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On a Clear Day
Young heroes decide that they are not too young or too powerless to change their world in this gripping, futuristic young adult novel by the New York Times bestselling author of the Printz Award–winning Monster. It is 2035. Teens, armed only with their ideals, must wage war on the power elite. Dahlia is a Low a sheep in a storm, struggling to survive completely on her own. The Gaters live in closed safe communities, protected from the Sturmers, mercenary thugs. And the C-8, a consortium of giant companies, control global access to finance, media, food, water, and energy resources—and they are only getting bigger and even more cutthroat. Dahlia, a computer whiz, joins forces with an ex-rocker, an ex-con, a chess prodigy, an ex-athlete, and a soldier wannabe. Their to sabotage the C-8. But how will Sayeed, warlord and terrorist, fit into the equation?
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First published January 1, 2014
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About the author
Walter Dean Myers
232 books1,183 followerspseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
April 29, 2015
Re-rating this because after some thought, the book didn't really have a cohesive storyline?! Like, they're trying to take down a big evil corporation thing and a terrorist, but, like, things happen but it not really. I felt lost most of the time and kept asking, "What just happened?" I thought that this would be a great read to have some diversity included in it, but they came off rather stereotypically. Not good. I've heard that this author's past works are WAY better, so it's not like I'm never going to give his novels another shot... But dang, like, publishers... please care about cohesive storylines. It's important!
September 8, 2015
DNF at 20%.
Walter Dean Myers's last completed* YA novel before he passed away at age 76. Ambitious dystopian scope with too-large ensemble of same-ish rogue characters, all with several pages of biographical details combined with next-to-no actual characterization. Does it seem like I read the whole book? Well, I didn't. I read just to the point where I was more interested to see if the story would ever got any better, so I bailed to a review section that told me universally that it wouldn't. Then I bailed to Myers's 1999 book Monster , which was the first recipient of the Printz Award.
Walter Dean Myers has over 100 published books. This is not one of the better ones. If you're looking for late-period Myers, two better options are 2013's Darius and Twig and 2010's National Book Award finalist Lockdown .
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* = It was published two months after his death. Whether it was fully "completed" or still a work in progress is debatable.
Walter Dean Myers's last completed* YA novel before he passed away at age 76. Ambitious dystopian scope with too-large ensemble of same-ish rogue characters, all with several pages of biographical details combined with next-to-no actual characterization. Does it seem like I read the whole book? Well, I didn't. I read just to the point where I was more interested to see if the story would ever got any better, so I bailed to a review section that told me universally that it wouldn't. Then I bailed to Myers's 1999 book Monster , which was the first recipient of the Printz Award.
Walter Dean Myers has over 100 published books. This is not one of the better ones. If you're looking for late-period Myers, two better options are 2013's Darius and Twig and 2010's National Book Award finalist Lockdown .
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* = It was published two months after his death. Whether it was fully "completed" or still a work in progress is debatable.
December 20, 2014
I REALLY wanted this to be good.
But I started reading-with-reluctance when I got to the following line on page 104:
"It was guy stuff, but it sounded good."
srsly.
Myers was a lovely person, and an amazing advocate for teens and reading. I REALLY wanted to like this book.
But the main character is supposed to be a math whiz. Her special role in the group is to create models to predict the behavior of world powers (the connection between these two things is not explained, just assumed). And the quote above about guy stuff was in reference to strategizing against an enemy. This does not make sense. But maybe that's because I'm not a guy?
::deep breaths -- cut the snark, Raina::
The romance was half-hearted (I really wanted something to develop with Anja, and that's not entirely bc of my own bias). The logic of the world was flawed.
I got excited when he started off with biocremation, but there was no followthrough on the sci-fi coolness. Most of the book feels much more contemporary. To the point where, when the protagonist doesn't understand the concept of a landline near the end, it was jarring and I fell out of the book.
I loved the diverse cast, but found many of the characters stereotypical.
And I think he missed an opportunity by having the whole thing narrated by just one of the people on the team.
Waaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.
Extra star bc Myers + Effort + WeNeedDiverseBooks.
But I started reading-with-reluctance when I got to the following line on page 104:
"It was guy stuff, but it sounded good."
srsly.
Myers was a lovely person, and an amazing advocate for teens and reading. I REALLY wanted to like this book.
But the main character is supposed to be a math whiz. Her special role in the group is to create models to predict the behavior of world powers (the connection between these two things is not explained, just assumed). And the quote above about guy stuff was in reference to strategizing against an enemy. This does not make sense. But maybe that's because I'm not a guy?
::deep breaths -- cut the snark, Raina::
The romance was half-hearted (I really wanted something to develop with Anja, and that's not entirely bc of my own bias). The logic of the world was flawed.
I got excited when he started off with biocremation, but there was no followthrough on the sci-fi coolness. Most of the book feels much more contemporary. To the point where, when the protagonist doesn't understand the concept of a landline near the end, it was jarring and I fell out of the book.
I loved the diverse cast, but found many of the characters stereotypical.
And I think he missed an opportunity by having the whole thing narrated by just one of the people on the team.
Waaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.
Extra star bc Myers + Effort + WeNeedDiverseBooks.
January 20, 2015
Absolutely nothing in this book made sense to me. At all.
The characters hardly know eachother as well as can't stand eachother, yet throughout the book it's played off as if they've all known eachother for years? What? How does Dahlia magically know all these things about everyone when they've hardly spent any time together? "So and so is very ___" How does she know this? How are we supposed to know this? You would also think with the characters being randomly grabbed by their awful ringleader that they would all have different skills used in whatever case they're doing (which I couldn't decipher at all at any point) but no. It's just "What do you think this means, guys?" Come ON.
I also don't know WHAT they were doing the ENTIRE TIME. Absolutely NOTHING was explained, yet somehow characters kept saying "everything is starting to make sense!" Is it really? No. It's not. All you get from the start is "we're young people and we're gonna make a difference! We're gonna shut this corporation down!" Somehow they have a meet up in Europe with biker Nazis, but they never reappear again and I wonder, what was the point of that? They go to "gather information". What information? What THING are you even looking into information FOR? There's no reason given, no explanation, no plot point. Just "getting information".
Then there's this stuff with Sayeed, who's labelled a terrorist, and they meet up with him too, but you can't tell if he's supposed to be a good resource for them to band forces with or another bad guy to "get information" from. Somehow a farm pill is involved, somehow Sayeed wants (or doesn't want? WE JUST DON'T KNOW!) something to do with it, and the characters suddenly need to put a stop to him. I don't have a clue what anyone in any of the three parties were supposed to do, what their mission was. Nothing. Somehow it ends with Sayeed's hired army getting killed (from what? from who? WHAT?) and two characters get fixed up in a car. Then they return to their normal lives. Somehow they saved or destroyed a company that was or was going to be associated with C-8. I seriously don't have a clue.
Also, what was the thing with constantly, not just as a description, but THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BOOK, every person of color's race is mentioned eighteen hundred times? What is Dahlia's obsession with calling Mei-Mei a porcelain doll? I couldn't stand it! Not to mention Mei-Mei is supposed to be a smart young woman and an important part of their team, a master of chess, yet she's treated by Dahlia like she's as dumb as a stump and the only thing interesting about her is how much she "looks like a porcelain doll". Ugh!
So, in conclusion, absolutely no character development, and a SERIOUS lack of explanation on ANY kind of task in this book. The only reason I finished was because it was short and I willed myself to power through. Since this is the author's last book, it wouldn't surprise me at all if this was actually nowhere near complete when published. There are a couple other books of his I was interested in reading, which appear to be a lot more well liked. However, this just wasn't very good.
January 7, 2015
Received an ARC from coworker who attended ALA in Las Vegas.
The Goodreads synopsis states this story is set in 2035. I must have missed that little fact being shared within the story itself. It was apparent that the story was set in the future but it was never clear to me how far into the future or even if it was post-apocalyptic, dystopic or just a prediction of what is to come.
The back of the ARC has a synopsis that was misleading: “Ex-rocker Michael gathers together an ex-con, a chess prodigy, an ex-athlete, a do-gooder, a soldier wannabe, and computer whiz Dahlia. Enter Sayeed, terrorist.” Yes, Michael gathered these folks together. But Sayeed was not part of the group! And the blub does contain an accurate description of the characters … kind of. Drego being an ex-con was never really clear from the text; his being connected to gangs was clear but does that make him an ex-con? Tristan was supposed to be the soldier wannabe … I think. I would hardly use “ex-athlete” to describe Javier who the text stressed was an aspiring lawyer prior to the car accident that added the term “wheelchair user” to his life.
Aside from the misleading blurb, the characters were just blah. So much could have been done with Dahlia and Mei-Mei’s dislike for one another, just as so much could have been done with Dahlia and Anja’s friendship. The “love spark” between Michael and Dahlia was irrelevant, extraneous, and just muddied the already confusing plot.
So, the characters were never fully fleshed out, the timing of the events in the book was completely unclear (until I went to go write my Goodreads review!) and, sadly, I never understood what in the hell the damn characters were trying to accomplish. Were they trying to overthrow the ruling corporations? Inform the public? Stop a conspiracy? Oh … wait … there is that whole terrorist thing mentioned on the blurb. Sayeed was NOT a terrorist in the sense that our current society thinks of terrorists. If he was meant to be, he never got there. I felt like he was a pussy cat trying to make himself at home among lions.
I just wanted to cry as I read this book. I told my husband that the only reason I was finishing it was because Walter Dean Myers had just died – and I just could not bring myself to believe that he had written something so bad. My only hope is that this ARC, unlike so many ARCs I read, truly was advance and had many forthcoming edits to bring the pieces together. Alas, unless a ghost writer takes WDM’s pieces and forms them into something better, this is going to be one big footnote in an otherwise amazing career. My only consolation is that, upon checking the author’s website, I learned that he has one more book coming out in 2015. I so hope that book lives up to his established reputation.
The Goodreads synopsis states this story is set in 2035. I must have missed that little fact being shared within the story itself. It was apparent that the story was set in the future but it was never clear to me how far into the future or even if it was post-apocalyptic, dystopic or just a prediction of what is to come.
The back of the ARC has a synopsis that was misleading: “Ex-rocker Michael gathers together an ex-con, a chess prodigy, an ex-athlete, a do-gooder, a soldier wannabe, and computer whiz Dahlia. Enter Sayeed, terrorist.” Yes, Michael gathered these folks together. But Sayeed was not part of the group! And the blub does contain an accurate description of the characters … kind of. Drego being an ex-con was never really clear from the text; his being connected to gangs was clear but does that make him an ex-con? Tristan was supposed to be the soldier wannabe … I think. I would hardly use “ex-athlete” to describe Javier who the text stressed was an aspiring lawyer prior to the car accident that added the term “wheelchair user” to his life.
Aside from the misleading blurb, the characters were just blah. So much could have been done with Dahlia and Mei-Mei’s dislike for one another, just as so much could have been done with Dahlia and Anja’s friendship. The “love spark” between Michael and Dahlia was irrelevant, extraneous, and just muddied the already confusing plot.
So, the characters were never fully fleshed out, the timing of the events in the book was completely unclear (until I went to go write my Goodreads review!) and, sadly, I never understood what in the hell the damn characters were trying to accomplish. Were they trying to overthrow the ruling corporations? Inform the public? Stop a conspiracy? Oh … wait … there is that whole terrorist thing mentioned on the blurb. Sayeed was NOT a terrorist in the sense that our current society thinks of terrorists. If he was meant to be, he never got there. I felt like he was a pussy cat trying to make himself at home among lions.
