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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
A boat arrives at the remote island on which Sky and River have spent the majority of their lives. They can’t recall ever living in California, where the men who’ve come to “rescue” them are from. But now that their parents are dead, River and Sky follow the men to the unfamiliar world for the sake of their survival. Once in California, a media frenzy descends on the pair as they’re thrust into a scary new world wholly unlike the place where they grew up. Meanwhile, they learn terrifying family secrets and their relationships, old and new, are transformed in uncomfortable, shocking ways. Sky is left bereft and bewildered. “Now I am a girl without a place,” the 16-year-old laments. In this “reverse dystopian” novel, Cantor (Margot, 2013) skillfully invites the reader to see our world and all its shortcomings and idiosyncrasies through Sky’s questioning gaze. Readers will be captivated as Sky struggles to navigate her new universe, one that we know intimately but may never look at the same way again. — Lexi Walters Wright, First published May 1, 2014 (Booklist).
There's something off in my brain that just prevents me from enjoying any contemporary that isn't light and fluffy. I know, I know. This is "reverse dystopian" but to me it just read like a regular issue contemporary. This is a well written, well characterized, well plotted book but it just didn't speak to me.
Above all, this book is a tragedy. It's tragic what happened to Sky and River to begin with (essentially being stolen away to be raised in isolation) and even more tragic when the well meaning people in Sky's life do nothing but destroy her because actually understanding and helping Sky is simply out of their human limitations.
Probably what gripped me most was watching Sky's understanding of modern American life. It was captivating to view our society through her eyes. She puts in stark relief our hypocrisies and it was alternately refreshing and awful to see.
I can't imagine you wouldn't like this one if you enjoy grappling with tough subjects, adore totally sweet/non-asshole love interests, and care more for character development and exploration than plot in your reading experience. It just wasn't a Kim Book but it could very well be a You Book.
Above all, this book is a tragedy. It's tragic what happened to Sky and River to begin with (essentially being stolen away to be raised in isolation) and even more tragic when the well meaning people in Sky's life do nothing but destroy her because actually understanding and helping Sky is simply out of their human limitations.
Probably what gripped me most was watching Sky's understanding of modern American life. It was captivating to view our society through her eyes. She puts in stark relief our hypocrisies and it was alternately refreshing and awful to see.
I can't imagine you wouldn't like this one if you enjoy grappling with tough subjects, adore totally sweet/non-asshole love interests, and care more for character development and exploration than plot in your reading experience. It just wasn't a Kim Book but it could very well be a You Book.
A little slow in the beginning. I didn't like the speech pattern that Sky and River used -- but I understand the need for the writing technique. The story picked up toward the end. I don't know if I really liked Sky, so I had a more difficult time getting through this book.
Well, this one seriously surprised me. I had absolutely no expectations going in, except that the cover was beautiful. This was one where the cover matched the story perfectly.
Meet Sky and River. Two kids who were raised on a place called Island for almost their entire lives. With only her mother and his father, the four of them survived for years on their little paradise. Not knowing any different, Sky believed that there was no other way of life. Even after their two parental figures 'go out to the ocean', River and Sky proceed to survive by themselves. When one day, a boat arrives and sends everything they ever knew into chaos.
Searching For Sky is told from the point of view of Sky. With little education and no knowledge of the real world, you're instantly drowning along with her as she struggles to play catch up. Living with her grandmother in California, everything is foreign. And not having River with her has her feeling extremely alone.
Sky is basically a child, having to learn words for everything and have them make sense in her mind. Her struggle was heavy and I felt for her. The author did an amazing job at making you feel everything Sky was going for. And when she finally finds River, I loved watching the two of them interact. River was this force that always had control over Sky, but she was always the stronger one, and that comes across in the way she tries to adapt versus the way River does. Honestly, River's story is heartbreaking.
Why I couldn't give this one five stars had to do with the way Sky's grandmother tried to 'help' her. All of the psychologists that were brought in didn't seem to understand that in all essence Sky was a child. There was so much emphasis on acting normal and being normal. I just felt like that wasn't how the situation would have been handled. There would have been more compassion and trying to understand.
