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A review by speelingmistake
Rated by Melissa Grey
2.0
This book can't really decide what genre it is or who the main character or what the plot is...
It is by turns a dystopian novel, romance, school story, mystery, a heist story and never really lands any of those aspects.
There are 6 main characters which is a LOT for only just over 300 pages - so they all wind up being a bit one dimensional without having the time to get to know them. The rating system of the title is very simple and familiar to those who have seen that Black Mirror episode but placing it in a high school feels a bit bland. Yeah real life teenagers are graded constantly and the sometimes arbitrary way they are graded does affect their whole life - which is a flawed system - however simply making the rating system more obvious a part of society and placing it on smart watches doesn't really have much impact on the story. It doesn't feel fictional enough. The plot 'twist' that the rating system is essentially nonsense and everyone's chasing after a meaningless goal......yeah...duh.
So the dystopian aspect of the book is really a bit of a dud.
The mystery aspect is actually really weak too as most of the characters of the story don't seem to care that much about it. And if they don't care about it then why should we? After all the mystery doesn't seem that mysterious - someone is publicly saying something that many already know and believe and somehow that's supposed to propel the plot? Some people get mysterious anonymous notes and none of them just throw them out assuming it's nothing? How bored are all of these students that they actually follow up on this?
There's a sloppily executed heist that shouldn't have worked, a bully problem is solved with some clever computer hacking cos I guess these teens are THAT smart and a new couple get to move in together right under the nose of some supposedly controlling parents who seem to have a massive blind spot on this one subject.
And of course the mysterious figure behind the Jester is the person who interceded to bring them together in the first place. Because otherwise what would be the point of that character?
Anyway the group are now united and though they have been deliberately manipulated into their relationship they are committed to a life of vigilantism and bringing down the rating system.
Besides Black Mirror I know other reviewers have pointed out similarities to Community, I Know What You Did Last Summer, American Vandal, Fahrenheit 451, Breakfast Club etc - that's how unoriginal this book is.
It's all just very unimaginative and low stakes.
It is by turns a dystopian novel, romance, school story, mystery, a heist story and never really lands any of those aspects.
There are 6 main characters which is a LOT for only just over 300 pages - so they all wind up being a bit one dimensional without having the time to get to know them. The rating system of the title is very simple and familiar to those who have seen that Black Mirror episode but placing it in a high school feels a bit bland. Yeah real life teenagers are graded constantly and the sometimes arbitrary way they are graded does affect their whole life - which is a flawed system - however simply making the rating system more obvious a part of society and placing it on smart watches doesn't really have much impact on the story. It doesn't feel fictional enough. The plot 'twist' that the rating system is essentially nonsense and everyone's chasing after a meaningless goal......yeah...duh.
So the dystopian aspect of the book is really a bit of a dud.
The mystery aspect is actually really weak too as most of the characters of the story don't seem to care that much about it. And if they don't care about it then why should we? After all the mystery doesn't seem that mysterious - someone is publicly saying something that many already know and believe and somehow that's supposed to propel the plot? Some people get mysterious anonymous notes and none of them just throw them out assuming it's nothing? How bored are all of these students that they actually follow up on this?
There's a sloppily executed heist that shouldn't have worked, a bully problem is solved with some clever computer hacking cos I guess these teens are THAT smart and a new couple get to move in together right under the nose of some supposedly controlling parents who seem to have a massive blind spot on this one subject.
And of course the mysterious figure behind the Jester is the person who interceded to bring them together in the first place. Because otherwise what would be the point of that character?
Anyway the group are now united and though they have been deliberately manipulated into their relationship they are committed to a life of vigilantism and bringing down the rating system.
Besides Black Mirror I know other reviewers have pointed out similarities to Community, I Know What You Did Last Summer, American Vandal, Fahrenheit 451, Breakfast Club etc - that's how unoriginal this book is.
It's all just very unimaginative and low stakes.