zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
When I was reading the first few chapters of this book, I thought I would like it a lot. The setup and worldbuilding were compeling.
However, by the end, I felt it was too tropey, too focused on romance, and relied too much on deus ex machina
However, by the end, I felt it was too tropey, too focused on romance, and relied too much on deus ex machina
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Blood, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Cursing, and Child death
Moderate: War, Torture, Racism, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content
blackcatkai's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
CW: racism, genocide, colonization, mental illness, alcoholism, death, violence
decent beginning, meh middle, slow ending. essentially, it was a fun time through the first half of the book, then a time travel aspect was added at some point that took me right out of it. this is wholly a me-not-you situation for the story. i do not like time travel the majority of the time and the paradoxes that often come with it just ruin things for me. if some light time travel might be your thing but also you dont want a whole book to revolve around it, then you may enjoy this more than i did.
decent beginning, meh middle, slow ending. essentially, it was a fun time through the first half of the book, then a time travel aspect was added at some point that took me right out of it. this is wholly a me-not-you situation for the story. i do not like time travel the majority of the time and the paradoxes that often come with it just ruin things for me. if some light time travel might be your thing but also you dont want a whole book to revolve around it, then you may enjoy this more than i did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Genocide, Colonisation, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Alcoholism, and Violence
tina94's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Confinement, and Excrement
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Body shaming and Chronic illness
kylieqrada's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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? Yes
3.0
I really, really, really, really wanted to like this book more than I did. Don't get me wrong, I did like it. I just wanted to LOVE it. And I did not, on the whole. I loved aspects of it: that asexual panromantic rep, those literary references, that plot twist at the end. And the concept is high key intriguing, and I felt like Alechia Dow's writing was CLOSE to doing it for me. But overall it just won't stick in my mind. Morris felt a tad too juvenile for me. I really liked Ellie as a character, and her arc is pretty strong, but I just wanted more from this one. Womp wompppp.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Confinement, Genocide, Xenophobia, War, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
thelovelyjade's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Mental illness
princessnomi's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Some parts were extremely like The 5th Wave but the music and book references were good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, and Murder
kelecoo's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was SO much better than I ever could have dreamed!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
booksthatburn's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Two years after the invasion and near-total genocide of humanity, and alien and a human bond over the power of music and a love of stories while they try to save the people who are left.
I love Ellie and I like Morris, their relationship takes enough time to deepen for it to not feel like trauma bonding, which is really important given the massive power gap when he's part of the alien invasion and she's trying to survive. This does a lot of great things well that I haven't seen much in YA, from frank and non-judgmental discussions of whether they've had other partners, to actually addressing how dressing for the apocalypse results in some physically uncomfortable and very hodge-podge outfits.
This has lot of really great characterization. Ellie repeatedly uses a calming technique to try and avoid panic attacks in stressful situations, or try and calm down when one is starting. I loved this narrative choice, because it conveys how anxious she is without constantly relaying her anxious thoughts. Switching between two narrators helps keep the lying from getting too stressful, especially when there are things that Morris doesn’t feel like he can tell Ellie, or Ellie isn’t ready to trust Morris with. They’re reliable narrators as individuals, but not always to each other, especially in part two, but part of the point of the story is how they work though that and learn to trust each other as they get closer. Part One felt a bit uneven with a lot of infodumps and a lot of explanations. It was trying to handle a lot of world-building really quickly, and it did a pretty good job, it just wasn’t to my personal tastes. Part Two had more room to maneuver now that the backstory was set up, and got into the first phase of the adventure. It also features a different kind of tension between the protagonists. Part Three focuses on the way their relationship is changing, and Part Four is about a final confrontation and what happens next. I liked the second half better than the first, but the plot arc is solid and I'm pretty happy with how it turns out.
I think I would love this book rather than just like it if I cared more about music. The story is extremely up front about being a love/save-the-planet adventure about connecting through music and books, and I loved the book bits and didn't care about the music bits, but they seemed to be well done. It's definitely a me thing, not anything wrong with the story. If you're a bit meh about music and connecting with people through it, then this won't be the book for you. If you're reading this review and slightly aghast that anyone wouldn't care about music, then you'll probably love this.
I love Ellie and I like Morris, their relationship takes enough time to deepen for it to not feel like trauma bonding, which is really important given the massive power gap when he's part of the alien invasion and she's trying to survive. This does a lot of great things well that I haven't seen much in YA, from frank and non-judgmental discussions of whether they've had other partners, to actually addressing how dressing for the apocalypse results in some physically uncomfortable and very hodge-podge outfits.
This has lot of really great characterization. Ellie repeatedly uses a calming technique to try and avoid panic attacks in stressful situations, or try and calm down when one is starting. I loved this narrative choice, because it conveys how anxious she is without constantly relaying her anxious thoughts. Switching between two narrators helps keep the lying from getting too stressful, especially when there are things that Morris doesn’t feel like he can tell Ellie, or Ellie isn’t ready to trust Morris with. They’re reliable narrators as individuals, but not always to each other, especially in part two, but part of the point of the story is how they work though that and learn to trust each other as they get closer. Part One felt a bit uneven with a lot of infodumps and a lot of explanations. It was trying to handle a lot of world-building really quickly, and it did a pretty good job, it just wasn’t to my personal tastes. Part Two had more room to maneuver now that the backstory was set up, and got into the first phase of the adventure. It also features a different kind of tension between the protagonists. Part Three focuses on the way their relationship is changing, and Part Four is about a final confrontation and what happens next. I liked the second half better than the first, but the plot arc is solid and I'm pretty happy with how it turns out.
I think I would love this book rather than just like it if I cared more about music. The story is extremely up front about being a love/save-the-planet adventure about connecting through music and books, and I loved the book bits and didn't care about the music bits, but they seemed to be well done. It's definitely a me thing, not anything wrong with the story. If you're a bit meh about music and connecting with people through it, then this won't be the book for you. If you're reading this review and slightly aghast that anyone wouldn't care about music, then you'll probably love this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Genocide, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, and Vomit
TW for Harry Potter reference (pages 68, 179, 363, 409, 425).water_violin's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, and Racism
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