Scan barcode
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
Finished reading: May 30th 2024
“It's important to remember that we all change each other's minds all the time. Any good story is a mind-altering substance.”
WARNING: it's another unpopular opinion review!!
I know that this isn't exactly my typical read, but I was pleasantly surprised by the first book back when I read it two years ago. I then discovered that the sequel fitted more than one 2024 challenge, and I decided to pick up A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor on a whim. I'm not sure if I was simply in the wrong reading mood or if this sequel is really quite different from the first book, but the fact is that I ended up struggling immensely with this story. I came close to DNFing more than once, and I kind of wish I had to be honest. Don't get me wrong, this series in general has a very interesting concept and the Carls were fascinating to read about. It was in the execution and plot structure where this story lost me... A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor uses a multiple POV structure on top of mixed media pieces inserted into the plot, and the result ended up being a bit of a muddled and chaotic mess. The plot jumps all over the place, and certain POVs are extremely tedious and slow down the pace a LOT. There was an overdose of focus on politics and social issues, and at times it felt more like propaganda rather than a YA sci-fi read. Seriously, I was bored to tears at times, and I caught myself skimreading more than once. The social media angle and virtual reality addiction was neat, but it kind of got buried under too many other elements to make a real impact. The plot itself was slowgoing with so much focus on the 'propaganda' part, and as a result the story dragged considerably and was simply way too overlong. I confess that I skimread most of the second half, and I kind of wish I had just DNFed it instead... There is no doubt that A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor and me REALLY didn't get along. That said, I seem to be in the minority, so it might just be my fickle reading mood acting up again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Racism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Addiction, Blood, Confinement, Grief, and Physical abuse
biab00's review against another edition
adventurous
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: Grief, Slavery, Violence, Confinement, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
lisa_m's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
This book was so different to the first one. It still tackled similar issues but the vibe was different.
Whereas the first book was about community, fame and working together to solve a mystery - the second book was more about society & social criticism while trying to avoid a war / complete human subjugation.
I took a break when I was about halfway through this book. Mostly because I wasn't in the right headspace to read about a possible war and so many bad people. This book is very realistic in it's approach. There is a lot of scientific knowledge and also social critisism done in a clear and well thought through way. It is obvious that Hank Green knew what message he wanted this book to have and he didn't incorporate it subtly at all. I didn't mind that though. The message was obvious but also fit into the story perfectly and gave the characters more depth. I loved the different POVs and how every character had a unique and explored personality. Also they are all flawed but still choose to do the right thing. It sometimes got frustrating to read about annoying, powerhungry and bad people but at least you knew that they would eventually loose and in reallife that doesn't really happen.
I listened to this book and I would highly recommend the audiobook experience. There are multiple different voice actors with easily distinguishable voices. Also Hank Green himself narrated the part of a podcast which was pretty cool.
I had a review almost twice as long as this but I accidentally deleted it... Anyways I think that was mostly what I wanted to say. I might add some stuff later on.
Oh also I would recommend this duology very much! Still I know that many people won't like it. It has a very particular narrating style and also the characters can be frustrating. It is definitely not a book you can read or listen to with only half your brain. You will need to think about it and analyse it. I know that I will continue to think about it for a long time to come.
Whereas the first book was about community, fame and working together to solve a mystery - the second book was more about society & social criticism while trying to avoid a war / complete human subjugation.
I took a break when I was about halfway through this book. Mostly because I wasn't in the right headspace to read about a possible war and so many bad people. This book is very realistic in it's approach. There is a lot of scientific knowledge and also social critisism done in a clear and well thought through way. It is obvious that Hank Green knew what message he wanted this book to have and he didn't incorporate it subtly at all. I didn't mind that though. The message was obvious but also fit into the story perfectly and gave the characters more depth. I loved the different POVs and how every character had a unique and explored personality. Also they are all flawed but still choose to do the right thing. It sometimes got frustrating to read about annoying, powerhungry and bad people but at least you knew that they would eventually loose and in reallife that doesn't really happen.
I listened to this book and I would highly recommend the audiobook experience. There are multiple different voice actors with easily distinguishable voices. Also Hank Green himself narrated the part of a podcast which was pretty cool.
I had a review almost twice as long as this but I accidentally deleted it... Anyways I think that was mostly what I wanted to say. I might add some stuff later on.
Oh also I would recommend this duology very much! Still I know that many people won't like it. It has a very particular narrating style and also the characters can be frustrating. It is definitely not a book you can read or listen to with only half your brain. You will need to think about it and analyse it. I know that I will continue to think about it for a long time to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Police brutality, Slavery, Classism, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Addiction
nixieba25f's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Medical content, Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Slavery, and Xenophobia
More...