sgm820's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
joliendelandsheer's review against another edition
3.0
I have to admit I'm a little bit disappointed in this book. I've heard so many great things about this YA sci fi set in Taipei, so my expectations were admittedly somewhat high. The main reasons I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to are:
a) one of the events in the synopsis only happens 200 pages into this 320 page book
b) from the first page, the main character is incredibly attached to a girl he is supposed to immensely dislike, for no reason
c) I felt like I didn't actually know any of the characters beyond the one characteristic I kept getting clobbered over the head with: stealthy, emotionally closed-off Iris, kind computer genius Lingyi, Zhou who lost his mom early on in life & likes to climb, Arun who is a scientist, Victor who dresses well and pretends to not care about anyone but really loves them. that's all you really get to know about these people, and it keeps being repeated throughout the book, again and again
d) everything was too easy. every obstacle or issue that came up was solved so easily
e) the plot twist was predictable from chapter 2.
I realize this all sounds really negative now. I still gave this book 3 stars, which means I did enjoy reading it! I would still recommend it as a solid YA science fiction novel, especially being an ownvoices book set in Taipei. Perhaps it would be better going into it without sky-high expectations - which is entirely my fault, tbh.
a) one of the events in the synopsis only happens 200 pages into this 320 page book
b) from the first page, the main character is incredibly attached to a girl he is supposed to immensely dislike, for no reason
c) I felt like I didn't actually know any of the characters beyond the one characteristic I kept getting clobbered over the head with: stealthy, emotionally closed-off Iris, kind computer genius Lingyi, Zhou who lost his mom early on in life & likes to climb, Arun who is a scientist, Victor who dresses well and pretends to not care about anyone but really loves them. that's all you really get to know about these people, and it keeps being repeated throughout the book, again and again
d) everything was too easy. every obstacle or issue that came up was solved so easily
e) the plot twist was predictable from chapter 2.
I realize this all sounds really negative now. I still gave this book 3 stars, which means I did enjoy reading it! I would still recommend it as a solid YA science fiction novel, especially being an ownvoices book set in Taipei. Perhaps it would be better going into it without sky-high expectations - which is entirely my fault, tbh.
deservingporcupine's review against another edition
4.0
A great YA that tackles issues of class and consumerism. The main characters were basically lovable environmental terrorists and criminals, and who isn’t in for that? I love that it was set in future China. A little over the top with the calling out economic injustices, but absolutely a page turner.
magnumdanger's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
lorien13's review against another edition
5.0
Want is a brilliant sci-fi about a world that we refuse to work on cleaning up. The rich and powerful are so lost in their own world that ours is a complete mess. There's no more blue sky, no more seeing the horizon, no more seeing stars at night (that alone KILLS me). We don't focus on taking care of our earth and the result is short life spans for the poor, and frickin Darth Vader suits for the rich.
Zhou is our main character and when his best friend's mom is murdered he and his friends are determined to find out who did it and bring them down, and maybe save the world too. The plan is simple: infiltrate the upper class or yous (pronounced yo) and destroy the factory where the suits are powered. And to do so is connect with the daughter of the manufacturer, Daiyu Jin.
It's brilliant and beautiful and I was spellbound, hoping to see how Zhou and his friends made it through to the end, if they even could at all. I loved how Daiyu and Zhou connected and their relationship didn't feel fake or rushed at all, nice and slow and wonderful.
If you haven't picked this book up, I implore you to do so. Not only is it a fun and awesome story, it's a look at a very bleak, and very possible future that I most certainly DON'T want.
Zhou is our main character and when his best friend's mom is murdered he and his friends are determined to find out who did it and bring them down, and maybe save the world too. The plan is simple: infiltrate the upper class or yous (pronounced yo) and destroy the factory where the suits are powered. And to do so is connect with the daughter of the manufacturer, Daiyu Jin.
It's brilliant and beautiful and I was spellbound, hoping to see how Zhou and his friends made it through to the end, if they even could at all. I loved how Daiyu and Zhou connected and their relationship didn't feel fake or rushed at all, nice and slow and wonderful.
If you haven't picked this book up, I implore you to do so. Not only is it a fun and awesome story, it's a look at a very bleak, and very possible future that I most certainly DON'T want.
mitzee's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Interestingly relevant in this post-pandemic, climate change impacted world we are living in right now (despite being written in 2017).
The focus of the writing seemed more on moving the story along, moving from one event to another rather than being focused on characters and their relationships. Somehow they felt a bit shallow, hard to explain why but perhaps that’s an adult reader POV on a YA book that’s probably targeted for folks 9-13yrs old. Still enjoyable though.
The focus of the writing seemed more on moving the story along, moving from one event to another rather than being focused on characters and their relationships. Somehow they felt a bit shallow, hard to explain why but perhaps that’s an adult reader POV on a YA book that’s probably targeted for folks 9-13yrs old. Still enjoyable though.
popularsong's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
it's an easy and fun read, and i quite enjoyed the worldbuilding and especially the vibrant portrayal of dystopian taipei
however, the writing is quite on-the-nose and i didn't feel particularly attached to the characters so it felt a little flat
however, the writing is quite on-the-nose and i didn't feel particularly attached to the characters so it felt a little flat
ebonwilde's review against another edition
3.0
want is very short for high stakes dystopian fiction, which makes it difficult to connect with most of the characters/events. two characters died, which was meant to be very important for the narrative, yet it was unemotional for me, even though the author attempted to make the mood despairing. the prose itself is not adequate at expressing emotion, danger, or anything too high stakes, so the book felt quite mellow throughout, which was clearly not the intention. i did like the romance, and if nothing else, it was a moderately enjoyable read. 3.5 stars.