wjd215's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This is one of those few books I sincerely felt was a waste of my time. The story had potential but fell flat
novelheartbeat's review against another edition
1.0
Please visit my blog at http://geobobspinelli.blogspot.com :)
OVERALL RATING: 1/5
The one star? Yeah, that was for the cover. Thank God this book was less than 300 pages. It was awful and the only reason I read it so fast was to force my way through it and make it to something more interesting. I'm actually quite proud of myself for making it through at all.
Starting out, your first thought is...WTF? Ava doesn't have a clue what's happening, and since the story is in first person POV, neither do you. She has random flashbacks of a dystopian alternate universe where you only get a vague glimpse of what once was (dream, memory... what?). The story is intriguing at first, but after the first page, the broken, sporadic writing starts to get annoying and hard to follow. And repetitive. Here's an example:
I turn away and start to run.
I run, and no one comes after me.
I run, and I am alone.
I am in a place where I never asked to be. I am an Ava I'm not.
I run, and there is nowhere for me to go. There are no exits.
There is no out.
I am here, and Morgan--
I run, and don't let myself finish the thought.
I can't.
I run, and everything I know is nothing again.
Alright we get it, you're running. See what I mean? Exhausting.
There is even more unnecessary repetition, such as 1) everyone she sees, she says that she sees "a different (name). A (name) that I know" or "I remember (name). But not this (name)." And I mean it's every freaking person she meets. 2) She doesn't belong and that's she's not supposed to be there. Don't worry, if you forget, she'll remind you. Every chapter. Sometimes twice a chapter.
There isn't a lot of character depth. You can't really get a feel for any of the people's looks or personality because she doesn't do a great job of describing them. Most of the characters were a blurry unidentifiable blob in my head because she didn't give me a handle on their identity. Ethan has dark curly hair. And? And nothing. I think later on she mentions blue eyes. Tall? Short? Skinny? Not? Who knows. Your guess is as good as mine. Greer - tall with straight hair. Oliva - curls and a heart shaped face. May as well make them up in your head, cuz that's all you're gonna get.
The only character she really goes into depth with is Sophy (this spelling makes my eye twitch). But again, it's not much. She's short and wears attention-drawing clothing. That could mean anything. Chains and studs? Or bright ass colors? Hmm. One thing you get about Sophy is she's on some kind of power trip. She's evil and wants power. Which is another thing you won't forget, because once again - she reminds you every time Sophy shows up. Power this, power that. Power, power, power. Oh, and did I mention Ava doesn't belong here?
There's one point where Ava is watching/listening to Morgan (this is her job in the alternate dystopian world) and she says something about his breathing and how she knows he's masturbating. So she then proceeds to touch herself. Like, W..T...F?! Random and unexpected raunchy scene in a YA fiction? Okaaaaay. It had nothing to do with anything and didn't contribute to the plot in any way whatsoever.
Another really irritating thing - like, really...my eye literally twitched a couple times - was the dialogue. Aside from putting two different people speaking in a paragraph (which, if you're skimming, gets really confusing) the characters would frequently stop mid-sentence and start to say something else without ever finishing the original train of thought. When I say frequently, I mean at least twice on every page. Seriously Scott, just because you know what your characters were gonna say, doesn't mean we can guess it. And that Sophy girl, she really wanted power. Okay, we get it!
The only thing I even remotely liked about this story was the idea that love transcends time and space. Even after having her memory taken away in a new world, Ava eventually remembers Morgan and what he meant to her.
In the beginning, every time Ava tries to remember something she gets a headache. By the end of the book, I was definitely sympathizing with her. This book gave me a headache. Maybe if I sit and stare at the pretty cover it will go away.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT:
Plot: 4/5
I love the idea of other selves in alternate universes. It just wasn't carried out very well.
Writing Style: 0/5
I hated it. It was monotonous and irritating.
Characters: 1/5
Like I said, no character depth and little to no description.
Pace: 1/5
This book moved extremely slow. I was bored 99% of the time.
Cover: 5/5
The cover is extremely appealing to me. Too bad the book was terrible.
OVERALL RATING: 1/5
The one star? Yeah, that was for the cover. Thank God this book was less than 300 pages. It was awful and the only reason I read it so fast was to force my way through it and make it to something more interesting. I'm actually quite proud of myself for making it through at all.
Starting out, your first thought is...WTF? Ava doesn't have a clue what's happening, and since the story is in first person POV, neither do you. She has random flashbacks of a dystopian alternate universe where you only get a vague glimpse of what once was (dream, memory... what?). The story is intriguing at first, but after the first page, the broken, sporadic writing starts to get annoying and hard to follow. And repetitive. Here's an example:
I turn away and start to run.
I run, and no one comes after me.
I run, and I am alone.
I am in a place where I never asked to be. I am an Ava I'm not.