I just wanted to cry as I read this book. I told my husband that the only reason I was finishing it was because Walter Dean Myers had just died – and I just could not bring myself to believe that he had written something so bad. My only hope is that this ARC, unlike so many ARCs I read, truly was advance and had many forthcoming edits to bring the pieces together. Alas, unless a ghost writer takes WDM’s pieces and forms them into something better, this is going to be one big footnote in an otherwise amazing career. My only consolation is that, upon checking the author’s website, I learned that he has one more book coming out in 2015. I so hope that book lives up to his established reputation.
March 5, 2015
Dahlia has always loved math — the numbers and formulas are dependable and help her understand the world even as things fall apart.
The year is 2035. The C-8, eight huge businesses, control everything from food to health care. Not only do they control who has access to what, the profit margin for these companies determines what even comes into being. On the surface, that doesn’t mean much for the wealthy. They live in their suburban gated communities were everyone looks like them (white). They shop, they party and they plan. What very few of them do is see.
Those like Dahlia who aren’t wealthy have no choice but to see. They have to keep their eyes open for the gangs roaming city streets. They also have to watch out for opportunities that are actually traps. The free tablets everyone was so happy to recieve? Once everyone was online and could access classes that way, the government had no reason to keep the schools open. There was simply no profit in it.
Dahlia dreamed of becoming a teacher. She would be able to help kids like herself see the beauty of math. Now, there’s no point. No gater (gated communities) would pay her to teach their children.
Then two boys show up in a van. From the van to their clothing, it is obvious that they have money. They may have money but they see. They see what C-8 is doing around the world — controlling who makes it in government, who has access to health care and who has food to eat. They are going to take on C-8.
They tell Dahlia and that they need her help. They’ve read the paper she published in a math journal. They know she has the computer skills needed to help them predict what is going to happen next. They are putting together a team of young people who believe that they can make a difference and they want Dahlia to be a part of it. Before she can decide if she can make a different, Dahlia has to find the nerve to leave behind all she knows and trust two boys she’s only must met.
This is one of the those books that is almost impossible to do justice in a review. It is rich and it is complicated. It is more gritty than lyrical but teen readers will love it because it is true. Walter Dean Myers was clearly an author who could see the dangers of big business, of the 10% and of the reliance that people place on the Web.
I wouldn’t call this book post-apocolyptic but it is walks up close to the apocolypse and dares the reader to see how far they can see On a Clear Day.
–SueBE
The year is 2035. The C-8, eight huge businesses, control everything from food to health care. Not only do they control who has access to what, the profit margin for these companies determines what even comes into being. On the surface, that doesn’t mean much for the wealthy. They live in their suburban gated communities were everyone looks like them (white). They shop, they party and they plan. What very few of them do is see.
Those like Dahlia who aren’t wealthy have no choice but to see. They have to keep their eyes open for the gangs roaming city streets. They also have to watch out for opportunities that are actually traps. The free tablets everyone was so happy to recieve? Once everyone was online and could access classes that way, the government had no reason to keep the schools open. There was simply no profit in it.
Dahlia dreamed of becoming a teacher. She would be able to help kids like herself see the beauty of math. Now, there’s no point. No gater (gated communities) would pay her to teach their children.
Then two boys show up in a van. From the van to their clothing, it is obvious that they have money. They may have money but they see. They see what C-8 is doing around the world — controlling who makes it in government, who has access to health care and who has food to eat. They are going to take on C-8.
They tell Dahlia and that they need her help. They’ve read the paper she published in a math journal. They know she has the computer skills needed to help them predict what is going to happen next. They are putting together a team of young people who believe that they can make a difference and they want Dahlia to be a part of it. Before she can decide if she can make a different, Dahlia has to find the nerve to leave behind all she knows and trust two boys she’s only must met.
This is one of the those books that is almost impossible to do justice in a review. It is rich and it is complicated. It is more gritty than lyrical but teen readers will love it because it is true. Walter Dean Myers was clearly an author who could see the dangers of big business, of the 10% and of the reliance that people place on the Web.
I wouldn’t call this book post-apocolyptic but it is walks up close to the apocolypse and dares the reader to see how far they can see On a Clear Day.
