adonis_march's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Alienated could have been so promising. I understood the premise, I appreciated that the two non-white main characters tended to call the one white main character on his BS, considering the highly political/relevant content in the book, and the illustrations are absolutely beautiful. However, the natural flow of the story seemed to take a sudden, sharp turn, going into a downward spiral, ultimately leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
It is not a book for the hopeful, and its entire thesis seems to be that modern teens are screwed, and there is no changing it.
For this reason, while there is an attempt at character arcs, it tends to fall very flat among everything else. And don't get me wrong, the start of this book was fantastic, had a case of 'teens being written by an adult that doesn't really know how teens talk' but I can overlook that, and even up through the first plot twist I could still follow along. The friendships seem to be coming along in a very pleasing way, and I was really hoping it would build towards something that the audience could take away from, or find satisfying in its resolution, or at the very least, some catharsis. Nope. The ending, aside from the nosedive into Edgetown, seems simply a way to wash their hands of the book without having to actually 'finish' the story.
Alienated, while I can appreciate some of the skill that went into its writing, is the epitome of that stomach-dropping feeling of being on a roller coaster without any of the fun or knowledge of your own safety. PLEASE READ CONTENT WARNINGS BEFORE PICKING UP THIS BOOK.
Additionally, it seems to give the thesis that any left-leaning viewpoints are bound to spiral into something worse. By worse, I mean domestic terrorism. And this, combined with the oddly stereotypical character arcs - the one girl having an arc about an accidental pregnancy resolved by her becoming a mother-figure and feeling completed by this feeling, the one Muslim character having an entire arc about his family not being accepting/understanding and then kills his father and attempts to commit suicide in an EXTREMELY graphic scene - the voice of this book is all over the place.
It is not a book for the hopeful, and its entire thesis seems to be that modern teens are screwed, and there is no changing it.
For this reason, while there is an attempt at character arcs, it tends to fall very flat among everything else. And don't get me wrong, the start of this book was fantastic, had a case of 'teens being written by an adult that doesn't really know how teens talk' but I can overlook that, and even up through the first plot twist I could still follow along. The friendships seem to be coming along in a very pleasing way, and I was really hoping it would build towards something that the audience could take away from, or find satisfying in its resolution, or at the very least, some catharsis. Nope. The ending, aside from the nosedive into Edgetown, seems simply a way to wash their hands of the book without having to actually 'finish' the story.
Alienated, while I can appreciate some of the skill that went into its writing, is the epitome of that stomach-dropping feeling of being on a roller coaster without any of the fun or knowledge of your own safety. PLEASE READ CONTENT WARNINGS BEFORE PICKING UP THIS BOOK.
Additionally, it seems to give the thesis that any left-leaning viewpoints are bound to spiral into something worse. By worse, I mean domestic terrorism. And this, combined with the oddly stereotypical character arcs - the one girl having an arc about an accidental pregnancy resolved by her becoming a mother-figure and feeling completed by this feeling, the one Muslim character having an entire arc about his family not being accepting/understanding and then kills his father and attempts to commit suicide in an EXTREMELY graphic scene - the voice of this book is all over the place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Death of parent, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexism, Abortion, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Gore, and Pregnancy
Please heed the content warnings! I was very blindsided by a graphic scene of one of the main characters attempting suicide that came literally out of nowhere towards the end of the book.
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