itsmytuberculosis's review against another edition
2.0
The graphic design for this cover is better than the entire book.
dlberglund's review against another edition
3.0
There's a lot to like about these quirky video game misfits who are mostly stuck in video game rehab against their wills. They are imperfect, not yet fully formed, with a variety of pressures and problems.
The adults, however, with the exception of Fezzik, are pretty ridiculous. And yes, in real life kids get stuck with parents who are wrapped in their own stuff, but it would have been nice if one of the adults in power had listened at least once. And the ending.... Arg. Blech.
The adults, however, with the exception of Fezzik, are pretty ridiculous. And yes, in real life kids get stuck with parents who are wrapped in their own stuff, but it would have been nice if one of the adults in power had listened at least once. And the ending.... Arg. Blech.
caronmonster's review against another edition
2.0
I have had this book on my tbr pile for about a year and I’m a bit disappointed. I just didn’t like any of the characters and feel that the ending was a bit deflating.
jaidenkaya333's review against another edition
4.0
Was a motivating and inspiring read. The ending could have been better, it felt as if there was no real resolution in the end, more like unfinished buisness.
ijsselmeer13's review against another edition
3.0
This book isn't really about video games.
Ok, well it kind of is, but that's not the point.
This book is about life.
It's all a metaphor. (Thank you, Fezzik, for making that more obvious.) Sorry, that was just me talking to a book character.
As I was saying . . . this book is about life. Some of the messages I picked up while reading are:
-Life isn't a fairy tale. Princesses don't always need rescuing.
-Life isn't as easy of simple as a video game.
-The most important skill is not sewing or cooking - it's being sensitive and kind to others. Not everything is about you.
-(There are more that I probably just forgot, so I guess you'll have to read to find out. :)
Ok, well it kind of is, but that's not the point.
This book is about life.
It's all a metaphor. (Thank you, Fezzik, for making that more obvious.) Sorry, that was just me talking to a book character.
As I was saying . . . this book is about life. Some of the messages I picked up while reading are:
-Life isn't a fairy tale. Princesses don't always need rescuing.
-Life isn't as easy of simple as a video game.
-The most important skill is not sewing or cooking - it's being sensitive and kind to others. Not everything is about you.
-(There are more that I probably just forgot, so I guess you'll have to read to find out. :)
jenscott's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
3.5
3.5 stars
I don't know what it is about novels about video games that just suck me right in, but I ate this up. I really liked Christian's writing and the plot was really appealing.
I wish our main character would have had his come to Jesus moment a little sooner. The ending felt a little rushed, but I really loved the end scene.
I don't know what it is about novels about video games that just suck me right in, but I ate this up. I really liked Christian's writing and the plot was really appealing.
I wish our main character would have had his come to Jesus moment a little sooner. The ending felt a little rushed, but I really loved the end scene.
paigelm's review against another edition
5.0
Unfortunately for advanced gamers everywhere, not everything is as easy as rescuing a princess in a castle. Jaxon, an overweight, socially-awkward gamer, is about to figure that out. After completing most of his summer vacation in his bedroom in the online gaming world of Arcadia, Jaxon gets a rude awakening when his dad enlists him in video game rehab or V-hab. Besides completely being cut-off of the gaming world, another consequence of being forced into rehab is that right before he is carried out of his house he meets a girl, makes her laugh, and they plan to go on a date, an actual date. But because of his dad’s decision to have him thrown into a backseat of a sedan and driven for three hours out into the desert for rehab Jaxon will miss his golden opportunity to date a girl. Enter Plan B: Jaxon will figure out a way to engineer the fastest video game addiction recovery yet in order to make it back in time to the world of gaming and now girls that he was so psyched for.
It’s safe to say that Jaxon is not interested in taking his V-hab program seriously. In this rehab it is a point based system, that also encourages teamwork with your guild, group therapy and discussion, and challenging exercises from sports to go-kart racing. Jaxon sees none of this as as a life changing opportunity, (he’s not actually addicted to video games-not like the rest of the geeks here), but rather sees V-hab as another game that he has to beat to make it to the next level.
