aqilahreads's review against another edition
3.0
i was lucky enough to get my hands on this book & honestly this is my first sci-fi YA read that was set in a singapore context! šøš¬ at first, it was kind of weird to read but along the way, i found myself starting to get more and more used to it. the story itself is split into 4 parts and some chapters are more interesting to read compared to the rest. overall, i felt that the flow of story could be improved but nevertheless, i still enjoyed it. āŗļø really a great job done! šÆ
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fina_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
aqilahreads's review
3.0
i was lucky enough to get my hands on this book & honestly this is my first sci-fi YA read that was set in a singapore context! šøš¬ at first, it was kind of weird to read but along the way, i found myself starting to get more and more used to it. the story itself is split into 4 parts and some chapters are more interesting to read compared to the rest. overall, i felt that the flow of story could be improved but nevertheless, i still enjoyed it. āŗļø really a great job done! šÆ
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.
judithhuang's review
"What she allows to bloom in these pages is that sense of wonder so lacking in our prosaic, pragmatic lives. It is something worth holding on to, as we ponder how best we can, through our choices, make space for others in our society." - Olivia Ho, Straits Times (full review: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/profound-societal-concerns-in-an-easily-digestible-adventure)
"An impeccable local fable of authoritarian unimaginativeness....If indeed the beginning was the Word, the prime mover of this novel is a skillful wordsmith. Here, the prose bounds as its fauna bounds; it is fleet as its winged creatures; it is rich and deep and confident and aspirational. Huangās writing at its most inspired, as we have here, is magisterial." - Wong Wen Pu, Mackerel (full review: http://www.mackerel.life/sofia-and-the-utopian-imagination/)
Book available from the publisher: https://shop.epigrambooks.sg/collections/new-releases/products/sofia-and-the-utopia-machine
Localbooks.sg: https://localbooks.sg/collections/new-arrivals/products/sofia-and-the-utopia-machine
and directly from me: https://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/Sofia-and-the-Utopia-Machine-Signed-First-Singaporean-Edition/302868690843
www.judithhuang.com
"An impeccable local fable of authoritarian unimaginativeness....If indeed the beginning was the Word, the prime mover of this novel is a skillful wordsmith. Here, the prose bounds as its fauna bounds; it is fleet as its winged creatures; it is rich and deep and confident and aspirational. Huangās writing at its most inspired, as we have here, is magisterial." - Wong Wen Pu, Mackerel (full review: http://www.mackerel.life/sofia-and-the-utopian-imagination/)
Book available from the publisher: https://shop.epigrambooks.sg/collections/new-releases/products/sofia-and-the-utopia-machine
Localbooks.sg: https://localbooks.sg/collections/new-arrivals/products/sofia-and-the-utopia-machine
and directly from me: https://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/Sofia-and-the-Utopia-Machine-Signed-First-Singaporean-Edition/302868690843
www.judithhuang.com
yuzureads's review
4.0
Sofiaās dad, Peter, disappeared 7 years ago and neither she nor her mother Clare ever knew where he went. Sofia, girl living in a Mid-Level flat, meets Julian (a boy from the Canopies) online, and he tells her about the Utopia Machine. The machine piques her curiosity and she sneaks into her motherās lab in Biopolis, and ends up activating the Utopia Machine, which brings her into a parallel universe in which she gets to play Goddess and shape it to her will. But activating the machine also brings with it repercussions and Sofia finds herself a political fugitive.
I think the world-building in this book was pretty well done. Iām not that familiar with Singapore literature, but the use of mythologies and folk tales seems like a good starting point in a genre that I guess isnāt that commonly seen in SingLit: the young adult dystopia. The story fits in folk tales and narratives from the universe Sofia created, all of them nostalgically Southeast Asian. The book architecturally crystallises Singaporeās stratified society in the split of this speculated Singapore, split into the neglected Voids, the Mid-Levels, and the exclusive Canopies. I liked this book more for its critique of elitism and the myth of meritocracy than for the plot, which Iām afraid didnāt stand out to me so much, but I guess thatās the point. The disheartening thing (but also what I liked) about the conclusion was just how believable it was, this helplessness against a panoptic state that you canāt fight, that you canāt save everyone from, that the only solution is to run away. I think itās worth the read if youāre into young adult dystopia, but it wonāt be about empowered young rebels who topple governments because thatās not how itās going to work here.
I think the world-building in this book was pretty well done. Iām not that familiar with Singapore literature, but the use of mythologies and folk tales seems like a good starting point in a genre that I guess isnāt that commonly seen in SingLit: the young adult dystopia. The story fits in folk tales and narratives from the universe Sofia created, all of them nostalgically Southeast Asian. The book architecturally crystallises Singaporeās stratified society in the split of this speculated Singapore, split into the neglected Voids, the Mid-Levels, and the exclusive Canopies. I liked this book more for its critique of elitism and the myth of meritocracy than for the plot, which Iām afraid didnāt stand out to me so much, but I guess thatās the point. The disheartening thing (but also what I liked) about the conclusion was just how believable it was, this helplessness against a panoptic state that you canāt fight, that you canāt save everyone from, that the only solution is to run away. I think itās worth the read if youāre into young adult dystopia, but it wonāt be about empowered young rebels who topple governments because thatās not how itās going to work here.
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