(Received in Librarything Early Reviewers program. Thanks!)
I really, really wanted to like this book. YA science fiction brought me into the science fiction fold and prompted me to explore the genre, and this novel even falls into the category of "New Adult" rather than simply "YA," as the main character is nineteen. So as someone who is automatically rooting for New Adult and sci-fi YA, I had my hopes high.
Overall, the plot was interesting, if predictable, with some of the later developments telegraphed pretty dang early in the book. However, even if I didn't quite ever fall for the plot, there were so many aspects of the book that DID work. I really liked that it featured an older, male character and not a brooding 16 year old girl with a stalker love interest, and the main character has more motivation than JUST a girl.
Part of the reason the book really threw me out of the reading experience was because it was set in the past (which was really interesting by the way, because it forces an author to commit to a date and allows them to use pop culture references without a complete fear of dating it, because hey, there's already a date! but....) the character was almost exactly one year younger than me. And some of the references.. didn't quite work. There were things that were either a bit too old to be current, and one thing that from what I remember, didn't really get super popular until a year later. Maybe it will be fixed in the final edition, so I won't mention it in particular. But because the main character actually was my age, I noticed things like awkward dialog and strange references. Which isn't the books fault!
Another aspect of the book that I found extremely refreshing after the glut of sexless teen paranormals I've been reading is that sex just happens. I was slightly squicked by the main character's thought process at one point in the novel (pretty late in it, so I won't be a spoiler sport), but hey, I have met some teenage boys with that kind of attitude.
Overall, a quick and engaging read with some flaws, but a nice change of pace after all the mediocre YA fantasy. Major points for sci-fi, male protagonist, minuses for feeling a bit off in the setting/teen interests and some of the plotting/explanation (spoilers!). (
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I really, really wanted to like this book. YA science fiction brought me into the science fiction fold and prompted me to explore the genre, and this novel even falls into the category of "New Adult" rather than simply "YA," as the main character is nineteen. So as someone who is automatically rooting for New Adult and sci-fi YA, I had my hopes high.
Overall, the plot was interesting, if predictable, with some of the later developments telegraphed pretty dang early in the book. However, even if I didn't quite ever fall for the plot, there were so many aspects of the book that DID work. I really liked that it featured an older, male character and not a brooding 16 year old girl with a stalker love interest, and the main character has more motivation than JUST a girl.
Part of the reason the book really threw me out of the reading experience was because it was set in the past (which was really interesting by the way, because it forces an author to commit to a date and allows them to use pop culture references without a complete fear of dating it, because hey, there's already a date! but....) the character was almost exactly one year younger than me. And some of the references.. didn't quite work. There were things that were either a bit too old to be current, and one thing that from what I remember, didn't really get super popular until a year later. Maybe it will be fixed in the final edition, so I won't mention it in particular. But because the main character actually was my age, I noticed things like awkward dialog and strange references. Which isn't the books fault!
Another aspect of the book that I found extremely refreshing after the glut of sexless teen paranormals I've been reading is that sex just happens. I was slightly squicked by the main character's thought process at one point in the novel (pretty late in it, so I won't be a spoiler sport), but hey, I have met some teenage boys with that kind of attitude.
Overall, a quick and engaging read with some flaws, but a nice change of pace after all the mediocre YA fantasy. Major points for sci-fi, male protagonist, minuses for feeling a bit off in the setting/teen interests and some of the plotting/explanation (spoilers!). (
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