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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
A bit like the missing link between lyrical Wake and plot-driven Fade, Gone proves that one can end off a trilogy in 214 pages. A quick read and a page-turner, I finished it at a bookstore (and thus get to blame any typos on the iPhone app) in less than an hour and a half. Problem is, it's addicting--Gone flows smoothly enough you won't be able to put it down even if you wanted to!
And, of course, proves one can end a trilogy in 214 pages much more easily by making something worse than better. Sorry for not denoting this review as having spoiler alerts, but did anyone truly expect Janie's problems to just disappear?
Yet even with the bittersweet ending, Gone manages to leave readers satisfied. My hat goes off to Ms McMann for that, indeed.
Overall, an excellent end to an excellent trilogy; I'm sure I'm not the only one who will be anxiously awaiting Lisa McMann's next novel!
And, of course, proves one can end a trilogy in 214 pages much more easily by making something worse than better. Sorry for not denoting this review as having spoiler alerts, but did anyone truly expect Janie's problems to just disappear?
Yet even with the bittersweet ending, Gone manages to leave readers satisfied. My hat goes off to Ms McMann for that, indeed.
Overall, an excellent end to an excellent trilogy; I'm sure I'm not the only one who will be anxiously awaiting Lisa McMann's next novel!
This book just did nothing for me. The choice Janie had to made felt kind of empty to me because either choice sucked and Cade didn't seem like much of an incentive this round. I realize Janie had it rough, but it read so much like a pity party that I just couldn't get into it the way I could the previous two books.
DNF'ed. I just could not finish this monstrosity. The plot, main character, writing, everything.. just awful.
Having read some of the other reviews that took issue with the way Janie kept things to herself in this book rather than sharing with Cabe, I have to say I disagree that this is somehow odd or out of character. Having seen Cabe's dreams, she doesn't want to burden him, and ultimately she has to work out her problems and her future for herself. So I enjoyed the book, though it would have been nice to have a happier ending.
As for the writing, though the third-person present tense didn't bother me, I did dislike the short, staccato sentences with no subjects.
As for the writing, though the third-person present tense didn't bother me, I did dislike the short, staccato sentences with no subjects.
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Oh, I so wanted this one to work out for me. Lisa McMann really hit her stride with Fade and I had such high hopes for Gone. Yet, once again, I'm left feeling drastically underwhelmed and maybe even a little bit lost. Because, to be perfectly honest with you guys I felt like very little happened in Gone; and mostly all of it is listed, or alluded to, in the synopsis alone.
Gone is, of course, the conclusion to the Wake trilogy. Yet, nothing about it screamed 'conclusion'. It felt half-written and painfully so. While the intrigue and mystery is there, there's still that massive gap in the world-building and even, to a degree, some of the character development. McMann, however, makes up for some of the lesser qualities of Gone by dishing up some solidly emotional moments and her signature snark.
Which is just... blah. You know something isn't your cup of tea when it had so few traits I'd deem as its saving grace. Throughout the entirety of Gone, I felt myself asking so many questions and not receiving much in terms of answers. Much like with Wake, we're thrust into something with very little to build off of and it gets confusing. The context gets muddled and, to be blunt, the story never really comes into focus.
Here's what I know: Janie's father makes his first, and only, appearance. And he is basically dead, so it's not as though there are many compelling moments between the two. Gone could have been so much more, had we seen more pieces put together when it comes to the powers and connections made throughout the series.
Although there's a lot of gaps in this conclusion, McMann captures the mixed bag of emotions that Janie slips into beautifully. Grief, resentment, fear, love, hope and defeat, are just me scraping the surface when it comes to what emotions can be found within Gone. Overall, this installment felt intensely underdeveloped and so open-ended, it made me feel as though it wasn't meant to be merely a trilogy.
Oh, I so wanted this one to work out for me. Lisa McMann really hit her stride with Fade and I had such high hopes for Gone. Yet, once again, I'm left feeling drastically underwhelmed and maybe even a little bit lost. Because, to be perfectly honest with you guys I felt like very little happened in Gone; and mostly all of it is listed, or alluded to, in the synopsis alone.
Gone is, of course, the conclusion to the Wake trilogy. Yet, nothing about it screamed 'conclusion'. It felt half-written and painfully so. While the intrigue and mystery is there, there's still that massive gap in the world-building and even, to a degree, some of the character development. McMann, however, makes up for some of the lesser qualities of Gone by dishing up some solidly emotional moments and her signature snark.
Which is just... blah. You know something isn't your cup of tea when it had so few traits I'd deem as its saving grace. Throughout the entirety of Gone, I felt myself asking so many questions and not receiving much in terms of answers. Much like with Wake, we're thrust into something with very little to build off of and it gets confusing. The context gets muddled and, to be blunt, the story never really comes into focus.
Here's what I know: Janie's father makes his first, and only, appearance. And he is basically dead, so it's not as though there are many compelling moments between the two. Gone could have been so much more, had we seen more pieces put together when it comes to the powers and connections made throughout the series.
Although there's a lot of gaps in this conclusion, McMann captures the mixed bag of emotions that Janie slips into beautifully. Grief, resentment, fear, love, hope and defeat, are just me scraping the surface when it comes to what emotions can be found within Gone. Overall, this installment felt intensely underdeveloped and so open-ended, it made me feel as though it wasn't meant to be merely a trilogy.
Summary (from Goodreads)
Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her. She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves—she has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.
Then a stranger enters her life--and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out...
Review:
I was actually disappointed in how this series ended, there was no big surprises, except for one small one, the book is all together slow, not really that exciting, book 2 was my favorite out of the trilogy, I just wanted to see how this series ended, Janie's choice with what she wanted to do with her life, and her relationship with Cabel and how it would end/continue. I liked the characters themselves, but I didn't like her mother, whatsoever throughout the entire series, otherwise the rest of the characters were good, they just weren't developed well throughout the entire series. The only characters you really knew about were Janie and Cabel, which would make sense, but I wish they developed more on her relationship with the Captain, and with her mother, even though I saw the Captain as more of a mother than Janie's actual mother.
2.5/5
Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her. She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves—she has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.
Then a stranger enters her life--and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out...
Review:
I was actually disappointed in how this series ended, there was no big surprises, except for one small one, the book is all together slow, not really that exciting, book 2 was my favorite out of the trilogy, I just wanted to see how this series ended, Janie's choice with what she wanted to do with her life, and her relationship with Cabel and how it would end/continue. I liked the characters themselves, but I didn't like her mother, whatsoever throughout the entire series, otherwise the rest of the characters were good, they just weren't developed well throughout the entire series. The only characters you really knew about were Janie and Cabel, which would make sense, but I wish they developed more on her relationship with the Captain, and with her mother, even though I saw the Captain as more of a mother than Janie's actual mother.
2.5/5
I remember this book being very hard to get through. It just wasn't as interesting as the other two books and I think the series kind of lost it's initial charm and needed a stronger plot at this point.
She added many twists to this one that complicate the story and leave the reader hooked to see what happens next. In the end though it works out mostly, though it still leaves you wondering. A nice end to the series I believe.
For me, the first few pages of this book were very powerful. Then it started to go downhill from there. Gone had it's ups and downs. The present tense narrative didn't bug me as much as it did in the previous books, but that's probably just because i got used to it. On the other hand, the first two books actually had a plot line, which made them more enjoyable. There was no real excitement in this book. Most of it dealt with the internal struggle of Janie as she tried to deal with her inevitable fate of becoming blind and crippled. There was no real content, because the struggle should have been in addition to an actual story. It was a fast read, and only 200 and something pages. This is one that makes me glad that I got it from the library...