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darwin's review
- 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
4.5
While reading, there were times when I found the world-building a little messy, but it all came together very well in the end. Turns out the inconsistency was the point!
The characters and their relationships, though, are where this book shines. The plot is engaging, absolutely, but the characters propelling it forward are what made it so hard to put down. The story matters because the people in it matter, an approach the book itself is well aware of and even leans into at times.
My final thought is that even though this book can be read as a stand-alone, I think it's much stronger for being a prequel to Archivist Wasp and Latchkey. It was so satisfying to watch all the pieces click together and get another angle at 06 and 22. If 22 was your favorite part of this book and you haven't yet, do yourself a favor and read Archivist Wasp.
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Violence, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Alcohol and Suicidal thoughts
theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Domestic abuse, Murder, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Slavery, Police brutality, Death of parent, Cursing, Child abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Vomit, Torture, Kidnapping, War, Violence, Suicide, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Child death, Body horror, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Confinement
Minor: Car accident
anniereads221's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, Murder, Torture, and War
Capitalistic society Rationingrebyreadsandwrites's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, War, Alcohol, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Cursing, Body horror, Death of parent, and Confinement
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Excrement and Torture
embee3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Child death, Child abuse, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Torture, Police brutality, Death, Death of parent, and Body horror
achillea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
______
you know that feeling when your back is really stiff but you don't know just how stiff until you get a massage and they crack your spine and it sounds like someone stepped on a bag of cornflakes. reading this book felt like that
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, War, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical content, Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
starccato's review
- 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? No
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Body horror, Child abuse, Murder, Death, Gore, Grief, Police brutality, Violence, War, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Medical trauma
frantic_vampire's review
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, War, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Gaslighting, and Torture
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, and Terminal illness
rkreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really enjoyed the world building and the nature of this dystopian future. Unfortunately, to the author's credit, it didn't feel very far off from something that could actually happen, considering the world that we live in the way certain companies have a very real dominance. I think both the world building (both in game and irl) and charicter development are were this book really shines.
There were times that the plot felt a little dragged out/ the book felt a bit long but overall I really enjoyed it and felt that it was very well constructed.
I think this book is going to get a lot of comparison to books like READY PLAYER ONE and WARCROSS, which makes sense to me but I think it is important to go into it knowing that the "game" part of the book takes a back seat to the irl stuff and that it is basically non existent in the 2nd half of the book. I think that was a very good choice on the part of the author but it is important that people don't go into it with the wrong expectations.
Moderate: Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Child death