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mellamaron's review against another edition
2.0
After loving Heir Apparent, this book kind of fell short. It was okay, just okay. I didn't really care for the plot and I didn't feel attached to the characters.
So yeah, that's about all I want to say. I didn't hate it but I didn't like it either. So no real rant... Ah well.
Spoiler
And I think it was kind of stupid that she "tricked" her way out of the game. She was inventive, I guess, but seriously, it was meh.So yeah, that's about all I want to say. I didn't hate it but I didn't like it either. So no real rant... Ah well.
marie123's review against another edition
3.0
Vivian Vande Velde books are never a bad read. And Heir Apparent is one of my favorites by this author, so a sequel? Yay!
And this book was fun. It wasn't the best book I've ever read by her, but it was certainly a fun read and I'd recommend it for anyone else who likes her books.
And this book was fun. It wasn't the best book I've ever read by her, but it was certainly a fun read and I'd recommend it for anyone else who likes her books.
elevetha's review against another edition
3.0
3 1\2 stars. Liked the sister's closeness, not that you get to see a whole lot. I didn't feel that Emily had a big enough reason to attempt victual suicide. I also thought that her change was too easy. Grace would disagree but hear me out. Emily pushed her away and refuses to talk to her. Grace makes some deals with sprites that goes wrong. She dies. She comes back. It's frustrating. Then they finally talk. boom! Emily is a repentant loving sister who wants nothing more than to go back home. Excuse me? Too easy. Too unbelievable. Also, when will Rasmussen learn? Give it up. And no more AI!!!!!! It's a bad idea that will only end in tears.
Emily, popular, lots of friends and has a job, suddenly decides she doesn't want to come out of "The Land of Golden Butterflies", the game she is working on at Rasmussen. She refuses to come out knowing the dangers of prolonged usage. She has also modified the game so that it is easier for her.
Grace, the younger less-popular sister, is pulled out of trig to come help deal with this.
Grace volunteers to go into the game and try to convince Emily to come out but Emily wants nothing to do with Grace and keeps having her slaves\servants take Grace away. Grace dies more than once attempting to get back to Emily. Evil sprites.
So we do that for a while and then, about half way through the book, Grace catches up to Emily and they finally get to have a talk.
Emily made a mistake by changing her "friend's" scores on the SAT. Then another by changing her boyfriend's. Soon everyone Emily knew wanted in on this. Emily, at some point or another, realized that this was not good and that her friends were scum. But, scared of what authorities and her parents would say\feel\do about this situation, she locked herself into the game.
Grace convinces her that her family will still love Emily and everything will be fine.
So they try to go back home only to discover that the AI in the game have changed the rules and that they have to complete a task in the game without cheating. Which is all that Emily's done so far. Dragons, greedy sprites, and lots of gold are involved in the task. Also, Emily is half unconscious by this time so that is fun for Grace. They finally find a way out and everyone is happy except the police and the college and a lot of students. But who cares about them?
Not one of VVV's best though still enjoyable.
Emily, popular, lots of friends and has a job, suddenly decides she doesn't want to come out of "The Land of Golden Butterflies", the game she is working on at Rasmussen. She refuses to come out knowing the dangers of prolonged usage. She has also modified the game so that it is easier for her.
Grace, the younger less-popular sister, is pulled out of trig to come help deal with this.
Grace volunteers to go into the game and try to convince Emily to come out but Emily wants nothing to do with Grace and keeps having her slaves\servants take Grace away. Grace dies more than once attempting to get back to Emily. Evil sprites.
So we do that for a while and then, about half way through the book, Grace catches up to Emily and they finally get to have a talk.
Emily made a mistake by changing her "friend's" scores on the SAT. Then another by changing her boyfriend's. Soon everyone Emily knew wanted in on this. Emily, at some point or another, realized that this was not good and that her friends were scum. But, scared of what authorities and her parents would say\feel\do about this situation, she locked herself into the game.
Grace convinces her that her family will still love Emily and everything will be fine.
So they try to go back home only to discover that the AI in the game have changed the rules and that they have to complete a task in the game without cheating. Which is all that Emily's done so far. Dragons, greedy sprites, and lots of gold are involved in the task. Also, Emily is half unconscious by this time so that is fun for Grace. They finally find a way out and everyone is happy except the police and the college and a lot of students. But who cares about them?
Not one of VVV's best though still enjoyable.
labraden's review against another edition
2.0
At the beginning of Deadly Pink, the main character, Grace, is pulled out of her high school class by her mother and told that her sister, Emily, has purposely put herself into a virtual reality game and doesn't want to ever come back out. Grace is to go into the game and talk her sister into leaving the game to save her life. As interesting as this idea is, by the middle of the book, the story changes. Emily and Grace are fighting to escape the game by outsmarting dragons and sprites. As the story goes on, it becomes more and more unbelievable from Emily's dramatic change in personality to the ridiculous actions of characters both in and out of the game. It seemed as though the author had a great idea but didn't know where to go with it. Unfortunate since this story could have been so much better.
blut_binden's review against another edition
3.0
Alright, so I’m going to be talking about Deadly Pink today. If you have read my review for Heir Apparent, the standalone prequel to this book, then you should know that anything else in this series will be hard to follow that beauty of a novel. And yet I hoped against hope that Deadly Pink would blow me away just like its predecessor.
