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3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
six kids from all around the world trapped in a strange in between place. four of the six kids are white. one of the others dies and the other one is evil. GREAT STORY. (that was sarcasm)
A lot of this book was really eerie. I loved that. I didn't know what was going on in the world for the majority of the book and it was interesting slowly figuring it out.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was excellent. I will try to keep this spoiler-free, so will just say...it kept me guessing. This was one of those that was exciting enough to keep me up till 2am finishing it because I had to know what happened. (I also think it'd be a brilliant miniseries) Interesting plot, fast paced, and I think a book that would appeal to many age groups and types of readers.
Devoured this book in a five hour session but can't quite give it five stars. It's a fast, easy read with a highly interesting and engaging first half and a disappointing ending. Point of view skips around three different characters but despite that they still seemed sort of underdeveloped. The plot moves along at a steady clip but nothing revealed is "shocking" - you constantly as though you are feel several revelations ahead of the characters.
For me, everything sort of unraveled interest-wise around the big reveal. Before that the tension and action and fear was really working for me and afterward it just seemed like a run-of-the-mill survival novel.
For me, everything sort of unraveled interest-wise around the big reveal. Before that the tension and action and fear was really working for me and afterward it just seemed like a run-of-the-mill survival novel.
My first issue with this novel was the lack of character development, and overall blandness of the characters themselves. They are described as being seventeen and eighteen years old, but their actions made them seem much younger. They made rash decisions, and all had similar voices making the story blur together in ways. And don’t even get me started on the insta-love.
I think the mistake that I made was that I went into this novel not knowing anything about it. From the cover and sort of vague synopsis on the back, I was expecting a thriller with some spook to it - but that’s not what I got. This novel could have been so much better than it was, and I’m disappointed that I couldn’t get more out of it.
Check out my entire review on my blog!
http://theprincessgummybearreviews.blogspot.ca/2018/02/strangelets-book-review.html
I think the mistake that I made was that I went into this novel not knowing anything about it. From the cover and sort of vague synopsis on the back, I was expecting a thriller with some spook to it - but that’s not what I got. This novel could have been so much better than it was, and I’m disappointed that I couldn’t get more out of it.
Check out my entire review on my blog!
http://theprincessgummybearreviews.blogspot.ca/2018/02/strangelets-book-review.html
3.5 stars
You could definitely feel the suspense as Gagnon brought readers to her conclusion. The entire first half of the book, I was on the edge of my seat wondering where she would go with it. The characters were well drawn, and I have to admit that my favorite character was Anat. There aren't a lot of kick butt Israeli girls in YA fiction. I kept reading just on her character alone. She generally had the best ideas, and her instincts were spot on.
I felt that the big reveal of why this was happening was rushed. Here are these kids blindly walking around and then bam, pages of explanation. Also, if you have a character who knows more information than you know, wouldn't logic dictate that you interrogate said character until they tell everything they know? It grates on my nerves when movies or books don't have unknowing people pestering the ones with the answers.
A big shout out to The Big Bang Theory in helping me understand some of the explanations given. If not for Sheldon Cooper, then some of the premise of the book would not have made sense.
I hate to say this, but I kinda wish the author had taken another 40 pages or so to slow down the ending. There was this great lead up to the ending, and I felt cheated with the end result. I don't know if there is a sequel being planned, but it felt like this was it. I'm not really sure where another book could go, but I would have like to see a little more explanation and not such a speedy conclusion.
And, as always I must mention the language. It was not prevalent as in every other sentence, but it was noticeable. Declan was the biggest offender, and with his accent he turned the f bomb into fecking on several occasions.
You could definitely feel the suspense as Gagnon brought readers to her conclusion. The entire first half of the book, I was on the edge of my seat wondering where she would go with it. The characters were well drawn, and I have to admit that my favorite character was Anat. There aren't a lot of kick butt Israeli girls in YA fiction. I kept reading just on her character alone. She generally had the best ideas, and her instincts were spot on.
I felt that the big reveal of why this was happening was rushed. Here are these kids blindly walking around and then bam, pages of explanation. Also, if you have a character who knows more information than you know, wouldn't logic dictate that you interrogate said character until they tell everything they know? It grates on my nerves when movies or books don't have unknowing people pestering the ones with the answers.
A big shout out to The Big Bang Theory in helping me understand some of the explanations given. If not for Sheldon Cooper, then some of the premise of the book would not have made sense.
I hate to say this, but I kinda wish the author had taken another 40 pages or so to slow down the ending. There was this great lead up to the ending, and I felt cheated with the end result. I don't know if there is a sequel being planned, but it felt like this was it. I'm not really sure where another book could go, but I would have like to see a little more explanation and not such a speedy conclusion.
And, as always I must mention the language. It was not prevalent as in every other sentence, but it was noticeable. Declan was the biggest offender, and with his accent he turned the f bomb into fecking on several occasions.
This is also posted at http://blog.hoffmeier.xyz/book-review-strangelets-by-michelle-gagnon/
My book club recently read *Strangelets*, which was an interesting story from the point of view of three teenagers facing the end of their lives. An unexpected twist puts leads them to a hospital ward and a terrifying quest, instead of the afterlife.
