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foofers1622's review
4.0
I read this book for my libraries "YA for 21 and older book club".
A different take on the quarantine story. Finally, a "zombie" story without flesh eating zombies! A bitter sweet story that makes you question your own actions when a memory erasing virus hits town.
A different take on the quarantine story. Finally, a "zombie" story without flesh eating zombies! A bitter sweet story that makes you question your own actions when a memory erasing virus hits town.
booksandladders's review
2.0
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Well, that was a little disappointing. This book and I got off on the wrong foot from the beginning and it picked up a bit but then crashed back down. I thought the premise was so interesting but the execution was lacking SOMETHING (like a more defined plot). I would suggest this one to people who don't mind following someone around without much purpose.
I requested this one based on premise because hello, science fiction, virus, mysterious girl who shakes things up!! but none of those things really mattered in the grand scheme of things? It was more about how Cardinal lived now? And I mean, that would have been interesting if he wasn't such a Debbie Downer and actually did things. But he wandered and didn't interact with too many people because he didn't want to get infected. It was just a bit of an awkward story because it felt like the plot of figuring out what caused the virus and finding a cure were vastly overshadowed by Card just moping. I wanted him to be more active in helping people and stuff since that is how the story STARTED, but he kinda just became a hermit.
I also anticipated there would be more about the girl, whose name in the story is Hannah. She comes in and it "changes" things, according to the premise, but really she is just another addition to the story served to be Card's love interest. She doesn't even have an interesting story when I thought she would feature heavily. Like there is mystery surrounding her presence but it dwindles after like 20 pages of her being on screen so it was a bit disappointing.
I had a hard time connecting to the story at the beginning because of how it was written (as a letter to ME who is actually Card's brother Tennant) because until around 50% of the novel, I had no emotional connection to Card so I felt really disconnected from the story. It was difficult because there were stories about their (our?) shared past being told in this story but because I had no connection to them and had no idea what they were, they just clogged up the story for me until the night of the 16th was discussed. I also didn't like that there were some like dream sequences? thrown in because I had a hard time figuring out what was really happening and what Cardinal was just imagining happening.
I liked the conclusion though! I would have liked more from this conclusion and storyline because I think it was really interesting. The plot that should have been (i.e. virus and cure discussion) happened in like 20 pages. The last 20 pages. I feel like there was way too much time spent on Cardinal being whiny and not enough time spent on Cardinal DOING something so he wouldn't be as whiny anymore.
Overall, interesting premise but lack of execution really ruined this for me. As well, I was hoping for more discussion about the virus rather than the brief snippets we got about it. It seemed like this book was a mish-mash of three different ideas that didn't perfectly overlap. And that makes me sad.
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
Well, that was a little disappointing. This book and I got off on the wrong foot from the beginning and it picked up a bit but then crashed back down. I thought the premise was so interesting but the execution was lacking SOMETHING (like a more defined plot). I would suggest this one to people who don't mind following someone around without much purpose.
I requested this one based on premise because hello, science fiction, virus, mysterious girl who shakes things up!! but none of those things really mattered in the grand scheme of things? It was more about how Cardinal lived now? And I mean, that would have been interesting if he wasn't such a Debbie Downer and actually did things. But he wandered and didn't interact with too many people because he didn't want to get infected. It was just a bit of an awkward story because it felt like the plot of figuring out what caused the virus and finding a cure were vastly overshadowed by Card just moping. I wanted him to be more active in helping people and stuff since that is how the story STARTED, but he kinda just became a hermit.
I also anticipated there would be more about the girl, whose name in the story is Hannah. She comes in and it "changes" things, according to the premise, but really she is just another addition to the story served to be Card's love interest. She doesn't even have an interesting story when I thought she would feature heavily. Like there is mystery surrounding her presence but it dwindles after like 20 pages of her being on screen so it was a bit disappointing.
I had a hard time connecting to the story at the beginning because of how it was written (as a letter to ME who is actually Card's brother Tennant) because until around 50% of the novel, I had no emotional connection to Card so I felt really disconnected from the story. It was difficult because there were stories about their (our?) shared past being told in this story but because I had no connection to them and had no idea what they were, they just clogged up the story for me until the night of the 16th was discussed. I also didn't like that there were some like dream sequences? thrown in because I had a hard time figuring out what was really happening and what Cardinal was just imagining happening.
I liked the conclusion though! I would have liked more from this conclusion and storyline because I think it was really interesting. The plot that should have been (i.e. virus and cure discussion) happened in like 20 pages. The last 20 pages. I feel like there was way too much time spent on Cardinal being whiny and not enough time spent on Cardinal DOING something so he wouldn't be as whiny anymore.
Overall, interesting premise but lack of execution really ruined this for me. As well, I was hoping for more discussion about the virus rather than the brief snippets we got about it. It seemed like this book was a mish-mash of three different ideas that didn't perfectly overlap. And that makes me sad.
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
cosmicpages's review
3.0
Definitely an interesting concept, rather than the entire world or country being included in the "dystopian" event, they narrowed it down to a single town cut off from the rest of the world. I enjoyed this book but it won't make it into my top list. I liked Card, he seemed like he had a more realistic view of the situation in Black River than most other people did, especially for being a teenager. I feel like the author could have done a better job including the fact that the main character was bi-racial than just throwing it into some of the dialogue and then never touching on it again. A missed opportunity I think to add some diversity and culture to the story. There were some holes and events that really didn't add at all to the plot that probably could have been done differently. I did enjoy that the format was really like a journal or a long letter to his older brother as a way of coping with the situations he found himself in. All in all a fairly decent read.
leannza13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
readingrobin's review against another edition
2.0
Typically I'm not into the whole slight dystopia, virus spreading kinds of book and this one isn't an exception. There were good ideas here, and the tone and style is very competent. It just wasn't the genre I'm usually interested in. Again I found myself liking the side characters more than the protagonist, who was very underwhelming.
