Reviews

THIS BOOK! I don't even fully know how to comment, it blew me away, awakened my rage and shocked me in equal measures. Mesmerising writing, keeps you hooked from the get go, and great work on bringing all the characters' stories together. Epic piece of work.

hitoritabi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

tyrannosaurus_lex's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

3.5

diananoriega's review against another edition

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2.0

I was expecting this book to be a lot more thought-provoking and deep. I can’t say I got that. It ends up being a Lord of the Flies style story, but on a much larger scale and with women, an exploration of the way power corrupts, or reveals, the true nature of people. I really liked the characters at the beginning of the book, but as the plot progressed I felt all their personalities dissolving and ended up not really caring about any of them. The ending felt rushed and that especially bothers me because I think that the middle part of the book was boring, we could’ve skipped many middle chapters to focus on the reasoning behind the very important decisions made at the end. It’s a meh for me.

cb613's review against another edition

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challenging dark lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jillselwyn's review against another edition

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4.0

4.25 stars

This was a buddy read with me and my mom (well my mom read the whole book roughly a week before I finished it but whatever) and it's the first one we've had since I was in eighth grade and had to read the Book Thief. Anyway, this standalone dystopian novel is honestly remarkable. The pacing is genius, with a general idea and level of violence throughout but only a select few scenes that are explicitly, disgustingly detailed, and the last fifty pages or so I could feel my heart rate increasing with the anticipation of how it would all end.

All the different points of view were incredibly told, each with their own voice separate from any of the others, and the discussions that are brought up throughout - especially about religion and its impacts - are discussions that are needed today, six years after it came out. I also still cannot believe this book wasn't over 400 pages, much less under - at 381 pages, and I think it takes a specific type of writer to pull off not just a standalone but a relatively shorter one at that, considering the themes and events explored.

I hope more people read this book - even if it is because of the tv show (which I'll be starting soon). Thank you for this intensely written book!

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