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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I'm finally done. Wow. I would like to say I haven't read any other book this bad this year but.. I have. I've actually read worse books, but it's very close to those.
How did this get through editing? Right at the beginning the author establishes that her MC has photographic memory- to never mention or use it again. We get told that the MC's father is a wildlife documentary cameraman- and she's surprised and terrified of basically any animal she sees. We're told all of these kids are extremely intelligent- and then they're the dumbest bunch you've ever had the misfortune of following on an """adventure""".
The MC calls herself a feminist but by God she isn't. Actually, she's none of the things she tells us she is. None. She's incredibly dumb, boring, can't keep her sh*t around hot dudes for like 0.005 seconds, tells her "friend" she's being racist when she believes all the stereotypes as well, literally tells us how great she is for "nearly sacrificing her life" for other people but she honestly doesn't give a sh*t about either of them. And she wasn't about to die, they literally had a plan, a surprisingly good one and if the dumb b*tch hadn't lost her last brain cell over a hot guy again she'd never have been in danger. So yeah, I hate her and I was rooting for her to be killed.
The plot- though it is so filled with potholes I don't really want to call it a plot- is not engaging at all. Ridiculously rich people hate technology, people and believe in a higher order.. yawn. By now I'm pretty sure this is how the world works okay, it's been done so much, on its own it's just not a good plot anymore.
I'm not going to go into all the plotholes because I'd literally have to rewrite the novel. Just know that nothing makes sense. At all.
Wouldn't recommend (also can someone tell YA authors that Young Adults are not completely brain-dead? You don't need to explain EVERY LITTLE DETAIL to death. You really don't.)
How did this get through editing? Right at the beginning the author establishes that her MC has photographic memory- to never mention or use it again. We get told that the MC's father is a wildlife documentary cameraman- and she's surprised and terrified of basically any animal she sees. We're told all of these kids are extremely intelligent- and then they're the dumbest bunch you've ever had the misfortune of following on an """adventure""".
The MC calls herself a feminist but by God she isn't. Actually, she's none of the things she tells us she is. None. She's incredibly dumb, boring, can't keep her sh*t around hot dudes for like 0.005 seconds, tells her "friend" she's being racist when she believes all the stereotypes as well, literally tells us how great she is for "nearly sacrificing her life" for other people but she honestly doesn't give a sh*t about either of them. And she wasn't about to die, they literally had a plan, a surprisingly good one and if the dumb b*tch hadn't lost her last brain cell over a hot guy again she'd never have been in danger. So yeah, I hate her and I was rooting for her to be killed.
The plot- though it is so filled with potholes I don't really want to call it a plot- is not engaging at all. Ridiculously rich people hate technology, people and believe in a higher order.. yawn. By now I'm pretty sure this is how the world works okay, it's been done so much, on its own it's just not a good plot anymore.
I'm not going to go into all the plotholes because I'd literally have to rewrite the novel. Just know that nothing makes sense. At all.
Wouldn't recommend (also can someone tell YA authors that Young Adults are not completely brain-dead? You don't need to explain EVERY LITTLE DETAIL to death. You really don't.)
Well, I found myself understanding and even caring for Greer quite a bit. And the whole idea of having tradition needing to be kept, no matter the means. The main characters were likeable, and truly growed throughout the book itself.
It isn’t really about rich kids having the money and power to do what they like, to them, it is all about keeping the tradition, ensuring that it remains so, and refusing to ever change.
Regardless of the cost, and those who differ are called savages. And those savages need to be put down, which is a sign of resistance against change. The fact that these kids don’t own cellphones, use letters as their main communication when the rest of the world is sending emails, text messages, etc.
This story is a lot more about the idea that those who do not conform have to be reminded that they should not. Just accept the natural order even when it was unfair for them. I believe that the themes of the story is about tradition, and this is an extreme length they will go to keep it.
Resisting change in the most brutal way, and getting away with it, but it eventually will catch up to them. And this is a story that is a little bit like a revolution against ideals, that it is time that the school figures that it is not in the medieval times, but the modern world.
