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autumnwitch14's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Colonisation, Genocide, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: War, Cancer, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death
Minor: Alcohol, Self harm, Gun violence, Mental illness, Body shaming, Suicide, Torture, Dysphoria, Grief, and Bullying
skillyillian's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
i reread this for the first time since i was 16-17 and it did not hold up as well as i had hoped. there's parts that are still good but some stuff just gave me the ick. The characters are really well built, with their own personalities and flaws, and the worldbuilding post-alien-takeover is intriguing. i liked hearing about the other alien races. the plot takes ages and ages to get going, and even then, the action parts are very minimal. it's 600 pages of wanda getting to know people and being scared of all of them.
my biggest complaint is the romance plot. Jared and ian are toxic as fuck in their own ways. they each have a girlfriend living inside the same body and don't respect the other woman they're sharing with. Ian wants Wanda but tends to ignore it when Wanda says Melanie doesn't like him touching them. Jared touches them but acts like Wanda isn't also feeling it. He ignores that she's in love with him and whenever Ian brings up Wanda's feelings about something, Jared is completely shocked that she would have an opinion or feelings in the first place. He's cruel to her for almost the entire time.
the other issue is that stephenie meyer continues to be someone who cannot let an FMC age above 20 years old. like at all. melanie and jared met when she was SEVENTEEN and he was TWENTY-SIX. i don't give a shit if you're the last humans on earth, knock that the hell off. if anything it worsens the power imbalance. and at the end, they go to find a new body for wanda and collectively choose an actual child. wanda lies about her body's age because ian is a "respectable man" so if he knows her age he won't want to be with her. but the entire time, from the second wanda becomes aware she's in another human body until the very end, it's made obnoxiously clear that she's teeny tiny itty bitty in every way. between those two things, there's not a chance they didn't realize she was a minor. turning 18 doesn't magically age you out of looking like, or being, a teenager. HAVE YA LOST YA MIND BOY, CUZ I'LL HELP YA FIND IT.
that's two different relationships, both of them main character end game romances, where there's a girl who is unquestionably and visibly a minor, who is with a much older man. melanie isn't a minor by the end of the book but it's still made clear that she and jared slept together before she was captured by the souls. this is the kind of shit that influences teenagers to think there's nothing wrong with a grown ass man flirting with them. at the very least, either age the girls up or make the men younger.
anyway, point being, the characters and world are thoroughly written, the plot is slow going, and stephenie meyer is yet another author who says her book is for adults but is writing FMCs that end up being just another tiny, translucently pale child bride. if she would change their ages so they're not children having sex with adults, and write people who respect the consent of everyone involved in a relationship, book would've been scored way higher.
my biggest complaint is the romance plot. Jared and ian are toxic as fuck in their own ways. they each have a girlfriend living inside the same body and don't respect the other woman they're sharing with. Ian wants Wanda but tends to ignore it when Wanda says Melanie doesn't like him touching them. Jared touches them but acts like Wanda isn't also feeling it. He ignores that she's in love with him and whenever Ian brings up Wanda's feelings about something, Jared is completely shocked that she would have an opinion or feelings in the first place. He's cruel to her for almost the entire time.
the other issue is that stephenie meyer continues to be someone who cannot let an FMC age above 20 years old. like at all. melanie and jared met when she was SEVENTEEN and he was TWENTY-SIX. i don't give a shit if you're the last humans on earth, knock that the hell off. if anything it worsens the power imbalance. and at the end, they go to find a new body for wanda and collectively choose an actual child. wanda lies about her body's age because ian is a "respectable man" so if he knows her age he won't want to be with her. but the entire time, from the second wanda becomes aware she's in another human body until the very end, it's made obnoxiously clear that she's teeny tiny itty bitty in every way. between those two things, there's not a chance they didn't realize she was a minor. turning 18 doesn't magically age you out of looking like, or being, a teenager. HAVE YA LOST YA MIND BOY, CUZ I'LL HELP YA FIND IT.
that's two different relationships, both of them main character end game romances, where there's a girl who is unquestionably and visibly a minor, who is with a much older man. melanie isn't a minor by the end of the book but it's still made clear that she and jared slept together before she was captured by the souls. this is the kind of shit that influences teenagers to think there's nothing wrong with a grown ass man flirting with them. at the very least, either age the girls up or make the men younger.
anyway, point being, the characters and world are thoroughly written, the plot is slow going, and stephenie meyer is yet another author who says her book is for adults but is writing FMCs that end up being just another tiny, translucently pale child bride. if she would change their ages so they're not children having sex with adults, and write people who respect the consent of everyone involved in a relationship, book would've been scored way higher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Self harm, Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Confinement, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Colonisation, Kidnapping, and Medical content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence
agatha_hopkins's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Confinement
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Xenophobia, Genocide, Emotional abuse, and Death
Wanderer/Melanie almost die of dehydration in the middle of nowhere.housedesignerking's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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? No
3.0
I am...astonished. I had a love/hate relationship with this book. A friendship ended because me talking about this book (guy was childish). Sometimes, I found it (the book) unsettling. The unsettling bits were not disturbing, but they were just really deep. That's the only way I can describe it. After reading this, I just can't agree with those who make fun of this author. I thought I was gonna hate this book, but I actually love it. At one point, I had almost given up on reading it, but in the end, a part of me just had to know what happened to Melanie/Wanderer. So I'm glad I kept reading this book.