Well, dang it. Not so much.
Don’t get me wrong. I really love the idea of being trapped in a virtual reality game that has you feel all the senses without the danger of actually feeling pain and death. It’s just that, this particular game that the protagonist, Grace, is trapped in is…umm…boring. Grace’s sister, Emily, intentionally traps herself in a game meant for little girls because something happened in her life that made Emily feel like she had to go to that extreme. The problem is, Grace keeps telling the reader how boring the game is. And yes, it’s really boring. And it would be one thing to turn this boring environment into something more exciting for the reader’s entertainment, but no. Not really. It was that fun. And even though the book DOES pick up towards the end, I wasn’t impressed.
The beginning is also very slow. It takes multiple tries for Grace to actually stay inside of the game to figure out a plan. In the meantime, Emily treats Grace so poorly that I ended up not really caring about saving the main character that needed to be saved! Of course, the book picks up over halfway through the story once Emily finally decides that she wants to be a likable character, and even then I couldn’t care less. The only elements that drove me to complete the novel was Grace’s gumption and snarky attitude as well as the universe this novel was based in (the one based in my beloved Heir Apparent universe that I might need to reread in order to wash this novel out of my head.)
Another quick note. The ending was rushed. I didn’t feel like there was much closure. With how slow the beginning was versus the scenes that were actually interesting, I felt as though I was bored throughout most of the book.
In all honest, the novel wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t the best either. I’d want more flashback with Emily and Grace. I’d want a different game they were stuck in. I’d want more action at the beginning of the book. I’d want more teamwork with Emily and Grace (we only got the bare minimum, and they did work so well together!) I think Deadly Pink had great potential, but in went in a direction that drew out the most uninspiring elements of getting stuck in a virtual reality game I could find. Too bad no other characters from the previous books reprised their roles to lift my spirits (or sprites in this case.)
Well, dang it. Not so much.
Don’t get me wrong. I really love the idea of being trapped in a virtual reality game that has you feel all the senses without the danger of actually feeling pain and death. It’s just that, this particular game that the protagonist, Grace, is trapped in is…umm…boring. Grace’s sister, Emily, intentionally traps herself in a game meant for little girls because something happened in her life that made Emily feel like she had to go to that extreme. The problem is, Grace keeps telling the reader how boring the game is. And yes, it’s really boring. And it would be one thing to turn this boring environment into something more exciting for the reader’s entertainment, but no. Not really. It was that fun. And even though the book DOES pick up towards the end, I wasn’t impressed.
The beginning is also very slow. It takes multiple tries for Grace to actually stay inside of the game to figure out a plan. In the meantime, Emily treats Grace so poorly that I ended up not really caring about saving the main character that needed to be saved! Of course, the book picks up over halfway through the story once Emily finally decides that she wants to be a likable character, and even then I couldn’t care less. The only elements that drove me to complete the novel was Grace’s gumption and snarky attitude as well as the universe this novel was based in (the one based in my beloved Heir Apparent universe that I might need to reread in order to wash this novel out of my head.)
Another quick note. The ending was rushed. I didn’t feel like there was much closure. With how slow the beginning was versus the scenes that were actually interesting, I felt as though I was bored throughout most of the book.
In all honest, the novel wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t the best either. I’d want more flashback with Emily and Grace. I’d want a different game they were stuck in. I’d want more action at the beginning of the book. I’d want more teamwork with Emily and Grace (we only got the bare minimum, and they did work so well together!) I think Deadly Pink had great potential, but in went in a direction that drew out the most uninspiring elements of getting stuck in a virtual reality game I could find. Too bad no other characters from the previous books reprised their roles to lift my spirits (or sprites in this case.)
declaired's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting.
That's it that's my one-word review.
No, this book is interested in gendered marketing (solid choice), in consequences, in escapism, and in complicated sister relationships (complicated family relationships). Another pretty solid addition to the Rasmussem Corporation 'verse. (Heir Apparent remains my favorite, but this is very possibly a matter of age at first reading bias).
That's it that's my one-word review.
No, this book is interested in gendered marketing (solid choice), in consequences, in escapism, and in complicated sister relationships (complicated family relationships). Another pretty solid addition to the Rasmussem Corporation 'verse. (Heir Apparent remains my favorite, but this is very possibly a matter of age at first reading bias).
kazcat's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
middlekmissie's review against another edition
3.0
In Which I'm Still Trying to Catch Up:
http://thebookfix.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/quick-takes-2
http://thebookfix.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/quick-takes-2
ashesmann's review against another edition
4.0
Written for younger people than me but I still enjoyed it. I thought it was pretty smartly written and I loved that it was based in Rochester. And pretty positive too. Most books taking place around here are just long complaints about the weather. A story of a girl and her big sister.
amdame1's review against another edition
3.0
When Grace’s seemingly perfect older sister Emily seems to be committing suicide by virtual reality, Grace is the only one who can enter the game to save her. However, there is a big risk due to the prolonged exposure. Gamers and fans of Vande Velde’s “Heir Apparent” will enjoy this entertaining tale.