And this world respect an individual, and sees that no matter what they can rise, they can fall. There is no fixed order.
And all the main characters in some way don’t fit in, and barely even talk to each other. But by the end, they have managed to become close friends and trust each other.
The level of psychological exploration was indeed nice, and coincides with the main ideas. Henry’s development and secrets, his whole idea. Although I did want the other medievals to have a little more development than what I saw of them. To have them also show different mindsets.
And the ending was something that I didn’t expect, given how it did impact them. And how it still felt as though the story couldn’t end, and a shocking reveal. Although I don’t even know whether there is any sequel. However it does speak a rather interesting circle rather than have a fully happy end.
Overall, this is something that I think has a reason. That sometimes you just cannot hold onto something that really makes no sense, although in this case it goes to the extremes, which makes this a book with more depth, as I felt that it did explore it sufficiently. But I want more from the book.
Highly recommended, if you’re looking for something that deals with psychology and young adult fiction.
It isn’t really about rich kids having the money and power to do what they like, to them, it is all about keeping the tradition, ensuring that it remains so, and refusing to ever change.
Regardless of the cost, and those who differ are called savages. And those savages need to be put down, which is a sign of resistance against change. The fact that these kids don’t own cellphones, use letters as their main communication when the rest of the world is sending emails, text messages, etc.
This story is a lot more about the idea that those who do not conform have to be reminded that they should not. Just accept the natural order even when it was unfair for them. I believe that the themes of the story is about tradition, and this is an extreme length they will go to keep it.
Resisting change in the most brutal way, and getting away with it, but it eventually will catch up to them. And this is a story that is a little bit like a revolution against ideals, that it is time that the school figures that it is not in the medieval times, but the modern world.
And this world respect an individual, and sees that no matter what they can rise, they can fall. There is no fixed order.
And all the main characters in some way don’t fit in, and barely even talk to each other. But by the end, they have managed to become close friends and trust each other.
The level of psychological exploration was indeed nice, and coincides with the main ideas. Henry’s development and secrets, his whole idea. Although I did want the other medievals to have a little more development than what I saw of them. To have them also show different mindsets.
And the ending was something that I didn’t expect, given how it did impact them. And how it still felt as though the story couldn’t end, and a shocking reveal. Although I don’t even know whether there is any sequel. However it does speak a rather interesting circle rather than have a fully happy end.
Overall, this is something that I think has a reason. That sometimes you just cannot hold onto something that really makes no sense, although in this case it goes to the extremes, which makes this a book with more depth, as I felt that it did explore it sufficiently. But I want more from the book.
Highly recommended, if you’re looking for something that deals with psychology and young adult fiction.
This story picked the wrong character to focus on. While I did get dragged into the academy drama, it should have followed the Tiger boy. I read a lot further into this one than I realized before I realized I didn't care about the characters.
This was a fairly decent book. I thought the climax came a bit too early in the book to make sense for pacing although I do understand it was necessary for the story. Greer was a good narrator but an annoying person and it really annoyed me how she kept refusing to see that Henry was evil. I loved Shafeen, he was the best.
The ending of this book made me love it more. It ended with a really thrillingly horrible plot twist that was very satisfying. Bennett did such a wonderful job of making the ending comforting and then turning that all on its head in the epilogue. It was perfectly disturbing and quiet satisfying. I knew there was something up with the Abbot but it was so creepy to gradually realise at the same time as Greer that nothing had actually changed.
The ending of this book made me love it more. It ended with a really thrillingly horrible plot twist that was very satisfying. Bennett did such a wonderful job of making the ending comforting and then turning that all on its head in the epilogue. It was perfectly disturbing and quiet satisfying. I knew there was something up with the Abbot but it was so creepy to gradually realise at the same time as Greer that nothing had actually changed.
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
mysterious
fast-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:
No
I could not put this book down. It is such a good read. Fast paced, sharp, well written, it had me hooked. Highly recommended.
I was expecting this to be like ‘One of us is lying’ I was a bit disappointed. Without giving the ending away it was a good idea but it seemed to drag on a bit and didn’t seem as thrilling as it could have been. Worth a read if you like teen books.