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rockymthorrorshow's review against another edition
5.0
A varied and interesting mostly-female cast, a pleasantly tangled plot setup, and all the fantastic craziness of a superhero universe with the normal office-ness I love to see in secret agent-based plots. A great, relatively low-impact read.
robotswithpersonality's review
Bummer. Admittedly, I had a different idea of what this would be when I picked it up. But even having adjusted to the tone and focus, it just felt like too much and not enough at the same time. Kind of derivative of a number of things - not helped by the pop culture references in inner monologues - without really narrowing in on one of them enough to make for an engaging story.
Or maybe my lack of engagement has to do with the choppy structure, on a plot (multiple interrupted timelines/multiple POVs) and sentence level (the commas, the rephrased sentences, the backpedaled action plans).
It didn't help that the book made multiple references to what might be covered under regular operations of the regional office, which all sounded a lot more interesting than where the plot went.
I think Sarah and her arm was the most compelling component for me - but I didn't really need the mother backstory to find that interesting even if it did form the origin of her circumstances.
I'm really not sure what the point of Rose's narrative was aside from making me uncomfortable in myriad ways.
I'm not sold on the plausibility of the 'report' angle given where the story ended.
Similar to the vague references to more interesting fantastical elements, the book also suffered from going in depth on people whose ends the reader already knows. An argument can be made that it's about the how or the why when the who and what have already been revealed, but if the reader hasn't really been presented with enough reason to care about the who and the what, waiting around for the how and why fall flat.
Strong possibility I just wasn't the right audience, but I can't in good conscience recommend it either. 🤷🏼♂️
⚠️animal death, ableism, fatphobia, self harm, mental health concerns, suicide, body horror
Or maybe my lack of engagement has to do with the choppy structure, on a plot (multiple interrupted timelines/multiple POVs) and sentence level (the commas, the rephrased sentences, the backpedaled action plans).
It didn't help that the book made multiple references to what might be covered under regular operations of the regional office, which all sounded a lot more interesting than where the plot went.
I think Sarah and her arm was the most compelling component for me - but I didn't really need the mother backstory to find that interesting even if it did form the origin of her circumstances.
I'm really not sure what the point of Rose's narrative was aside from making me uncomfortable in myriad ways.
I'm not sold on the plausibility of the 'report' angle given where the story ended.
Similar to the vague references to more interesting fantastical elements, the book also suffered from going in depth on people whose ends the reader already knows. An argument can be made that it's about the how or the why when the who and what have already been revealed, but if the reader hasn't really been presented with enough reason to care about the who and the what, waiting around for the how and why fall flat.
Strong possibility I just wasn't the right audience, but I can't in good conscience recommend it either. 🤷🏼♂️
⚠️animal death, ableism, fatphobia, self harm, mental health concerns, suicide, body horror
riskeytaker's review against another edition
The writer thought they were way more clever than they actually were.
lauraschhh's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t quite know what happened in this book, but it was an amazing ride.
alexscholls's review against another edition
5.0
This book was fabulous. If I could give it more than five stars, I would! High-octane, strange but intriguing, and overall wonderful.
anabelstl's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
yvarg's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
3.25
Slice of life thriller?
danpowers's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I found this book on a list of divisive novels you should read, but found it arduous to read and unfulfilling. The tone is very distracting and only finished by listening to the audiobook on 1.5x. It felt like Zach Snyder wrote a novel, in the worst sense.