I can't remember when I first heard of this book. I just remember hearing that it had something to do with aliens and thought, "Meh. Alien books and movies are usually lame." It probably was around the time I started up my Goodreads and added Meyer's first Twilight book to my to-read shelf. This is a book I never thought I'd read, but then a friend decides to suggest it to me so we could go see the movie together. "Great...." I thought. I have only read a couple books that go beyond 500 pages because the others I've attempted reading, usually made me slam the book shut. Apparently, that bad luck streak may be coming to an end. Don't quote me on that though. I may end up reading a book and end up giving up 1 star. This one gets 5.
At first, I felt like I was reading about a split personality. The implantation of Wanderer at the beginning of the story didn't disturb me. What bothered me about this book is how the people in the cavern called her an 'It.' Or a 'Worm.' And just the way they were treating her. I found myself being empathetic with Wanderer.
Other parts of this book that bothered me were how I kept wanting Wanderer to not have to deal with a lot of the stuff. Which made it slow paced. There were a few chapters where I couldn't believe the routines she was going through. A love/hate deal with the slow pace of it.
And I won't say much more about the book. It goes against the reviews you may have gotten used to on here. Reviews where I give a basic synopsis. Doesn't really make me feel like I'm doing the book justice. Seems like it's so....what's the word?..routine. Changing my reviews to where I stop what I've done and just give my random thoughts feels like I'm giving the books justice because I enjoyed the books enough to not just follow that...routine.
Anyway, I saw the movie trailers. I had been avoiding them just like I did when I was reading 'The Hunger Games.' Which was also another part of this love/hate relationship. I reckon it's kinda fun to read the book and avoid all outside interpretations/opinions of it. Not so much while avoiding the trailers when the movie version is about to be released, but afterwards. It's very rewarding. Makes me enjoy the books more too, I notice.
The trailer reminds me of parts of 'The Hunger Games'. As in the special effects and the show of the futuristic technology. So I think the movie will be good.
This version of the book has a bonus chapter. I opted not to read it so it's like I read the original release. The bonus chapter was only written after there were plans to make this book into a movie. I just wanna have a little surprise when I see the movie. Since I've read the book, I know what's basically gonna happen. So that part of the surprise is a little diminished, but nevertheless, I will definitely be going to see the movie.
Just goes to show ya. When you think you're gonna hate a book, you end up loving it. Plus, I love how much more rewarding it is to avoid the trailers, like I said. I only watched them AFTER finishing the book (minus the bonus chapter). So this will be as rewarding as when I saw 'The Hunger Games.'
By the way, to the friend who borrowed me this book: Since you gave it 2 stars, I don't think you'll get this book back! :P I'll buy it from you if I have to. You may not want to see what the book looks like now anyway lol. I'm kind of a rough reader when it comes books beyond 500 pages.
5 out of 5 stars.
Edit: 7/17/2019: I eventually read the bonus chapter and I can see why it didn't really make it into the movie. It isn't boring, but it isn't really necessary to have two nearly identical scenes. Also, I have since read the first two books in the Animorph's series. Unfortunately, the type of alien in this story is too similar to the Yeerk's in the Animorph's series. Because Animorph's came out first AND because of how difficult it was for me to continue reading this book, I am reducing the rating by two stars.
My Notes:
March 19, 2013:
Pg 40, 6.45% "Okay, at first, I was reading with an incredulous stare. Now I"m actually really curious to see where this 619 page book goes with the story."
March 21, 2013:
Pg 99, 15.97% "I'm about 100 pages in and curious. Very curious. The whole point of reading this is because i'm gonna go see the movie. So far, it's slow paced, but not as boring as I thought it would be. It's ... interesting."
March 22, 2013:
Pg 201, 32.42% "After an exhaustive amount of chapters regarding a capture, we finally seem to be inching somewhere."
March 27, 2013:
Pg 447, 72.45% "Really not sure how much I am liking or hating this book. It's almost like a love/hate relationship. I'm not too fond of how the main character is treated, I'm not too fond of the cavern. I'm not too fond of how this is the slowest paced book I've ever read.And by slow pace, I mean that the exciting bits take so many pages to get to from the last exciting moment. but I like that it's FINALLY getting somewhere."
