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roastytoasty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
soupwitch86's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
This was a really good, fun, fast read. I went in thinking I knew what the ending would be but was proved wrong in the first chapter 😂 couldn't put it down bc I needed to know what would happen. Ending was a little rushed but still loved it.
bbyrose's review
3.0
It was an okay read. I definitely like the beginning and the end. The middle was frustrating for me because I just found both characters annoying. I get that they are supposed to young and naive but at times Megan was downright stupid. There were moments she could have avoided by faining amnesia. I wanted her geeky personality to be key into her figuring out what to do. I just felt like she went from not knowing what to do into automatically knowing what to do. So it begged the question of what was the point in telling Ava anything. Like Ryan, I get because he had a car and connections. But Ava’s storyline was just unnecessary to the story. Especially since she didn’t choose to believe her right away and didn’t really help. Also her sister was useless as well. I liked the concept but there were holes and moments that didn’t need to happen. It could have been connected a little better. And I couldn’t feel sorry for LC because I barely got any chapters from her. I would have rather gotten flashbacks of her life rather than these useless chapters of how bad of a person she is and yet everybody wanted to forgive her. ARE WE GONNA ACT LIKE SHE DIDNT DO WHAT SHE DID?!!! lol it was ok and had some messy parts that kept me reading but I just felt like this book would have benefitted from being longer to really develop honest feelings for these characters. Since it was so short, i had to rely on their actions to make me care and they were doing stupid stuff which pissed me off a little. I’m not gonna lie though, Ryan had me kicking my feet and giggling with that candy scene. IT WAS SOOO FREAKING CUTE!! I’m so sad that the book was so short, he ending up being one dimensional in the grand scheme of things. Overall solid read if you’re in a slump or just want something quick.
hldavids's review against another edition
4.0
Review now available: https://libguides.monroe.edu/BookParty24-25/OutofBody
thatreadingjawnsymone's review
4.0
Imagine Freaky Friday with your bestie, butttttt your bestie betrays you in order to switch bodies lol. This YA thriller was such a fun read! The story unfolds so quickly (literally within the first 20-30 pages). The author wastes no time getting us knees deep into the plot and I loved that. Overall, reallyyy interesting and unsettling book with a few twists and some evil technology vibes.
Things I loved:
-Megan! I was rooting for her the whole time. I love that there was a little bit of coming of age snuck into the story to really build her character
-I watched Freaky Friday more times than I can count, so swapping bodies is an interesting idea to me lol
-multiple POVs
-themes covered technology, friendship, research, identity, family, etc.
The pacing of the book is a little fast, but it worked well for me. I was able to read this book in one setting. 4/5
Things I loved:
-Megan! I was rooting for her the whole time. I love that there was a little bit of coming of age snuck into the story to really build her character
-I watched Freaky Friday more times than I can count, so swapping bodies is an interesting idea to me lol
-multiple POVs
-themes covered technology, friendship, research, identity, family, etc.
The pacing of the book is a little fast, but it worked well for me. I was able to read this book in one setting. 4/5
melaninuncorkedbc's review
5.0
Whew! Finished this YA Thriller by @nia.davenport in one day - two settings to be exact. I could NOT put it down!
This book is set in Georgia, and had me on edge trying to figure out the twists and turns this book presented. Megan thinks she has a friend in LC until she’s left alone, outside of herself watching everything slowly get taken away from her. She’s determined to get to the bottom of it all - even if it costs her life.
The care that is taken with the character development, mental health, friendship black women winning - chefs kiss
This book is set in Georgia, and had me on edge trying to figure out the twists and turns this book presented. Megan thinks she has a friend in LC until she’s left alone, outside of herself watching everything slowly get taken away from her. She’s determined to get to the bottom of it all - even if it costs her life.
The care that is taken with the character development, mental health, friendship black women winning - chefs kiss
captwinghead's review
2.0
I wanted to like this more than I did. The cover is gorgeous and the premise sounded interesting. I didn't find the execution that entertaining. The characters weren't very developed, in my opinion, and I found the reactions to the body swap to be kinda... muted.
Megan as a character is the type of YA character that baffles me. The narrative repeatedly has others and Megan herself refer to Megan as "strong" and I just don't really get why that is. Barring whether I think it made sense for her to sympathize with LC or her choice regarding Tess' fate, I didn't understand why everyone said she was strong. This is a girl who seemingly dropped one of her closest friends because she was too embarrassed to admit to how much of a nerd she was. That's strong? In my opinion, Ava was the strongest character out of the bunch.
