An ok read, the world has one month remaining before an asteroid is due to hit earth and destroy everything.
17 year old Mae, discovers her ex best frAn ok read, the world has one month remaining before an asteroid is due to hit earth and destroy everything.
17 year old Mae, discovers her ex best friend dead on the beach. Supposedly the third suicide so far, but is it really suicide?
A lot of different characters, I kept losing track of who was speaking and when. Pretty much everyone was unlikeable. But then I guess thats the point when everyone has stopped caring about anything.
The author does a good job of portraying the characters and their many flaws. There were just a bit too many, and near the end when the reveals were shown it went so quickly I still wasn’t 100% sure which man is was that (view spoiler)[ Mae’s friend was sleeping with. I think it was the head teacher? But then there was a red herring with some other guys dad. (hide spoiler)]
I guess it was just a lot, but still a good enough read ...more
Disappointed, because I expected better things from this book.
A family rent a holiday home during the summer, but the owners turn up part way thro2.5
Disappointed, because I expected better things from this book.
A family rent a holiday home during the summer, but the owners turn up part way through, claiming there is an emergency.
Loved the premise, but there were an awful lot of tangents that didn’t relate to the story. A lot of sexual content (even from a 14 year old boy). The casual racism also threw me, didn’t really see the point for it.
Finally, (view spoiler)[ we are never actually told what the emergency was. Some kind of black out but no further info? I always find it a cop out when authors don’t want to use their imagination. (hide spoiler)]
The overarching theme seemed to be, other people are dicks, even more so in a national emergency. Just not an enjoyable read for me. ...more
This was a really weird mish mash of genres. I started losing interest just as the really complex stuff started happening and by the end I don’t even This was a really weird mish mash of genres. I started losing interest just as the really complex stuff started happening and by the end I don’t even really know what happened ...more
Ok, so I wasn’t as blown away as I was hoping to be, especially with so many gushing reviews.
So Griz lives with his family and 2 dogs on an island ofOk, so I wasn’t as blown away as I was hoping to be, especially with so many gushing reviews.
So Griz lives with his family and 2 dogs on an island off of what once was Scotland. The world’s population has dwindled astronomically since what they refer to as ‘the Gelding’, when nearly all the human race became infertile and basically died out.
When a stranger arrives offering to trade, they seem nice enough - but in the morning Griz notices one of the dogs is missing. He knows they were stolen, and is determined to get them back whatever the cost.
So main gripes for me: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
You have been warned!!!!!!!
1. The big ‘twist’. Not really a twist IMO. If you are lied to throughout the book and then the author Is like - jokes on you I lied. It’s not really a twist. Griz who was referred to as he for about 75% of the book is actually a girl.
2. I say this all the time and I will say it forever. If you can make your own world, then make your own religions. Don’t just steal parts from ones that exist here. This is a world that does not know electricity, but somehow they managed to hold on to parts of what I assume is Christianity? I feel like it would have made so much more sense for them to have created new gods for this new reality they live in. Just seems a cop out for me.
However, I did like the world. I enjoy a good post apocalyptic world, and the idea that everyone became infertile was clever.
I would have liked to know for sure if Griz’ sister really was sold by her parents or not? Just that final clarification would have helped. I also didn’t follow most of the ‘conversations’ between Griz and ‘John Dark’ the whole language barrier thing was hard to read about and got old pretty quickly.
3 stars for imaginative world building, just not enough else. ...more
"From the water we came and to the water we will return, our lungs always hungering for air, but our hearts beating like waves."
I really enjoyed thi "From the water we came and to the water we will return, our lungs always hungering for air, but our hearts beating like waves."
I really enjoyed this novel based on what the world could be like when sea levels rise and the Earth begins flooding. People are fleeing inland, or building boats and taking to the high seas.
We follow Myra and pearl, and soon after, Daniel; on their small boat. Myra's oldest daughter Row was taken by her husband and Row's father - Jacob, and Myra is determined to find her, no matter what.
