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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
I had high expectations for this novel after seeing all the glowing reviews.
Perhaps, then this is my problem that I so wanted to love it. The premise was quite fascinating, but somehow the execution didn't cut it and I wasn't so pulled in and didn't care all that much what happened. Wanda was the most perplexing character - just didn't really get her and that romance thrown in at the end... Didn't make me feel anything.
The measure of a good book: "I don't want it to end." And this one was just like "Oh well."
Definitely could've been better.
Perhaps, then this is my problem that I so wanted to love it. The premise was quite fascinating, but somehow the execution didn't cut it and I wasn't so pulled in and didn't care all that much what happened. Wanda was the most perplexing character - just didn't really get her and that romance thrown in at the end... Didn't make me feel anything.
The measure of a good book: "I don't want it to end." And this one was just like "Oh well."
Definitely could've been better.
This started off with an anxiety filled bang and I was so excited to pick it up for part 2. The writing is absolutely beautiful throughout the book and kept me coming back every night. But after part one, it just sort of dragged on. Wanda didn’t seem super likable, so I wasn’t sure where the story was going go with her. The ending was a whirlwind crammed into part 3 leaving me scratching my head. And what even was “the light”?
3.5 - This was really good and lovely writing. Also I was shopping for hurricane insurance as I was reading it, so that was unsettling.
But the setting and all the characters were really good. The only thing was that the light thing didn’t come into it enough, soon enough. It made the ending feel a little crammed in and unearned. It was a good ending, just needed to start toward it earlier. And the … ends … of many of the characters seemed a little underplayed for what they deserved.
But the setting and all the characters were really good. The only thing was that the light thing didn’t come into it enough, soon enough. It made the ending feel a little crammed in and unearned. It was a good ending, just needed to start toward it earlier. And the … ends … of many of the characters seemed a little underplayed for what they deserved.
The storyline is ambitious and breathtaking. Told in four parts, it explores life before and after a catastrophic hurricane, and what the future of our world could look like. The expectations I had set were blown away within the first part, and the next three took me on an adventure I had never anticipated. The story is told purely through points of view of related characters, so a lot of the dystopian elements were assumed rather than explained. This left me feeling a little cheated from the world-building, but the character dynamics made up for most of that.
If any of this book's weirdly specific traits caught your eye, you should definitely give it a shot! I'd also recommend it if you're interested in a dystopian novel that focuses on ecological changes instead of economic ones!
If any of this book's weirdly specific traits caught your eye, you should definitely give it a shot! I'd also recommend it if you're interested in a dystopian novel that focuses on ecological changes instead of economic ones!
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
This is a great book. The first part is very intense. The second a bit slower. It starts with Frida about ready to give birth as a hurricane is barreling towards their home in Florida. Her husband Kirby has refused to evacuate. Kirby is a lineman for the electric company and goes out just before the storm leaving Frida and his 2 sons. While he is away the boys go out and the youngest dies. Frida tries to find them but goes into labor. Kirby finds her just as she is dying and she wants the baby named Wanda after the hurricane. Then the novel jumps to Wanda at 10. Florida is going underwater. Miami has already evacuated. Kirby and his grown son are very busy as lineman. Wanda has gotten herself into trouble being alone so she is sent to the neighbors house, Phyllis after school. Phyllis is a scientist who works at the college or used to. She teaches Wanda all about living on your own and prepping for the big storm. Lucas the brother decides to go away to college and so after another big storm Kirby and Wanda agreed to move to. Then Kirby is swept away when a local dam breaks. The story then jumps again to when Wanda is a young woman. She has been living with Phyllis since Kirby died and Lucas went off to school. Florida has been evacuated and left to nature. So Wanda and Phyllis live off the land. Wanda has a special gift where organisms light up when she is around them in the water. Phyllises is a danger since it'll give away their location. And one day someone tracks them using that like. Wanda ends up killing these people who she knew from school. Then wand and Phyllis decide to live in a floating town. After Phyllis dies Wanda finds a woman and joins her small group. Turns out to be the twin of the person she shot and wanted this. They end up being lovers. It's very end of the book Wanda is at the end of her life in Florida has not returned to normal but people have found a way to survive. I'm interesting look at what climate change will mean for the US and it's possible ramifications.
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes