Reviews

The Young World by Chris Weitz

canadianbookaddict's review

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1.0

This just wasn't for me. I really tried to read it but really I didn't find it exciting.What really annoyed me was Donna saying Like so many times. Maybe if I were younger I might not have found it annoying and I might have enjoyed it.

If you are a teen you might like this dystopian but for me it wasn't good at all and I ended up giving up on it at about 40% into it.

nyxshadow's review against another edition

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3.0

http://www.nyx-shadow.com/2016/04/the-young-wolrd-t1-young-wolrd-chris.html

Pas entièrement convaincu par l'écriture, en particulier au début. L'alternance de point de vue ne me dérange pas, mais tant qu'à faire on aurait pu passer par tous les personnages du groupe.
L'idée n'est pas mal, très graphique et plutôt bien pensé avec pas mal d'idées de post-apocalypse et différentes façon d'affronter cela.
Pourtant...je reste sur la réserve vis à vis de cette histoire

cupcakegirly's review against another edition

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2.0

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this book. There are parts that I enjoyed, namely Peter's character, but there is a lot that I didn't.

Audio: The narrators did a fairly decent job, although the male narrator tended to mumble at times, making it hard to know exactly what he was saying. (I'm glad I had a pb copy to defer to.)

Story: This reads more like a script or screenplay rather than a novel. Not a bad thing, just something that takes a little getting used to.

It had lots of diversity but wasn't so in your face that it screamed, LOOK AT ME BEING ALL DIVERSE AND STUFF! The alternating POV was interesting and I liked how both the optimistic and pessimistic sides of the situation were represented.

The characters were enjoyable to a point, but the actual dialogue was grating at times. Donna hits the mark with how 99.9% of teenage girls speak, but her use of the word "like" was like, soooo annoying. (See what I did there?)

And then there is Jefferson. I get that he is a teenage boy with raging hormones and whatnot, and I realize his lifespan is short, but how can you claim to love someone--HAVE loved them your whole life---and turn around and hookup with the first girl who bats her eyes at you? (Or in his case, takes her shirt off and kisses him.) Up until that point, I respected Jefferson, I LIKED how smart, how different he was from the other boys. And I understand he was hurt, but I felt like his choice reduced him to the stereotypical teenage boy which ticked me off. AND his declaration of feelings at the end felt completely unbelievable. Like, REALLY? The same holds true for the other person.

I'm not sure this was the book for me, but I do think it was a pretty accurate depiction of what would happen if the world was left to teenagers. *cringes*

THE YOUNG WORLD is book one in a trilogy.


obviously_lene's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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chiara02's review

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1.5

Great theme, horrible realization.  

First of all, the character of Donna, you can see that the book is written by a man.  Just a piece of advice, if you can't narrate from a woman's perspective, don't try it. 


The topic of the book itself was really interesting, but the way it was described made me not want to read it further (I don't know if it's the author's style or the translation - I read it in polish)

traceyh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful sad tense 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

4.0

squinderella's review against another edition

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4.0

The Young World is told in alternating perspectives by Jefferson and Donna - both teenagers barely surviving. The story opens up on a neighborhood in New York City where all of the inhabitants are teens that are peacefully surviving together after a mysterious illness killed all of the adults and children a couple of years previously. Quickly, we see that the city has been divided into many different groups - all of which do their own governing and ruling. As the tribe decides they need to further investigate the illness after finding some information, they begin to make their way through the city on a terrifying and deadly journey.

I found Donna to be very like I was as a teenager - although quirky, interesting, and knowledgeable, she has little confidence in herself. Donna is very real - she misses her family, especially her little brother, so much that she keeps her iPhone on her at all times and constantly charged so she can see pictures and videos of him. The scene when she cried while listening to singing really tore at my heart. It really drove home that even while facing the constant threat of death, these characters are simply kids that have recently lost everything

Jefferson was a good character, as well. He's been able to be the kid brother to a leader for his whole life, so we see him needing to suddenly take on a role that he's not entirely comfortable with, but is not necessarily bad at. Donna has been his best friend for his entire life, but Jefferson is secretly in love with her, as well. I loved that the author included so much information regarding his Japanese heritage, as well - it was a nice bit of background information.

Overall, The Young World was a great adventure. It included many post-apocalyptic scenarios all in one setting that made sense. Really, my only negative from this was that I felt the ending was rushed. We have this very long, drawn out journey, only for
Spoilerthe group to get captured, and then suddenly the Navy is showing up and it's over!
It was quite abrupt. Despite that, though, this was a really enjoyable Young Adult read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

deann_f's review against another edition

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3.0

Kept hoping it was going to be better. Writing was kinda boring and tedious.

mi8ni's review

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adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25