amazing premise but wish this had gone a little bit deeper with it's themes and observationsamazing premise but wish this had gone a little bit deeper with it's themes and observations...more
3.5 star ... this book was a lot of fun! I love this style of YA mystery, they're so addictive to me. Didn't fully stick the landing for me and the wr3.5 star ... this book was a lot of fun! I love this style of YA mystery, they're so addictive to me. Didn't fully stick the landing for me and the writing wasn't my favourite at times but had a fun time listening to it. Looking forward to the show!...more
ok ... this book was extremely entertaining in the sense that I read it very quickly and it's a page turner. but i feel much the same way about it as ok ... this book was extremely entertaining in the sense that I read it very quickly and it's a page turner. but i feel much the same way about it as I did babel which is that it being entertaining =/= it necessarily working on a technical level.
halfway through this book I started to understand the criticisms this book receives. it all became a little too self-referential and heavy handed. some of the twitter bits really made me roll my eyes - it was just a little cringy? I don't know if it even counts as satire when you're literally just regurgitating real conversations that actually happened on twitter.
the book is at it's best when it's exploring the fraught, complex relationship between athena and juniper and mudding the waters of athena's character. i liked the part where it reveals how athena stole herself, including from juniper's past - and how it played with irony. jumper is upset athena stole and fictionalised her trauma but can't see how she's doing the same with chinese-american narratives and how they may also be upsetting to the diaspora authors she's encountering who are critiquing her. their relationship is the beating heart of the novel so I disliked how it was so often sidelined to regurgitate twitter things especially when so much of it had the tone of rfk being like "THIS personally annoyed ME!!"
I also love how athena's character haunts this book, almost literally at times. it's really well done, and so I HATED how the ending played out. it felt very contrived and corny after all the set up. I kinda wish rfk had gone for something more artsy/concepty and less.. pretty little liars. it just didn't stick for me and I kinda felt it sucked all the momentum out of the third act.
halfway through the novel I did think - rfk is really in juniper's head, the narrative tone is coming off so that is something else I like. I just wish it hadn't been so heavy handed at times. like it's very obvious juniper sucks, the lack of self awareness and the irony of it comes across so I didn't need rfk to TELL me it too. Which is something that really bothered me about babel... sometimes it feels like rfk thinks she's smarter then her audience and they won't GET what she's trying to say EXACTLY and I wish she would have a little more faith at times. Although in fairness I will say I think it wasn't as unbearable here as it was in babel.
anyways, much like babel I'm kind of teetering on rating because I kind of think it wasn't AMAZINGLY written at times but I also had a lot of fun reading it. I enjoyed reading it a lot more than babel but not as much as the poppy war. technical level I think this is a 3 but enjoyment a 4 - I'll settle on a four only cos I think I gave babel a three and I liked this more then that
as a side note - does anyone else think rfk should write historical fiction or even non-fiction? she seems to love the research process and I know she's clever, it seems sort of like that should be her wheelhouse. ...more
if the tone of your book is giving 'i had a tumblr addiction and didn't go to parties in high school because I was at home writing wolfstar fanfic" thif the tone of your book is giving 'i had a tumblr addiction and didn't go to parties in high school because I was at home writing wolfstar fanfic" then I just cannot enjoy it I cannot BELIEVE this book is so popular ...more
it's not that often I open a book and just know I'm going to love it immediately anymore, but I had that with this book. One of those books where you'it's not that often I open a book and just know I'm going to love it immediately anymore, but I had that with this book. One of those books where you're so absorbed and the pages are flying by and the choices the characters make make you personally irritated like it's your friend telling you the story. I admit it has flaws I could pick apart, like the game chapter, but who cares I loved it so much.
Also, LOVE the complexity of the characters. Love love love books where the author just presents the characters as are and isn't trying to make or get you to make moral judgements on their actions and character. mwah.
- NICHOLAS. Deserves the world - The Seiji and Nicholas bathroom interaction? Iconic - "an indirect win" jfhwhy is everyone so fucking extra i love them
- NICHOLAS. Deserves the world - The Seiji and Nicholas bathroom interaction? Iconic - "an indirect win" jfhgjdf - everyone needs to calm down a lot but i do love them - I WISH THESE WERE LONGER
Merged review:
why is everyone so fucking extra i love them
- NICHOLAS. Deserves the world - The Seiji and Nicholas bathroom interaction? Iconic - "an indirect win" jfhgjdf - everyone needs to calm down a lot but i do love them - I WISH THESE WERE LONGER...more
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