Scan barcode
angorarabbit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Clarketech: antigravity on a macro scale, possible travel to other dimensions.
TLDR: A well written fantasy on the theme of technology vs nature saving the world.
A friend gave me this years ago. I admit that the first book of the story took me a few tries to read due to the almost unremitting bullying the two main characters (mc) experience. Books 2-4 still have the bullying, but to a lesser degree. Despite the novel’s fantastical plot iit s very realistic when it comes bullying and the aftereffects of bullying.
Ms Anders’ characters are well fleshed out and diverse in personality and ethnicity. I was disappointed that there were no lgbtqaa+ relationships. Her two mc are understandable and consistent continuing to grow as the story moves forward. They also, despite their differences, are very loveable, I was rooting for them both despite their divergent goals.Ms Ander’s world building is detailed taking time to describe the plants, birds, and machines so a reader can see them The plot keeps you turning pages as the fate of everything we know lies in the balance.
My only criticisms are first; Berkley is abandoned. This is remedied in the short story Clover which makes more sense if you read it after All the Birds in the Sky. I downloaded my free copy from Tordotcom. The second is there never is an explanation for why the mc’s parents act the way they do. Their actions are so unredeemable I feel there must be some explanation. We don’t get their backstories though.
These are small things and the ending was everything I needed.. I will be reading more from this author.
Thank you Zoey’s mum for this wonderful book. I’m sorry it took my brain so long to read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide
The one chapter containing graphic sexual content (sc) can be skimmed, you do have to read the last paragraph or so which is after the sc. All other sc is brief and not detailed. The bullying can cause serious flashbacks to garbage swirlies in some people.mariebrunelm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
What happens when you mix sci-fi and fantasy? You get this book which had kind of similar vibes to Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children and perhaps Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell if you squint a lot, but I haven't actually finished that one so I may be completely wrong. What a great way to start a review, don't you think?
All the Birds in the Sky opens with Patricia and Laurence, two solitary kids who embody two sides of what other people can't fathom: witchcraft for Patricia, sci-fi for Laurence. But just as Patricia's story was getting started as she discovered she might have magic powers, she loses them and her journey is forced to pause. As for Laurence, his path may seem a little more straight-forward, but that's without his parents endeavouring to make sure he goes back to being a "normal" child. And yet the two can't help but meet each other again and again over the years, as their abilities take them in very different directions and shape the world around them.
This was such a peculiar book. I'm not entirely sure I got it because it kept evading me and slipping from my grasp. It *is* quite charming, and I would heartily recommend it, but it's also messy and complicated on a surface level, which to me successfully mirrors how life gets messy and can look complicated when at the core it's sometimes not really. I didn't exactly know what to expect going into this book because I didn't pay a lot of attention to the blurb. I certainly wasn't expecting it to have so many different ingredients - sci-fi, magic, a sprinkle of dark academia, romance, found family, and an apocalypse thrown in for good measure. I'm not entirely sure it works, to be fair. But it is charming and it has a lot of heart.
Rep : bi MC, queer-friendly narrative.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
More...