wildthorns's review against another edition
5.0
This book is amazing. Jessica Khoury manages to write about manipulation of the natural world by mankind, and the drastic effects it has on the same species that created it, in a very successful and entertaining way. She does this in all of her books, and connects them with a common bad guy, and Kalahari is my favorite. I love these books please write more of them.
elinacre's review against another edition
4.0
3.5, rounding up 'cause i'm not the target audience but would have totally dug this as a teen. awesome setting, brill protagonist, intense action, ohh, and some sparks a-flyin'. apparently this is the 3rd book in a series... did not know; did not matter.
louisa_meg's review against another edition
4.0
This may be book #3, but it can be read as a standalone. It was quite good and I am eager to read the other books because Kalahari was enjoyable and interesting. I didn't know that this book was part of a series until I came on Goodreads after reading it.
A large part of the plot of the book is the virus that causes the lion to turn silver. Despite the fact that it's probably impossible, I didn't mind it. The book felt pretty much entirely realistic except for one scene where something happens to Sarah, the main character, that should have definitely killed her under normal circumstances. The same thing happened to another character in the book, but as the character is an animal and is still quite mysterious, it didn't bother me. Even the point that did bother me was soon forgotten, so it didn't matter too much.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes survival stories as well as fantasy. This book is also a mystery and a bit of coming-of-age. There is only a bit of romance, it doesn't get in the way of the story, it actually pushes it on. It's not very heavily involved in the book and I thought it worked well. No instalove here. The book is actually pretty intense, however, so I don't recommend it to anyone younger than 12. 13 is safer.
I want to address the comments that some are making about how the teens do things that normal teens wouldn't do. I felt that the characters were portrayed very well and that each had a well-defined personality and their actions worked well based on their backstories. Sure, there is a little that is out of the normal range, but this is a fantasy. Plus, the teenagers have been thrust into a very unusual situation that they did not expect with either the aspect of being unused to the environment and far from home (group) or the bonus of living in these environments all your life but the hurt coming from recent events that have drastically changed your life (Sarah). Or some of both. It felt normal to me and read smoothly.
Great book, can be read as a standalone, eager to read the other two.
A large part of the plot of the book is the virus that causes the lion to turn silver. Despite the fact that it's probably impossible, I didn't mind it. The book felt pretty much entirely realistic except for one scene where something happens to Sarah, the main character, that should have definitely killed her under normal circumstances. The same thing happened to another character in the book, but as the character is an animal and is still quite mysterious, it didn't bother me. Even the point that did bother me was soon forgotten, so it didn't matter too much.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes survival stories as well as fantasy. This book is also a mystery and a bit of coming-of-age. There is only a bit of romance, it doesn't get in the way of the story, it actually pushes it on. It's not very heavily involved in the book and I thought it worked well. No instalove here. The book is actually pretty intense, however, so I don't recommend it to anyone younger than 12. 13 is safer.
I want to address the comments that some are making about how the teens do things that normal teens wouldn't do. I felt that the characters were portrayed very well and that each had a well-defined personality and their actions worked well based on their backstories. Sure, there is a little that is out of the normal range, but this is a fantasy. Plus, the teenagers have been thrust into a very unusual situation that they did not expect with either the aspect of being unused to the environment and far from home (group) or the bonus of living in these environments all your life but the hurt coming from recent events that have drastically changed your life (Sarah). Or some of both. It felt normal to me and read smoothly.
Great book, can be read as a standalone, eager to read the other two.
ariatari's review against another edition
5.0
WHEW! This one was a kicker. It had me on the edge of my seat literally the whole time. I don't know about you but I think this read made waiting for my power to come back on after Hurricane Irma that much more bearable. (Power still is not back though. Maybe by the time I finish Carry On...)
raeonthefly's review against another edition
2.0
I have not read any of the other Corpus books - I'm part of a book club that frequently reads dystopian/suspenseful books, often YA, and this was what we chose for December just from what we found going through the shelves of Barnes & Noble. I thought the storyline was fairly unique and Khoury provided a very rich description of the African desert, painting a vivid world that I enjoyed envisioning. It's neat to learn about survival tricks and different kinds of animals from a novel. The premise was decent. The idea of the plot was interesting. However, even as an adult reader and acknowledging it's a YA novel, it wasn't my most enjoyable read because I found all the characters to be one-dimensional, the dialogue to be clichéd or exaggerated, and the story, as a whole, to be predictable. Of course the government corporation of Corpus is heinously evil with no remorse. Of course the flawless male love interest (who has well-defined abs, naturally) goes head over heels for the protagonist and is willing to risk his life for her after knowing her for a week. Of course the protagonist finds a cure for the plague infecting the desert, something a bunch of well-trained scientists couldn't figure out, but only after the plague conveniently saves her life. It's a decent read for the story, but it definitely wasn't anything special for me. I don't feel like I want to read any of the other Corpus books based on this one. I don't want to come down too hard on a YA book, but at the same time, I normally enjoy YA more than adult fiction (because a lot of adult fiction is likewise one-dimensional, clichéd, and predictable) and I've read many that were truly outstanding. This unfortunately wasn't one of them. A standard read if you're not looking for anything too spectacular.
shighley's review
4.0
This book was between 3 and 4 for me; starts out with some plausibility, but by the end, you wonder how so many shots can be fired and miss. It would be interesting to ask students to determine the point where they felt the book went from realistic to science fiction.
I felt like the Metalcium aspect of the plot was not too convoluted to make it confusing to students. There would be many places in the book where you could stop and ask for predictions.
I first heard about this book from a Junior Library Guild webinar; students do often ask for "adventure" books. There were several little plot twists/incidents that kept things moving. The book would be appropriate for middle school students.
I felt like the Metalcium aspect of the plot was not too convoluted to make it confusing to students. There would be many places in the book where you could stop and ask for predictions.
I first heard about this book from a Junior Library Guild webinar; students do often ask for "adventure" books. There were several little plot twists/incidents that kept things moving. The book would be appropriate for middle school students.
vanna's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
samanthamurk's review against another edition
4.5
YA Fiction
I read this in middle school, I think it was a sixth grade battle of the books book but I'm not sure. I also don't really remember too much about it but I really liked it and I should probably re read it someday.
-August 2022
I read this in middle school, I think it was a sixth grade battle of the books book but I'm not sure. I also don't really remember too much about it but I really liked it and I should probably re read it someday.
-August 2022