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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I was so ready to love this book, but for some reason, I just didn't. The book did revolve around Noah's fascinations and the subtle changes, however the premise wasn't as much of Noah trying to uncover the mystery as I thought it might be. The characters were all very wholesome and loveable, I just overall felt like the book was a little bit too slow. I definitely get that the repetitiveness was a huge part of the theme of the story, but when paired with the somewhat "ordinary" events occuring throughout the story, it didn't really began to lose my interest. Finally, I'm not sure if this is a lack of understanding on my part, but there might've been a few plot holes?
**SPOILER**
I don't really understand how a figment of Noah's imagination while he was in the simulation could result in being so similar to what actually ended up happening in real life. For example, when he met with the Fading woman, or talked to Mr. Elan after waking up, both interactions were relatively similar to how it played out while under the simulation. However, I was a little confused by all the science and technical details explained in the end, so it could've been something I just missed.
**SPOILER**
I don't really understand how a figment of Noah's imagination while he was in the simulation could result in being so similar to what actually ended up happening in real life. For example, when he met with the Fading woman, or talked to Mr. Elan after waking up, both interactions were relatively similar to how it played out while under the simulation. However, I was a little confused by all the science and technical details explained in the end, so it could've been something I just missed.
It's a rare day that you find the exact book you're needing. It's probably even more rare to find that book at random, a shot in the dark of what you might want in a massive bookstore.
It's safe to say though, that this novel is one of most necessary of my life. I don't know when I'll stop thinking about it
I would recommend going into this gem knowing almost nothing.
'... the trick is knowing the difference between being alone and being lonely. As for not knowing what's next... sometimes I don't know what I'm writing until it's written. Sometimes I don't know where I'm going until I'm there.'
It's safe to say though, that this novel is one of most necessary of my life. I don't know when I'll stop thinking about it
I would recommend going into this gem knowing almost nothing.
'... the trick is knowing the difference between being alone and being lonely. As for not knowing what's next... sometimes I don't know what I'm writing until it's written. Sometimes I don't know where I'm going until I'm there.'
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
How does he come up with something like this?
It was weird and amazing and I loved every second of it. That is all.
It was weird and amazing and I loved every second of it. That is all.
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So, basically, That was disappointing, but the rest of the ride was great. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Spoiler
"and then I woke up and it was all a dream!"
I was absolutely LOVING this and then a thing happened which made me like it less. This is going to be a spoiler review full of spoilers because it is impossible to write about this without discussing the twist 4/5ths of the way in.
Okay, first of all, not spoilers. Noah is a teenage boy with friends (boy and girl twins, the boy is his best friend, is super gay and totally awesome, the girl is his second best friend who he almost started a relationship with but it upset their delicate triangle balance so that idea was dropped immediately so they're all just best friends and it's great and I love them), he has a younger sister and great parents and a completely nice decent suburban life. In a lot of ways, he reminded me of Simon Spier from Becky Albertelli's "Simon Vs. The Home Sapiens Agenda".
Noah is approaching the end of high school and panicking about going to college. He doesn't like his path (swimming scholarship) because he doesn't like swimming. He doesn't want to separate from his friends but he also is feeling confined by them to a role he's had since he was 10 and they first became friends. He's basically your average 17 year old with a life crisis. And then SOMETHING HAPPENS and the world changes almost imperceptibly except to Noah who is pinpointing the tiny differences between what his world used to be like and his world now. Like his best friend used to be DC all the way and is now Marvel. His second best friend used to be an online trendsetting Instagrammer with movies and is now with music. His mom has a face scar she didn't have before. But some things haven't changed, his 4 strange fascinations and his sister, primarily.
The writing is amazing. The characters. The character driven plot. The character development of Noah and the relational development with his friends/family. The language used! The phrasings! The situational parsing. There are so many absolute perfect gems of scenes or dialogue or internal monologue. And I LOVED IT.
And then, SPOILERS!!!
So basically, I love it and give it huge recommendation but also with that slight spoiler caveat that the last fifth is not QUITE as engagingly written as the first 4/5ths. But it's still great! And something I will fully read again, unlike David Arnold's other book where a terrible thing happens to a cat and I can never ever read it again. ("Kids of Appetite")
Okay, first of all, not spoilers. Noah is a teenage boy with friends (boy and girl twins, the boy is his best friend, is super gay and totally awesome, the girl is his second best friend who he almost started a relationship with but it upset their delicate triangle balance so that idea was dropped immediately so they're all just best friends and it's great and I love them), he has a younger sister and great parents and a completely nice decent suburban life. In a lot of ways, he reminded me of Simon Spier from Becky Albertelli's "Simon Vs. The Home Sapiens Agenda".
Noah is approaching the end of high school and panicking about going to college. He doesn't like his path (swimming scholarship) because he doesn't like swimming. He doesn't want to separate from his friends but he also is feeling confined by them to a role he's had since he was 10 and they first became friends. He's basically your average 17 year old with a life crisis. And then SOMETHING HAPPENS and the world changes almost imperceptibly except to Noah who is pinpointing the tiny differences between what his world used to be like and his world now. Like his best friend used to be DC all the way and is now Marvel. His second best friend used to be an online trendsetting Instagrammer with movies and is now with music. His mom has a face scar she didn't have before. But some things haven't changed, his 4 strange fascinations and his sister, primarily.
The writing is amazing. The characters. The character driven plot. The character development of Noah and the relational development with his friends/family. The language used! The phrasings! The situational parsing. There are so many absolute perfect gems of scenes or dialogue or internal monologue. And I LOVED IT.
And then, SPOILERS!!!
Spoiler
It turns out that all the changes are because Noah has been in a forced sleep mode with a mind-altering cap thing on and it's science and a semi insane crazy other teenage boy he had met at a party and NOTHING of the last 3 months/four-fifths of the book has been real or actually happened and it's a huge let down and it feels that way in the writing as well. So much of the glittery verve goes out of the writing at this point and maybe it's just coming back to reality and dealing with it and bad things have happened in the couple hours Noah has been a rat in a maze and now he/the reader has to deal with the fall out of those and it's really real but man oh man, it still feels like a different book for that last fifth and not in a good way.So basically, I love it and give it huge recommendation but also with that slight spoiler caveat that the last fifth is not QUITE as engagingly written as the first 4/5ths. But it's still great! And something I will fully read again, unlike David Arnold's other book where a terrible thing happens to a cat and I can never ever read it again. ("Kids of Appetite")
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
88% | B+
You should read this book if you like:
Quirky YA, Mosquitoland, Bowie-loving teens, questioning reality, wormholes, coming of age stories, parallel universes, lovely prose
You should read this book if you like:
Quirky YA, Mosquitoland, Bowie-loving teens, questioning reality, wormholes, coming of age stories, parallel universes, lovely prose