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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This book was a 3 until the last two chapters. I’m still not convinced it was a 4, but it will definitely stay with me for a while. Chaotic, dystopian, and a disconcertingly believable prediction of our very near future. And yet, I’m left somehow hopeful?
4/5 or 7/10... It's hard to say. I really liked the first half of the book but have already forgotten the second half.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
The story is all too plausible and scary: however, the writing, the kids vs. adults dynamic, and Jack and the Children's Bible made it a compelling read.
Like most allegory, this is fun to think about and discuss--to isolate the parallels and discern the patterns. Compound that with the frequent biblical allusions, and I suspect this novel is a dream for teachers who treat novels like puzzles.
But like most allegory, it isn't all that much fun to read. Despite the myriad details that ground the novel in this exact moment (Amazon Prime, Nicki Minaj, etc.), not much here feels real. The characters are thin, and the action not a string of cause and effect so much as what happens between the big, allegorical necessities.
But the messages are clear. Who will suffer in the coming climate crisis? Not the yacht people. Why are we headed toward calamity? Well, start with the parents: escapist, self-blinding hedonists so driven by present pleasures that their response to the literal storm is an Ecstasy fueled orgy. Who has the heart to rebuild and save us? Wisdom comes from the bottom up, the youngest characters being the only ones to see things rightly.
The result is a novel that is perhaps more important than it is good, if such a distinction can be drawn. I'm unlikely to ever reread this one, but I'm also eager to untangle it with other readers.
But like most allegory, it isn't all that much fun to read. Despite the myriad details that ground the novel in this exact moment (Amazon Prime, Nicki Minaj, etc.), not much here feels real. The characters are thin, and the action not a string of cause and effect so much as what happens between the big, allegorical necessities.
But the messages are clear. Who will suffer in the coming climate crisis? Not the yacht people. Why are we headed toward calamity? Well, start with the parents: escapist, self-blinding hedonists so driven by present pleasures that their response to the literal storm is an Ecstasy fueled orgy. Who has the heart to rebuild and save us? Wisdom comes from the bottom up, the youngest characters being the only ones to see things rightly.
The result is a novel that is perhaps more important than it is good, if such a distinction can be drawn. I'm unlikely to ever reread this one, but I'm also eager to untangle it with other readers.
A cozy entry into the climate change/apocalypse genre. Highly readable. But I didn’t walk away with anything new after reading it.
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't know if I was quite as smitten as others have been by this blunt work that happily dismantles the wilful blindness so many of us have taken to in the face of catastrophic climate change, but I appreciate its rage and the whole thing had the momentum of a Category 5 storm.
Okay, so I had to sit with this bad boy because it gave me a lot of thoughts that needed to settle.
It was good, I couldn’t put it down. At times her writing confused me, mostly the sheer amount of teens and remembering who’s who and what traits go with them. It was a QUICK read. And as someone who finished the book, the author does everything in her power to keep you from knowing where the book is heading, honestly I’d recommend going into this bad boy blind like I did.
It starts off with the teens just brutally hating on their parents, at first it seems for no reason. They are just parents having a good time, and as a non teenager the parents seem pretty interesting for middle age folks. As a parent it made me wonder if my kids could ever have such disdain for me? Which made me sad.
The teens also were written in a way that just felt so much like teenagers. The angst! I loved it. I will say, they shit on their parents for being lame and wealthy and “sellouts” but at the same time fail to recognize how wealthy they are at the same time, and seeing their own privilege (this becomes more intense later on) they compare themselves to the Uber wealthy yacht kids but….you’re comparing a 100 to a 10 on a 1-10 scale, there’s still 1-9 below the kids.
**SPOILERS**
The weather event. Totally believable, giant hurricane up on the coast. Yup! I buy it. The way society collapsed in the amount of time and food running out was a bit interesting though. If it was an isolated area in the US wouldn’t other states be able to help? (She later states that everything collapsed at once do you drought and fires and floods elsewhere) I’m not sure I buy it happening like that. And that’s coming from someone who stresses about the climate apocalypse on the reg.
Also these teens. The decline/disappearance of the parents? It’s just so strange to me. I just don’t understand how a parent could do that. Obviously they were mentally dealing with the fall of society, and they weren’t perfect parent and we’re doing some hard drugs instead of taking care of their kids during the hurricane. It just gives gossip girl vibes, like I guess the elites just let their kids do whatever the fuck they want and they have no emotional attachment to their children???? Weird.
Also what the hell was going on with the owner???? And burl? And the angels??? Someone answer me!
It was good, I couldn’t put it down. At times her writing confused me, mostly the sheer amount of teens and remembering who’s who and what traits go with them. It was a QUICK read. And as someone who finished the book, the author does everything in her power to keep you from knowing where the book is heading, honestly I’d recommend going into this bad boy blind like I did.
It starts off with the teens just brutally hating on their parents, at first it seems for no reason. They are just parents having a good time, and as a non teenager the parents seem pretty interesting for middle age folks. As a parent it made me wonder if my kids could ever have such disdain for me? Which made me sad.
The teens also were written in a way that just felt so much like teenagers. The angst! I loved it. I will say, they shit on their parents for being lame and wealthy and “sellouts” but at the same time fail to recognize how wealthy they are at the same time, and seeing their own privilege (this becomes more intense later on) they compare themselves to the Uber wealthy yacht kids but….you’re comparing a 100 to a 10 on a 1-10 scale, there’s still 1-9 below the kids.
**SPOILERS**
The weather event. Totally believable, giant hurricane up on the coast. Yup! I buy it. The way society collapsed in the amount of time and food running out was a bit interesting though. If it was an isolated area in the US wouldn’t other states be able to help? (She later states that everything collapsed at once do you drought and fires and floods elsewhere) I’m not sure I buy it happening like that. And that’s coming from someone who stresses about the climate apocalypse on the reg.
Also these teens. The decline/disappearance of the parents? It’s just so strange to me. I just don’t understand how a parent could do that. Obviously they were mentally dealing with the fall of society, and they weren’t perfect parent and we’re doing some hard drugs instead of taking care of their kids during the hurricane. It just gives gossip girl vibes, like I guess the elites just let their kids do whatever the fuck they want and they have no emotional attachment to their children???? Weird.
Also what the hell was going on with the owner???? And burl? And the angels??? Someone answer me!