It also took more than 2/3rds of the book for the plot to really get moving and that really is too long to wait. The majority of the book has such meandering pace that it's difficult to stay interested. Most of the twists I saw coming from a mile away.
This isn't a terrible book, but it's one that I will probably forget about in a month or so.
It also took more than 2/3rds of the book for the plot to really get moving and that really is too long to wait. The majority of the book has such meandering pace that it's difficult to stay interested. Most of the twists I saw coming from a mile away.
This isn't a terrible book, but it's one that I will probably forget about in a month or so.
riotbatgrrl's review against another edition
3.0
On the one hand, I liked the atmosphere. I liked that it was a (mostly) nonviolent viral apocalypse. But it was also a lot of philosophy and there was a lot of backstory that I wish had been fully included rather than referenced.
jamiebooksandladders's review against another edition
2.0
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Well, that was a little disappointing. This book and I got off on the wrong foot from the beginning and it picked up a bit but then crashed back down. I thought the premise was so interesting but the execution was lacking SOMETHING (like a more defined plot). I would suggest this one to people who don't mind following someone around without much purpose.
I requested this one based on premise because hello, science fiction, virus, mysterious girl who shakes things up!! but none of those things really mattered in the grand scheme of things? It was more about how Cardinal lived now? And I mean, that would have been interesting if he wasn't such a Debbie Downer and actually did things. But he wandered and didn't interact with too many people because he didn't want to get infected. It was just a bit of an awkward story because it felt like the plot of figuring out what caused the virus and finding a cure were vastly overshadowed by Card just moping. I wanted him to be more active in helping people and stuff since that is how the story STARTED, but he kinda just became a hermit.
I also anticipated there would be more about the girl, whose name in the story is Hannah. She comes in and it "changes" things, according to the premise, but really she is just another addition to the story served to be Card's love interest. She doesn't even have an interesting story when I thought she would feature heavily. Like there is mystery surrounding her presence but it dwindles after like 20 pages of her being on screen so it was a bit disappointing.
I had a hard time connecting to the story at the beginning because of how it was written (as a letter to ME who is actually Card's brother Tennant) because until around 50% of the novel, I had no emotional connection to Card so I felt really disconnected from the story. It was difficult because there were stories about their (our?) shared past being told in this story but because I had no connection to them and had no idea what they were, they just clogged up the story for me until the night of the 16th was discussed. I also didn't like that there were some like dream sequences? thrown in because I had a hard time figuring out what was really happening and what Cardinal was just imagining happening.
I liked the conclusion though! I would have liked more from this conclusion and storyline because I think it was really interesting. The plot that should have been (i.e. virus and cure discussion) happened in like 20 pages. The last 20 pages. I feel like there was way too much time spent on Cardinal being whiny and not enough time spent on Cardinal DOING something so he wouldn't be as whiny anymore.
Overall, interesting premise but lack of execution really ruined this for me. As well, I was hoping for more discussion about the virus rather than the brief snippets we got about it. It seemed like this book was a mish-mash of three different ideas that didn't perfectly overlap. And that makes me sad.
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
Well, that was a little disappointing. This book and I got off on the wrong foot from the beginning and it picked up a bit but then crashed back down. I thought the premise was so interesting but the execution was lacking SOMETHING (like a more defined plot). I would suggest this one to people who don't mind following someone around without much purpose.
I requested this one based on premise because hello, science fiction, virus, mysterious girl who shakes things up!! but none of those things really mattered in the grand scheme of things? It was more about how Cardinal lived now? And I mean, that would have been interesting if he wasn't such a Debbie Downer and actually did things. But he wandered and didn't interact with too many people because he didn't want to get infected. It was just a bit of an awkward story because it felt like the plot of figuring out what caused the virus and finding a cure were vastly overshadowed by Card just moping. I wanted him to be more active in helping people and stuff since that is how the story STARTED, but he kinda just became a hermit.
I also anticipated there would be more about the girl, whose name in the story is Hannah. She comes in and it "changes" things, according to the premise, but really she is just another addition to the story served to be Card's love interest. She doesn't even have an interesting story when I thought she would feature heavily. Like there is mystery surrounding her presence but it dwindles after like 20 pages of her being on screen so it was a bit disappointing.
I had a hard time connecting to the story at the beginning because of how it was written (as a letter to ME who is actually Card's brother Tennant) because until around 50% of the novel, I had no emotional connection to Card so I felt really disconnected from the story. It was difficult because there were stories about their (our?) shared past being told in this story but because I had no connection to them and had no idea what they were, they just clogged up the story for me until the night of the 16th was discussed. I also didn't like that there were some like dream sequences? thrown in because I had a hard time figuring out what was really happening and what Cardinal was just imagining happening.
I liked the conclusion though! I would have liked more from this conclusion and storyline because I think it was really interesting. The plot that should have been (i.e. virus and cure discussion) happened in like 20 pages. The last 20 pages. I feel like there was way too much time spent on Cardinal being whiny and not enough time spent on Cardinal DOING something so he wouldn't be as whiny anymore.
Overall, interesting premise but lack of execution really ruined this for me. As well, I was hoping for more discussion about the virus rather than the brief snippets we got about it. It seemed like this book was a mish-mash of three different ideas that didn't perfectly overlap. And that makes me sad.
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
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