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federicareads 's review for:
Mirage
by Somaiya Daud
6.86 on CAWPILE | three stars.
(this is a spoiler-free review)
i don’t usually love science-fiction novels so i was a bit hesitant to pick this up. i’m glad i eventually did. it surprised me, and in a good way.
this is a well-crafted story (especially world-building wise) about colonialism. it has lovable characters, beautiful writing, and clever ideas. the story did take a bit to pick up, but when it did, i was fully immersed.
at first, maram and amani felt almost interchangeable to me and i was contemplating dnfing this, but after reading a few more chapters, i began to understand these characters better. their personalities slowly developed and consequently i began to care for them, especially for amani. i think the author did a wonderful job at crafting these characters and making them feel real and authentic.
at times, i felt like the plot wasn’t given enough space to breathe in. i do think that this story needed more time (and pages) to develop. the beginning was really slow, whereas the last few chapters were too fast-paced for my liking. they felt rushed compared to the rest of the novel.
overall, i consider this to be a really strong debut. i am excited to read the sequel. i hope the second book will be able to delve a little deeper into the backstory of these characters while also not losing sight of its main plot. we’ll see.
content warnings: blood, body horror, confinement, death, genocide, grief, gun violence, kidnapping (main plot point), physical abuse, torture (main character + loved ones), violence.
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rtc !!
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slow start but things are finally getting interesting!! i think this might be my first science fiction novel? wait, i have read 1984 by orwell but that doesn’t count jsjsjs. anyways, i usually i am not drawn to dystopian settings so we’ll see if i end up liking this! i really hope i do because everyone on goodreads has been speaking so highly of this ya novel.. we’ll see how it goes though c:
(this is a spoiler-free review)
i don’t usually love science-fiction novels so i was a bit hesitant to pick this up. i’m glad i eventually did. it surprised me, and in a good way.
this is a well-crafted story (especially world-building wise) about colonialism. it has lovable characters, beautiful writing, and clever ideas. the story did take a bit to pick up, but when it did, i was fully immersed.
at first, maram and amani felt almost interchangeable to me and i was contemplating dnfing this, but after reading a few more chapters, i began to understand these characters better. their personalities slowly developed and consequently i began to care for them, especially for amani. i think the author did a wonderful job at crafting these characters and making them feel real and authentic.
at times, i felt like the plot wasn’t given enough space to breathe in. i do think that this story needed more time (and pages) to develop. the beginning was really slow, whereas the last few chapters were too fast-paced for my liking. they felt rushed compared to the rest of the novel.
overall, i consider this to be a really strong debut. i am excited to read the sequel. i hope the second book will be able to delve a little deeper into the backstory of these characters while also not losing sight of its main plot. we’ll see.
content warnings: blood, body horror, confinement, death, genocide, grief, gun violence, kidnapping (main plot point), physical abuse, torture (main character + loved ones), violence.
——————————————————
rtc !!
——————————————————
slow start but things are finally getting interesting!! i think this might be my first science fiction novel? wait, i have read 1984 by orwell but that doesn’t count jsjsjs. anyways, i usually i am not drawn to dystopian settings so we’ll see if i end up liking this! i really hope i do because everyone on goodreads has been speaking so highly of this ya novel.. we’ll see how it goes though c: