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midnightcashmere's review against another edition
2.0
An okay book overall...
1. The pacing was unnecessarily fast, and it doesn't make sense to me that the fastest rehab time was set at 2 weeks when there are 250k points available daily.
2. I think it would've been more sensible for Jaxon to miss his date and realize there's more to life than video games and girls. Obviously, this wasn't what the author intended necessarily, but it conveys a similar theme, albeit with a lot more optimism.
3. To expand on the first point, I wish the author had spent more time exploring the side characters and their character arcs. Issues such as sexuality, relationships, &c were mentioned but not really elaborated upon.
4. As I remember, Meeki and Aurora are the only distinctly nonwhite characters. I wish the author spent more time discussing race w/ Aurora, as he did w/ Meeki.
5. None of the characters really change at all. Sure, the ending was thematic, but it wasn't really inspiring or anything. I also wish Serena wasn't Jaxon's primary motivation because it seemed stupid the entire time.
1. The pacing was unnecessarily fast, and it doesn't make sense to me that the fastest rehab time was set at 2 weeks when there are 250k points available daily.
2. I think it would've been more sensible for Jaxon to miss his date and realize there's more to life than video games and girls. Obviously, this wasn't what the author intended necessarily, but it conveys a similar theme, albeit with a lot more optimism.
3. To expand on the first point, I wish the author had spent more time exploring the side characters and their character arcs. Issues such as sexuality, relationships, &c were mentioned but not really elaborated upon.
4. As I remember, Meeki and Aurora are the only distinctly nonwhite characters. I wish the author spent more time discussing race w/ Aurora, as he did w/ Meeki.
5. None of the characters really change at all. Sure, the ending was thematic, but it wasn't really inspiring or anything. I also wish Serena wasn't Jaxon's primary motivation because it seemed stupid the entire time.
kimching232's review against another edition
4.0
I have one very big problem about this book, and it's the ending. Aside from that very big problem, however, I have no other complaints about this book. Cure for the Common Universe is such a unique and fun book to read, while showing us the main character's quest towards self-discovery.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Jaxon was committed to video game rehab by his dad for spending hours and hours playing video games, and there, Jaxon has to earn 1 million points to be released. Since Jaxon met this girl Serena right before he was committed, he would do anything in order to get that one million points in time for their date, which is in four days! Because Jaxon was focused on this goal, he pushed people, used them, and became incredibly selfish.
I really like the fact that this book was able to show how someone can be so selfish and yet never realize it. It shows that while being selfish, there may be people - like soup - to feed (no pun intended) that selfishness, making us not aware of it. People come off as trying to help, and that's just what they're doing, but it only makes people not realize that they're being selfish because it's offered to them. And what Jaxon did was just take and take, without even properly viewing Soup as a human being, or as an equal. Meeki gave him shit for being selfish, but Jaxon only viewed it as someone getting in his way.
This book shows that we can so blinded by our goals that we don't realize how self-centered we are becoming. It shows that we will hate the people who tell us the truth because we only think of ourselves as achieving our goals. It shows that there may be people who are so important but get pushed to the sidelines because we are so blinded by what we think is right. It shows that sometimes, achieving the goal is not the most important thing, but the journey that you took to get to it.
I really like how unique Cure for the Common Universe is. From introducing a fun video game rehab facility, to the amazing characters, to featuring a main character that you would just love to hate, I think the author did a magnificent job. Man, I would love to see this book as a movie! Just imagine seeng the video game rehab center! I think a lot of people would enjoy it too.
However, as I said in the beginning, my issue with this book is the ending. I felt like it didn't give justice to the story. I felt like it ended abruptly, and I felt like I was left hanging. There were still so many questions I had that were left unanswered, and I was just staring at the book in the end because I couldn't believe that that was already the ending. I need more!
Other than the ending, however, I don't have any other complaints about this book. It's an amazing book, and one I think everyone should read. It's a quick and easy read, it's also not heavy, but it carries along a strong message that everyone needs to hear. I really recommend this to everyone!
I really enjoyed reading this book. Jaxon was committed to video game rehab by his dad for spending hours and hours playing video games, and there, Jaxon has to earn 1 million points to be released. Since Jaxon met this girl Serena right before he was committed, he would do anything in order to get that one million points in time for their date, which is in four days! Because Jaxon was focused on this goal, he pushed people, used them, and became incredibly selfish.