I am not a gamer, couldn’t even come close, but this book was not only funny, but had some sweet philosophical moments that made me glad that I read something outside of my normal comfort zone. "Cure for the Common Universe" becomes less a tale about the intricacies of video game addiction and the gaming world, (you don’t need to know the gaming world to understand this book) and more a sincere look at how humans cope with life, especially when things start to suck. Jaxon gets sent to this rehab in the middle of the desert to mostly stop playing video games, but stopping obsessively playing videos games means a lot more than wirelessly "detaching." As Aurora, one of the members of Jaxon's guild, Fury Burds, in V-hab shares: “When your insides are like skinned knees and curdled milk, you gotta learn how to feel better all by your lonesome, without pills or games or anything like that, or else those bad feelings will just keep coming back.” It is this idea and feeling that are the heart of understanding how any good rehab program should work. Behind the heart of addiction, of any compulsion, is the trigger for people to feel better or stop feeling or to make those feelings go away, essentially to deal or really not deal with our feelings. The more successful you are as a person in some ways depends on how many successful strategies you have to deal with intense events and awful feelings, and whether or not the strategies that you use help rebuild your heart and life or destroy them.
On top of some of these wonderful moments about feelings and life, this book also touches on the intense and high profile topics in the video game world. First, as a sub plot, it talks about how some of the racist, sexist, derogatory language, even in off-hand, seemingly meaningless comments used in online gaming culture actually hurt people. Turns out, anonymity doesn’t make saying terrible things better, and using the internet as a way to communicate homophobic, racist, or sexist comments, does not make you exempt from making them. Also, this book touches on how female gamers are viewed, discussed and talked about online, from not wanting girls to play because they are “bad at gaming” to acknowledging the vitriol behind Gamergate. Lastly, one other cool topic this book touches on is that of the privilege white skin and being male, not only in the gaming community, but in the world. Quite a big topic to discuss in a video game rehab story, but I immensely appreciated. No time is too good to start understanding privilege and what advantages you have because of it. Having privilege doesn’t guarantee your life is even close to great, it just means you don’t have to constantly also think about your race, sex, sexuality and how that influences your relationships with others in the outside world on a daily basis. All and all, for a book I thought I was not going to like, I am glad I picked it up.
It’s safe to say that Jaxon is not interested in taking his V-hab program seriously. In this rehab it is a point based system, that also encourages teamwork with your guild, group therapy and discussion, and challenging exercises from sports to go-kart racing. Jaxon sees none of this as as a life changing opportunity, (he’s not actually addicted to video games-not like the rest of the geeks here), but rather sees V-hab as another game that he has to beat to make it to the next level.
I am not a gamer, couldn’t even come close, but this book was not only funny, but had some sweet philosophical moments that made me glad that I read something outside of my normal comfort zone. "Cure for the Common Universe" becomes less a tale about the intricacies of video game addiction and the gaming world, (you don’t need to know the gaming world to understand this book) and more a sincere look at how humans cope with life, especially when things start to suck. Jaxon gets sent to this rehab in the middle of the desert to mostly stop playing video games, but stopping obsessively playing videos games means a lot more than wirelessly "detaching." As Aurora, one of the members of Jaxon's guild, Fury Burds, in V-hab shares: “When your insides are like skinned knees and curdled milk, you gotta learn how to feel better all by your lonesome, without pills or games or anything like that, or else those bad feelings will just keep coming back.” It is this idea and feeling that are the heart of understanding how any good rehab program should work. Behind the heart of addiction, of any compulsion, is the trigger for people to feel better or stop feeling or to make those feelings go away, essentially to deal or really not deal with our feelings. The more successful you are as a person in some ways depends on how many successful strategies you have to deal with intense events and awful feelings, and whether or not the strategies that you use help rebuild your heart and life or destroy them.
