Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by rays_787
Mirror's Edge by Scott Westerfeld
5.0
main character: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
side characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
theme(s): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
setting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So, you might remember that this review was fairly hard to read, and that's because it has taken me nearly a month to sort my thoughts. And well, here we are.
If I had to describe the Imposters series in 1 word it would be: blank. I mean, these books are minimalism personified. Or literary-ifed. And I don't mean blank, like the books are bland and boring. No. For me, these books just seem to have a sparse vibe. It's kinda hard to describe, but I've never seen anything like it. It was the same with the Uglies series.
Well, because of that vibe, for me, Frey has always seemed to be lacking in personality. Maybe this is purposeful, due to the fact that she impersonated her sister for most of her life, or not, but it led to a more...disconnected...reading experience. I just couldn't connect with Frey.
However, this book changed all of that. In terms of character development alone, this book was an excellent addition to the series. Frey seemed to become much more of her own person, and we started to see more of her personality—and not just her acting as Rafi.
Speaking of Rafi—this book was also great for her development. In the first book, we could see Rafi's confident and flamboyant personality, but in the second book, we learned that Rafi wasn't as stable as we once thought. This book took that instability to another level, and it was great. Both Rafi and Frey lived in an abusive home, yet they both worked through the trauma in different ways. The way that Scott Westerfeld did that was great--showing the complexity of trauma.
Now, as for the side characters—this book was great. There were new additions, and all of them were colorful and unique. We got to explore their relationships with Frey, and nothing about it was boring or contrived.
Then, there was Col. I feel that with the rise of the 'strong female character', the male character could become not much more than a shadow, and the general population wouldn't complain. And that's not what feminists wanted. They wanted equality in literature, which doesn't mean that we have to sacrifice the complexity of male characters.
I know that Scott Westerfeld is capable of creating a complex male sidekick, as displayed with Zane in Uglies and Boss X. But,now Col's dead, so I'm not really sure what will come next. I'm interested to see how his death will affect Frey, cause their relationship was pretty low-key. Additionally, Rafi is now poised to become the main antagonist of the next book, which is really surprising but makes a lot of sense. There was much foreshadowing—and I think that tension between Frey/Rafi will make for a very cool book.
Now—Col's death. When I finished this book, I was distraught, but now I see the beauty of that decision. It was necessary. Perhaps Scott Westerfeld intended Col to be bland—as to not steal the show away from other characters, such as Rafi and Boss X. And from a birds-eye perspective, his death will make the next much better.
As for the plot, I was really impressed. It spanned a much smaller timeline than some of Scott Westerfeld's other books, and it wasn't a mistake. I love books that are on a smaller stage, and it was great.
And the setting—great. We've been in Shreve before, but we got to explore it a different way. Also, Scott Westerfeld is really great at making very timely additions to his universe. For instance, the group of characters who wanted to 'make their mark on history'. It was delightfully funny, while also making you think.
That type of reflection is really what makes this book shine. Without the timely commentary on modern-day society or cautionary tales, this book would a cheap dystopian novel that never sold. The Uglies series has survived nearly 20 years—two decades—due to this. The only concern I have is that if he continues this world beyond this series, it might get somewhat contrived. Who knows? This series will always have an audience.
Side note: The Tally Youngblood name drop at the end...idk what to think about that. I read Uglies like 3 years ago, so I don't really remember the plot of Uglies that much. Really, I don't really want Tally to play much of a role in the next book. She already got her ending, and I've started to really like Frey, so I don't really want to see Tally.
Anyway, besides all of the themes and stuff, I am really excited (and impatient) for the next novel.
side characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
theme(s): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
setting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So, you might remember that this review was fairly hard to read, and that's because it has taken me nearly a month to sort my thoughts. And well, here we are.
If I had to describe the Imposters series in 1 word it would be: blank. I mean, these books are minimalism personified. Or literary-ifed. And I don't mean blank, like the books are bland and boring. No. For me, these books just seem to have a sparse vibe. It's kinda hard to describe, but I've never seen anything like it. It was the same with the Uglies series.
Well, because of that vibe, for me, Frey has always seemed to be lacking in personality. Maybe this is purposeful, due to the fact that she impersonated her sister for most of her life, or not, but it led to a more...disconnected...reading experience. I just couldn't connect with Frey.
However, this book changed all of that. In terms of character development alone, this book was an excellent addition to the series. Frey seemed to become much more of her own person, and we started to see more of her personality—and not just her acting as Rafi.
Speaking of Rafi—this book was also great for her development. In the first book, we could see Rafi's confident and flamboyant personality, but in the second book, we learned that Rafi wasn't as stable as we once thought. This book took that instability to another level, and it was great. Both Rafi and Frey lived in an abusive home, yet they both worked through the trauma in different ways. The way that Scott Westerfeld did that was great--showing the complexity of trauma.
Now, as for the side characters—this book was great. There were new additions, and all of them were colorful and unique. We got to explore their relationships with Frey, and nothing about it was boring or contrived.
Then, there was Col. I feel that with the rise of the 'strong female character', the male character could become not much more than a shadow, and the general population wouldn't complain. And that's not what feminists wanted. They wanted equality in literature, which doesn't mean that we have to sacrifice the complexity of male characters.
I know that Scott Westerfeld is capable of creating a complex male sidekick, as displayed with Zane in Uglies and Boss X. But,
Now—Col's death. When I finished this book, I was distraught, but now I see the beauty of that decision. It was necessary. Perhaps Scott Westerfeld intended Col to be bland—as to not steal the show away from other characters, such as Rafi and Boss X. And from a birds-eye perspective, his death will make the next much better.
As for the plot, I was really impressed. It spanned a much smaller timeline than some of Scott Westerfeld's other books, and it wasn't a mistake. I love books that are on a smaller stage, and it was great.
And the setting—great. We've been in Shreve before, but we got to explore it a different way. Also, Scott Westerfeld is really great at making very timely additions to his universe. For instance, the group of characters who wanted to 'make their mark on history'. It was delightfully funny, while also making you think.
That type of reflection is really what makes this book shine. Without the timely commentary on modern-day society or cautionary tales, this book would a cheap dystopian novel that never sold. The Uglies series has survived nearly 20 years—two decades—due to this. The only concern I have is that if he continues this world beyond this series, it might get somewhat contrived. Who knows? This series will always have an audience.
Side note:
Anyway, besides all of the themes and stuff, I am really excited (and impatient) for the next novel.