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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated
funny
fast-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
I picked this book up at work. I hadn't heard of it before and I thought the premise sounded so different and weird.
Different and weird is pretty apt. It was a bit like watching a B movie and not being able to look away. It must have been entertaining enough for me to care how it ended because I finished it. I will also say that I'm not the right age for this book so my enjoyment level might be different from that of a 13 year old!
I wasn't a fan of the writing style and I didn't laugh once, even though it's a humorous take on a post apocalyptic situation. Again, I'm not the target audience.
You really have to suspend your disbelief for some of the plot points. It felt as though the author was figuring things out at the same time the characters were. Some of the plans were questionable. And I wasn't sure how long these people had been on the jellyfish. Was it years or months? How much did the teens remember of the world before the apocalypse? There are a lot of questions that go unanswered.
But I did like the characters and I felt like the dialogue and dynamic, especially between the main four teenagers, flowed really well. The author is a teacher so that makes sense!
It does have a satisfying end and I also like the fact that the characters look and smell like they've been stuck on a jellyfish for a good while. No perfect hair and makeup here.
2/5
Different and weird is pretty apt. It was a bit like watching a B movie and not being able to look away. It must have been entertaining enough for me to care how it ended because I finished it. I will also say that I'm not the right age for this book so my enjoyment level might be different from that of a 13 year old!
I wasn't a fan of the writing style and I didn't laugh once, even though it's a humorous take on a post apocalyptic situation. Again, I'm not the target audience.
You really have to suspend your disbelief for some of the plot points. It felt as though the author was figuring things out at the same time the characters were. Some of the plans were questionable. And I wasn't sure how long these people had been on the jellyfish. Was it years or months? How much did the teens remember of the world before the apocalypse? There are a lot of questions that go unanswered.
But I did like the characters and I felt like the dialogue and dynamic, especially between the main four teenagers, flowed really well. The author is a teacher so that makes sense!
It does have a satisfying end and I also like the fact that the characters look and smell like they've been stuck on a jellyfish for a good while. No perfect hair and makeup here.
2/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Animal death, Death
When I first saw this books in Waterstones, after seeing the stunning illustration on the cover and reading such an intriguing blurb; I felt like I needed to read immediately. Although my rating for this book isn't the highest, that doesn't mean its a bad book because there are elements of great and phenomenal story-building and themes explored that resonated well with me. However, where the book lacked was character depth at times...but I'll get into it.
.
This concept was utterly bizarre - a post-apocalyptic environment where the last remaining humans are stranded atop a giant jellyfish in the middle of the ocean, with a White House, living off of dried fish and no sanitary provisions following the events of destruction that meant the remaining survivors could no inhabit the land, partly to do with the invasion of a species known as the Kriks. We follow the perspective of Martha and the close-knit group of James, Lana and Kate, otherwise referred to as the 'young ones'. They are all teens aboard this floating creature that have endured a few years of life, not remembering a time before and becoming accustomed to a new and devastating lifestyle. Martha's character is vulgar, morose and depressive throughout the story and honestly, it was both refreshing and irritating. There are moments where she is hopeful and humorous that broke up the pages of pessimism (can't entirely blame her here). But what the author does really well is play upon the themes of body image, perception, human values and belief. When enduring hardship and being forced into a new wave of living, we find the characters disbanding natural, daily living and cleanliness which transforms their views on body image to become more accepting. From matted hair to bodily fluids staining and ruining their appearance, and aroma's, the author plays on human values and the meaning of living; to solely focus on a personality and delve deeper into the quality of life. In a sense, this is a breath-taking revelation and truly made me want to adjust my critical thinking of the narrative. But at the same time...its just a bizarre and niche little book.
.
Some parts of the book I couldn't wrap my head around; mostly concerning the reasons as to why they're on this floating jellyfish and also the Kriks - I just wanted more information and this book was not dedicated to fulfilling me with the answers. Frustrating but also refreshing. Water is a constant in this book and refreshing seems to be a good word for this review. So I'll leave it on that note; a refreshingly, simple and utterly manic book.
.
This concept was utterly bizarre - a post-apocalyptic environment where the last remaining humans are stranded atop a giant jellyfish in the middle of the ocean, with a White House, living off of dried fish and no sanitary provisions following the events of destruction that meant the remaining survivors could no inhabit the land, partly to do with the invasion of a species known as the Kriks. We follow the perspective of Martha and the close-knit group of James, Lana and Kate, otherwise referred to as the 'young ones'. They are all teens aboard this floating creature that have endured a few years of life, not remembering a time before and becoming accustomed to a new and devastating lifestyle. Martha's character is vulgar, morose and depressive throughout the story and honestly, it was both refreshing and irritating. There are moments where she is hopeful and humorous that broke up the pages of pessimism (can't entirely blame her here). But what the author does really well is play upon the themes of body image, perception, human values and belief. When enduring hardship and being forced into a new wave of living, we find the characters disbanding natural, daily living and cleanliness which transforms their views on body image to become more accepting. From matted hair to bodily fluids staining and ruining their appearance, and aroma's, the author plays on human values and the meaning of living; to solely focus on a personality and delve deeper into the quality of life. In a sense, this is a breath-taking revelation and truly made me want to adjust my critical thinking of the narrative. But at the same time...its just a bizarre and niche little book.
.
Some parts of the book I couldn't wrap my head around; mostly concerning the reasons as to why they're on this floating jellyfish and also the Kriks - I just wanted more information and this book was not dedicated to fulfilling me with the answers. Frustrating but also refreshing. Water is a constant in this book and refreshing seems to be a good word for this review. So I'll leave it on that note; a refreshingly, simple and utterly manic book.
challenging
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Yeah, I really enjoyed that. My one complaint is that I really wanted to know what happens to them next.
dark
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fun and cute, i liked the character interactions. my one gripe is how simple the prose felt ? not sure how to describe it but it felt very pragmatic, like "i go here and do the thing" style of writing. it makes sense for some parts of the book, since the focus character is a teenager trying not to die on a giant jelly monster, but i wish that there were more flourishes . part of the fun of reading about a giant monster is all the Gorey adjectives the author uses to describe it, and i just didn't get that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Excrement
This was out of my comfort zone but a good choice in total. It communicated the plot points and mannerisms of the characters well, while also bringing up climate change. The way the characters used the plastic and abandoned houses to their advantage was an excellently discreet way to say how there’s an absurd amount of pollution in the ocean (as well as everything else about rising sea levels). The POV is very important to how everything was explained, too. Assuming that Martha is around 17-20 years old, it makes the complex topic(s) digestible.
If there was a critique I had to give the book, it would be to narrow down the ages of the main 4 characters. I understand that it’s been years since they first got on the Jellyfish, but it would’ve allowed a clearer perspective on how readers could interpret the plot from Martha’s understanding. How did she end up on the Jellyfish so young? Was she swept up in chaos or deliberately involved? That sort of thing.
Overall, this book is a 4/5 for me.
If there was a critique I had to give the book, it would be to narrow down the ages of the main 4 characters. I understand that it’s been years since they first got on the Jellyfish, but it would’ve allowed a clearer perspective on how readers could interpret the plot from Martha’s understanding. How did she end up on the Jellyfish so young? Was she swept up in chaos or deliberately involved? That sort of thing.
Overall, this book is a 4/5 for me.