When Myra and Pearl get into some trouble at sea and their boat sinks, they are saved by a crew planning to find somewhere to settle, away from slavers and raiders.
The world Montag has created is truly frightening. It's like The Purge - where the usual rules don't apply and people will take whatever they want, however they can. Be warned - there is violence in here, it is terrifying what human beings will do to one another when they are desperate.
But there is also real hope in this novel. The world has we know it has completely changed, and will never be the same again. People rely on each other like never before, it really does put into perspective what may happen if we don't start taking care of our planet.
"I saw myself in my ocean grave, underwater light bluing my skin, my hair floating like seaweed, coral sprouting from my bones." ...more
"People were far scarier than any disease or zombie or alien or face-eating monster."
THIS is the Christina Henry I love! I loved Lost Boy but didn't "People were far scarier than any disease or zombie or alien or face-eating monster."
THIS is the Christina Henry I love! I loved Lost Boy but didn't really think much of Alice or Red Queen so I felt this could go one of two ways. Thankfully it went the former and I was gripped!
Red is travelling to her grandmother's house in a post-apocalyptic world. A virus known as 'the cough' has swept the world and everyone is being rounded up and placed in quarantine camps. Red has no interest in being imprisoned so she is travelling through the woods, camping and surviving on what she can. Got throw back images to the Maze Runner series which I adored so that was cool.
The chapters flick between 'before' and 'after'. So before Red starts her travels, when she is with her family and then when she travels with her brother Adam. In the 'after' chapters Red is alone - so we know something has happened to her family but we only find out when the story flashes back, this keeps you hooked as you want to know what has gone on.
Red is a great protagonist. She is a far cry from the 'special' or 'chosen one' this book seems to poke fun at main characters who do stupid things and endanger their lives. She meticulously plans every part of her journey, learns how to defend herself and how to survive in the wilderness. Red also has a prosthetic leg which is awesome rep - I loved that.
My only tiny gripe would be (view spoiler)[ we never find out what these flesh eating slug things are. Why were there created? And how did they get out? (hide spoiler)] Other than that this was a great retelling and I would recommend to anyone who likes dystopias or apocalypse themed books.
"The only consolation in being a survivor was that you'd survived." ...more
Wow! I’ll tell you now, this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but it was 100% up my street.
Mind bending, so incredibly clever with such beautiful and hWow! I’ll tell you now, this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but it was 100% up my street.
Mind bending, so incredibly clever with such beautiful and heartfelt language and messages. I’m astonished and reviewing this is gonna be bloody hard.
"He knew how he found the skeleton. He knew that the bones had been there for a long time. He even thought he knew the name of the kid who died. But he couldn't tell the grown-ups that. Because eventually, they would ask him how he knew everything. And he only had one truthful answer. 'Because my imaginary friend told me."
Ok, here goes nothing. We start with Christopher, a young boy living with his mother, they struggle to get by and Christopher has a lot of trouble with letters. One day while waiting for his mother to pick him up after school he wanders into the Mission Street Woods and isn't discovered until 6 days later, completely unharmed yet with a complete memory lapse of his time there. When asked how he got out, all Christopher will say is 'the nice man helped me.'
Many years before, another young lad David Olsom also wandered into the Mission Street Woods but was never found. What happened to him?
Since returning from the woods Christopher has gained himself an imaginary friend. He does wonderful things for him, Christopher becomes a genius overnight, his mother wins the lottery, he gets a group of friends and things are looking up.
Meanwhile we follow a collection of other characters, from Christopher's school friends, his mother's ex boyfriend, a local Christian girl Mary Katherine, the Sherrif and many more. If you like books with a variety of different characters you'll like this one.
Before long Christopher is being led by his imaginary friend. A villain called the Hissing Lady is out to get Christopher, and the Nice Man is determined to protect him. The most important task is to build a tree house, it will work as a doorway between the real world and the imaginary world. But Christopher must not be in the imaginary world at night, because that is where the evil lurks.
