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A review by raechel
Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline
adventurous
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I was surprised to see a sequel to The Marrow Thieves and even more surprised to see it takes place immediately after the ending of the first book. That kind of expediency threw me off, and unfortunately it sets the pace for the entire novel.
We follow French, captured by Recruiters and placed in a school. About half the chapters in this book follow other characters POVs, but we always come back to French and his perspective. And the novel continues its fast pace, where French learns what happens in the schools and tries to play the system and resist brainwashing. The pacing seemed unrealistic to me, but I think that's because this is YA and many books for this range tend to love at this speed.
I did find this novel easier to read than the first book, but it also feels more heavy-handed, with many scenes happening and being resolved within a few chapters, never to really be looked back on. We don't really sit with anything for too long.
The world this book is set in is, frankly, horrifying. A group of people are being hunted for their literal bone marrow. The majority of the world has been ravaged by plague and is going insane from lack of dreams. But at the same time, so many things are resolved that it doesn't really feel like anything is at stake. And the timelines are a bit wonky.
If you liked the first book, I think you should read this one. But it didn't hit quite as hard this time around.
We follow French, captured by Recruiters and placed in a school. About half the chapters in this book follow other characters POVs, but we always come back to French and his perspective. And the novel continues its fast pace, where French learns what happens in the schools and tries to play the system and resist brainwashing. The pacing seemed unrealistic to me, but I think that's because this is YA and many books for this range tend to love at this speed.
I did find this novel easier to read than the first book, but it also feels more heavy-handed, with many scenes happening and being resolved within a few chapters, never to really be looked back on. We don't really sit with anything for too long.
The world this book is set in is, frankly, horrifying. A group of people are being hunted for their literal bone marrow. The majority of the world has been ravaged by plague and is going insane from lack of dreams. But at the same time, so many things are resolved that it doesn't really feel like anything is at stake. And the timelines are a bit wonky.
If you liked the first book, I think you should read this one. But it didn't hit quite as hard this time around.