Scan barcode
helhas3letters's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
WARNING: this book ends with a cliffhanger!
I enjoyed this book and raced through it as it was easy to read. The plot is interesting - especially Westerfeld's futuristic ideas - and moves quickly, so plot points get their payoffs in a satisfactory way.
The characters were a little clichéd in the typical YA way. The main character was not likeable, but as a reader you can forgive it because she's admittedly been brainwashed her whole life, and she grows as the story goes on. However, I felt that towards the end of the novel, the main character's instincts about an event revealed them to be incredibly self-involved, regardless of the brainwashing. (I'm talking about
Yes, unfortunately there is a
I do wish that the author had delved more into the racial aspect of the eugenicist regime. It is frequently stated that, after the operation, people's eyes become bigger, their noses become smaller, and their lips more full. Wouldn't it be interesting for Tally to learn about the implications of this? Especially from a futuristic perspective. There is also a brief mention of the fact that people's skin tones get evened out, and even a moment where she thinks about how weird it was that people used to kill each other over their skin colour. I'd have just liked this to be explored a bit more. What if Tally starts to learn about her family's lineage, and discovers that she is of a certain heritage, the defining characteristics of which have been wiped out by the operation?
My biggest critique, however, is that I found it very hard to follow Westerfeld's descriptions of space, direction, and travel. I felt that, when characters' physical journeys were described (which was often), the author could have been more detailed and clear. Unfortunately, it became increasingly difficult to orientate the characters in my mind and I ended up giving up on trying to do so, ignoring the geographical comments, and just enjoying the action instead. (Neueodivergent problem?)
I'll probably be reading the sequel, because I'm interested to see where the story goes.
Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sallytumbler13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
dayniw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
madmantha's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The love triangle still feels a bit forced; I’d love for them to take it in a queer or poly direction in the new series adaption.
I got heavy “gal pals” energy between Tally and Shay in this reading; which isn’t something I remember noticing or feeling when I read this years ago.
This is still one of my favorite books and I’m very much looking forward to continuing to share the series with my partner.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
_alyssar_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Dysphoria
Minor: Animal death, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic