up with silver blood and red blood. Hopefully they Connie to build on it on the second book.
That’s what draws me to keep reading. The heart of this book is its theme. Bringing up this topic of what differences make you inferior vs superior. I think it’s a really interesting was the author brings it up with silver blood and red blood. Hopefully they Connie to build on it on the second book.
Overall Score: 3.6/5⭐️
I would recommend this look to anyone who loves dystopian and fantasy.
I would recommend this look to anyone who loves dystopian and fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Torture, and War
joylovestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
This book was amazing and I 100% recommend reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, Murder, War, Toxic relationship, and Torture
Moderate: Gun violence and Cursing