**WHAT I LIKED:** There were three distinct voices telling the story: Anat, Sophie, and Declan. As each character told his or her story, the reader would gain little tidbits of information about the mystery of why they ended up in the hospital ward, and why they were being chased by "bears." Moreover, it was easy to dislike Anat from the perspective of Sophie or Declan, but during Anat's chapters, her voice helped the reader sympathize with her predicament.
In addition, it was refreshing to see a story line that kept the reader asking, "Why did that just happen?" Putting clues together little by little, and forcing the characters to go on a quest, made the conclusion of the novel even more impressive.
The location and time period of the novel helped establish the science fiction elements. We know these characters should be dead, but they aren't. And, the reader knows that when the characters "died," American was not in an apocalyptic state. So, how did Anat, Declan, and Sophie end up in post-apocalyptic America? It's the driving question for the novel, and will be developed and revised as the story line progresses.
**WHAT I DISLIKED:** The characters of Yosh and Zain needed more development to make me want to care about them. Yes, they were integral to the story, and provided valuable insight for the mystery, but I wanted to empathize with them.
Also, the ending of the story seemed to wrap up a little too well for Sophie and Declan.
**RATED:** 4 Stars
The text kept my attention, and I wanted to know more about the character's and their predicament as the novel progressed.
My book club recently read *Strangelets*, which was an interesting story from the point of view of three teenagers facing the end of their lives. An unexpected twist puts leads them to a hospital ward and a terrifying quest, instead of the afterlife.
**WHAT I LIKED:** There were three distinct voices telling the story: Anat, Sophie, and Declan. As each character told his or her story, the reader would gain little tidbits of information about the mystery of why they ended up in the hospital ward, and why they were being chased by "bears." Moreover, it was easy to dislike Anat from the perspective of Sophie or Declan, but during Anat's chapters, her voice helped the reader sympathize with her predicament.
In addition, it was refreshing to see a story line that kept the reader asking, "Why did that just happen?" Putting clues together little by little, and forcing the characters to go on a quest, made the conclusion of the novel even more impressive.
The location and time period of the novel helped establish the science fiction elements. We know these characters should be dead, but they aren't. And, the reader knows that when the characters "died," American was not in an apocalyptic state. So, how did Anat, Declan, and Sophie end up in post-apocalyptic America? It's the driving question for the novel, and will be developed and revised as the story line progresses.
**WHAT I DISLIKED:** The characters of Yosh and Zain needed more development to make me want to care about them. Yes, they were integral to the story, and provided valuable insight for the mystery, but I wanted to empathize with them.
Also, the ending of the story seemed to wrap up a little too well for Sophie and Declan.
**RATED:** 4 Stars
The text kept my attention, and I wanted to know more about the character's and their predicament as the novel progressed.
This book was...odd. Still not sure how I feel about it.
Strangelets Strangelets starts off with a bang. Six teenage strangers wake up to find themselves locked in a mysterious location. Is it a lab? A hospital? No one really knows. The only thing that is certain is that all of them now have a common goal: survive. I have to admit that I was extremely curious as to what type of adventure Michelle Gagnon would be taking the teens and I on.
I had no problem settling into the world that was built for me. The characters, despite being complete strangers to one another, meshed really well together. I loved how each one had their own background story, and how they all culminated into something much bigger than what I was expecting. I won't deny that I felt a little rushed at times though. Gagnon does her best to fit a lot into the 288 pages that Strangelets contains, and sometimes my questions went unanswered.
Which brings me to the thing about Strangelets that really makes it a harder book to review. The first three-quarters of the book is pretty much non-stop action. I had so many questions as I watched these strangers band together to try and survive. Kudos to the author for the way she built the tension, and kept me guessing. However as I neared the end, all the action kind of culminated in a big pause. There was a huge explanation of what was really going on, with a lot of terms I struggled to understand, and then the ending. It felt a bit anticlimactic, especially since I felt so invested in their struggle.
To me, Strangelets is one of those books that I enjoyed reading but probably wouldn't read again. I liked the story line for the most part, felt for the characters, but was left a little unsatisfied at the end. Still, I know that if there were further adventures for these characters I'd be there to read them. As I said, very confusing to review. Suffice it to say that if you like stories that mix thrillers and science fiction, this is probably the perfect read for you.
I had no problem settling into the world that was built for me. The characters, despite being complete strangers to one another, meshed really well together. I loved how each one had their own background story, and how they all culminated into something much bigger than what I was expecting. I won't deny that I felt a little rushed at times though. Gagnon does her best to fit a lot into the 288 pages that Strangelets contains, and sometimes my questions went unanswered.
Which brings me to the thing about Strangelets that really makes it a harder book to review. The first three-quarters of the book is pretty much non-stop action. I had so many questions as I watched these strangers band together to try and survive. Kudos to the author for the way she built the tension, and kept me guessing. However as I neared the end, all the action kind of culminated in a big pause. There was a huge explanation of what was really going on, with a lot of terms I struggled to understand, and then the ending. It felt a bit anticlimactic, especially since I felt so invested in their struggle.
To me, Strangelets is one of those books that I enjoyed reading but probably wouldn't read again. I liked the story line for the most part, felt for the characters, but was left a little unsatisfied at the end. Still, I know that if there were further adventures for these characters I'd be there to read them. As I said, very confusing to review. Suffice it to say that if you like stories that mix thrillers and science fiction, this is probably the perfect read for you.