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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Loved this book. The voices of the characters are wonderful and the concept is so weird and fun... but scary too!
Probably more of two stars. Creative ideas, but not great in developing compelling dialogue and plot points.
The premise of this book seems so cool and that’s why I originally picked it up. But I ended up not even being able to finish this book because it was so confusing and I felt like it wasn’t very well thought out. I don’t think that the author did a good job explaining or creating the story in a tangible and comprehensible way for the reader. Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Martha is stuck on the back of the jellyfish and has been for a long time. She and everyone else living there don’t know how exactly they got there or how long they’ve been there or where they’re going—they just remember that something traumatic happened. And they can’t escape.
A book about being stuck on a Jellyfish doesn’t sound like it could be very fun, right? Wrong. This was just the silly, “take-my-mind-off-things” kind of book that it looks like, and it was exactly what I needed when I picked it up! I was a bit hesitate going into it since I thought it would be hard to keep my interest when the setting is on a Jellyfish. Like how much can happen on a jellyfish without it being reparative? Clare Rees manage to keep me invested the whole way through though with short and efficient chapters and great characters!
I actually want to talk a bit more about the characters in this one because I absolutely adored the main friend group. They felt real, and I loved the bickering as well as the heartfelt moments between them. I would very much not be sad if a sequel came out, so we would get more of them.
funny
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Digital ARC received from NetGalley.
This one was a hard one to pin down. I picked it because it seemed like such an odd premise. In ways I could see Gary Paulsen fans enjoying this book because of the survival aspects. It centers heavily around every day aspects like where you go to the bathroom on a jellyfish (but not actually a jellyfish) and trying to escape a creature that doesn’t want you to leave. It was hard to place ages of the kids. Sometimes they seemed young and like middle grade students while other times they seemed older.
There were a lot of gaps I wanted filled in like more information about the strange people that showed up and where did the adults go and why did they just disappear and abandon the kids.
This one was a hard one to pin down. I picked it because it seemed like such an odd premise. In ways I could see Gary Paulsen fans enjoying this book because of the survival aspects. It centers heavily around every day aspects like where you go to the bathroom on a jellyfish (but not actually a jellyfish) and trying to escape a creature that doesn’t want you to leave. It was hard to place ages of the kids. Sometimes they seemed young and like middle grade students while other times they seemed older.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It is not often that I read a book with a totally novel setting. But apocalypse survivors trapped on a rugby pitch sized jellyfish floating just out of reach of the coast? New to me!
It was great to read a book that is obviously aimed at teenagers, but is not in the "angst" category. It was actually a pretty realistic portrayal of teens, down to the "sex, eeeewwww" attitudes, and unwillingness to do their homework. I suspect it helped that these were obviously British teens (a daily game of jellyfish rugby occurred), but I would imagine kids of all nationalities would relate to much of this book. Except the "being trapped on a jellyfish" thing. That would probably be new to everyone.
There's a bit of scariness (kids, pursued by giant crab monster), a bit of violence, but nothing too OTT. I liked that the book portrayed the world after a disaster, when monotony and drudge have set in, and no one can quite remember exactly what life was like Before. Usually there is more horror in these books, which for me detracts from the story.
A lightweight, quick read, that young teens, both boys and girls, would enjoy.
It was great to read a book that is obviously aimed at teenagers, but is not in the "angst" category. It was actually a pretty realistic portrayal of teens, down to the "sex, eeeewwww" attitudes, and unwillingness to do their homework. I suspect it helped that these were obviously British teens (a daily game of jellyfish rugby occurred), but I would imagine kids of all nationalities would relate to much of this book. Except the "being trapped on a jellyfish" thing. That would probably be new to everyone.
There's a bit of scariness (kids, pursued by giant crab monster), a bit of violence, but nothing too OTT. I liked that the book portrayed the world after a disaster, when monotony and drudge have set in, and no one can quite remember exactly what life was like Before. Usually there is more horror in these books, which for me detracts from the story.
A lightweight, quick read, that young teens, both boys and girls, would enjoy.