But honestly, that was my only qualm. This story tugged at my heart strings and brought tears to my eyes. I definitely recommend this one.
I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Meet Sky and River. Two kids who were raised on a place called Island for almost their entire lives. With only her mother and his father, the four of them survived for years on their little paradise. Not knowing any different, Sky believed that there was no other way of life. Even after their two parental figures 'go out to the ocean', River and Sky proceed to survive by themselves. When one day, a boat arrives and sends everything they ever knew into chaos.
Searching For Sky is told from the point of view of Sky. With little education and no knowledge of the real world, you're instantly drowning along with her as she struggles to play catch up. Living with her grandmother in California, everything is foreign. And not having River with her has her feeling extremely alone.
Sky is basically a child, having to learn words for everything and have them make sense in her mind. Her struggle was heavy and I felt for her. The author did an amazing job at making you feel everything Sky was going for. And when she finally finds River, I loved watching the two of them interact. River was this force that always had control over Sky, but she was always the stronger one, and that comes across in the way she tries to adapt versus the way River does. Honestly, River's story is heartbreaking.
Why I couldn't give this one five stars had to do with the way Sky's grandmother tried to 'help' her. All of the psychologists that were brought in didn't seem to understand that in all essence Sky was a child. There was so much emphasis on acting normal and being normal. I just felt like that wasn't how the situation would have been handled. There would have been more compassion and trying to understand.
But honestly, that was my only qualm. This story tugged at my heart strings and brought tears to my eyes. I definitely recommend this one.
I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really loved the concept of this book—a girl is rescued from her lifelong captor, but she has no idea there's a modern world out there, let alone how to function in it. Looking at our everyday world through the eyes of a character who has never experienced it was really great, but the delivery fell short as far as the plot goes. It seemed very dramatic, unrealistic, and soap-opera-y.
My full review is posted on my blog.
My full review is posted on my blog.
I found the premise of this book interesting, but it was sad. Sky faces continuous tragedy, confusion, and separation as she tries to come to terms with living in California with her grandmother after being "rescued" from a remote island.
* I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.
* I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.
For as long as Sky can remember, she's lived with her mother, a man named Helmut, and Helmut's son River. It's only the four of them, alone on Island. Their lives are ones of basic survival, but Sky is happy. She knows nothing else.
But now her mother and Helmut are dead, and a boat has come, and she has to adjust to life in California -- where, her mother used to tell her, people are nothing but skeletons; where everything is big and loud and different; where her grandmother -- a word she doesn't know and a woman she doesn't remember -- is responsible for her.
I've read a handful of feral-child stories, and although they intrigue me I'm always left wanting. The same held true here. There were so many problems -- not necessarily with the story or the writing, but with the way all the 'professionals' and 'experts' reacted. Nobody tries to teach Sky even a little more about modern life before releasing her from hospital. Everyone (save the Boy -- although, thankfully, this isn't a normal YA romance in which the Boy comes in and saves her and everything is perfect) is shocked every time Sky doesn't know something. Almost everyone insists on using a name she can't remember. The 'expert' brought in to bring her up to speed thinks Sky is basically a two-year-old in a teenage body, development-wise, when really it's more like she's an immigrant who doesn't speak the dialect and isn't used to modern technology but is perfectly intelligent. The 'expert' shrink is hell-bent on getting Sky to reveal the (nonexistent) Deep and Terrible Treatment from Helmut over the last sixteen years. Everyone, and I mean everyone, writes River off as a terrible person because he was used in an awful way when he was a little tiny kid.
So yeah. No wonder Sky has problems adjusting.
But I also would have loved to see more explanation of Sky as well -- I mean, yes, she grew up without toilets and doors and baked goods and cars -- but did her mother never even mention such things? And her mother really didn't even try to teach her to read? Because you can bet that, if I were stuck on an island with my very small child with no hope of (or interest in) leaving, I'd teach her to read. Just in case. I'd write in the sand, or with charcoal on trees or bark. I'd make up stories. Just in case. Helmut is a big factor here, I'm sure, but there's so much that -- well, that could have come up, but that apparently didn't.
So it's interesting. I love that it's not your stereotypical romance. I love that it doesn't tie up with a neat bow in the end. But I don't love that it's all working towards this Big Reveal about what really happened, so it ends with Sky still adjusting to modern life -- I wish it had taken Sky further.
But now her mother and Helmut are dead, and a boat has come, and she has to adjust to life in California -- where, her mother used to tell her, people are nothing but skeletons; where everything is big and loud and different; where her grandmother -- a word she doesn't know and a woman she doesn't remember -- is responsible for her.
I've read a handful of feral-child stories, and although they intrigue me I'm always left wanting. The same held true here. There were so many problems -- not necessarily with the story or the writing, but with the way all the 'professionals' and 'experts' reacted. Nobody tries to teach Sky even a little more about modern life before releasing her from hospital. Everyone (save the Boy -- although, thankfully, this isn't a normal YA romance in which the Boy comes in and saves her and everything is perfect) is shocked every time Sky doesn't know something. Almost everyone insists on using a name she can't remember. The 'expert' brought in to bring her up to speed thinks Sky is basically a two-year-old in a teenage body, development-wise, when really it's more like she's an immigrant who doesn't speak the dialect and isn't used to modern technology but is perfectly intelligent. The 'expert' shrink is hell-bent on getting Sky to reveal the (nonexistent) Deep and Terrible Treatment from Helmut over the last sixteen years. Everyone, and I mean everyone, writes River off as a terrible person because he was used in an awful way when he was a little tiny kid.
So yeah. No wonder Sky has problems adjusting.
But I also would have loved to see more explanation of Sky as well -- I mean, yes, she grew up without toilets and doors and baked goods and cars -- but did her mother never even mention such things? And her mother really didn't even try to teach her to read? Because you can bet that, if I were stuck on an island with my very small child with no hope of (or interest in) leaving, I'd teach her to read. Just in case. I'd write in the sand, or with charcoal on trees or bark. I'd make up stories. Just in case. Helmut is a big factor here, I'm sure, but there's so much that -- well, that could have come up, but that apparently didn't.
So it's interesting. I love that it's not your stereotypical romance. I love that it doesn't tie up with a neat bow in the end. But I don't love that it's all working towards this Big Reveal about what really happened, so it ends with Sky still adjusting to modern life -- I wish it had taken Sky further.
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rate: 3.25/5
[THERE ARE A LITTLE BIT SPOILERS]
It's really sad to think that what Sky is going through (the post trauma) is what every victims has to go through. It's also sad that the people in California, especially the Grandmother doesn't even care and doesn't give a damn about River. All bcs of smth he poisoned almost everybody at his dad’s cult farm. TO WHICH IT WAS WHEN HE WAS A KID AND HE DIDN'T KNOW A THING. When I reach the part where Sky found out that River was living as a homeless person, my eyes got watery. Like the dude just experience the most traumatic experience and this was how ppl treated him. Even the Military Hospital didn't give a damn abt him. He didn't even know the right way of wearing a shirt, what a gun was, had to eat food that's not protein and etc. While Sky has the privilege of giving the treatment she needed. And to make it sadder, Sky even had to teached him and they even planned to run away bcs they couldn't deal with how ppl treated them. God, I feel sad for River :( RIP River :(
[THERE ARE A LITTLE BIT SPOILERS]
It's really sad to think that what Sky is going through (the post trauma) is what every victims has to go through. It's also sad that the people in California, especially the Grandmother doesn't even care and doesn't give a damn about River. All bcs of smth he poisoned almost everybody at his dad’s cult farm. TO WHICH IT WAS WHEN HE WAS A KID AND HE DIDN'T KNOW A THING. When I reach the part where Sky found out that River was living as a homeless person, my eyes got watery. Like the dude just experience the most traumatic experience and this was how ppl treated him. Even the Military Hospital didn't give a damn abt him. He didn't even know the right way of wearing a shirt, what a gun was, had to eat food that's not protein and etc. While Sky has the privilege of giving the treatment she needed. And to make it sadder, Sky even had to teached him and they even planned to run away bcs they couldn't deal with how ppl treated them. God, I feel sad for River :( RIP River :(
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes