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melancholymegs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
paracosim's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Well, this is probably one of the more grim books I’ve ever read. What a bleak setting and even more bleak ending . The characters really shine in this book, along with the island itself and the history behind it all. I had no way of predicting the entirety of the plot—and I say that as a good thing. This is more of a thriller novel than a story about sisters finding each other. This is a sad story in general. Geez. I feel like I need a drink after reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Deportation
mirandyli's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
A cute sci fi book about familial love with great Asian representation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
the_laibararian's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death and Classism
Minor: Chronic illness, Suicide, and Death of parent
emily_journals's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think a lot of the elements and pieces of this book were really well thought out and interesting, but in the end did not end up being executed as well as I initially hoped.
The world building was compelling where it existed, but a lot of the world was left to the reader to fill in the gaps because of the way the author wants to present the plot twist. The world building especially hindered the amount of exploration both the themes and characters could have. This book is also a very character driven book, but for being such a character driven and plot light book, the characters did not get enough development, especially for a lot of the very important side characters. The themes of this book feel very relevant and I enjoyed them, I don't think the rest of the elements, such as the character development and world building, were fleshed out enough to highlight and fully explore all of the themes in this book.
Overall, I think there were a lot of the building blocks and general ideas to make a great book, but the execution and exploration of all the elements together did not do enough to make this book anything exceptional.
The world building was compelling where it existed, but a lot of the world was left to the reader to fill in the gaps because of the way the author wants to present the plot twist. The world building especially hindered the amount of exploration both the themes and characters could have. This book is also a very character driven book, but for being such a character driven and plot light book, the characters did not get enough development, especially for a lot of the very important side characters. The themes of this book feel very relevant and I enjoyed them, I don't think the rest of the elements, such as the character development and world building, were fleshed out enough to highlight and fully explore all of the themes in this book.
Overall, I think there were a lot of the building blocks and general ideas to make a great book, but the execution and exploration of all the elements together did not do enough to make this book anything exceptional.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence, Suicide, Medical content, and Abandonment
eh1736's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness and Classism
biblioghoul's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Classism
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Climate crisis, pollution, natural disasters. Missing person, disappearance at sea. Strangulation/suffocation. Near drowning. Internalized ableism (neurodivergent-coded character experiences emotions in a way she views as "wrong" and "inhuman"). Needles (tattooing).sarahweyand's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don't really have many thoughts on this book. I didn't really know what to expect going in and while I think the experience was overall enjoyable, I don't think it left a lasting impression on me. I thought the twist was interesting, but I was also confused for a lot of the book (and I consider myself to be a pretty attentive reader). It felt like Joan He had a lot she wanted to say with what she wrote, but I don't think there was enough depth on any of them to be impactful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Death
annavdn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
A lesson in not judging a book by its cover. Although this book has a beautiful cover, this book was a big disappointment. I found myself falling asleep while reading the first half of the book. I really had to push myself to keep reading. The book became more interesting once Cee/Celia managed to set sail, and got suspenseful when Hero, her love interest, tried to kill her and she ties him up and kills him before he is revived, because he is also a bot and his purpose is to stop her who is believed to be the bot Cee . The chapters following made the preceding chapters where Cee/Celia was the narrator more understandable. That Cee/Celia died several years ago, and that the Cee/Celia we know is a bot created by her sister, Kasey/Kay, and that the words "Cee. Find Me." coming to her mind was a command that was programed into the bot that could pursue happiness and felt emotions, which is why Cee/Celia sought autonomy. Also, I don't really understand Kasey/Kay's motivation to put part of Cee/Celia's real brain into the bot only for her to tell bot Cee that she didn't regard her as a sister. Why give her the memories at all? Why let the bot feel sisterhood for Kay/Kasey when it wasn't reciprocated? It just seems cruel. And the only purpose of the bot, according to Kay/Kasey is to find out if Earth is habitable for humankind à la Eve in Pixar's Wall-E. It is also important to note that the bot identifies as Cee and she calls the human version of herself Celia.
Kasey appears to be autistic although it isn't explicitly stated in the book. However, she is a STEM prodigy, so even if she is neurodivergent, she falls into the genre of autistic character with savant syndrome. It's very cliché and savant syndrome in autistic people is quite rare. I also don't like how scientific advancement is their solution for climate change. Sometimes the solution is simple, which is coexisting with nature rather than trying to rule over it. When we think about areas with less pollution and more biodiversity (such as dark sky reserves or national parks) they are largely inhabited by native americans or indigenous people. That seems the way to go rather than the type of environmentalism that is centered in this book, which seems very imperialist. There was also a quote in chapter 37(?) that goes : "Would people ever willingly give up their freedoms for the good of others?" I found this quote to imply that the culture was individualist rather than collectivist, which is common in Western imperialist countries.
Romance was between Hero (who Celia/Cee initially tried to name Dmitri, Tristan, and Heath - Dmitri and Tristan being two characters who exist, but aren't important) and x Celia/Cee and between Antinium and Kasey/Kay. The romance was unnecessary and I think I would have rathered it not be included in the book at all. I am not certain what race the male love interests are, but I am under the assumption that they are both white, Hero especially due to the other names that Celia/Cee tried to give him along with the fact that he is mentioned to have blue eyes.Either way, both of the male love interests betray their counterparts, Antinium especially, whose goal is to get rid of all humanity (an eco-fascist philosophy). As a wasian, I just think it's tacky to see white love interests for Asian characters and I wish this was an interracial mix that was less prevalent in media. Unrelated to romance, the other characters that exist in this book are not super relevant, but none of the characters are developed.
Kasey appears to be autistic although it isn't explicitly stated in the book. However, she is a STEM prodigy, so even if she is neurodivergent, she falls into the genre of autistic character with savant syndrome. It's very cliché and savant syndrome in autistic people is quite rare. I also don't like how scientific advancement is their solution for climate change. Sometimes the solution is simple, which is coexisting with nature rather than trying to rule over it. When we think about areas with less pollution and more biodiversity (such as dark sky reserves or national parks) they are largely inhabited by native americans or indigenous people. That seems the way to go rather than the type of environmentalism that is centered in this book, which seems very imperialist. There was also a quote in chapter 37(?) that goes : "Would people ever willingly give up their freedoms for the good of others?" I found this quote to imply that the culture was individualist rather than collectivist, which is common in Western imperialist countries.
Romance was between Hero (who Celia/Cee initially tried to name Dmitri, Tristan, and Heath - Dmitri and Tristan being two characters who exist, but aren't important) and x Celia/Cee and between Antinium and Kasey/Kay. The romance was unnecessary and I think I would have rathered it not be included in the book at all. I am not certain what race the male love interests are, but I am under the assumption that they are both white, Hero especially due to the other names that Celia/Cee tried to give him along with the fact that he is mentioned to have blue eyes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Classism
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia