This being an exploration of the meaning and power of blackness, I'm not sure I'm the right person to review it. The premise is new and interesting, tThis being an exploration of the meaning and power of blackness, I'm not sure I'm the right person to review it. The premise is new and interesting, the book was beautifully written, will recommend and buy for my library....more
The whole world is gone. A fog spread across the entire planet, destroying all human life, stopping only at the edge of the very last island. This islThe whole world is gone. A fog spread across the entire planet, destroying all human life, stopping only at the edge of the very last island. This island is occupied by refugees, villagers, and scientists. It was the scientists who figured out how to hold back the fog, on one condition – the machine keeping humanity safe would switch off should one of the scientists be murdered. When the head scientist is killed, it’s up to one villager, Emory, to figure out what happened and bring the murderer to justice before the fog reaches the island. The only problem is, nobody could have wanted Niema dead. That is, unless they had discovered one of the many, many secrets Niema was keeping.
This book is fantastic! It starts off in an idyllic post-apocalyptic village, but piece by piece we begin to see that every part of the island is a piece of a machine, and what we are reading is actually advanced science fiction. Emory and the rest of the villagers are so likeable and kind that we desperately want them to be saved from the fog, even as we start to think that maybe humanity hasn’t done much to deserve to be saved. On the other hand, I'd probably let the whole world die just to save Emory and her daughter.
It's the near future, and a plane full of tech start-up employees has crashed on an abandoned island. Well, abandoned except for the huge tech-mansionIt's the near future, and a plane full of tech start-up employees has crashed on an abandoned island. Well, abandoned except for the huge tech-mansion whose door only opens when a man touches it.
Wait, back up. It's the nearer future, and Kristen works for a Canadian tech start-up which is trying to sell some impossible to make design that involves monetizing human emotion. Her boss is in love with her, her coworkers are suspicious of her, and she's hooking up with a spy who she occasionally meets in other countries. The planet is dying, and so are plenty of other people.
Wait, back up again. It's a very near future, and Kristen has survived the house fire that killed her parents. It was started when her father's bitcoin business hit big, overloading his basement set-up. Even in the hospital, Kristen is hounded by her family's fans and foes. Lots of people are influencers in this future, and Kristen has been one against her will all of her life. She has PTSD around surveillance and entrapment.
Pretty great concept for a thriller, which is absolutely what this is no matter what marketing you've seen. I only gave it four stars because I'm tired of people getting away with things that nobody should get away with. Then again, even though Kristen is not a great person and neither is anybody else in this book, I was rooting for her to win....more
Big Time starts out as a standard thriller: A. has been kidnapped, and her baby taken away. She manages to escape her captor, only to realize that herBig Time starts out as a standard thriller: A. has been kidnapped, and her baby taken away. She manages to escape her captor, only to realize that her memory is becoming fuzzier every minute. She's got to find out who she is in order to get herself to safety and get her baby back.
Then Grace comes in, and suddenly we're in a sci-fi future where time can be stolen from one person and given to another. Grace is a lawyer-turned-government employee, stuck in a job she hates but excels at, when she stumbles on the mystery of a kidnapped woman with a strange device implanted in her chest. She and her teenager turn into everyman detectives, using social media to figure out what happened to A. and how to rescue her.
The mix of genres is so fun and effective. It's quick as a thriller, but there's a big fat Message about what happens when we turn people into commodities, which is classic scifi. I can imagine this being made into a Netflix movie.
My only regret is that I really came to like a character that never existed. As a newish mom myself, I wanted her to find that baby. These characters are too damn relatable....more
In post-apocalyptic California, truth is treasured above all else. Lazlo, a Speculator, is charged with uncovering lies. His new partner is already inIn post-apocalyptic California, truth is treasured above all else. Lazlo, a Speculator, is charged with uncovering lies. His new partner is already innately talented at forcing the truth out of liars. Their first case is an accidental-death-turned-murder-turned-huge-government-conspiracy. Lazlo is forced to come to terms with what it means to live in a society so dependent on the truth that it is vulnerable to anyone even a little good at manipulation.
Golden State is fast-paced and unique. You've never seen a Chandler-style mystery play out in a dystopian society before, and you never knew you wanted to see it, but now you know. I've just added every other book by this author to my TBR....more
Mad is stuck in the library with her lifelong crush, several teens who showed up for her bath bomb program, and a relatably miscellaneous group of libMad is stuck in the library with her lifelong crush, several teens who showed up for her bath bomb program, and a relatably miscellaneous group of library staff and patrons. Outside the library is a swarm, or parliament, of murder owls, and several local emergency personnel who are too afraid and incompetent to offer much help. Inside, they're running out of food and other resources. It becomes increasingly obvious that they are going to have to save themselves before the town authorities decide to start burning down libraries to stop the owls.
I loved this. Mad's internal monologue, informed by anxiety, past trauma, and probable neurodiversity. The depiction of a library not as a sacred space but as a building full of resources and strangers with a shared goal. The interspersed chapters of a made-for-this-novel fairy tale, which Mad reads to keep the children distracted but which ends up mobilizing them in a crazy scheme to escape. From now on, this is the only book set in a library that I'll recommend....more
"Swallowed by a whale and chewed by its stomach, if you can believe that shit."
17 year old Jay's father is gone. Mesothelioma started it, suicide by d"Swallowed by a whale and chewed by its stomach, if you can believe that shit."
17 year old Jay's father is gone. Mesothelioma started it, suicide by drowning in the Pacific ocean finished it. Unable to come to terms with his own grief and guilt for not having spoken to his father during the illness, Jay decides to dive in the ocean and bring back his father's body. His father taught him everything about diving. Mostly against Jay's will, but he will need those lessons to get back to shore when he discovers what happened to his father...and is swallowed by a whale.
Good points: super quick read, very thrilling. The father-son relationship is so complete and flawed and sad. When Jay finally cries, I cried.
Maybe not so great: we get a really detailed idea of Jay's injuries. Also, it's weird for a kid his age to be having these existential thoughts. Hard to get a read on whether this is supposed to be adult or YA fiction....more
Aliens exist. This is a fact that the American government already knows, though it didn't bother telling the rest of us. So when spaceships start showAliens exist. This is a fact that the American government already knows, though it didn't bother telling the rest of us. So when spaceships start showing up all around the world and hovering over major cities, there is widespread panic. People have seen Independence Day. They know what is going to happen.
Except, nothing really happens. The spaceships leave, some cats run away from home, and one catatonic patient in a facility wakes up after twenty years. Rumors begin to spread that aliens have been living among us all along. Maybe they have. But seriously, what's up with the cats?
IDK whether this is a four or five star read so I might come back and adjust this review. It feels weird to give less than all of the points to a book with so very many cats. 10/10 would recommend.
Edit: I settled on four stars because I remembered that it was difficult to get into the book in the first couple of chapters because there are a bunch of seemingly unconnected storyline. There's a point at which they all seem to make sense and seem set to collide and become one story, but there's a bit of power through to that point....more
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