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thinkinglittle's review against another edition
2.0
I like the premise of this book but the content seems a bit in the extreme in a book for upper elementary. The idea that the man didn't put any clothes in the fallout shelter just seems absurd to me. And then there's the parents who let the kids drink and get drunk and the things Ronnie says about his own and Scott's mother... Just straight up odd in my opinion and I usually like odd! Maybe I am becoming more conservative in my old age.
illiteratezombie's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
zabcia's review against another edition
4.0
82%
"There's down here and up there. The ones who feel like they're buried alive, while the ones who aren't buried probably aren't alive. Everything's upside down."
This book made me uncomfortable at times, though not necessarily in a bad way; it doesn't shy away from the blatant brutality of humans. The alternating chapters set pre-bomb and then in the bunker helped highlight the stark difference between the worlds on either side of the steel-plate door.
Some reviewers question the likelihood of people reacting the way they did in the book (sacrificing others to save their owns lives, criticizing the owner of the shelter, giving kids alcohol, etc.), but I think it's important to remember two things: people act self-servingly in life-or-death situations, and also it's set in the 60s. Is it male-driven? Yes, but the standards of the time was that women be seen not heard - it is a terrible truth that women were underestimated and silenced based solely on their gender. Is there racism? Yes, but the main character is also a child, so you think he's going to 'speak up' against a racist adult, in an era where children were beaten for subordinance? I think it's more important that the author didn't pretend racism didn't exist in the first place, and allowed the main character to think critically about the situation, realizing it was a screwed-up mentality, even if he couldn't say anything about it. Were people injured and even killed, being shoved aside and locked out? Yes, because a nuclear bomb went off and everyone was thinking about saving their own skins; it is human nature to try to save yourself, no matter what. Were people jerks? Yes, because they're locked up in an underground bunker not knowing anything, ANYTHING about what's going on in the outside world.
I think when it comes down to it, this book made me uncomfortable because as much as we'd like to think we'd remain calm and civil and morally incorrupt in worst-case situations, we really don't know how we'd react. We can only hope that reading and considering such situations could maybe change our actions for the better, should the worst ever come to pass.
My only real complaint is that the ending was quite abrupt, and I wish it had been explored further.
"Dad turns the dial. There's nothing. How can this be war? No explosions. No shots being fired. Not a sound from above."
"None of us really knows what it's going to be like when we get back up there. In the meantime, all we've got to keep us going is hope. But you're so damn intent on proving to everyone how smart you are that you don't seem to care that you're destroying the last bit of hope the rest of us are clinging to."
"There's down here and up there. The ones who feel like they're buried alive, while the ones who aren't buried probably aren't alive. Everything's upside down."
This book made me uncomfortable at times, though not necessarily in a bad way; it doesn't shy away from the blatant brutality of humans. The alternating chapters set pre-bomb and then in the bunker helped highlight the stark difference between the worlds on either side of the steel-plate door.
Some reviewers question the likelihood of people reacting the way they did in the book (sacrificing others to save their owns lives, criticizing the owner of the shelter, giving kids alcohol, etc.), but I think it's important to remember two things: people act self-servingly in life-or-death situations, and also it's set in the 60s. Is it male-driven? Yes, but the standards of the time was that women be seen not heard - it is a terrible truth that women were underestimated and silenced based solely on their gender. Is there racism? Yes, but the main character is also a child, so you think he's going to 'speak up' against a racist adult, in an era where children were beaten for subordinance? I think it's more important that the author didn't pretend racism didn't exist in the first place, and allowed the main character to think critically about the situation, realizing it was a screwed-up mentality, even if he couldn't say anything about it. Were people injured and even killed, being shoved aside and locked out? Yes, because a nuclear bomb went off and everyone was thinking about saving their own skins; it is human nature to try to save yourself, no matter what. Were people jerks? Yes, because they're locked up in an underground bunker not knowing anything, ANYTHING about what's going on in the outside world.
I think when it comes down to it, this book made me uncomfortable because as much as we'd like to think we'd remain calm and civil and morally incorrupt in worst-case situations, we really don't know how we'd react. We can only hope that reading and considering such situations could maybe change our actions for the better, should the worst ever come to pass.
My only real complaint is that the ending was quite abrupt, and I wish
Spoiler
their emergence from the bunker and experiencing the altered world around them"Dad turns the dial. There's nothing. How can this be war? No explosions. No shots being fired. Not a sound from above."
"None of us really knows what it's going to be like when we get back up there. In the meantime, all we've got to keep us going is hope. But you're so damn intent on proving to everyone how smart you are that you don't seem to care that you're destroying the last bit of hope the rest of us are clinging to."
hollyxbear's review against another edition
5.0
This was such an interesting book! I really wish I could see what happened on the outside of the bunker a little bit more. Also, why was everyone going home like nothing happened?
alicebme's review against another edition
4.0
I read a lot of messed up YA about nuclear holocaust and post apocalyptic horrors, so I thought this would be a diet version. Easy to swallow. Nope. It's too real. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish last night so I wouldn't have to read it again today. I am trying find a reaction between researching nuclear survivalist sites obsessively and laying on the floor moaning. I think humming "No Day But Today" and hugging my family a lot should do it.
fertilepress's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
megangraff's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book in a couple of hours this morning. Since I finished it I have been reading reviews both on GoodReads and other places trying to decide if I should add it to our primary library collection. I'm not put off by the horror of the alternate ending to the Cuban missile crisis depicted and I'm even ok with the racism as there is an attempt to explain it and show that it is unacceptable. I'm not so keen on the friend's dad who gives wine to the 12 year old boys and that friend's fixation on breasts and I'm really put off by the homophobia. As an adult I realize the racism and homophobia fit with the historical context but I wonder if 10-11 year olds will get that.
4saradouglas's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this one... a great historical fiction read. At first I was unsure of the alternating chapters because I was immediately pulled into the chapters where everyone is rushing into the bomb shelter because WWIII was obviously beginning, but after a tense chapter of that we are suddenly met with a chapter that happens days/weeks beforehand where the boys are daring each other to steal a cheesecake from a neighbor. Not exactly the same intensity level there. Eventually I found both tales equally interesting, but it took a little while. I really enjoyed this glance into the 60s and you really get a sense of what it was like worrying about Russians bombing us, the embarrassment of having the only parent building a bomb shelter, and you also see some of the racism and sexism of the era. I see in the reviews that there are a lot of people angry about the more adult parts of the book, spurred by a friend who encourages the main character to drink, steal, and look at a Playboy. I didn't mind; I thought it was a pretty realistic look at adolescence! (Especially, as the characters keep saying, what's the point of being good when we don't know if we're going to even live to see tomorrow?)
justlily's review against another edition
DNF because the flashbacks to before they went into the shelter bored me. Just gimme the dramatic parts, please.
pacifickle's review against another edition
2.0
Baffled by this book. Set it down for a while, then finished it, and I kept thinking I had no idea who I'd recommend it to.