I really like the fact that this book was able to show how someone can be so selfish and yet never realize it. It shows that while being selfish, there may be people - like soup - to feed (no pun intended) that selfishness, making us not aware of it. People come off as trying to help, and that's just what they're doing, but it only makes people not realize that they're being selfish because it's offered to them. And what Jaxon did was just take and take, without even properly viewing Soup as a human being, or as an equal. Meeki gave him shit for being selfish, but Jaxon only viewed it as someone getting in his way.
This book shows that we can so blinded by our goals that we don't realize how self-centered we are becoming. It shows that we will hate the people who tell us the truth because we only think of ourselves as achieving our goals. It shows that there may be people who are so important but get pushed to the sidelines because we are so blinded by what we think is right. It shows that sometimes, achieving the goal is not the most important thing, but the journey that you took to get to it.
I really like how unique Cure for the Common Universe is. From introducing a fun video game rehab facility, to the amazing characters, to featuring a main character that you would just love to hate, I think the author did a magnificent job. Man, I would love to see this book as a movie! Just imagine seeng the video game rehab center! I think a lot of people would enjoy it too.
However, as I said in the beginning, my issue with this book is the ending. I felt like it didn't give justice to the story. I felt like it ended abruptly, and I felt like I was left hanging. There were still so many questions I had that were left unanswered, and I was just staring at the book in the end because I couldn't believe that that was already the ending. I need more!
Other than the ending, however, I don't have any other complaints about this book. It's an amazing book, and one I think everyone should read. It's a quick and easy read, it's also not heavy, but it carries along a strong message that everyone needs to hear. I really recommend this to everyone!
booksnorkel's review against another edition
3.0
I was able to get a copy of this book through my work.
I am not a true gamer, but I do know a lot about them. As it stands as someone who dabbles or knows perhaps a little more than the average person but not as much as my best friend or my boyfriend I got about 90% of the video game references that this book threw at me.
Jaxon is a video game nerd, we all know one, someone who would prefer to play video games over anything else, not really good or bad at school, just sort of coasting between games. While playing he is going to be screaming, or swearing and heaven help if you interrupt or if there’s lag. Jaxon is fat, pimply, and only a beard away from being an actual neck beard. He’s shipped off to video game rehab where the players are to earn points and when they reach a million they get to go home. Jaxon is now obsessed with leaving as fast as possible cutting corners, cheating, and doing everything he can to leave so he can go on a date with a girl he met at a car wash for like ten minutes. This book kept my interest and had its moments of fun and funny. Very ham handed with its message but not a bad read, the main character is not a likeable one and he’s not supposed to be, not many of the characters are likeable which makes this book a little hard to care about but as the reader you do want to see where it is all going. This book is for 14 on up as there is language, and mention of masturbation and all that sort of stuff, nothing that you wouldn’t hear if you were playing COD online aimed at boys though anyone who is a gamer would enjoy the name dropping involved.
I am not a true gamer, but I do know a lot about them. As it stands as someone who dabbles or knows perhaps a little more than the average person but not as much as my best friend or my boyfriend I got about 90% of the video game references that this book threw at me.
Jaxon is a video game nerd, we all know one, someone who would prefer to play video games over anything else, not really good or bad at school, just sort of coasting between games. While playing he is going to be screaming, or swearing and heaven help if you interrupt or if there’s lag. Jaxon is fat, pimply, and only a beard away from being an actual neck beard. He’s shipped off to video game rehab where the players are to earn points and when they reach a million they get to go home. Jaxon is now obsessed with leaving as fast as possible cutting corners, cheating, and doing everything he can to leave so he can go on a date with a girl he met at a car wash for like ten minutes. This book kept my interest and had its moments of fun and funny. Very ham handed with its message but not a bad read, the main character is not a likeable one and he’s not supposed to be, not many of the characters are likeable which makes this book a little hard to care about but as the reader you do want to see where it is all going. This book is for 14 on up as there is language, and mention of masturbation and all that sort of stuff, nothing that you wouldn’t hear if you were playing COD online aimed at boys though anyone who is a gamer would enjoy the name dropping involved.
thecorioliseffect's review against another edition
3.0
3.5!
I enjoyed this. It was pretty fun. I'm a little bummed that the end didn't have any resolution in the sense that Jaxon didn't talk things out with Fessik and especially Soup. Like, Soup was too cute and pure for this world, and he didn't deserve that treatment!!
But it was still a cute, fun book. Kind of exactly what I expected and thought it would be. I think I might have liked it better if the main character had been a little younger. Originally I thought he was like 14. But otherwise, yeah, enjoyable and cute!
