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lachupacabracita 's review for:
Impostors
by Scott Westerfeld
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m glad I decided to visit this book. Scott Westerfeld delivers for the lovers of dystopians and the dreaders of our current reality.
I’ll start by prefacing that I am beyond the intended audience at 30 years old, but I still enjoyed the story and appreciated the themes introduced to young readers.
While I’m not a huge fan of first person novels, and while it is clear to me that the character is written by a man, the protagonist is still likable and you do root for her to be accepted by others (though maybe sometimes the acceptance feels a little fast paced). Since she has lived her life in isolation, the book is full of “learning moments” for her as she adjusts to the epiphanies that her life was not normal.
In many ways, I found the recurring theme of her sisters words “not normal” to be very reflective and transcending the circumstances and plot of the book. Many children who are abused and isolated in circumstances whether it be parents addictions, hoarding, or sexual abuse — have to work through the epiphany of “this is not normal.” I enjoyed this theme as it is nestled in the plot and also as it may inspire young readers to look at their own circumstances and consider “is this normal, am I being treated right?”
The other thing I enjoy a lot about the Uglies series as well as this book, is the acknowledgment of how invasive species and engineered solutions to climate disaster often cause other issues. Traditional ecological knowledges are the only actual viable solutions to climate. There is no “green” solar power or “green” lithium battery cars. The orchids cannot save us, or the book’s characters. These attempts at solutions have devastating impacts on soil, wildlife, ecological balance of biomes, loss of biodiversity and more. While Westerfeld doesn’t dive fully into this topic, he weaves it into the story in a way that doesn’t distract readers and take them too far into our current crisis or cause them to leave the world built in the novel — but those who know and have this ecological knowledge and framework will resonate and nod.
This book draws interesting distinctions between those seeking to uphold statehood (in a more equitable way), vs authoritarian statehood, vs the rebels who are likened to green anarchists who’s allegiance is to the land, biodiversity and earths health above all else.
I’m a hardened environmentalist and Indigenous person who reads dystopians because they give me hope, relief, and a safe canister to explore my feelings of dread for our future and certain ecological collapse. Children these days are not unaware that the future they were promised and the future that we are all hurdling towards toward is frightening politically and ecologically.
This book serves as a vehicle to process the emotions of young people grappling with our reality abusive state dynamics, ecological collapse and familial abuse. While I didn’t care too much for the romance plot, probably due to male author and also my being 30 years old, I would still recommend this to readers my age and certainly to its intended audience.
We live in an age where so called Dystopian novels are more realistic and earnest than they are fantastical, this book is no exception to that. It’s an entertaining and fast read and I will definitely finish out the series.
I’ll start by prefacing that I am beyond the intended audience at 30 years old, but I still enjoyed the story and appreciated the themes introduced to young readers.
While I’m not a huge fan of first person novels, and while it is clear to me that the character is written by a man, the protagonist is still likable and you do root for her to be accepted by others (though maybe sometimes the acceptance feels a little fast paced). Since she has lived her life in isolation, the book is full of “learning moments” for her as she adjusts to the epiphanies that her life was not normal.
In many ways, I found the recurring theme of her sisters words “not normal” to be very reflective and transcending the circumstances and plot of the book. Many children who are abused and isolated in circumstances whether it be parents addictions, hoarding, or sexual abuse — have to work through the epiphany of “this is not normal.” I enjoyed this theme as it is nestled in the plot and also as it may inspire young readers to look at their own circumstances and consider “is this normal, am I being treated right?”
The other thing I enjoy a lot about the Uglies series as well as this book, is the acknowledgment of how invasive species and engineered solutions to climate disaster often cause other issues. Traditional ecological knowledges are the only actual viable solutions to climate. There is no “green” solar power or “green” lithium battery cars. The orchids cannot save us, or the book’s characters. These attempts at solutions have devastating impacts on soil, wildlife, ecological balance of biomes, loss of biodiversity and more. While Westerfeld doesn’t dive fully into this topic, he weaves it into the story in a way that doesn’t distract readers and take them too far into our current crisis or cause them to leave the world built in the novel — but those who know and have this ecological knowledge and framework will resonate and nod.
This book draws interesting distinctions between those seeking to uphold statehood (in a more equitable way), vs authoritarian statehood, vs the rebels who are likened to green anarchists who’s allegiance is to the land, biodiversity and earths health above all else.
I’m a hardened environmentalist and Indigenous person who reads dystopians because they give me hope, relief, and a safe canister to explore my feelings of dread for our future and certain ecological collapse. Children these days are not unaware that the future they were promised and the future that we are all hurdling towards toward is frightening politically and ecologically.
This book serves as a vehicle to process the emotions of young people grappling with our reality abusive state dynamics, ecological collapse and familial abuse. While I didn’t care too much for the romance plot, probably due to male author and also my being 30 years old, I would still recommend this to readers my age and certainly to its intended audience.
We live in an age where so called Dystopian novels are more realistic and earnest than they are fantastical, this book is no exception to that. It’s an entertaining and fast read and I will definitely finish out the series.