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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Possible read-alikes: Michael Vey series, Lorien Legacies series, Gone series
I enjoyed MacHale's easily digestible writing style and refreshing setting, but his characters and plot were basically like any other dystopian-esque, sci-fi YA I've read, so I was a bit bored. Not particularly interested in finishing the series.
This book took me a while to get into. It also was a bit difficult to read. But other than that i enjoyed the story. It stopped and made me think about what would happen if i were in this story
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Probably middle grade or above. Main characters are 14, but some parts are violent and several people shot with semi-graphic descriptions that might not be good for younger readers.
Tucker's average life on the island of Pemberwick, Maine, takes a sudden turn for the adventurous and scary, right on the first page when a popular player on his high school football team dies during a game, with no warning. And other mysterious deaths in town follow. Are they caused by the strange red drug being offered by a stranger in town? And then the whole island is INVADED by an unknown branch of the military called SYLO--who quarantines the whole population of locals and tourists, prohibiting any communications off-island, and preventing anyone from leaving. Tucker and his best friend Quinn witness just how they're preventing those escapes: with lethal force! The two boys, with the help of Olivia and Tori, new friends, must try to uncover the truth about SYLO, and the Ruby drug, and the weird airship that they saw explode over town just before SYLO showed up. Then they've got to try to get off the island. But it's going to be harder than they think...
Great start to a new series, aimed particularly at boy readers and those who love action and suspense. As long as you don't mind not having all your questions answered--this is, after all, the first book in a new series, so there is a lot left unresolved--there's enough explosions, chases on land and sea, scary bad guys, and conspiracies in this book to entertain you. Tucker is an everyguy, and reacts to situations just like a regular average teen guy would. I liked Tori's character the best--she's got real spunk and some mad defensive skills. I'm very curious to see where this series goes next!
Great start to a new series, aimed particularly at boy readers and those who love action and suspense. As long as you don't mind not having all your questions answered--this is, after all, the first book in a new series, so there is a lot left unresolved--there's enough explosions, chases on land and sea, scary bad guys, and conspiracies in this book to entertain you. Tucker is an everyguy, and reacts to situations just like a regular average teen guy would. I liked Tori's character the best--she's got real spunk and some mad defensive skills. I'm very curious to see where this series goes next!
Wow D.J. MacHale was not afraid to kill people off. Enjoyable read, didn't draw me in quite as much as his Pendragon series. Also, this is so similar to THe Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman, but I prefer Wasserman's because it's much darker.
The premise of Sylo is such: Tucker Pierce is an average high school kid who is floating along. He is on the football team but he hates playing. He gets average grades. He doesn't have any idea about what he wants to when he grows up. And as far as he's concerned - that's all fine with him. Unfortunately his peaceful uneventful island life is quickly changed. During the big game of the season the star player drops dead on the field. As the island mourns the player- the military arrives and quarantines the island because of a mysterious virus (the suspected reason of the player's death). Something doesn't sit well with Tucker and his friends and they are thrown into the middle of discovering what the virus is, what the SYLO unit of the military is, and what exactly is going on on Pemberwick Island...
Why I gave it 3.5/4-
The Pace: I know first books of series tend to be full of exposition... but the SYLO did get a bit slow at points. But even with that being said- I still finished it in three days. And also characteristic of a first book in a series- I did not feel as though there was any sort of resolution. The main question of the book (who is SYLO/Why was Pemberwick locked down) wasn't answered until the last few pages. And now I have to wait a whole year to know just why these things are important.
The Characters: I can tell that all of these characters have the potential to be really awesome. I am excited to see how the next two books have them grow. Also- without being a spoiler- Tucker was warned not to trust anyone. at all. So now I'm anxiously awaiting and guessing who might be a secret bad guy or girl. I think I have an idea... but again have to wait a whole year ahhh!
Overall it was a very entertaining book. I am excited for next year to get here and read on and find out what happens to Tucker and his friends. If you need a mystery/dystopian/new series to check out, I suggest you go track down a copy of SYLO when it is released.
Review also on: http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com
Why I gave it 3.5/4-
The Pace: I know first books of series tend to be full of exposition... but the SYLO did get a bit slow at points. But even with that being said- I still finished it in three days. And also characteristic of a first book in a series- I did not feel as though there was any sort of resolution. The main question of the book (who is SYLO/Why was Pemberwick locked down) wasn't answered until the last few pages. And now I have to wait a whole year to know just why these things are important.
The Characters: I can tell that all of these characters have the potential to be really awesome. I am excited to see how the next two books have them grow. Also- without being a spoiler- Tucker was warned not to trust anyone. at all. So now I'm anxiously awaiting and guessing who might be a secret bad guy or girl. I think I have an idea... but again have to wait a whole year ahhh!
Overall it was a very entertaining book. I am excited for next year to get here and read on and find out what happens to Tucker and his friends. If you need a mystery/dystopian/new series to check out, I suggest you go track down a copy of SYLO when it is released.
Review also on: http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com
I thought SYLO was pretty good and wished I could have given it three and half stars. A lot of people were unhappy because so many questions went unanswered. I can understand their feelings, but it didn't bother me because I felt that MacHale did answer a lot of questions and in the process posed more. This is something I have come to expect when I read a series. I enjoyed this more than a lot of the YA books I have been reading lately. It seems that MacHale put a lot of effort into his writing and wasn't grinding out another novel in an effort to make more money.