rose508's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
raven_morgan's review against another edition
5.0
An eARC of this book was received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
***
The premise of this book is simple: a strange illness moves through humanity. Silver blisters appear first, and then people begin to lose their memory - small things at first, and then larger and larger until they have no idea who or what they are. Joy is one of a group of people taken to the Hospital to be observed, perhaps immune to the sickness. We follow Joy through the Hospital and later, after she leaves and makes her way across the country in search of the mother who abandoned her as a baby.
I am in envy of some of the truly gorgeous writing in this book. There is a flow to it, often reading more like poetry than prose. No, there is no traditional narrative structure to much of it, which seems to have frustrated many readers (understandably, if you've come to this from a lot of the almost-cliched dystopia which is being published these days). It is not a convenient little tale that wraps up neatly at the end: it is something of a fever dream of a novel, utterly immersive and almost hypnotic to read.
I will admit to some frustration at the ultimate lack of resolution to Joy's journey, but in the context of the book - and the lack of real answers to anything in Joy's life, the sickness included - it makes sense, and fits with the rest of the book.
This book isn't going to be for everyone, but it was most definitely for me.
***
The premise of this book is simple: a strange illness moves through humanity. Silver blisters appear first, and then people begin to lose their memory - small things at first, and then larger and larger until they have no idea who or what they are. Joy is one of a group of people taken to the Hospital to be observed, perhaps immune to the sickness. We follow Joy through the Hospital and later, after she leaves and makes her way across the country in search of the mother who abandoned her as a baby.
I am in envy of some of the truly gorgeous writing in this book. There is a flow to it, often reading more like poetry than prose. No, there is no traditional narrative structure to much of it, which seems to have frustrated many readers (understandably, if you've come to this from a lot of the almost-cliched dystopia which is being published these days). It is not a convenient little tale that wraps up neatly at the end: it is something of a fever dream of a novel, utterly immersive and almost hypnotic to read.
I will admit to some frustration at the ultimate lack of resolution to Joy's journey, but in the context of the book - and the lack of real answers to anything in Joy's life, the sickness included - it makes sense, and fits with the rest of the book.
This book isn't going to be for everyone, but it was most definitely for me.
eunicedlt's review against another edition
3.0
The style in which it was written was absolutely gorgeous. Laura Van den Berg has a natural talent for prose and for beautifully descriptive writing. There are many quotes I saved from the book simply because they were cleverly worded. However, even though I am glad I read this book once, I would not ever read it again. The book is incredibly boring in terms of plot. It's very introspective and showcases the internal struggle of the narrator with little to no regard for the advancement of the plot and the world she lives in. The book is like looking into the mind of an incredibly discombobulated person and recounting every boring minute of their existence. I would not recommend this book to those seeking a story, but rather to those interested in ramblings of thoughts and perhaps a self reflection and question of what memories are.
steph_davidson's review against another edition
3.0
Really enjoyed this. And just as I thought it was resembling several other post-epidemic books, it became much more introspective and opened up a whole bunch of questions about the narrator's past and present.
kelseyannek's review against another edition
3.0
Had higher hopes based on the synopsis and her recent story collection, but this just didn’t quite work for me.
indecisivespice's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very refreshing take on an epidemic apocalypse, mostly because of Joy's arc. I found the bit at the Mansion a bit tiring if only because I wanted to shake Joy and Marcus and tell them you don't take drugs and then go into scary tunnels, but in the end it fit with what Joy had ~forgotten~. The ending was also surprisingly satisfying to me and I'm glad that nothing actually happened with Joy and Marcus because the moments they shared were far more intimate than actual romantic intimacy could ever be.
tawnsolo's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, although I can understand why people hated it. It's not for everyone. I feel like this is exactly how The Maze Runner should have read. I didn't love the open ending, but it was appropriate considering the entire story.
library_brandy's review
3.5
Written pre-pandemic but about a pandemic, to which a few people are immune. Joy is immune, or at least seems to be, and is brought to a rural Kansas hospital to be tested and to be a part of an experiment, the details of which are never fully clear (to the characters or the reader). Things at the hospital get weird, and after Joy leaves, she's on a quest to get to Florida to find her mother, who abandoned her when she was an infant.
Overall, it was fine, but not something I'm going to talk up to everyone I know.
Overall, it was fine, but not something I'm going to talk up to everyone I know.