rsnuggs21's review against another edition
3.0
This book is entertaining because it is freaking bananas. It was a really interesting idea...and then the ending happened. Sooooo unhinged reality star president (sound familiar) lets a gentleman called the postmaster start televising gory death sentences in a nutshell. But apparently this all started because some crazy pyscho who abducted (maybe? Or her dad did. It is really unclear) the main character years ago wanted to connect with her again and be her "sister." What?!
salad_kat482's review against another edition
4.0
The writing made me learn so many new words. I loved the banter. Everything up until "Mara" made sense to me. It was when Grieselda came out and said, "I got it" was when the real twist hit for me. Honestly, props to Dee. I thought at first the "Postman" wanted to kill Dee because she killed Slycer, the Islands #1 killer. She wanted to get revenge on Dee for killing her father. Her wanting to be sisters with Dee, and the Postman killing Monica made so much sense. I feel bad for the real Mara. I thought it was weird when Dee couldn't see her face after she was gassed, but I didn't think anything of it. I wondered what would happen If the Paniacs realized someone else was running the Island. The Postmans daughter Kimmi didn't do all those deaths because she somehow knew about Monica's death, but she did it because she told her father to kill Monica, because Monica was Dee's actual sister. So much goes into this book. There's a lot of stuff you have to think about and isn't directly told to you. This was a good book. I still thought Dee and Nyles romance was out of the blue. I didn't really understand how Griselda came to like Ethan romantically. Ethan was flirting with her because of the roles and he was gay. I didn't know how to write a review on this book because theres so much to talk about in this book. So I just wrote what came to mind. Anyways this book was really good, so four stars.
Note: There's so many funny quotes for this book. Why are there only seven??
Note: There's so many funny quotes for this book. Why are there only seven??
booksandlemonsquash's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly just found this fun. Not terribly believable or complex but I raced through it and enjoyed it.
I particularly liked how the old linked to the new, and how Dee was good at fighting back - some of that was pretty inspired! The set up was pretty good if you take the concept at face value, which you definitely should. And I liked the grudging, if fast, friendships formed on the island.
I’d have liked a few more answers, and also to learn about repercussions for the Painiacs. Plus more about how the trials got railroaded.
A fun and quick read, well worth 3.5 stars.
I particularly liked how the old linked to the new, and how Dee was good at fighting back - some of that was pretty inspired! The set up was pretty good if you take the concept at face value, which you definitely should. And I liked the grudging, if fast, friendships formed on the island.
I’d have liked a few more answers, and also to learn about repercussions for the Painiacs. Plus more about how the trials got railroaded.
A fun and quick read, well worth 3.5 stars.
aclopez6's review against another edition
4.0
This book reminded me of the movie Death Race, but with a YA spin. I borrowed it on Hoopla for a flight, and was invested enough to finish the book, but also wouldn't necessarily purchase it for my classroom or personal library.
readers_sea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I was actually pleasantly surprised by this one!
I hadn't heard much about it, so I didn't know what to expect. In the end, it was actually a lot of fun. This was such an original concept and I loved that we only knew as much as the main character (which wasn't much). It was a lot of fun trying to figure out what was going on alongside the rest of the characters as the story went on.
For a YA, it kept me on my toes and guessing the whole time. I did figure out some of the reveals beforehand, but it was still entertaining to watch it all play out. All the characters also added such a different layer to the story because of their personalities. Overall, I had a great time with this one.
I hadn't heard much about it, so I didn't know what to expect. In the end, it was actually a lot of fun. This was such an original concept and I loved that we only knew as much as the main character (which wasn't much). It was a lot of fun trying to figure out what was going on alongside the rest of the characters as the story went on.
For a YA, it kept me on my toes and guessing the whole time. I did figure out some of the reveals beforehand, but it was still entertaining to watch it all play out. All the characters also added such a different layer to the story because of their personalities. Overall, I had a great time with this one.
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Murder, Kidnapping, Violence, Torture, Blood, Mental illness, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
amomthatreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts by captivating a new way to deal with murders only to turn into a story about a shoddy and rigged system in which people are framed in order to get them to the island for ratings. There’s one thing they weren’t counting on, her to figure it out.
narutohateclub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
At first I thought I was gonna hate this book but honestly I really enjoyed it and finished it in two days. The plot was interesting and I liked a lot of the ideas presented in it. The book was tense but I felt like some of the more action-packed parts fell a little flat because they went so fast. Other than that I liked this.
itsemmy's review against another edition
4.0
aside from a few far fetched deaths, it was a pretty good quick read