The story starts a few months (?) after LC and Megan become friends. Their backgrounds and home lives are so bare bones that I realized about half way in that I really didn't know much about Megan at all. We're told she was dedicated to getting into college, her piano performances, and there's a connection to LC that comes out later that made her lack of development in these areas even more noticeable. We learn even less about Jade and she's a nothing character by the end of it.
Megan's response to the body swap seemed to be sleeping it off? She didn't freak out about it as much as I would've expected and Ryan and Ava don't really either? The assertion that Ava didn't because she reads so much sci fi was crazy! I also think it's sad neither set of parents reacted to their kids being so different.
The reveal that LC was a long lost friend from Megan's childhood was unnecessary, IMO. It made the plot even more convoluted. Maybe it was to explain why LC ended up in there in the first place, or to give more of a reason why Megan mustered up some sympathy for her, I don't know. I personally still don't feel sorry for her. It sucks she had a rough home life, but she then went on to traumatize and jeopardize the lives of two innocent children and that's awful. She broke Megan's hand and that could've made it difficult for her to ever play piano again. Very selfish.
I didn't get why Megan was pausing in her quest to get her body back to have a crush.
The one thing I will say is that Davenport is clearly a nerd. There were references to anime and Marvel comics that I don't feel a casual researcher or pure MCU viewer would know. There was a part where I outright cringed at Ava saying "achievement unlocked, Moon eternal power, make up" to "Jade" as an insult. The nerd in me got extreme secondhand embarrassment at that.
Overall, this just wasn't very strong for me. The characters didn't seem well fleshed out, there was an underreaction to the subject matter, and the conclusion just sort of made me roll my eyes. There's markers of what you typically see in YA (characters described as being different or "strong" without evidence, a romance that seems to take place at the strangest time, and parents whose lack involvement raises some brows). This just wasn't executed in a way I expected.
Megan as a character is the type of YA character that baffles me. The narrative repeatedly has others and Megan herself refer to Megan as "strong" and I just don't really get why that is. Barring whether I think it made sense for her to sympathize with LC or her choice regarding Tess' fate, I didn't understand why everyone said she was strong. This is a girl who seemingly dropped one of her closest friends because she was too embarrassed to admit to how much of a nerd she was. That's strong? In my opinion, Ava was the strongest character out of the bunch.
The story starts a few months (?) after LC and Megan become friends. Their backgrounds and home lives are so bare bones that I realized about half way in that I really didn't know much about Megan at all. We're told she was dedicated to getting into college, her piano performances, and there's a connection to LC that comes out later that made her lack of development in these areas even more noticeable. We learn even less about Jade and she's a nothing character by the end of it.
Megan's response to the body swap seemed to be sleeping it off? She didn't freak out about it as much as I would've expected and Ryan and Ava don't really either? The assertion that Ava didn't because she reads so much sci fi was crazy! I also think it's sad neither set of parents reacted to their kids being so different.
The reveal that LC was a long lost friend from Megan's childhood was unnecessary, IMO. It made the plot even more convoluted. Maybe it was to explain why LC ended up in there in the first place, or to give more of a reason why Megan mustered up some sympathy for her, I don't know. I personally still don't feel sorry for her. It sucks she had a rough home life, but she then went on to traumatize and jeopardize the lives of two innocent children and that's awful. She broke Megan's hand and that could've made it difficult for her to ever play piano again. Very selfish.
I didn't get why Megan was pausing in her quest to get her body back to have a crush.
The one thing I will say is that Davenport is clearly a nerd. There were references to anime and Marvel comics that I don't feel a casual researcher or pure MCU viewer would know. There was a part where I outright cringed at Ava saying "achievement unlocked, Moon eternal power, make up" to "Jade" as an insult. The nerd in me got extreme secondhand embarrassment at that.
Overall, this just wasn't very strong for me. The characters didn't seem well fleshed out, there was an underreaction to the subject matter, and the conclusion just sort of made me roll my eyes. There's markers of what you typically see in YA (characters described as being different or "strong" without evidence, a romance that seems to take place at the strangest time, and parents whose lack involvement raises some brows). This just wasn't executed in a way I expected.
violetlionel's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
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
3.75
I really enjoyed this though I felt that the final twist was a little convenient.