Reviews

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

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decayoflyre's review

2.0

I don't think I understood anything from this book, but it gave me some old, good 2013 ya sci-fic vibes

I have read very little of Ahern's work, but have read other authors in the past who have successfully moved from adult to YA writing (Sophie Kinsella most successfully, recently) and was interested to see how this different-sounding genre played out.

I love dystopia, I love exploring the worlds that authors create, and Ahern's is great, if based on a theme that is familiar. In Celestine's world, if you aren't perfect, you are Flawed - branded in one of five ways that shows all of society your flaws, and you are treated as a second class citizen.

Part Blind Assassin, part Rosa Parks story, Celestine is pretty much perfect - perfect student, daughter, girlfriend to a judge's son. But a moment of compassion leads her to break a rule and face the legal and moral judgement of her society.

Teenagers will love this idea - one mistake and you are marked for life. And Celestine's moment of failing is one that nobody reading could fail to empathise with, the injustice of her potential punishment vindictive and extreme.

The creation of her world is excellent, and there are scenes of intensity and power in prison and beyond as Celestine must cope with a change in her life and in the way she is viewed. I enjoyed the family scenes and how we gradually learn a little more about them all.

The typical 'teenage' scenes were a bit sketchily drawn or carelessly created, I thought. In prison, Celestine meets an enigmatic but silent prisoner, also due for branding. There is, of course, a 'connection', but then he disappears for almost the whole running length of the book, which was frustrating, as I found him much more interesting than The Boyfriend. And Celestine puts herself in a situation that both her sister and her readers are all screaming at her to avoid, and though it's an uncomfortable and unsettling scene, it didn't feel realistic that she would get into it without consideration.

The Flawed world is fascinating, maddening and horrific. The teenage love interest stories and characters nothing we haven't seen before.

To be followed by others in a series, it's an interesting direction for Ahern to take, and mostly she handles the genre well. Celestine needs to be matched by an equally well-drawn male in the next book though, one with much more 'page time'.

Review of a NetGalley advance reading copy.

megancperry's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a pleasant surprise! I'd initially bought this for a pound - because, well, it was a pound - without knowing too much. After doing a little research, I read that there was a love triangle. And so my expectations dropped. A lot. However, I decided to give this a chance and I'm very glad that I did.

For a book which seemed romance, this wasn't that prominent. Sure, the main character has a boyfriend and she talks quite a bit about him towards the beginning, but for the second half, when she sort of wakes up to reality, finally she quietens down. There wasn't even that much romance in this, which pleased me because I could not stand another annoying love triangle (although I suspect this will come in the next book).

Putting all that aside, this was very enjoyable! The entire concept of the world was intriguing and I was glad when immediately the mc is thrown into the deep end and her whole life is turned upside down. Reading her internal monologue as she questions all she's been taught throughout her childhood was fascinating and I found her character quite admirable at times; standing up to the immoral social constructs of the dystopian society.

I look forward to reading [b:Perfect|35906309|Perfect|Cecelia Ahern|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501772905s/35906309.jpg|57431042], the conclusion to the Flawed duology, soon.

flitzpiepe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

izzys_internet_bookshelf's review

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3.0

3.5/5

This has to be one of the better dystopian I have read that have come out lately (Ish). I enjoyed the plot and the messed up rules. I think I might read the second book but i don't really know. The characters remind me of a mix of Matched with Divergent and a little bit of the Giver.

lisaar91's review

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5.0

I received this book for free from net galley in exchange for a review.

I absolutely loved this. Personally I haven't read much of Cecilia Ahern's stuff, purely because I tend to avoid the 'chick lit' but I do love a good old dystopian novel. And this delivered. Too often young adult novels of this kind are poor copies of one another.

I loved Celestine. This sort of reminded me of the hunger games, purely in the sense of a female hero who is actually likeable. Even though for chapters at a time, not too much actually happened in terms of location or much development etc. I still couldn't put it down.

I've since read that this is in development to be a film and I can't wait. I'll definitely be reading the next!

One thing I will add. I don't think I like Art... Just a gut feeling.