–SueBE
June 13, 2014
Myers' motley crew of teens takes on the capitalist corporations in this fast-paced novel set in the not-terribly-distant future. You can feel Myers' own anger at the inequalities destroying the fabric of civil society and his hope that young people can overcome inertia and despair to fight against the bill of goods we're being sold by people who mask their motives behind slick advertisements.
I applaud Meyers' sentiments and I appreciated his kick-ass, math-whiz Dominican-American heroine a lot. I got a bit lost in some of the slang the characters use, but that's probably my age and sheltered existence showing. I found the story a bit rushed, though. I can understand that Myers didn't want to over complicate or make the book too thick (both physically and structurally) but I'd have liked more back story on the teens in the group. I'd like to have known how Michael found each member, for example. Still, I'd hand this book to any number of teens and can imagine some great discussions emerging. Pair it with FEED or with LITTLE BROTHER or SHIPBREAKER...
I applaud Meyers' sentiments and I appreciated his kick-ass, math-whiz Dominican-American heroine a lot. I got a bit lost in some of the slang the characters use, but that's probably my age and sheltered existence showing. I found the story a bit rushed, though. I can understand that Myers didn't want to over complicate or make the book too thick (both physically and structurally) but I'd have liked more back story on the teens in the group. I'd like to have known how Michael found each member, for example. Still, I'd hand this book to any number of teens and can imagine some great discussions emerging. Pair it with FEED or with LITTLE BROTHER or SHIPBREAKER...
May 26, 2022
Okay, I adore Walter Dean Myers, he's genuinely one of my favorite authors, but I feel comfortable saying that this book is bad. The plot is strangely incoherent and absolutely fails to deliver on a fairly promising concept, the characters feel like they could've used a lot more development, and, to be honest, the world that this book presents is half-baked. Concepts that one would think are central to the story are given passing mentions and then never touched again.
To be honest, this book is at its best when it feels like the other Walter Dean Myers that I've read, exemplified best by the scenes with one or two young people listening/talking to older people, mulling philosophy and reminiscing about the past. Unfortunately, portions of the book like that are few and far between, replaced with a very oddly written teen dystopia.
The knowledge that this is one of Myers' last published novels before his passing does soften my opinion of it a bit, even if that's not quite relevant to its quality. Overall, this book is not as fun of a read as its premise would have you think.
To be honest, this book is at its best when it feels like the other Walter Dean Myers that I've read, exemplified best by the scenes with one or two young people listening/talking to older people, mulling philosophy and reminiscing about the past. Unfortunately, portions of the book like that are few and far between, replaced with a very oddly written teen dystopia.
The knowledge that this is one of Myers' last published novels before his passing does soften my opinion of it a bit, even if that's not quite relevant to its quality. Overall, this book is not as fun of a read as its premise would have you think.
January 28, 2019
I thought I would have liked this a lot more than I actually did with how good the description was: all in all, a disappointment but a quick read.
November 19, 2018
I've never been so confused with an audiobook. I don't really know why, either.
There's not much of a plot going on – just a group of teenagers from random parts of the world (I think) banding together to take down a major company while figuring out how a terrorist fits in with it all. If you want a shorter version, it's a group of teenagers coming together to take down a monopolizer.
On a Clear Day is probably better to listen to than actually reading the book. There are some parts that are read rapid fast, but Rebecca Soler is an amazing narrator. Like Amanda Dolan in Red Queen, the story is narrated realistically and it was just far more enjoyable to listen to. I felt like I was listening to a recording of a conversation (that might actually be very accurate).
The narration might have been why I even completed the book. Maybe the heat is getting to me (not likely), but I feel like I'm just chugging along and nodding without interpreting anything going on. I don't feel like I know much about any of the group of teenagers aside from what they're well-known for – chess prodigy, math/computer whiz, athlete, musician, etc.