On top of some of these wonderful moments about feelings and life, this book also touches on the intense and high profile topics in the video game world. First, as a sub plot, it talks about how some of the racist, sexist, derogatory language, even in off-hand, seemingly meaningless comments used in online gaming culture actually hurt people. Turns out, anonymity doesn’t make saying terrible things better, and using the internet as a way to communicate homophobic, racist, or sexist comments, does not make you exempt from making them. Also, this book touches on how female gamers are viewed, discussed and talked about online, from not wanting girls to play because they are “bad at gaming” to acknowledging the vitriol behind Gamergate. Lastly, one other cool topic this book touches on is that of the privilege white skin and being male, not only in the gaming community, but in the world. Quite a big topic to discuss in a video game rehab story, but I immensely appreciated. No time is too good to start understanding privilege and what advantages you have because of it. Having privilege doesn’t guarantee your life is even close to great, it just means you don’t have to constantly also think about your race, sex, sexuality and how that influences your relationships with others in the outside world on a daily basis. All and all, for a book I thought I was not going to like, I am glad I picked it up.
nikitaaa's review against another edition
4.0
Cure for the Common Universe is a fun and entertaining book. It was a combination of humour, characters that are both enjoyable and relatable, a coming of age story, and a unique idea of video game rehab - something I personally have never seen before. In general, it was fun and fast-paced and an easy read, and anyone can read it, gamer or not. Additionally, the tone of the writing was one of the reasons why it was so appealing and engaging to me. I could never put it down - I was always so immersed in the story because it was entertaining, start to finish. At no point was I bored.
The only thing I have mixed feeling about is Jaxon. He is incredibly selfish because he’s so focused on earning point and leaving as soon as possible, and he doesn’t take into account how he’s effecting everyone else. At times he seemed rude, but other times it made him more realistic as a character. I can appreciate that the main character is flawed though, because it made him more relatable and understandable. Whether it was done well, however, I can’t decide.
Then there’s the ending, which at the third and second last chapters seemed like it was going downhill and leading to a bad ending. But the very last chapter fixed what would’ve left me with a bad lasting impression of the book. It finished on a good note.
Despite the negatives, the positives majorly overpower what I didn’t like. Reading this book as my first in 2019 was a strong start to my reading year. Cure for the Common Universe is undeniably one of the more unique and entertaining books I’ve ever read, and I really loved it.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars!
The only thing I have mixed feeling about is Jaxon. He is incredibly selfish because he’s so focused on earning point and leaving as soon as possible, and he doesn’t take into account how he’s effecting everyone else. At times he seemed rude, but other times it made him more realistic as a character. I can appreciate that the main character is flawed though, because it made him more relatable and understandable. Whether it was done well, however, I can’t decide.
Then there’s the ending, which at the third and second last chapters seemed like it was going downhill and leading to a bad ending. But the very last chapter fixed what would’ve left me with a bad lasting impression of the book. It finished on a good note.
Despite the negatives, the positives majorly overpower what I didn’t like. Reading this book as my first in 2019 was a strong start to my reading year. Cure for the Common Universe is undeniably one of the more unique and entertaining books I’ve ever read, and I really loved it.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars!
kaylaarnold's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this book was fantastic! It really diserves 5/5 stars because it had me hooked the whole time. There was always something intense going on for the main character Jaxon between the point earning or discussions with other gamers. The characters were great and had their own lives and struggles to deal with other than videogames. I hardly ever play videogames and this book made me feel so relatable with the characters. I enjoy reading books with characters with similar struggles. Some videogame references I didn't catch but I did catch some and it bought out my inner nerd. The only part I didn't love was the last chapter. I wish Jaxon spent time with another character. I feel like there would have been greater closure for the characters if they wrote about Jaxon hanging out with Soup. But other than the ending, the book was both moving and exciting.
kdferrin's review against another edition
2.0
The story line seemed a little to YA and the language a little too adult for me plus it felt like the story circled around going somewhere good but didn’t ever really get there and then the ending seemed too abrupt.