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a_cera_t0ps's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was kind of hard to read, especially compared to the others in the series. I'm conflicted on how I should review this book. On one hand, it had it's moments, and those moments were strong, but there was so much going on, and it felt like too many threads were being waved all at once. The pacing was a little funky because of that, and now instead of our 2-3 main characters, we had like 8 different perspectives and 3 different new forms of the journal entries. There was so much that this book did, and I feel like it had plenty of really, really good ideas, but there were just too many. I understand that each part of the story was connected to each other, but what it added was outweighed by how it started to stop working. The entire book is so plot driven that it accidentally sacrifices the characters. There are some wonderful moments, but all of the relationships introduced and/or created barely have any time to develop.
A big thing about this book was the pacing. The ending is built up to for the entirety of this book, yet it is crammed in with no proper send off. The last 100 pages holds the primary narrative. It feels like the author got carried away with the in-between scenes that he lost focus of the primary plot. Brief character exploration scenes and years worth exposition goes from being subservient to the story to becoming 93% of the text.
I know that Neal Shusterman is a wonderful author, and I can even see his excellence in this book as well. There are scenes and ideas that hit so hard, that deserve to be published and read, but there was just too much book for one book here. As the 3rd novel in a series, it's odd to me that it felt like the season of a TV show right before it's taken off the air, especially considering that, even though this book is the official finale, there was a spin-off book.
The reason I say I'm conflicted is because I enjoyed this book. But I was also weary and disappointed. I've read worse books than this and not minded, but the reason this one is so hard is because I see how it was imperfect and yet simultaneously almost perfect.
I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea and think that thid book sucked, or that Neal Shusterman is a bad or iffy writer. I think, to a certain degree, the panic and overwhelming nature that is portrayed in the story makes it as good as it is. I'm really just. .. well, conflicted.
A big thing about this book was the pacing. The ending is built up to for the entirety of this book, yet it is crammed in with no proper send off. The last 100 pages holds the primary narrative. It feels like the author got carried away with the in-between scenes that he lost focus of the primary plot. Brief character exploration scenes and years worth exposition goes from being subservient to the story to becoming 93% of the text.
I know that Neal Shusterman is a wonderful author, and I can even see his excellence in this book as well. There are scenes and ideas that hit so hard, that deserve to be published and read, but there was just too much book for one book here. As the 3rd novel in a series, it's odd to me that it felt like the season of a TV show right before it's taken off the air, especially considering that, even though this book is the official finale, there was a spin-off book.
The reason I say I'm conflicted is because I enjoyed this book. But I was also weary and disappointed. I've read worse books than this and not minded, but the reason this one is so hard is because I see how it was imperfect and yet simultaneously almost perfect.
I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea and think that thid book sucked, or that Neal Shusterman is a bad or iffy writer. I think, to a certain degree, the panic and overwhelming nature that is portrayed in the story makes it as good as it is. I'm really just. .. well, conflicted.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and War