March, 28, 2013:
Pg 516, "101 pages left. Feels like i'm arriving at a home stretch...yeah I reckon that's an okay description."
I can't remember when I first heard of this book. I just remember hearing that it had something to do with aliens and thought, "Meh. Alien books and movies are usually lame." It probably was around the time I started up my Goodreads and added Meyer's first Twilight book to my to-read shelf. This is a book I never thought I'd read, but then a friend decides to suggest it to me so we could go see the movie together. "Great...." I thought. I have only read a couple books that go beyond 500 pages because the others I've attempted reading, usually made me slam the book shut. Apparently, that bad luck streak may be coming to an end. Don't quote me on that though. I may end up reading a book and end up giving up 1 star. This one gets 5.
At first, I felt like I was reading about a split personality. The implantation of Wanderer at the beginning of the story didn't disturb me. What bothered me about this book is how the people in the cavern called her an 'It.' Or a 'Worm.' And just the way they were treating her. I found myself being empathetic with Wanderer.
Other parts of this book that bothered me were how I kept wanting Wanderer to not have to deal with a lot of the stuff. Which made it slow paced. There were a few chapters where I couldn't believe the routines she was going through. A love/hate deal with the slow pace of it.
And I won't say much more about the book. It goes against the reviews you may have gotten used to on here. Reviews where I give a basic synopsis. Doesn't really make me feel like I'm doing the book justice. Seems like it's so....what's the word?..routine. Changing my reviews to where I stop what I've done and just give my random thoughts feels like I'm giving the books justice because I enjoyed the books enough to not just follow that...routine.
Anyway, I saw the movie trailers. I had been avoiding them just like I did when I was reading 'The Hunger Games.' Which was also another part of this love/hate relationship. I reckon it's kinda fun to read the book and avoid all outside interpretations/opinions of it. Not so much while avoiding the trailers when the movie version is about to be released, but afterwards. It's very rewarding. Makes me enjoy the books more too, I notice.
The trailer reminds me of parts of 'The Hunger Games'. As in the special effects and the show of the futuristic technology. So I think the movie will be good.
This version of the book has a bonus chapter. I opted not to read it so it's like I read the original release. The bonus chapter was only written after there were plans to make this book into a movie. I just wanna have a little surprise when I see the movie. Since I've read the book, I know what's basically gonna happen. So that part of the surprise is a little diminished, but nevertheless, I will definitely be going to see the movie.
Just goes to show ya. When you think you're gonna hate a book, you end up loving it. Plus, I love how much more rewarding it is to avoid the trailers, like I said. I only watched them AFTER finishing the book (minus the bonus chapter). So this will be as rewarding as when I saw 'The Hunger Games.'
By the way, to the friend who borrowed me this book: Since you gave it 2 stars, I don't think you'll get this book back! :P I'll buy it from you if I have to. You may not want to see what the book looks like now anyway lol. I'm kind of a rough reader when it comes books beyond 500 pages.
5 out of 5 stars.
Edit: 7/17/2019: I eventually read the bonus chapter and I can see why it didn't really make it into the movie. It isn't boring, but it isn't really necessary to have two nearly identical scenes. Also, I have since read the first two books in the Animorph's series. Unfortunately, the type of alien in this story is too similar to the Yeerk's in the Animorph's series. Because Animorph's came out first AND because of how difficult it was for me to continue reading this book, I am reducing the rating by two stars.
My Notes:
March 19, 2013:
Pg 40, 6.45% "Okay, at first, I was reading with an incredulous stare. Now I"m actually really curious to see where this 619 page book goes with the story."
March 21, 2013:
Pg 99, 15.97% "I'm about 100 pages in and curious. Very curious. The whole point of reading this is because i'm gonna go see the movie. So far, it's slow paced, but not as boring as I thought it would be. It's ... interesting."
March 22, 2013:
Pg 201, 32.42% "After an exhaustive amount of chapters regarding a capture, we finally seem to be inching somewhere."
March 27, 2013:
Pg 447, 72.45% "Really not sure how much I am liking or hating this book. It's almost like a love/hate relationship. I'm not too fond of how the main character is treated, I'm not too fond of the cavern. I'm not too fond of how this is the slowest paced book I've ever read.And by slow pace, I mean that the exciting bits take so many pages to get to from the last exciting moment. but I like that it's FINALLY getting somewhere."
March, 28, 2013:
Pg 516, "101 pages left. Feels like i'm arriving at a home stretch...yeah I reckon that's an okay description."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Death
dylpickles's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
alyssa_s10's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: War
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