I enjoyed this. It was pretty fun. I'm a little bummed that the end didn't have any resolution in the sense that Jaxon didn't talk things out with Fessik and especially Soup. Like, Soup was too cute and pure for this world, and he didn't deserve that treatment!!
But it was still a cute, fun book. Kind of exactly what I expected and thought it would be. I think I might have liked it better if the main character had been a little younger. Originally I thought he was like 14. But otherwise, yeah, enjoyable and cute!
itsmytuberculosis's review against another edition
2.0
The graphic design for this cover is better than the entire book.
dlberglund's review against another edition
3.0
There's a lot to like about these quirky video game misfits who are mostly stuck in video game rehab against their wills. They are imperfect, not yet fully formed, with a variety of pressures and problems.
The adults, however, with the exception of Fezzik, are pretty ridiculous. And yes, in real life kids get stuck with parents who are wrapped in their own stuff, but it would have been nice if one of the adults in power had listened at least once. And the ending.... Arg. Blech.
The adults, however, with the exception of Fezzik, are pretty ridiculous. And yes, in real life kids get stuck with parents who are wrapped in their own stuff, but it would have been nice if one of the adults in power had listened at least once. And the ending.... Arg. Blech.
caronmonster's review against another edition
2.0
I have had this book on my tbr pile for about a year and I’m a bit disappointed. I just didn’t like any of the characters and feel that the ending was a bit deflating.
ijsselmeer13's review against another edition
3.0
This book isn't really about video games.
Ok, well it kind of is, but that's not the point.
This book is about life.
It's all a metaphor. (Thank you, Fezzik, for making that more obvious.) Sorry, that was just me talking to a book character.
As I was saying . . . this book is about life. Some of the messages I picked up while reading are:
-Life isn't a fairy tale. Princesses don't always need rescuing.
-Life isn't as easy of simple as a video game.
-The most important skill is not sewing or cooking - it's being sensitive and kind to others. Not everything is about you.
-(There are more that I probably just forgot, so I guess you'll have to read to find out. :)
Ok, well it kind of is, but that's not the point.
This book is about life.
It's all a metaphor. (Thank you, Fezzik, for making that more obvious.) Sorry, that was just me talking to a book character.
As I was saying . . . this book is about life. Some of the messages I picked up while reading are:
-Life isn't a fairy tale. Princesses don't always need rescuing.
-Life isn't as easy of simple as a video game.
-The most important skill is not sewing or cooking - it's being sensitive and kind to others. Not everything is about you.
-(There are more that I probably just forgot, so I guess you'll have to read to find out. :)
jenscott's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 stars
I don't know what it is about novels about video games that just suck me right in, but I ate this up. I really liked Christian's writing and the plot was really appealing.
I wish our main character would have had his come to Jesus moment a little sooner. The ending felt a little rushed, but I really loved the end scene.
I don't know what it is about novels about video games that just suck me right in, but I ate this up. I really liked Christian's writing and the plot was really appealing.
I wish our main character would have had his come to Jesus moment a little sooner. The ending felt a little rushed, but I really loved the end scene.
paigelm's review against another edition
5.0
Unfortunately for advanced gamers everywhere, not everything is as easy as rescuing a princess in a castle. Jaxon, an overweight, socially-awkward gamer, is about to figure that out. After completing most of his summer vacation in his bedroom in the online gaming world of Arcadia, Jaxon gets a rude awakening when his dad enlists him in video game rehab or V-hab. Besides completely being cut-off of the gaming world, another consequence of being forced into rehab is that right before he is carried out of his house he meets a girl, makes her laugh, and they plan to go on a date, an actual date. But because of his dad’s decision to have him thrown into a backseat of a sedan and driven for three hours out into the desert for rehab Jaxon will miss his golden opportunity to date a girl. Enter Plan B: Jaxon will figure out a way to engineer the fastest video game addiction recovery yet in order to make it back in time to the world of gaming and now girls that he was so psyched for.
It’s safe to say that Jaxon is not interested in taking his V-hab program seriously. In this rehab it is a point based system, that also encourages teamwork with your guild, group therapy and discussion, and challenging exercises from sports to go-kart racing. Jaxon sees none of this as as a life changing opportunity, (he’s not actually addicted to video games-not like the rest of the geeks here), but rather sees V-hab as another game that he has to beat to make it to the next level.
