theatre_reader123's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
pinkhydroflask's review against another edition
2.0
RATING: 3.7/10
Finished this book in less than 48 hours! :D
1. THE CONCEPT
Let me do a short, spoiler free summary for you right now: a girl designs a ship with an armour that can kill anyone who tries to board it so it's practically impenetrable...or at least that's the goal.
it's pretty cool and definitely something that i want to see in the next pirates of the caribbean movie, but the author simply just. kept on. harping. on and on and on and on and on and on and on about it. there was nothing else that could have added more flair or drama to the ship except for the fact that... it had an armour. THAT'S IT.
the more the author spent time discussing and describing the ship, the less i liked it. it felt as though there was nothing else we could have learned about the story. yes, the ship is the main focus, but it felt like it was the ONLY focus.
2. REVENGE
Revenge is the centre of the book. Poe, the protagonist, (or Poe-tagonist HAHA) built this ship because someone murdered her boyfriend and therefore she is consumed by rage and wants to set fire to the earth and burn everyone who is standing in her path.
while revenge is a good catalyst for YA novels, i do feel that this story lacked the substance and plot intensity i would have enjoyed if it wasn't the sole motivator for Poe's intentions throughout the book.
3. CHARACTERS
which brings me to my next point, Poe. She was.... tolerable.
I really disliked the way the author built her character. her personality was just....revenge. she had nothing to her except her unquenchable thirst for blood and her unsatisfiable need to just... take revenge. I want to say that she's feisty and dynamic, but she's really, just... not. all she thinks about is revenge. she eats, sleeps and breathes revenge.
i get that the revenge is important to her, but it felt as though she was a boring, two dimensional character who could do nothing else. give me a Poe who's charming. maybe a little sentimental. give me a girl who cries because of her heartbreak. give me someone who's tentative, yet brave. give me someone who's strong, yet has a soft spot in her heart.
why the hell do i want this revengeful girl who talks about revenge all day? that's her whole damn personality? revenge? really?
the sloppiest character building work i've seen in a while.
4. PLOT
I'm glad to say that i finished this book only because the plot was solid. it moved fast, never stopped for too long and didn't seem as badly written as the main character. i have to say that the whole story seemed to take place in one small area, with barely anything that could have given the world more depth. it just felt very utilitarian. like the descriptions of the plot are there to serve a purpose, and there is nothing more and nothing less other than what is explicitly provided for the reader.
i hate it when readers drone on and on and on about everything except the actual story, but i have to say that this was a little sparse. everything seemed to happen in the same place, with very little development and exposure to what was happening outside of the protagonist's immediate concern.
there were a few plot twists midway, most of which were incredibly predictable and underdeveloped because... wait for it.... everything was focused on Poe's REVENGE!!!! i was so disappointed when the plot twists flopped so badly because they could have had the potential to grow into something bigger and better.
5.THE ENDING
the ending was honestly... a mess. it was very rushed, and there was just too many unresolved issues that the author tried to seal away with a few lines of hurried dialogue. it felt very much like tying up loose ends, but in the dark and with fingers taped together.
I'm glad this is a standalone because a trilogy would have been a waste of paper.
Ally Condie's Matched series wasn't particularly good, and neither was this.
Finished this book in less than 48 hours! :D
1. THE CONCEPT
Let me do a short, spoiler free summary for you right now: a girl designs a ship with an armour that can kill anyone who tries to board it so it's practically impenetrable...or at least that's the goal.
it's pretty cool and definitely something that i want to see in the next pirates of the caribbean movie, but the author simply just. kept on. harping. on and on and on and on and on and on and on about it. there was nothing else that could have added more flair or drama to the ship except for the fact that... it had an armour. THAT'S IT.
the more the author spent time discussing and describing the ship, the less i liked it. it felt as though there was nothing else we could have learned about the story. yes, the ship is the main focus, but it felt like it was the ONLY focus.
2. REVENGE
Revenge is the centre of the book. Poe, the protagonist, (or Poe-tagonist HAHA) built this ship because someone murdered her boyfriend and therefore she is consumed by rage and wants to set fire to the earth and burn everyone who is standing in her path.
while revenge is a good catalyst for YA novels, i do feel that this story lacked the substance and plot intensity i would have enjoyed if it wasn't the sole motivator for Poe's intentions throughout the book.
3. CHARACTERS
which brings me to my next point, Poe. She was.... tolerable.
I really disliked the way the author built her character. her personality was just....revenge. she had nothing to her except her unquenchable thirst for blood and her unsatisfiable need to just... take revenge. I want to say that she's feisty and dynamic, but she's really, just... not. all she thinks about is revenge. she eats, sleeps and breathes revenge.
i get that the revenge is important to her, but it felt as though she was a boring, two dimensional character who could do nothing else. give me a Poe who's charming. maybe a little sentimental. give me a girl who cries because of her heartbreak. give me someone who's tentative, yet brave. give me someone who's strong, yet has a soft spot in her heart.
why the hell do i want this revengeful girl who talks about revenge all day? that's her whole damn personality? revenge? really?
the sloppiest character building work i've seen in a while.
4. PLOT
I'm glad to say that i finished this book only because the plot was solid. it moved fast, never stopped for too long and didn't seem as badly written as the main character. i have to say that the whole story seemed to take place in one small area, with barely anything that could have given the world more depth. it just felt very utilitarian. like the descriptions of the plot are there to serve a purpose, and there is nothing more and nothing less other than what is explicitly provided for the reader.
i hate it when readers drone on and on and on about everything except the actual story, but i have to say that this was a little sparse. everything seemed to happen in the same place, with very little development and exposure to what was happening outside of the protagonist's immediate concern.
there were a few plot twists midway, most of which were incredibly predictable and underdeveloped because... wait for it.... everything was focused on Poe's REVENGE!!!! i was so disappointed when the plot twists flopped so badly because they could have had the potential to grow into something bigger and better.
5.THE ENDING
the ending was honestly... a mess. it was very rushed, and there was just too many unresolved issues that the author tried to seal away with a few lines of hurried dialogue. it felt very much like tying up loose ends, but in the dark and with fingers taped together.
I'm glad this is a standalone because a trilogy would have been a waste of paper.
Ally Condie's Matched series wasn't particularly good, and neither was this.
arttichokedipp's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ottoj's review against another edition
4.0
Action-packed, character-driven, fast-paced YA novel. One of my favorite teen reads this year.
bambamsam's review against another edition
3.0
More like 2.5
I thought the beginning was good but the twists didn't have that much power and the ending was a little anti-climactic. I thought the main character was a bit annoying and the side characters were a little 2d.
Overall an average read- nothing super impressive or special
I thought the beginning was good but the twists didn't have that much power and the ending was a little anti-climactic. I thought the main character was a bit annoying and the side characters were a little 2d.
Overall an average read- nothing super impressive or special
connieneu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0