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bmartino's review
2.0
2.5 stars. Disappointing after seeing io9.com rave about it. Not much "there" there.
ksteamlib's review
2.0
I read this for my teen book club. It was pretty interesting but i was never enthralled. Two and a half actually because the teens liked it lots.
amandamarie's review
4.0
I read this all in one day, it's fast paced and super fun. I'm totally obsessed with parallel universes and I loved watching Ephraim travel through them.
alex247's review
1.0
A great, Twilight Zone-esque premise squandered by some dreadful writing. Like, seriously bad. It made my stomach hurt at points. If I hadn't been on vacation and stuck on a plane, I likely would have abandoned it.
szuko08's review
A fast-paced, fantasy/sci-fi adventure full of awesome twists and turns.
hdbblog's review against another edition
5.0
From the start of Fair Coin I was enamored with Ephraim. He made this book for me. Here is a character who is so easy to relate to that I genuinely cared what happened to him. His friend Nathan was the same way. These two are the epitome of nerds, and I loved that! Their friendship is palpable and, even when it changes, that link is there. I happily followed Ephraim as he made wishes and changed his world. Of course I'll admit that I kept wondering when something bad would happen. I've read enough to know that things like this come with a consequence or two. Still, when it did happen, I was taken completely by surprise.
That my friends, is exactly when the book gets really interesting! When Ephraim discovers what the coin is really about, what it really does, the book blossoms into something brand new. I refuse to spoil this for you, and so you won't hear from me what happens. What I will say is that I applaud E.C. Meyers for taking such an abstract concept and putting it so simply that I was able to stay immersed in the story. It's almost like two separate stories were merged seamlessly into one. At this point I was glued to the pages. I warn you, this isn't a book you can read only a chapter at a time.
Another thing I wholeheartedly loved about Fair Coin were the moral dilemmas that pop up in this book. It's going to be a bit hard to explain without spoiling, but I'll try my best. Imagine that you could have anything that you want. Would that make it okay to take it? What if what you wanted caused someone else to loose something that they already had? These are the type of issues that Ephraim comes upon in this story, and I can't say enough how much I loved the way that E.C. Meyers addressed them. His characters have a conscience, and it made all the difference in the world.
As you can tell from this long, rambling review, I really loved this book! Fair Coin is a refreshingly unique read. It's a story that takes you from fantasy into science fiction and back again, and it does it seamlessly. I loved the characters, I loved the concept, and most of all I loved how immersed I was in the story. Thank you to E.C. Meyers for changing up my YA reads! When the second in the series comes out, I'll be there to devour it. You can count on that.
That my friends, is exactly when the book gets really interesting! When Ephraim discovers what the coin is really about, what it really does, the book blossoms into something brand new. I refuse to spoil this for you, and so you won't hear from me what happens. What I will say is that I applaud E.C. Meyers for taking such an abstract concept and putting it so simply that I was able to stay immersed in the story. It's almost like two separate stories were merged seamlessly into one. At this point I was glued to the pages. I warn you, this isn't a book you can read only a chapter at a time.
Another thing I wholeheartedly loved about Fair Coin were the moral dilemmas that pop up in this book. It's going to be a bit hard to explain without spoiling, but I'll try my best. Imagine that you could have anything that you want. Would that make it okay to take it? What if what you wanted caused someone else to loose something that they already had? These are the type of issues that Ephraim comes upon in this story, and I can't say enough how much I loved the way that E.C. Meyers addressed them. His characters have a conscience, and it made all the difference in the world.
As you can tell from this long, rambling review, I really loved this book! Fair Coin is a refreshingly unique read. It's a story that takes you from fantasy into science fiction and back again, and it does it seamlessly. I loved the characters, I loved the concept, and most of all I loved how immersed I was in the story. Thank you to E.C. Meyers for changing up my YA reads! When the second in the series comes out, I'll be there to devour it. You can count on that.
timeliss's review against another edition
2.0
im giving this book a 2.5 . this book was pretty good except it started getting confusing with all the Marys and Shellys and MaryShellys, and Nates and Nathans and Nathaniels, and i always forgot which mom was doing what (dead or alive or nice or whatever), and then there was the whole dead Jena alive Jena then the other girl i cant remember her name. some parts were just dumb and confusin like that whole "put in the coordinates" or " we have to travel backwards to align all the ephraims back to their alternet universes!" yawn. on top of that, how come when someone died in one universe, none of the others died too? i was just lost in this book and i felt like it was a waste of paper. the beginning was good though. if only it stayed that way...
kottiel's review against another edition
2.0
This was a quick, fun, surprising read--it was really hard to put down and it just got better and better.
atinydisaster's review against another edition
3.0
As soon as I read the blurb for Fair Coin I knew it was a book I would enjoy. The concept by itself is pretty cool– flip a coin, change your life. It doesn’t turn out to be quite that simple (surprise, surprise), but Fair Coin definitely kept me guessing throughout the entire book.
Fair Coin offers a really interesting take on exploring what could be, within your own life and ends up taking a bit of scientific what if turn later on that will absolutely get your brain going on the possibilities within your own life. While the main character wasn’t exactly someone I have a lot in common with, I still found him easy to root for and someone I could imagine hanging out with which is what usually determines if a book is one I’ll stick with until the end.
My only real issue with the book was that I had trouble getting attached to any of the secondary characters. I never really got to the point where I felt like I knew who they were as individuals (which makes sense within the context of the book but still made it hard to get attached to the characters or to really root for anyone besides Ephraim). Honestly, I don’t even know how I would fix this while staying true to the idea of the story (sorry, you really have to read this to know what I’m talking about) but something just didn’t click for me.
While the story didn’t blow my socks off, I have to give credit here for getting me thinking which is what will make this book stick in my head for at least a few months to come. I’ve already had a couple moments since reading the book a week or so ago, where something seemingly minor has reminded me of Fair Coin. I know I’m being purposefully vague in this review but I really don’t want to give too much away as I absolutely think this is a YA title worth reading.
Fair Coin offers a really interesting take on exploring what could be, within your own life and ends up taking a bit of scientific what if turn later on that will absolutely get your brain going on the possibilities within your own life. While the main character wasn’t exactly someone I have a lot in common with, I still found him easy to root for and someone I could imagine hanging out with which is what usually determines if a book is one I’ll stick with until the end.
My only real issue with the book was that I had trouble getting attached to any of the secondary characters. I never really got to the point where I felt like I knew who they were as individuals (which makes sense within the context of the book but still made it hard to get attached to the characters or to really root for anyone besides Ephraim). Honestly, I don’t even know how I would fix this while staying true to the idea of the story (sorry, you really have to read this to know what I’m talking about) but something just didn’t click for me.
While the story didn’t blow my socks off, I have to give credit here for getting me thinking which is what will make this book stick in my head for at least a few months to come. I’ve already had a couple moments since reading the book a week or so ago, where something seemingly minor has reminded me of Fair Coin. I know I’m being purposefully vague in this review but I really don’t want to give too much away as I absolutely think this is a YA title worth reading.
mentat_stem's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0