I am not a gamer, couldn’t even come close, but this book was not only funny, but had some sweet philosophical moments that made me glad that I read something outside of my normal comfort zone. "Cure for the Common Universe" becomes less a tale about the intricacies of video game addiction and the gaming world, (you don’t need to know the gaming world to understand this book) and more a sincere look at how humans cope with life, especially when things start to suck. Jaxon gets sent to this rehab in the middle of the desert to mostly stop playing video games, but stopping obsessively playing videos games means a lot more than wirelessly "detaching." As Aurora, one of the members of Jaxon's guild, Fury Burds, in V-hab shares: “When your insides are like skinned knees and curdled milk, you gotta learn how to feel better all by your lonesome, without pills or games or anything like that, or else those bad feelings will just keep coming back.” It is this idea and feeling that are the heart of understanding how any good rehab program should work. Behind the heart of addiction, of any compulsion, is the trigger for people to feel better or stop feeling or to make those feelings go away, essentially to deal or really not deal with our feelings. The more successful you are as a person in some ways depends on how many successful strategies you have to deal with intense events and awful feelings, and whether or not the strategies that you use help rebuild your heart and life or destroy them.
On top of some of these wonderful moments about feelings and life, this book also touches on the intense and high profile topics in the video game world. First, as a sub plot, it talks about how some of the racist, sexist, derogatory language, even in off-hand, seemingly meaningless comments used in online gaming culture actually hurt people. Turns out, anonymity doesn’t make saying terrible things better, and using the internet as a way to communicate homophobic, racist, or sexist comments, does not make you exempt from making them. Also, this book touches on how female gamers are viewed, discussed and talked about online, from not wanting girls to play because they are “bad at gaming” to acknowledging the vitriol behind Gamergate. Lastly, one other cool topic this book touches on is that of the privilege white skin and being male, not only in the gaming community, but in the world. Quite a big topic to discuss in a video game rehab story, but I immensely appreciated. No time is too good to start understanding privilege and what advantages you have because of it. Having privilege doesn’t guarantee your life is even close to great, it just means you don’t have to constantly also think about your race, sex, sexuality and how that influences your relationships with others in the outside world on a daily basis. All and all, for a book I thought I was not going to like, I am glad I picked it up.
It’s safe to say that Jaxon is not interested in taking his V-hab program seriously. In this rehab it is a point based system, that also encourages teamwork with your guild, group therapy and discussion, and challenging exercises from sports to go-kart racing. Jaxon sees none of this as as a life changing opportunity, (he’s not actually addicted to video games-not like the rest of the geeks here), but rather sees V-hab as another game that he has to beat to make it to the next level.
I am not a gamer, couldn’t even come close, but this book was not only funny, but had some sweet philosophical moments that made me glad that I read something outside of my normal comfort zone. "Cure for the Common Universe" becomes less a tale about the intricacies of video game addiction and the gaming world, (you don’t need to know the gaming world to understand this book) and more a sincere look at how humans cope with life, especially when things start to suck. Jaxon gets sent to this rehab in the middle of the desert to mostly stop playing video games, but stopping obsessively playing videos games means a lot more than wirelessly "detaching." As Aurora, one of the members of Jaxon's guild, Fury Burds, in V-hab shares: “When your insides are like skinned knees and curdled milk, you gotta learn how to feel better all by your lonesome, without pills or games or anything like that, or else those bad feelings will just keep coming back.” It is this idea and feeling that are the heart of understanding how any good rehab program should work. Behind the heart of addiction, of any compulsion, is the trigger for people to feel better or stop feeling or to make those feelings go away, essentially to deal or really not deal with our feelings. The more successful you are as a person in some ways depends on how many successful strategies you have to deal with intense events and awful feelings, and whether or not the strategies that you use help rebuild your heart and life or destroy them.
On top of some of these wonderful moments about feelings and life, this book also touches on the intense and high profile topics in the video game world. First, as a sub plot, it talks about how some of the racist, sexist, derogatory language, even in off-hand, seemingly meaningless comments used in online gaming culture actually hurt people. Turns out, anonymity doesn’t make saying terrible things better, and using the internet as a way to communicate homophobic, racist, or sexist comments, does not make you exempt from making them. Also, this book touches on how female gamers are viewed, discussed and talked about online, from not wanting girls to play because they are “bad at gaming” to acknowledging the vitriol behind Gamergate. Lastly, one other cool topic this book touches on is that of the privilege white skin and being male, not only in the gaming community, but in the world. Quite a big topic to discuss in a video game rehab story, but I immensely appreciated. No time is too good to start understanding privilege and what advantages you have because of it. Having privilege doesn’t guarantee your life is even close to great, it just means you don’t have to constantly also think about your race, sex, sexuality and how that influences your relationships with others in the outside world on a daily basis. All and all, for a book I thought I was not going to like, I am glad I picked it up.