I feel like I'm reading the middle of a stand alone series where I'm supposed to know all the major characters really well and Myers can just focus on developing the plot. The points to the point disappeared somewhere. The end feels like a pause that Myers will never get around to. It's a happily ever after with loose ends and an unknown future.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
There's not much of a plot going on – just a group of teenagers from random parts of the world (I think) banding together to take down a major company while figuring out how a terrorist fits in with it all. If you want a shorter version, it's a group of teenagers coming together to take down a monopolizer.
On a Clear Day is probably better to listen to than actually reading the book. There are some parts that are read rapid fast, but Rebecca Soler is an amazing narrator. Like Amanda Dolan in Red Queen, the story is narrated realistically and it was just far more enjoyable to listen to. I felt like I was listening to a recording of a conversation (that might actually be very accurate).
The narration might have been why I even completed the book. Maybe the heat is getting to me (not likely), but I feel like I'm just chugging along and nodding without interpreting anything going on. I don't feel like I know much about any of the group of teenagers aside from what they're well-known for – chess prodigy, math/computer whiz, athlete, musician, etc.
I feel like I'm reading the middle of a stand alone series where I'm supposed to know all the major characters really well and Myers can just focus on developing the plot. The points to the point disappeared somewhere. The end feels like a pause that Myers will never get around to. It's a happily ever after with loose ends and an unknown future.
C-8 had backed off from acquiring another company. For now.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
August 31, 2014
In this dystopian novel set twenty years from now in 2035, the world is even more divided into groups of haves and havenots than it is now. Fifteen-year-old Dahlia, a math whiz, lives in the Bronx with plenty of neighbors who look out for her. Dahlia's world is much different than the one which we inhabit. It's basically run by C-8, eight huge companies that seem to control just about everything. Students use apps to get an education rather than having to attend school, and many families live in gated communities if they can afford to do so. When Michael, an ex-rocker, gets wind of a meeting of young like minds in Britain, he enlists Dahlia and six others to accompany him. As the youthful alliance tries to figure out a way to stop the giant conglomerates as well as a drug cartel with unsavory links, there are high costs. In the end Dahlia ponders the mistakes her group has made and the costs but has hope that things will change for the better in the future. The book is filled with lots of action, an interesting cast of characters, some of whom readers don't really get to know, and authentic dialogue. Although there's too much going on to keep track of, readers will be drawn in by the edge-of-your-seat writing and the awareness that only two decades separate then and now. Like WDM, I don't consider what happens in this book to be all that far-fetched. Although some backstory might have helped me understand how the world got to this point, I appreciated how Myers reminds readers that even the most seemingly powerless can make a change for the good. This one feels as though it might have been the start of an interesting series.
January 4, 2015
I'm really baffled by this book. Normally, Myers wrote clear, believable characters in solid settings, but this one came across as a half-baked dystopian novel that slipped out unedited.
The setting, twenty years into an unpleasant future, assumes that current trends of "the rich get richer" continue to the extreme case. That's a good setup for a dystopia. It's the actual story from that point which is weak. The main characters are odd stereotypes, other than two of the young women on the "good guy" team.
The "villains" are everything from mega-corporations to terrorists to neo-Nazi biker thugs who are shoehorned into the story for no apparent reason. Most of the actions taken by the bad guys make no sense, but then, neither do the actions taken by the good guys, so it balances out. The previously successful warlord/terrorist's actions in the second half of the book are so bizarre that I'm amazed that the editor didn't call Myers on it.
I could sort of believe the altruistic ex-rocker wanting to change the world. I could even understand his scattergun approach of "try a bunch of stuff and see what works." What I could not understand is how the characters survived the story, as written. Okay, I also didn't understand where the "good guy" gang bangers got antitank weapons, but compared to the rest of the story, that was a quibble.
The setting, twenty years into an unpleasant future, assumes that current trends of "the rich get richer" continue to the extreme case. That's a good setup for a dystopia. It's the actual story from that point which is weak. The main characters are odd stereotypes, other than two of the young women on the "good guy" team.
