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guccishoestrings's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
3.75
Wow what a roller coaster of emotions. This book starts off quickly and does not delay getting to the main plot of the book.
The story takes place in what is supposed to be London England where there was an event in time called the slaughter of summer. This was when a bunch of gangs that consisted of teenagers basically had a war that led to many deaths. This in turn led to the creation of the prison called Furnace.
The book starts of as Alex Sawyer (narrator/main character) a 14 year old petty thief is planning is next robbery with is friend Toby. During their robbery they are caught by massive men in black suits that then killed Toby right in front of Alex before framing Alex for the murder. Alex is sentenced to Furnace for the murder and the main story takes off from there.
The Characters: The characters are so good in this book, Alex is an interesting main character who at the start is a horrible human being but is just a 14 year old misguided teen who reflects a lot on who he is. Donovan although tough on the outside is a funny and caring individual who was sentenced to furnace for a reason that I feel a lot of others would do in his position. Zee a small scrawny teen who is what you would consider the comic relief but is a great friend who would die for Alex/Donovan. Then the main antagonists are, Furnace itself with gangs and inhabitants that will kill you if you even smell funny. Warden Cross and Alfred Furnace are the main antagonists of the series but they are not as prevalent until the very end of book 1 and the start of book 2.
The good: The characters, one of the best set of characters of any young adult book. They truly care for each other and in place of a typical romance this series has a bromance which is a nice change that you do not see often in young adult series. The setting is interesting, leading to many questions on what the h*ll is actually going on in the prison. Its violent but not to the point of being overdone, it is a prison full of violent murders and the guards are no different. As the saying goes "F*ck around and find out".
The Bad: The real series does not really take off until some way through book 2 (not really starting till book 3) as this book is mostly there to introduce the cast and what to expect in the future. The main villains are not at all explained or drawn out until later in the series which is not a huge bad but can push people away from the book. Alex is the weakest character out of the main cast as he is very selfish and his thoughts show that. However, He gets better throughout the series.
If you like dark and violent series that have a lot of mystery, check this series out as it is one of the most unique young adult series out there.
The story takes place in what is supposed to be London England where there was an event in time called the slaughter of summer. This was when a bunch of gangs that consisted of teenagers basically had a war that led to many deaths. This in turn led to the creation of the prison called Furnace.
The book starts of as Alex Sawyer (narrator/main character) a 14 year old petty thief is planning is next robbery with is friend Toby. During their robbery they are caught by massive men in black suits that then killed Toby right in front of Alex before framing Alex for the murder. Alex is sentenced to Furnace for the murder and the main story takes off from there.
The Characters: The characters are so good in this book, Alex is an interesting main character who at the start is a horrible human being but is just a 14 year old misguided teen who reflects a lot on who he is. Donovan although tough on the outside is a funny and caring individual who was sentenced to furnace for a reason that I feel a lot of others would do in his position. Zee a small scrawny teen who is what you would consider the comic relief but is a great friend who would die for Alex/Donovan. Then the main antagonists are, Furnace itself with gangs and inhabitants that will kill you if you even smell funny. Warden Cross and Alfred Furnace are the main antagonists of the series but they are not as prevalent until the very end of book 1 and the start of book 2.
The good: The characters, one of the best set of characters of any young adult book. They truly care for each other and in place of a typical romance this series has a bromance which is a nice change that you do not see often in young adult series. The setting is interesting, leading to many questions on what the h*ll is actually going on in the prison. Its violent but not to the point of being overdone, it is a prison full of violent murders and the guards are no different. As the saying goes "F*ck around and find out".
The Bad: The real series does not really take off until some way through book 2 (not really starting till book 3) as this book is mostly there to introduce the cast and what to expect in the future. The main villains are not at all explained or drawn out until later in the series which is not a huge bad but can push people away from the book. Alex is the weakest character out of the main cast as he is very selfish and his thoughts show that. However, He gets better throughout the series.
If you like dark and violent series that have a lot of mystery, check this series out as it is one of the most unique young adult series out there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
ericadawson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Lockdown: Escape from furnace is a fast-paced book with a stubborn but ultimately good main character named Alex Sawyer. He lives in a world in which children who are charged with heinous crimes are automatically given life sentences in an awful, inhumane prison called Furnace.
The pacing is fast and tight, which is good because the dangerous conditions of Furnace meant that people died quite regularly. While Alex had his moments of being very annoying (how many times must the protagonist stop and watch when he should be running away?) he was consistently persistent in his hope for an escape. He's charismatic and a little too trustworthy for his own good.
None of the characters annoyed me. The writing could be heavy handed at times; I remember finding some of the metaphors a bit silly, and some of the descriptions repetitive, but none of these ruined the tension throughout the book. Overall a great read.
The pacing is fast and tight, which is good because the dangerous conditions of Furnace meant that people died quite regularly. While Alex had his moments of being very annoying (how many times must the protagonist stop and watch when he should be running away?) he was consistently persistent in his hope for an escape. He's charismatic and a little too trustworthy for his own good.
None of the characters annoyed me. The writing could be heavy handed at times; I remember finding some of the metaphors a bit silly, and some of the descriptions repetitive, but none of these ruined the tension throughout the book. Overall a great read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury
jenna_justi2004's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Ok god I loved this book. Which is weird since it’s so gory and like horrifying?? But I liked it a lot. It needs more hype. I loved Alex. Like usually main characters are insufferable and agonizingly annoying. But he wasn’t. He started off as like a bad kid, doing bad things for the hell of it. Stealing and being aware on what he was doing, knowing it was wrong, yet still doing it. Doing it and enjoying it. Until he gets put in “jail” and sent to furnace. For something he didn’t do. He’s such an interesting character, he’s so real. His fear, and throughout the story, his hunger for survival. Which leads him to kill in order to survive , in a ironic sense, since people think he’s already killed yet that was the first person he has. And I have a feeling it won’t be the last Donovan, he is my favorite character. I like how much he’s there for Alex, like a brother, even. Or something more? Idk they’re so cute. I like his dry humor and the descriptions of him. Even when he’s at his lowest, is brooding or in fear (in a weird way). I hope he doesn’t turn because that will be the worst. Literally the worst because that’s what he doesn’t want to be. It made me sadder when he said how he wanted a burger and sobbing when Monty made that food. I liked Toby but he was so young. It made me sad how he refused to be left behind because he wanted to leave the place so badly. Jimmy omg he was one of the characters from the beginning and Gary really like punched him. Gary seems like the strong bully type but I bet he’s a major coward. Like full on. And Zee has a lot of strength that I didn’t expect to see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship
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