I run, and there is nowhere for me to go. There are no exits.
There is no out.
I am here, and Morgan--
I run, and don't let myself finish the thought.
I can't.
I run, and everything I know is nothing again.
Alright we get it, you're running. See what I mean? Exhausting.
There is even more unnecessary repetition, such as 1) everyone she sees, she says that she sees "a different (name). A (name) that I know" or "I remember (name). But not this (name)." And I mean it's every freaking person she meets. 2) She doesn't belong and that's she's not supposed to be there. Don't worry, if you forget, she'll remind you. Every chapter. Sometimes twice a chapter.
There isn't a lot of character depth. You can't really get a feel for any of the people's looks or personality because she doesn't do a great job of describing them. Most of the characters were a blurry unidentifiable blob in my head because she didn't give me a handle on their identity. Ethan has dark curly hair. And? And nothing. I think later on she mentions blue eyes. Tall? Short? Skinny? Not? Who knows. Your guess is as good as mine. Greer - tall with straight hair. Oliva - curls and a heart shaped face. May as well make them up in your head, cuz that's all you're gonna get.
The only character she really goes into depth with is Sophy (this spelling makes my eye twitch). But again, it's not much. She's short and wears attention-drawing clothing. That could mean anything. Chains and studs? Or bright ass colors? Hmm. One thing you get about Sophy is she's on some kind of power trip. She's evil and wants power. Which is another thing you won't forget, because once again - she reminds you every time Sophy shows up. Power this, power that. Power, power, power. Oh, and did I mention Ava doesn't belong here?
There's one point where Ava is watching/listening to Morgan (this is her job in the alternate dystopian world) and she says something about his breathing and how she knows he's masturbating. So she then proceeds to touch herself. Like, W..T...F?! Random and unexpected raunchy scene in a YA fiction? Okaaaaay. It had nothing to do with anything and didn't contribute to the plot in any way whatsoever.
Another really irritating thing - like, really...my eye literally twitched a couple times - was the dialogue. Aside from putting two different people speaking in a paragraph (which, if you're skimming, gets really confusing) the characters would frequently stop mid-sentence and start to say something else without ever finishing the original train of thought. When I say frequently, I mean at least twice on every page. Seriously Scott, just because you know what your characters were gonna say, doesn't mean we can guess it. And that Sophy girl, she really wanted power. Okay, we get it!
The only thing I even remotely liked about this story was the idea that love transcends time and space. Even after having her memory taken away in a new world, Ava eventually remembers Morgan and what he meant to her.
In the beginning, every time Ava tries to remember something she gets a headache. By the end of the book, I was definitely sympathizing with her. This book gave me a headache. Maybe if I sit and stare at the pretty cover it will go away.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT:
Plot: 4/5
I love the idea of other selves in alternate universes. It just wasn't carried out very well.
Writing Style: 0/5
I hated it. It was monotonous and irritating.
Characters: 1/5
Like I said, no character depth and little to no description.
Pace: 1/5
This book moved extremely slow. I was bored 99% of the time.
Cover: 5/5
The cover is extremely appealing to me. Too bad the book was terrible.
the_paigemaster's review against another edition
1.0
i did not understand this book at all.
i get that it was supposed to be alternate realities, and i understand some things about why Morgan is disappearing and stuff but i dont know it was to weird.
i felt like this book was a sequel. i think it would have been 1000 times better if she had written a book about Ava and Morgan falling in love first and THEN wrote this book after. the plot was to short and we werent really given enough information on anything.
i get that it was supposed to be alternate realities, and i understand some things about why Morgan is disappearing and stuff but i dont know it was to weird.
i felt like this book was a sequel. i think it would have been 1000 times better if she had written a book about Ava and Morgan falling in love first and THEN wrote this book after. the plot was to short and we werent really given enough information on anything.
caitlyn728's review against another edition
1.0
DNF. This book was so painful to read I had to stop. It was just repetitive, barely made any sense at all, and was just boring honestly. Like it was a good concept i'll give it that, but it just wasn't carried out well. I could not finish. Would not suggest.
mrsjkamp's review against another edition
2.0
First of all, I've never read anything by this author. Second, I didn't even want to review this one because I don't like writing up negative reviews. However, I've been getting questions about why I didn't like it, so here are my thoughts. Bear with me!
I did think that the premise of this book sounded interesting. Not promising, but definitely different. I just don't feel like it developed in an organized, clear manner. I was confused half the time, and the other half of the time I was too distracted by everyone's stuttering. All the characters talked in fragments. They'd start saying something, then there'd be a dash, and then they would change their minds and say something else. ALL. THE. TIME. I was highly annoyed. This made it choppy and the flow was off.
I also didn't like Ava very much anyway. I never connected with her since she didn't even know who she was and she didn't want to be whoever she was. She kept saying the same things over and over again, and the use of 'she' and 'her' and 'now' and 'was' repeatedly became obnoxious and troubling. It definitely took away from the story overall. And her friends and their stories were convoluted with their alternate lives. Nothing ever was fully explained as the bits and pieces came back to Ava, and then it just ended.
This book could have been 200 pages shorter and still had the same plot. A short story would have been enough. I didn't like the writing style, the lack of explanation, or the dialogue. Just not a fan of this novel at all. However, I will say that I'd like to try something else by her. I've won quite a few of her novels in giveaways and I'm looking forward to those soon.
I did think that the premise of this book sounded interesting. Not promising, but definitely different. I just don't feel like it developed in an organized, clear manner. I was confused half the time, and the other half of the time I was too distracted by everyone's stuttering. All the characters talked in fragments. They'd start saying something, then there'd be a dash, and then they would change their minds and say something else. ALL. THE. TIME. I was highly annoyed. This made it choppy and the flow was off.
I also didn't like Ava very much anyway. I never connected with her since she didn't even know who she was and she didn't want to be whoever she was. She kept saying the same things over and over again, and the use of 'she' and 'her' and 'now' and 'was' repeatedly became obnoxious and troubling. It definitely took away from the story overall. And her friends and their stories were convoluted with their alternate lives. Nothing ever was fully explained as the bits and pieces came back to Ava, and then it just ended.
This book could have been 200 pages shorter and still had the same plot. A short story would have been enough. I didn't like the writing style, the lack of explanation, or the dialogue. Just not a fan of this novel at all. However, I will say that I'd like to try something else by her. I've won quite a few of her novels in giveaways and I'm looking forward to those soon.
eschewed's review against another edition
2.0
If the concept is what I think it is, then it's one of my favourites in fiction. And right now this book, despite how much I like its sparse prose, isn't exactly jaw-dropping. So that's disappointing.
Update: Yep, it was disappointing. I was really hoping it'd be better, despite all the low ratings.
Update: Yep, it was disappointing. I was really hoping it'd be better, despite all the low ratings.
books_plan_create's review against another edition
Wait.
What?
Seriously, what?
I have never been more confused by the end of a book as I was with this one. I don't know if it was real, a fantasy, a delusion, or what. Either way, what?!
What?
Seriously, what?
I have never been more confused by the end of a book as I was with this one. I don't know if it was real, a fantasy, a delusion, or what. Either way, what?!
natalietegt's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't really enjoy this book. I got super bored while reading it and I just didn't like how forward it was with Ava and Morgan's relationship while we were still learning about her and what she was remembering.
standbi's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this book at a discounted book store for $.80. It was originally $1 but they were having a 20% off sale storewide. It was used and didn't have a cover to it. Since it was so cheap I wanted to give it a try.
Not knowing anything about the book and choosing to read it without looking anything up, I was confused as hell for most of the book. But, I couldn't stop reading it. As I Wake is an amazing book. It may be a little unorganized and hard to read for some but I was hypnotized by this book. It was repetitive and fast-paced but it held my attention completely.
I rather enjoyed the fact that my copy didn't have a cover and that the beginning and end pages were left blank. I feel like that was symbolic and a tribute to Ava and her memory loss. It was what first captured me to pick up the book in the first place. I just had to know this book. This story.
And this story, much like the book when I first saw it, was a mystery. But I enjoyed reading the story, solving that mystery. And it wasn't until the very last page that I finally understood the book. Which makes me love it even better.
This book definitely earned 5 stars in my opinion. And even though I understand this story in my mind, this book is still a mystery because of how confusing it was made to be. But the ending made it come to a full circle. It will be worth reading a second or even a third time.
Not knowing anything about the book and choosing to read it without looking anything up, I was confused as hell for most of the book. But, I couldn't stop reading it. As I Wake is an amazing book. It may be a little unorganized and hard to read for some but I was hypnotized by this book. It was repetitive and fast-paced but it held my attention completely.
I rather enjoyed the fact that my copy didn't have a cover and that the beginning and end pages were left blank. I feel like that was symbolic and a tribute to Ava and her memory loss. It was what first captured me to pick up the book in the first place. I just had to know this book. This story.
And this story, much like the book when I first saw it, was a mystery. But I enjoyed reading the story, solving that mystery. And it wasn't until the very last page that I finally understood the book. Which makes me love it even better.
This book definitely earned 5 stars in my opinion. And even though I understand this story in my mind, this book is still a mystery because of how confusing it was made to be. But the ending made it come to a full circle. It will be worth reading a second or even a third time.
asmushy's review against another edition
63% I'll put this on hold for another time. The story was just too damn confusing, though I like Mrs.Scott's writing and her previous books, I think this one wasn't for me.