Soon Christopher is spending more and more time in the imaginary world. While the people in the real world are suffering from some kind of sickness which is making them all crazy. Violence erupts and the world turns into utter chaos.
I won't say anymore now as it's about there when the twists start coming in. If you don't like religious allegory then maybe pass this one because it is quite prominent. Personally I loved it, and I thought the way in which Chbosky handles the different aspects of the genesis story and retells them in his own way was simply fantastic.
(view spoiler)[It turns out the Hissing Lady is actually Eve. She offered to go to hell to try and protect people from the devil. By the end she returns to heaven which was lush. The nice man is actually Satan - such an interesting portrayal of the way he can cause people to go crazy and commit crimes., but also how terrifying this version of hell was. Where murderers are forced to stab themselves over and over. (hide spoiler)]
Finally the reveal at the end was just incredible. (view spoiler)[ Mary Katherine is a retold version of the virgin Mary, and she is expecting a child. (hide spoiler)]
This entire story just has so much in it, no wonder it is 700+ pages. But honestly I believed every page was worth it. ...more
But...but...what? No that can’t be the end. The disappointment is real.
"They'll eventually get us...there's no reason to think otherwise. It's end tBut...but...what? No that can’t be the end. The disappointment is real.
"They'll eventually get us...there's no reason to think otherwise. It's end times, people. And if it's a matter of a creature our brains are incapable of comprehending, then we deserve it. I always assumed the end would come because of our own stupidity."
Ok then.... so this was going REALLY well! I was sufficiently creeped out. The world has gone bonkers due to something (no one knows what) that is causing people to go insane and kill other people and themselves. The only thing they know is that peoples minds' become unhinged when they SEE these things. So the world has gone into hiding. Everyone blocks up their windows and wears a blindfold if they have to go outside.
We follow Malorie, a mother with 2 children fleeing her home to find a safer place for her kids. We then also have flashback chapters to when she was pregnant, and living in a houseshare with 6 others.
My main problem lied with the ending. When it comes to thrillers I like everything ironed out, but with this ending (view spoiler)[ everything is left open. We know Malorie and her kids made it to the safe house, and the fact that it was a blind school was great. But we NEVER find out what the creatures are (if they even are creatures) we can assume everyone will eventually die anyway. (hide spoiler)] So the whole end just left me deflated.
I know I'm in the minority here, and loads of people loved this book. It was a solid 4 star read up until that point so I'll give it 3.5.
"Man is the creature he fears."
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Who decided that letting my scaredy cat ass get this out of the library was a good idea!?!?!
Sadly I didn’t love this as much as everyone else seems to. It looked like it would be right up my street – a stra3.5 ⭐️
“We sleep in order to forget.”
Sadly I didn’t love this as much as everyone else seems to. It looked like it would be right up my street – a strange illness overcomes a small town in California and people are falling asleep, not waking up for anything. But unfortunately I was still left disappointed.
The Dreamers follows a collection of characters – constantly flicking between them. From the college students where the virus first appears, to two young girls living alone in a house after their father falls ill, a single father with his 6 week old baby – terrified that if he succumbs to the sickness, his daughter will die.
My main gripe, which is always the same gripe with books of this nature is (view spoiler)[ we never find out the cause of the illness. Or even its purpose. It just appears and then disappears just as quickly and we are left none the wiser because of it. (hide spoiler)]
Granted – this book does make you think. Those who have fallen asleep appear to have really high brain activity, they are having really elaborate and powerful dreams. Some dream of the future – which may or may not come true. Some dream an entire lifetime, only to wake up and realise it didn’t happen. These instances were fascinating and I loved reading about them.
“These days, science doesn’t take much interest in dreams.”
