Reviews - Gifted & Talented

1.83k reviews for:

Gifted & Talented

Olivie Blake

3.84 AVERAGE

sparanj2's review against another edition

5.0

funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kitties_fantasyland's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

alyssa8898's review against another edition

2.0

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

My main issue with this book was that the narrator kept telling us over and over again that the main characters are cruel/unlikeable without actually showing any of that through their actions. For example, the literal first sentence of the book starts off, “Meredith Wren [is] a fucking asshole…” ok, why is she an asshole? Does she exploit her employees? Is she rude to waiters? Is she mean to her boyfriend? We are told that she did one big unethical thing years before the story begins, but other than that we don’t really see any behavior in the present to suggest this character trait. Another character, Arthur, is supposedly the youngest Congressperson ever elected, but other than the narrator telling us there is zero evidence that he is a politician. His policy platform is never explained, he never interacts with voters/gives an interview/debates his opponent. He never does anything to suggest he is charismatic, well-spoken, or any of the other traits needed to get elected to federal office at 29 years old. The narrator just rambled on for pages and pages about what the characters thought and felt in a way that I found very boring and repetitive, and meant that I never got emotionally attached to any of them. Also, the three main characters are mixed-race (half white, half Asian) but other than a couple of mentions their ethnicity never comes up or affects them in any meaningful way, which for a book that is so deeply focused on these characters (at the expense of the plot), I found to be very lazy and a bit insensitive on the author’s part. The book is about a tech billionaire and his heirs but there is no discussion of the ethics of billionaires or generational wealth, or honestly any other social topic which would’ve made the story much more meaningful. While incredibly boring, the writing itself was not objectively bad, and I did think the ending was satisfying. Still, I expected better from such a popular and acclaimed author.

luceeefur's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It may be my own sibling related emotional baggage, but this is my favorite Olivie Blake book that I've read.

The book had a bit of a slow start, but I think it was necessary to start in that manor to get introduced to each of the Wren siblings and the family dynamic before the plot could kick up a bit.