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valodniece's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
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
4.0
An interesting post-apocalyptic tale, meshing Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime tales with the X-Men and more traditional YA dystopia tropes - though with some unexpected twists, which put it in a class above many others. I will be reading the next books in the series.
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting for its post-apocalyptic world with citizens bound into cities and folks with powers considered dangerous and in between: monsters such as sabre tooth cats and dinosaurs.
Clever for the ways in which Ashala and her Tribe of illegal powered kids pull off daring rescues and fool the authorities.
Culturally rich for Ashala's connection to the Serpent Grandfather and the literal dreaming (called sleepwalking) here as well as her connection to the trees/Firstwood.
But not to my taste. This reads like a younger YA in its emotional simplicity: the good are good. The traitors are selfish, and the bad guys are just evil for the sake of being evil or crazy. The beginning made me a little skittish, as it showed Ashala being drawn against her will to one of the guards who have captured her from her beloved forest and brought her to be tortured by the bad guys. (it turns out not to be as bad as it sounds, but it also took a while to figure that out).
Ashala is a bit too good in this novel, a bit too chosen. And so for my own taste, not a character I could truly deeply connect with. It's also hard to pull off extended backflashes and extended dreaming well...and in this book there is a lot of both which also made it hard to put down and then pick up and know what was happening.
So I might have veered actually a little more towards 3.5 stars, but in the end, I think it was my own preferences that made the simple feel to the narrative not satisfying for me rather than the quality of the writing.
Clever for the ways in which Ashala and her Tribe of illegal powered kids pull off daring rescues and fool the authorities.
Culturally rich for Ashala's connection to the Serpent Grandfather and the literal dreaming (called sleepwalking) here as well as her connection to the trees/Firstwood.
But not to my taste. This reads like a younger YA in its emotional simplicity: the good are good. The traitors are selfish, and the bad guys are just evil for the sake of being evil or crazy. The beginning made me a little skittish, as it showed Ashala being drawn against her will to one of the guards who have captured her from her beloved forest and brought her to be tortured by the bad guys. (it turns out not to be as bad as it sounds, but it also took a while to figure that out).
Ashala is a bit too good in this novel, a bit too chosen. And so for my own taste, not a character I could truly deeply connect with. It's also hard to pull off extended backflashes and extended dreaming well...and in this book there is a lot of both which also made it hard to put down and then pick up and know what was happening.
So I might have veered actually a little more towards 3.5 stars, but in the end, I think it was my own preferences that made the simple feel to the narrative not satisfying for me rather than the quality of the writing.
malglories's review against another edition
2.0
Cliché as hell, with a weird structure I found frustrating.
bookishlass's review against another edition
4.0
Content warnings: violence, death, mention of suicide attempt
tayladevilee's review against another edition
2.0
I really didn't like this book. I think that the world just wasn't for me!I found it very confusing, and it took me a long time to get my head around everything. I didn't have any really connection to any of the characters at all. Overall i am just really disappointed.
juanitamfm's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the characters and the world building in this book. I also liked the way the author chose give us the backstory as a vision that brought the main character up to date at the exact same time!! It was mind blowing! The ending was perfect and I just found out there are two other books in this series! Yay!
lefa's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the finest examples of complex, layered world building I've ever had the pleasure to read. The narrative is compelling, the mythology is rich and the characters are believably flawed, strong and vulnerable at the same time. Fantastic. Devoured the first two and cannot wait to see where Kwaymullina takes the rest of the series.
catamongstthepages's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
writing_apprentice's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very good book. I read it for a course in university and absolutely loved the characters. They have a very authentic voice, and it's a very engaging read. I'd definitely recommend it!
lavenderreader16's review against another edition
4.0
Wow this was... weird (and that’s not a bad thing)