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kiazareni 's review for:
Infernal Devices
by Philip Reeve
I would give the book like 3.5 stars, to be honest, but I am way too angry about what happened to Hester. (WARNING: spoilers ahead)
I mean, it's one thing that when you go through a series of traumas and such a strange childhood like hers, it's completely understandable that she slips back to old habits and her often cruel survival instinct kicks in at the first sight of danger. I actually really liked that, and I also liked how even after all these years with Tom, she still has the same insecurities, although not as strong (in the beginning of the book), that he doesn't really love her and never will. It's subtle in the first half of the book, because it HAS been 16 years, come on, but as the plot unfolds and she starts fearing that Tom might find out what she did years ago, these insecurities hit her again with full force and ultimately lead her to do what she does at the end of the book. That's awesome, truly.
But. This book went further than that and destroyed every character development she had in the past or could have had in this one. There was so much potential in the plot, so many ways her character could have improved, not even necessarily becoming a better person, i'm not even sure i would have wanted that, but just... grow. And she didn't, which is annoying because logically it has been 16 years and to have zero things that changed about her in all those years is actually ridiculous and unrealistic. There were times I felt hope that we would see her grow as a character but unfortunately that didn't happen in this book. I still have that hope for book 4, though.
Anyway, Wren. I was worried at first because I genuinely did not like her. This was mainly because of the way she sees her mother: we spent two whole books growing to love Hester and then comes this brat and says Hester is ugly and weird and evil?? I was like, you know what, that might be true but show some respect young lady, she has gone through things you can't even imagine.
I was worried that I won't be able to like Wren at all, but then I realized that this is something Reeve has pulled in the previous two books too: first with Katherine, then with Freya. Bring in a pretty girl, paint her as kind of naive and shallow, and then slowly discover what she's actually capable of. I would have liked a tiny bit more growth in Wren, maybe more situations where she had to think quickly and get herself out of there, but what I truly wanted and still want for her is having to make a difficult decision which would make her relate to Hester.
This is by the way an ongoing issue with this book: even though it has been sixteen years, none of the characters changed much. I like what happened to Caul and Freya, that one, I'm okay with, but Hester and Tom should have been developed more.
Nevertheless, I really was unable to put the book down especially in the second half, and I'm sorry for ranting so much about the characters but I needed this lol. 3 and a half stars, and the half goes to Boo-Boo, whom I love very much and I hope we see her again because she's the fucking best. (Also, Theo?? Yes, please, I hope we get to know him more in book 4, because he also has a lot of potential, and i think he's a good love interest for Wren.)
I mean, it's one thing that when you go through a series of traumas and such a strange childhood like hers, it's completely understandable that she slips back to old habits and her often cruel survival instinct kicks in at the first sight of danger. I actually really liked that, and I also liked how even after all these years with Tom, she still has the same insecurities, although not as strong (in the beginning of the book), that he doesn't really love her and never will. It's subtle in the first half of the book, because it HAS been 16 years, come on, but as the plot unfolds and she starts fearing that Tom might find out what she did years ago, these insecurities hit her again with full force and ultimately lead her to do what she does at the end of the book. That's awesome, truly.
But. This book went further than that and destroyed every character development she had in the past or could have had in this one. There was so much potential in the plot, so many ways her character could have improved, not even necessarily becoming a better person, i'm not even sure i would have wanted that, but just... grow. And she didn't, which is annoying because logically it has been 16 years and to have zero things that changed about her in all those years is actually ridiculous and unrealistic. There were times I felt hope that we would see her grow as a character but unfortunately that didn't happen in this book. I still have that hope for book 4, though.
Anyway, Wren. I was worried at first because I genuinely did not like her. This was mainly because of the way she sees her mother: we spent two whole books growing to love Hester and then comes this brat and says Hester is ugly and weird and evil?? I was like, you know what, that might be true but show some respect young lady, she has gone through things you can't even imagine.
I was worried that I won't be able to like Wren at all, but then I realized that this is something Reeve has pulled in the previous two books too: first with Katherine, then with Freya. Bring in a pretty girl, paint her as kind of naive and shallow, and then slowly discover what she's actually capable of. I would have liked a tiny bit more growth in Wren, maybe more situations where she had to think quickly and get herself out of there, but what I truly wanted and still want for her is having to make a difficult decision which would make her relate to Hester.
This is by the way an ongoing issue with this book: even though it has been sixteen years, none of the characters changed much. I like what happened to Caul and Freya, that one, I'm okay with, but Hester and Tom should have been developed more.
Nevertheless, I really was unable to put the book down especially in the second half, and I'm sorry for ranting so much about the characters but I needed this lol. 3 and a half stars, and the half goes to Boo-Boo, whom I love very much and I hope we see her again because she's the fucking best. (Also, Theo?? Yes, please, I hope we get to know him more in book 4, because he also has a lot of potential, and i think he's a good love interest for Wren.)