dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
The world building was really thorough in this book. It took a little effort to feel comfortable in that world, but once I did, I was glad to hear the author is working on a sequel to keep us in the world longer! This is a great, classic alien sci-fi story, but in this case, our sympathetic main character is a collaborator. Nothing is simple, though, and characters begin to see nuance as well.
ashleyprice_2000's review against another edition
3.0
This one definitely had its moments, but most of it felt pretty slow. I was also annoyed by a lot of the main characters’ decisions.
anaiira's review against another edition
4.0
Fonda Lee is really just such a world class author. My criticisms about how unrealistic these particular situations involving a teenage boy aside, this book was gripping and interesting and the world building is, as always, top notch.
I thought this way of portraying a very thinly veiled allegory for the difficulties of being someone caught in the trap of post-colonialism. I thought the Rii threat to be not particularly necessary to explore this facet of needing to engage with the fact that colonial oppression is real and happening, that siding with colonialists can be a rationalizable act and that each person in a colonized society must choose the extent to which they resist, accept or otherwise respond to being subjugated. It's a complex exploration of trying to figure out whether accepting aid and technological advancement is worth being treated as a second class citizen.
I think these themes are complex and engaging enough, and are more interesting than the real plot to the story, which is kind of generic coming of age story of rebellion and choices and tepid romance.
I thought this way of portraying a very thinly veiled allegory for the difficulties of being someone caught in the trap of post-colonialism. I thought the Rii threat to be not particularly necessary to explore this facet of needing to engage with the fact that colonial oppression is real and happening, that siding with colonialists can be a rationalizable act and that each person in a colonized society must choose the extent to which they resist, accept or otherwise respond to being subjugated. It's a complex exploration of trying to figure out whether accepting aid and technological advancement is worth being treated as a second class citizen.
I think these themes are complex and engaging enough, and are more interesting than the real plot to the story, which is kind of generic coming of age story of rebellion and choices and tepid romance.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
2nd standalone sf ya book by author. This one is quite a bit different in setting and theme then the previous book and yet has some commonalities. Both have a young somewhat enhanced man as its pov. This one though is on Earth and with aliens. And our hero is on the side of the aliens over the terrorist humans. A little bit simplistic, but readable. The situation is never all that surprising and yet there are twists and turns that definitely went differently then I expected. A little bit too train-wrecky. But a fine book that raises questions.
ros_lanta's review against another edition
2.0
While dystopia is not a favourite subgenre of mine, early in this book I thought I might like it. It is a fast paced, gripping and often emotional YA sci-fi novel, and I found the worldbuilding interesting (it reminded me a little of the adult novel The Course of Empire). The best thing about the novel is that this world is not black and white - there is no "good side" to support, there are good people on both sides and both sides are appalling in their own way.
Unfortunately the more I read of the book, the less I enjoyed it. One failing in my opinion is that most of the characters do really, really stupid things. I also deeply disliked the romance. Had the author kept it until a sequel it might have worked, but instead the enemies to lovers relationship begins and gets as far as kissing while Donovan is still a captive and after he has been brutalised by people on Anya's side.
I am an adult reading a YA book, and I suspect there are teenagers who will love this book. Unfortunately it didn't work for me.
Unfortunately the more I read of the book, the less I enjoyed it. One failing in my opinion is that most of the characters do really, really stupid things. I also deeply disliked the romance. Had the author kept it until a sequel it might have worked, but instead the enemies to lovers relationship begins and gets as far as kissing while Donovan is still a captive and after he has been brutalised by people on Anya's side.
I am an adult reading a YA book, and I suspect there are teenagers who will love this book. Unfortunately it didn't work for me.
blondelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Earth has been invaded by and is now governed by the zhree. Donovan is a teen soldier enhanced with alien technology who finds himself being used by both species.
dandelionsteph's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.25
I believe it was on Page 149 that I nearly gave up on this book due to its purple prose-y, bodice-ripper-like description of Donavan making out with Anya. They kissed before, and I thought it was unsettling, unoriginal and unnecessary, but I didn't think it would get worse. Thankfully, it doesn't get worse after Page 149. If this level of disconcertingly physical romance/aged-down sexual elements was properly warned for in the book's blurb, I think I would have avoided reading this book. I can only hope the sequel doesn't make the same mistake. I was so disappointed than Anya had to be a love/lust interest. The most important female characters to the plot and page space are Donovan's mother and Anya, and with the way one of Donovon's fellow soldiers-in-erze makes sexually-suggestive drawings, I get the impression that this book would very well have described Donovan's mother in narration or in character opinion in a sexualized way if she wasn't, well, Donovan's mother.
The sexual elements and profanity in this work are so egregious and unjustifiable that whenever they occur, I feel like sighing with disappointment. It actually tones down the mature feel of this work by making it feel like a libidinous 14-year-old boy is playing dress-up at what being "mature" is like. Brandon Mull's Beyonders was dark, complex and mature, and it didn't need to use sexual elements or profanity (or at the very least not with the same range and frequency as this book).
The sexual elements and profanity in this work are so egregious and unjustifiable that whenever they occur, I feel like sighing with disappointment. It actually tones down the mature feel of this work by making it feel like a libidinous 14-year-old boy is playing dress-up at what being "mature" is like. Brandon Mull's Beyonders was dark, complex and mature, and it didn't need to use sexual elements or profanity (or at the very least not with the same range and frequency as this book).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Xenophobia, Sexual content, Colonisation, Abandonment, Body shaming, Confinement, and Medical content
Minor: Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, Child death, Racial slurs, Drug use, and Sexual harassment
The "xenophobia" and "racial slurs" are in sci-fi equivalents, through the zhree being called "shrooms" by humans resisting them, and the humans enhanced with zhree biotechnologies being called "zebrahands" and dehumanized by Max's propaganda. The child death is only a few sentences' worth of a mention, from the kid of a secondary character who died long before this story begins, due to a lethal exocel integration failure. The animal cruelty consists of the exocel experiments on the monkeys in Dr. Nakada's lab, although, other than being grotesque to look at, they don't seem to be suffering. The medical trauma was included for thoroughness's sake, because it takes a while for exocel integration to take, and in the meantime it is painful and horrible. The actual process of receiving the treatment is done under anesthesia in a sci-fi process. The drug use is use of cigarettes by one character. Colonization, medical content, and body shaming are all in sci-fi contexts not necessarily equivalent to real-life ones.suey's review against another edition
4.0
Awesome story about how there are always two sides to an issue and no such thing as black and white.