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staygoldiceman's review against another edition
3.0
The first 70% was exposition, but the last 30% was enjoyable.
nailartklaudia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Drug use
alienclans's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know about this. I liked it about a thousand times more than [b:The Girl with All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts|M.R. Carey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579s/17235026.jpg|23753235] which I thought was okay but nothing to get excited about. I've read about a million zombies stories. I'm done with them.
This isn't anything new either. I don't like prison stories because they make me really sad so I don't know why I decided to read this. This didn't really make me sad though because none of the characters ever felt real to me so maybe that's a plus?
Anyway, Jess gets sentenced for murder after a fire that she's believed to have started kills a boy in another apartment. Her trial was interesting to me. I had to know how that would end. All the other stuff (Sally, Devlin, Liz, Grace, Stock, etc.) bored me to tears. I don't like stories like that. They're just silly. Not in a "hahaha" way but in a "seriously? am I really reading almost 500 pages of this?" way. At one point, it cuts away from a dramatic trial moment and goes back to Sally. I had to set the book down and grumble loudly to myself. I know that you can't really have a prison story without exploring the prison but that doesn't mean the story should be slow as molasses. The ending was just too much for me but also not enough. Minor spoiler:
I'm giving this three stars just like "The Girl with All the Gifts" but I want to be clear that I enjoyed this more. Not enough to bump it up a rating but still.
This isn't anything new either. I don't like prison stories because they make me really sad so I don't know why I decided to read this. This didn't really make me sad though because none of the characters ever felt real to me so maybe that's a plus?
Anyway, Jess gets sentenced for murder after a fire that she's believed to have started kills a boy in another apartment. Her trial was interesting to me. I had to know how that would end. All the other stuff (Sally, Devlin, Liz, Grace, Stock, etc.) bored me to tears. I don't like stories like that. They're just silly. Not in a "hahaha" way but in a "seriously? am I really reading almost 500 pages of this?" way. At one point, it cuts away from a dramatic trial moment and goes back to Sally. I had to set the book down and grumble loudly to myself. I know that you can't really have a prison story without exploring the prison but that doesn't mean the story should be slow as molasses. The ending was just too much for me but also not enough. Minor spoiler:
Spoiler
did it even mention what happened to Brenda? Did I miss it? We got that info dump at the end but no Brenda. Seriously?? Also while I'm here, the whole ghost thing was just ridiculous. It just was. I won't say anything else about it because I don't want to ruin it but that was the most disappointing explanation ever.I'm giving this three stars just like "The Girl with All the Gifts" but I want to be clear that I enjoyed this more. Not enough to bump it up a rating but still.
mysticseekingmoonbase's review against another edition
4.0
Carey's writing is gorgeous. I love the ghost world and characters he creates. But you can see the twist in this book coming a mile away.
sulm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
lexish00's review against another edition
2.0
Prison stories don't interest me, first of all. I don't like Orange is the New Black, and I don't have any other examples of prison stories, that's how little they interest me.
I read this because my coworker found out I had read Carey's other book The Girl With All the Gifts, and she told me I HAD to read this one, too. So she lent it to me, and then how could I say no? No, I won't read this book you lent me? So I read it. She has life experiences that make the story and the ending a lot more meaningful to her, and I get that. I get that different people get different things out of books.
But for me, The Girl With All the Gifts had a ton of things I liked and found interesting and kept meturning pages and thinking, and this had very little. Carey's writing style makes you think there is something exciting around every corner (which at least made reading a book I don't care about easy enough), but in this instance it was so deceptive. The huge court reveal? Everything was leading up to that and then it just felt so... normal. Like, yeah, that's what we all expected. I honestly felt the same about the ghost reveal that happens about 2/3 through the book. It was a surprise, but not nearly enough of a surprise to be excited about.
Credit where credit's due -- Carey knows how to end a story. He ties up loose ends and puts ribbons on everything. This was probably my favorite thing about Fellside and The Girl With All the Gifts, the endings are so perfect. But that book also had interesting theories about science and life and humanity, whereas Fellside, what does it have? Maybe relationships? Barely? A half-hearted attempt to redeem oneself? The story just didn't capture me.
I read this because my coworker found out I had read Carey's other book The Girl With All the Gifts, and she told me I HAD to read this one, too. So she lent it to me, and then how could I say no? No, I won't read this book you lent me? So I read it. She has life experiences that make the story and the ending a lot more meaningful to her, and I get that. I get that different people get different things out of books.
But for me, The Girl With All the Gifts had a ton of things I liked and found interesting and kept meturning pages and thinking, and this had very little. Carey's writing style makes you think there is something exciting around every corner (which at least made reading a book I don't care about easy enough), but in this instance it was so deceptive. The huge court reveal? Everything was leading up to that and then it just felt so... normal. Like, yeah, that's what we all expected. I honestly felt the same about the ghost reveal that happens about 2/3 through the book. It was a surprise, but not nearly enough of a surprise to be excited about.
Credit where credit's due -- Carey knows how to end a story. He ties up loose ends and puts ribbons on everything. This was probably my favorite thing about Fellside and The Girl With All the Gifts, the endings are so perfect. But that book also had interesting theories about science and life and humanity, whereas Fellside, what does it have? Maybe relationships? Barely? A half-hearted attempt to redeem oneself? The story just didn't capture me.
quinolynn's review against another edition
2.0
This was like a slow and sub-par rendition of OITNB but without the hooking drama of all the sex.. Certain elements of the book are realistic while others are strangely fictional and it does not work well. It's well written but a poorly executed mix of popular fiction and imaginative "creativity".
magsmaenad's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
fiona_kellaert's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25