Overall though, just an OK read. I need more than what I was given, with books like this. I need to know what the author thinks – not just have a load of thoughts thrown our way for us to have to decipher and decide for ourselves.
“There is a difference between what is true and what cannot be measured.”
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So it says for fans of Station Eleven (which I LOVED) and Never let me Go (of which I wasn't a fan). So we shall see how this one goes :)...more
“We live in the quiet at the end of the world. The slow winding-down clockwork motions before life stops completely. Time is slipping through our fin “We live in the quiet at the end of the world. The slow winding-down clockwork motions before life stops completely. Time is slipping through our fingers.”
Mitch the robot was everything in this book! ...more
"We're a bunch of babies, a few billion of them, all scared to death. We're going to kill ourselves if we're left to our own devices."
Ok, I have't l "We're a bunch of babies, a few billion of them, all scared to death. We're going to kill ourselves if we're left to our own devices."
Ok, I have't loved this trilogy as much as I'd hoped. I definitely think book 2 was my favourite - so much happened, with so many twists. In comparison in book 3, NOTHING HAPPENED. It's just so much back and forth. It didn't help that one of my faves wasn't in it. DON'T WORRY I WON'T SAY WHO. Eva is just a brat. I couldn't stand her, and there is no other way to describe her. She is an absolute bitch to her dad and I hated it. I'd blame the writing style, but I thought I'd gotten used to the different types of writing (interviews, diary entries etc.) I just found it all a bit tedious, I didn't like the characters enough (bar Rose and Vincent) and the storyline didn't grab me enough this time.
3 stars for a bit of entertainment, and a good round up of the trilogy.
"Never be sorry about things you have no control over. You'll just give yourself ulcers." ...more
"Right is a luxury we do not have at this time. It is an imperfect solution to a less than ideal situation. I suspect there will be a lot more of tho "Right is a luxury we do not have at this time. It is an imperfect solution to a less than ideal situation. I suspect there will be a lot more of those in the near future."
Really starting to get into this series now! It took a while during book 1 for me to connect to the writing style, and actually UNDERSTAND what the bloody hell was happening. But here I am in book 2 and everything is great - and absolutely mind boggling.
At the end of book 1 we were left with a major twist (view spoiler)[ Rose Franklin had been brought back from the dead (hide spoiler)] Themis has been fully constructed and is completely operational. What book 2 gives us is even more giant robots and ALIENS!
The aliens are mad. They are angry with the human race and have sent 24 different giant robots to wreak havoc on Earth. Watching how the humans deal with this new phenomenon is awesome and terrifying and I am very excited for the final installment!
"Well, I'm sorry the apocalypse isn't convenient for you." ...more
I liked this, it was enjoyable. I just didn’t seem to find it as mind blowing and life altering as some other readers.
“War makes monste3.5 stars ⭐️
I liked this, it was enjoyable. I just didn’t seem to find it as mind blowing and life altering as some other readers.
“War makes monsters of men.”
I was never bored, but I feel this novel could have been cut down by a few hundred pages. A good 300 pages in was just back and forth war between the people of New Prentisstown, Mistress Coyle’s group and the Spackle.
But there was plenty I did like (view spoiler)[ I loved Ben’s return, (hide spoiler)] and that he had become like a messenger between the men and the Spackle. I liked the small sci fi elements, including the spaceship and the technology that came with it.
Overall, I loved Todd and Viola’s relationship. The strength they drew from one another even when the other had made terrible mistakes. Also the ending was satisfying (view spoiler)[ the Mayor finally admitting he had lost his mind after hearing the entire worlds noise most of his life, he felt he needed to destroy the world to make it quiet again. Also Todd’s ‘death’ I’m glad it left us with hope that he is coming back. (hide spoiler)]
Entertaining, with good characters and villains, an interesting New World to experience. ...more
"So, who are you then, Todd Hewitt?" He says. "What makes you so special?" Now that, I think, is a very good asking."
