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Do you ever think of something that would be a really cool idea, and then someone does it, but they don't do it in the way you would have and that makes you irrationally dismissive of it? That's how I feel about this book, so this review will be subject to my irrational biases.
I think part of it is that so much of Neal Shusterman's writing is this tightly-wound, intricately designed braid of cleverness he has. It's not a bad thing--it's why I liked UNWIND and EVERWORLD when I was younger--but I really don't think that this plot is the place for it. He lessens the witticisms here, but for some reason in a world where only one thing speaks of unreality these recurring too-witty-for-real-life touches are jarring and make the whole setting seem more artificial to me. I think it's because in the other books I've read of Shusterman's, the whole world was very clearly something constructed, maybe even reminiscent of film. BRUISER tries to wedge one fantastic thing into the real world, and I found it much less believable than the other settings.*
I did enjoy it, but I wish it were a little bit more one-thing-at-a-time. 3.5/5, would recommend to a friend who I knew well enough to know they would be interested.
*"what about THE SCHWA WAS HERE?" listen it's different. the schwa was here seemed constructed even before the weird things started happening. BRUISER vacillated between delicate-unexplained-magic, overly-clever-asides, and teenage-normalcy and it was hard for me to follow.
I think part of it is that so much of Neal Shusterman's writing is this tightly-wound, intricately designed braid of cleverness he has. It's not a bad thing--it's why I liked UNWIND and EVERWORLD when I was younger--but I really don't think that this plot is the place for it. He lessens the witticisms here, but for some reason in a world where only one thing speaks of unreality these recurring too-witty-for-real-life touches are jarring and make the whole setting seem more artificial to me. I think it's because in the other books I've read of Shusterman's, the whole world was very clearly something constructed, maybe even reminiscent of film. BRUISER tries to wedge one fantastic thing into the real world, and I found it much less believable than the other settings.*
I did enjoy it, but I wish it were a little bit more one-thing-at-a-time. 3.5/5, would recommend to a friend who I knew well enough to know they would be interested.
*"what about THE SCHWA WAS HERE?" listen it's different. the schwa was here seemed constructed even before the weird things started happening. BRUISER vacillated between delicate-unexplained-magic, overly-clever-asides, and teenage-normalcy and it was hard for me to follow.