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A review by sidekickyin
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
5.0
This is going on my comfort reads list because I could easily see myself reaching for it when I need something, quick, fun and comforting.
I greatly liked Dora and how her half soul struggled with reaching emotions. The way those emotions were trapped inside her, yet bubbling to the surface occasionally in ways she couldn't put words to nor understand was highly relatable. I've seen some critiques of Dora having emotions as inconsistency in the narrative, but I didn't think that at all. She knows they are there and she should be having them in some capacity and the stronger the emotion, the stronger her thoughtful narrative becomes, trying to dissect it. This was very well done IMO.
Elias was a trip. Clearly, he's the genius who doesn't give a damn about what society thinks is proper and focuses on what he thinks is right to best help society at large. The glaring differences between hiding from "evils", acknowledging them, but doing nothing about them or turning a blind eye to keep "ugly" things at bay, and actually practicing what you preach in order to do some good in the world are just as relevant today. Elias is the proactive version of this who thinks it should be common sense to want to help others in need and make the appropriate changes. His bitterness towards polite society - the ton - was his way of leashing out at them.
I loved how this turned into a mystery of sorts and was not quite expecting the twist in the middle that changed a lot of what I thought was going on. It surprised me and at first I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but I think it worked. I do think some more was needed for certain characters to have a more concrete ending. Some conclusions for certain characters felt a bit cut-off and I would've appreciated more insight, but that is my only complaint with this.
I greatly liked Dora and how her half soul struggled with reaching emotions. The way those emotions were trapped inside her, yet bubbling to the surface occasionally in ways she couldn't put words to nor understand was highly relatable. I've seen some critiques of Dora having emotions as inconsistency in the narrative, but I didn't think that at all. She knows they are there and she should be having them in some capacity and the stronger the emotion, the stronger her thoughtful narrative becomes, trying to dissect it. This was very well done IMO.
Elias was a trip. Clearly, he's the genius who doesn't give a damn about what society thinks is proper and focuses on what he thinks is right to best help society at large. The glaring differences between hiding from "evils", acknowledging them, but doing nothing about them or turning a blind eye to keep "ugly" things at bay, and actually practicing what you preach in order to do some good in the world are just as relevant today. Elias is the proactive version of this who thinks it should be common sense to want to help others in need and make the appropriate changes. His bitterness towards polite society - the ton - was his way of leashing out at them.
I loved how this turned into a mystery of sorts and was not quite expecting the twist in the middle that changed a lot of what I thought was going on. It surprised me and at first I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but I think it worked. I do think some more was needed for certain characters to have a more concrete ending. Some conclusions for certain characters felt a bit cut-off and I would've appreciated more insight, but that is my only complaint with this.