What a crazy ending! I enjoyed "So, who are you then, Todd Hewitt?" He says. "What makes you so special?" Now that, I think, is a very good asking."
What a crazy ending! I enjoyed this one a lot more than the first. I was more invested in Todd and Viola's characters, and accustomed to the writing style so I could fully focus on the story. Yay for second books!
So Todd and Viola found their way to Haven only to discover it was not the safe land they were hoping for. Pitted back against Todd's old nemesis Mayor Prentiss, Todd and Viola become separated - each on either side of an ongoing war. One between the people of Haven, calling themselves the Ask and those having escaped Haven and fighting against those in power - The Answer.
This book was full of chilling scenes, including the torture of civilians, namely women. Some of the themes were extremely powerful, sexism, violence, terrorism, to name a few. The Noise is still rife in this book - yet Mayor Prentiss has chosen to provide 'the cure' to some of his chosen favourites. I'm intrigued to see where Ness will go with the final book. This series seems to redefine genre - with elements of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopia and maybe even horror.
The ending was mad! (view spoiler)[ I can't get over the arrival of a Spackle army - they are such weird creatures, I still don't fully understand them (hide spoiler)] I've ordered the third book immediately - I need to know what happens!
“Now I’m in a King’s cage. But so is he. My chains are silent stone. His is the crown.”
I’m having a real dilemma with this series. On the one hand, “Now I’m in a King’s cage. But so is he. My chains are silent stone. His is the crown.”
I’m having a real dilemma with this series. On the one hand, it’s easy to read, there are a lot of great characters and an exciting plot.
On the other hand, Mare is still pretty insufferable. She spent 6 months in Maven’s palace Whitefire, being tortured within an inch of her life and paraded around as a pet the rest of the time. This was a good plot device. However, Mare soon began repeating herself on a regular basis ‘I want to kill Maven” “I wish I could kill Maven” etc. Etc. While her point was valid, I knew how she felt the first time, it didn’t need repeating every couple of pages! The second half of the book was just as bad. Having escaped her prison all she would do is remind us of the prison she escaped. Like yes I know this - I read 150 pages about it!
I liked the chapters from Cameron’s POV - she was great and super relatable. I also appreciated the few chapters from Evangeline’s POV they were really interesting to see all the inter house politics.
But overall, I can’t get used to Mare. She is vastly irritating. Unfortunately after this ending I still need to read the last one to see how it will all end, because I need to know! But I’m not sure how much I’ll enjoy it - my patience with this series is wearing thin....more
“Humanity is innocent; humanity is guilty, and both states are undeniably true.”
This book got me through my 2 hoTHE HYPE IS REAL WITH THIS ONE GUYS!
“Humanity is innocent; humanity is guilty, and both states are undeniably true.”
This book got me through my 2 hour long delay at the airport on my way back from Turkey. I’d heard such good things, I had pretty high hopes, and I was not disappointed.
In a world where humans have conquered death, Scythes are chosen to glean which effectively means to methodically kill people, to ensure that the Earth’s population doesn’t overrun. All matters of life are now controlled by the Thunderhead – a conscious AI that handles all food and wealth distribution, medical care and anything else required for living on Earth. Rowan and Citra are chosen by Scythe Faraday to be apprentice Scythes, to learn what it takes to become a Scythe, and Faraday will select one of them in the end to become a fully pledged Scythe. However, the Scythedom is full of corruption, and the other Scythes decide that to spice things up, the winner must Glean the loser.
Rowan and Citra are now in a battle for their lives, and as the evil within the Scythedom grows, there is worry for its future. Scythes than Glean hundreds or thousands of people at a time, Scythes that deliberately choose unnecessarily cruel methods for their Gleaning, Scythes that have begun to lose their humanity.
This was such a unique concept. It’s pretty dark, but so believable; a dystopia handled with enough fear and detail to weave an intricate tale of what would happen to humans if we no longer had natural death.
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