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A review by becca_osborn
The White Mountains by John Christopher
3.0
Will Parker is a pre-teen who lives in a remote town that is sparsely monitored by large robotic creatures called Tripods. After seeing the changes in his friend after the capping, a ritualistic ceremony carried out by the Tripods signifying adulthood, he begins asking questions about the process for the first time in his life. A chance meeting with a man who calls himself Ozymandias leads him on a journey to the white mountains...with a few unexpected tagalongs along the way. Will learns how to survive in not the best company and has to deal with his impulsivity by making some tough decisions.
The best thing about this book by far is the world created and the character development. Will is the unlikely hero to a T - we get frustrated with his weaknesses, and we are proud of him in those moments where he is quite heroic. He is also definitely a pre-teen/early teen - Christopher nails this realism! The three characters are all interesting and balance each other out, and while we wish Beanpole was telling the story, we feel more at home with Will, the risky screwup.
The plot moves quickly - in some places too quickly - and Christopher has a writer's quirk of over-explaining and telling v. showing how they got out of certain predicaments, and even some problems with tenses sometimes (rather than leading the reader to the situation, telling it in a "meanwhile, this is what happened, but we're safe now). That being said, I was still glued to this book and was excited to find out what happened. This book (though the ending was a little anti-climactic) left me ready to find out what happens next! :)
This would be a fantastic companion series read for anyone interested in dystopic literature. The plot would seem rather run-of-the-mill now, but these books were published in the late 60s, I believe.
Pairings: Divergent series, Hunger Games Series, 1984, Ender's Game, The Time Machine, Brave New World, A Clockwork Orange.
The best thing about this book by far is the world created and the character development. Will is the unlikely hero to a T - we get frustrated with his weaknesses, and we are proud of him in those moments where he is quite heroic. He is also definitely a pre-teen/early teen - Christopher nails this realism! The three characters are all interesting and balance each other out, and while we wish Beanpole was telling the story, we feel more at home with Will, the risky screwup.
The plot moves quickly - in some places too quickly - and Christopher has a writer's quirk of over-explaining and telling v. showing how they got out of certain predicaments, and even some problems with tenses sometimes (rather than leading the reader to the situation, telling it in a "meanwhile, this is what happened, but we're safe now). That being said, I was still glued to this book and was excited to find out what happened. This book (though the ending was a little anti-climactic) left me ready to find out what happens next! :)
This would be a fantastic companion series read for anyone interested in dystopic literature. The plot would seem rather run-of-the-mill now, but these books were published in the late 60s, I believe.
Pairings: Divergent series, Hunger Games Series, 1984, Ender's Game, The Time Machine, Brave New World, A Clockwork Orange.