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drizzleandhurricanebooks's review against another edition
4.0
While acknowledging that this has its problematic aspects (the brother-sister thing was really, just, aerm, just, no comment), I had a good time reading this book overall. I liked the drama, the intrigue, the world and the way new technologies were developed and used in that future, too. The drama and multiple POV and some of the characters just gave me Gossip Girl vibes and I am trash for that sooooo.
Full review coming soon :)
Full review coming soon :)
greenjelly's review against another edition
3.0
The conception of the tower is very cool but the transitions between upper and lower floor problems are rocky at best. It is difficult to care about Avery Fuller's angst next to Rylin Myers's very grounded struggles. No one comes across as a likeable person; no one deals with their problems in a way that makes them seem real or rational. Key moments such as emotionally pivotal break ups are breezed through while flavor descriptions of clothing linger far longer than necessary. A fun concept for YA future fic, but doesn't give enough credit to the emotional depth of teenagers.
jonezeemcgee's review against another edition
3.0
2.75
I am not ashamed. Occasionally I crave a good old-fashioned guilty pleasure chick lit novel. Especially when life is hectic or stressful. I grabbed the thousandth floor because I am also not ashamed to be a fan of shows like Gossip Girl and NYC Prep. This book advertised to be in the same vein, and also had a futuristic feel. I was eager to see how that would be handled. Several teenagers (the haves and have nots) all dwelling in a large tower that takes up the greater portion of New York city. Which floor you can afford to live on tells how much money you have, and how much technology you can afford, not to mention it begins with a mysterious death. It sounded promising, but the delivery of so much promise actually just fell flat (pardon the pun if you have read this). The world-building in this book was basically non-existent, so all the reader has to go by is poor descriptions of Jetsons-like futuristic inventions speckled in alongside a lot of teen angst and drama. The writing was pretty simplistic, and most of the characters lacked enough dimension to truly care about them, which shocked me for how long the book was and how the book centered around them. Overall, it was a fast read, it was even a bit of a fun read...but it wasn't really the best read.
I am not ashamed. Occasionally I crave a good old-fashioned guilty pleasure chick lit novel. Especially when life is hectic or stressful. I grabbed the thousandth floor because I am also not ashamed to be a fan of shows like Gossip Girl and NYC Prep. This book advertised to be in the same vein, and also had a futuristic feel. I was eager to see how that would be handled. Several teenagers (the haves and have nots) all dwelling in a large tower that takes up the greater portion of New York city. Which floor you can afford to live on tells how much money you have, and how much technology you can afford, not to mention it begins with a mysterious death. It sounded promising, but the delivery of so much promise actually just fell flat (pardon the pun if you have read this). The world-building in this book was basically non-existent, so all the reader has to go by is poor descriptions of Jetsons-like futuristic inventions speckled in alongside a lot of teen angst and drama. The writing was pretty simplistic, and most of the characters lacked enough dimension to truly care about them, which shocked me for how long the book was and how the book centered around them. Overall, it was a fast read, it was even a bit of a fun read...but it wasn't really the best read.
maagi's review against another edition
3.0
Ihan ok. Tykkäsin maailmasta, mutta hahmot olivat muutamaa poikkeusta lukuunottamatta vähän toistensa kopioita.
adown's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
mozbolt's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. The plot was superficial, dramatic, and complete guilty pleasure soap opera material, which I enjoyed. Also, the entire dystopian culture the author created was awesome and lacked all of the tropes I associate with ya dystopian lit. I'll keep reading any more books in the series for the futuristic NYC alone!
blairfrank's review against another edition
4.0
It's understandable why my students would enjoy this novel. Each character has their own secrets, desires, and messed up lives. Each chapter rotates perspectives and gives the reader just enough info to keep the suspense while simultaneously allowing the reader to completely immerse themselves. I'm not a huge fan of YA lit, but I read it for my students. Normally, I wouldn't read the other two novels, but my students will want me to so we can discuss the goings on.
nikkicthebookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Rate:⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis: Over 100 years in the future the year is 2118. There stands a thousand-story tower stretching into the skies of Manhattan. New York is still the concrete jungle, city of dreams and innovation. This world is full of breathtaking high-tech luxury, within that world are five teenagers struggling to find their own place without losing themselves in the process. But as the old saying goes...when you're this high up there is nowhere left to go but down.
This is the first book of a supposed trilogy. With the second book dropping in Fall of 2017.
I'm going to start with what I liked about this book. The writing itself was really good. The story flowed well and considering the book starts in the middle of the characters very troubled lives the author does a great job of a back story for each of them as well a character development for those around the main ones. All and all the story was okay.
Now to get to what I hated about this book. And this sounds terrible but I absolutely hated every one of these characters. I get that they are teenagers and all teenagers are supposed to be bratty, selfish and all of that. But these kids literally had me rolling my eyes the entire time I read this book. So the higher you live up the tower the more important you are. The highliers is what I believe they were called all have an exorbitant amount of money at their fingertips. The low tower kids are exactly the opposite. But for these kids to be so different they are so similar its infuriating.
The story opens with a prologue of one of the girls falling from the top of the tower. But the way its written you don't actually know who it is and whether it was an accident or did they jump until the end of the book. Rylin Myers quit school when her mother passed away so she could take care of herself and her little sister. A last-minute party puts Rylin on the upper floors and she meets and falls for the guy that is paying her to clean his house. While cleaning she finds his stash and with the an eviction hanging over her head she decides to make a little extra money. Watt Bakradi is a tech genius who can literally hack anything and uses that to make a little extra money in order to take care of his family and get into MIT. He has a computer that he built surgically stored in his head and her name is Nadia. He has entire conversations with "Nadia" without ever opening his mouth. Apparently "Nadia" is illegal to have so nobody else can know about her on he risks jail for a lifetime. These are the down tower kids and if I had to pick who I liked the most it was these two. They were a little more in touch with reality. They were still a little on the bratty side but nowhere near as bad as the rich kids.
The highlier kids who you would think the biggest issue they have is what outfit to put on for the day were more screwed up then the poorer kids. Eris Dodd-Radson is rich and beautiful and has everything she wants due to her father being one of the best plastic surgeons in New York. Right out the gate her perfect world is ruined and she goes from being on top to being all the way at the bottom of the tower. Her world completely in shambles until she meets Mariel who can turn it all around. Leda Cole is an addict and she is bat shit crazy! There is literally no other way to put that. She is coming home from rehab and nobody knows outside of her family that she was there. She had been on a downward spiral for a while but having sex with her best friend's brother and then him disappearing immediately afterwards to travel the world was the last straw and she overdosed. That brings us to said best friend Avery Fuller who is the perfect girl. Her parents actually took the best of their DNA and made her. Everyone admires her and the fact that she lives at the very top floor of the tower she is the proverbial princess in the tower. People think that just like her, her world is perfect. But its far from that and Avery is perhaps holding the biggest secret of all.
The book ends with the funeral of the girl who was in the prologue and while I did put some spoilers in the blog I definitely will not spoil the end. I genuinely hated all of these kids I actually caught myself arguing with them as I was reading this book several times. With all that being said while I'm not going to give it a very high rating only 3 out of 5 stars I'm still going to recommend that you guys check it out. I know it sounds crazy but I'm pretty sure I'm going to read the sequel mostly because I absolutely have to know what happens to these kids and just how much more they can possibly screw up!
Hope you guys have a wonderful New Year!!
Nikki