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A review by rachelsophiereads
The Undoing of Arlo Knott by Heather Child
3.0
The idea of having the ability to undo time is super interesting and ultimately the question that drives the whole plot. Having the opportunity to undo mistakes sounds like the perfect way to live, however I liked that Arlo’s life, his ability to undo are not easy, regardless of this ‘power’, with the text exploring some difficult themes including death, physical and mental illness, relationship and coming of age to name a few.
One of things that I like in a book is when the story is gripping even if the characters aren’t particularly likeable and this was definitely true in this case; Arlo is a fantastic character with many flaws but also very easy to dislike due to his natural ability to be incredibly selfish. A positive aspect was that the writing wasn’t hard to follow, the flow was relatively good throughout and there weren’t any parts where I felt confused or needed to reread, which considering the nature of near constant reversal of time was both surprising and good.
Overall I did enjoying reading this book, but there was something missing for me; the text kept my interest well but it just felt a little too long and there were moments where I just wanted to speed up the plot a bit, but in contrast the ending felt too abrupt, like something could’ve been added to round it up but it was a really thought provoking read, with the idea of undoing decisions a really good plot device, however it just wasn’t quite enough for me, it still felt like there was something missing, although the character developments were brilliantly executed. I would recommend it, regardless of the issues I found in it as it’s unlike anything I’ve read recently.
*with thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.
One of things that I like in a book is when the story is gripping even if the characters aren’t particularly likeable and this was definitely true in this case; Arlo is a fantastic character with many flaws but also very easy to dislike due to his natural ability to be incredibly selfish. A positive aspect was that the writing wasn’t hard to follow, the flow was relatively good throughout and there weren’t any parts where I felt confused or needed to reread, which considering the nature of near constant reversal of time was both surprising and good.
Overall I did enjoying reading this book, but there was something missing for me; the text kept my interest well but it just felt a little too long and there were moments where I just wanted to speed up the plot a bit, but in contrast the ending felt too abrupt, like something could’ve been added to round it up but it was a really thought provoking read, with the idea of undoing decisions a really good plot device, however it just wasn’t quite enough for me, it still felt like there was something missing, although the character developments were brilliantly executed. I would recommend it, regardless of the issues I found in it as it’s unlike anything I’ve read recently.
*with thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.