The "villains" are everything from mega-corporations to terrorists to neo-Nazi biker thugs who are shoehorned into the story for no apparent reason. Most of the actions taken by the bad guys make no sense, but then, neither do the actions taken by the good guys, so it balances out. The previously successful warlord/terrorist's actions in the second half of the book are so bizarre that I'm amazed that the editor didn't call Myers on it.
I could sort of believe the altruistic ex-rocker wanting to change the world. I could even understand his scattergun approach of "try a bunch of stuff and see what works." What I could not understand is how the characters survived the story, as written. Okay, I also didn't understand where the "good guy" gang bangers got antitank weapons, but compared to the rest of the story, that was a quibble.
August 10, 2014
I really wanted to like this. The premise is very interesting and it was highly recommended to me by a friend who has very good taste in books. I made myself finish it. I still don't really understand the plot. The dialogue and details kept taking me out of the story and I didn't know the characters beyond a surface level. I feel guilty not liking this book which was written by such a talented and recently deceased author, and wonder if perhaps he did not have a chance to truly finish the book.
June 26, 2014
I really wanted to like this book. What's not to like? Myers is a fantastic author and distopias are fun but this one never clicked for me. The first chapter had me but then the rest of the chapters let me go. In a day and age when many books over world build, I think this one could have used a little more. The characters also fell flat. Once this book is published I will seriously have to consider whether I'm going to buy it or not.
ARC courtesy of publisher and Netgalley.
ARC courtesy of publisher and Netgalley.
July 16, 2014
A group of culturally diverse teens comes together to take on the superpower corporation that controls much of the world. Quite a departure from the types of work that Myers did so beautifully, and while the premise is an interesting one, the execution feels way more forced and contrived than the other things I've read of his.
November 30, 2014
Got through about 80 pages of this one before giving up. Not much action, lots of talking. Seems like it might have potential if it actually gets into some action, but at the rate it was going it'd be a whole lot of nothing.
It's an interesting shift for Myers and I'd hoped it'd be more engaging, but I just couldn't stay with it.
It's an interesting shift for Myers and I'd hoped it'd be more engaging, but I just couldn't stay with it.
January 27, 2015
I feel like I need to say how much I love, truly love, WDM, and how much I appreciate what he has done for the world of Kidlit. However, I was completely confused the entire time, literally every minute I was reading this book. I will put it in my classroom, but I'm not sure how many kids will actually get through it.
May 6, 2020
This story was not at all fluid. It made little sense and was difficult to follow. I borrowed it from the library because it came up as a recommended book for those who liked Ready Player One. Well, for the record it is nothing like Ready Player One and the protagonist does not come across as genuine, and this is coming from an intelligent Hispanic female from the Bronx.
dnf
August 26, 2014DNF
I just couldn't connect to the story or characters so I threw in the towel at around 30%
I just couldn't connect to the story or characters so I threw in the towel at around 30%
July 28, 2014
Dystopian. Very interesting!
September 16, 2014
oh my. wehere do I begin? this book deviates so far from what Ive come to expect from Myers. Disjointed story, vague references to events, activities. What is the purpose? I don't get it.
February 5, 2015
I was really disappointed with the plot development. I never got invested in the story.
August 4, 2016
This book reads like a really bad, tasteless parody. There's so many bad things I don't even know where to start.
How about I start with how desperate this book seems to be to earn a diversity cookie? Needless to say it won't be getting any from me, as the sad attempt at "diversity" present in the entirety of the book is forced and borderline offensive every step of the way. It felt like the book was rushed out of the author for the sake of numbers, it didn't add anything good to discuss among readers, or the evolving of YA literature.
This actually gives me a good idea of where to start.
First, and most important, because it was a definite deal breaker for me: The book is filled with stereotypical descriptions of POCs and recurring adjectives regarding their skin color that I feel were unnecessary (the latter seemed to only be there for the sake of assuring the guise of diversity. Like "there was an Asian woman. The Asian woman did something in the hotel. The Asian woman walked...". I get it, you got a diverse cast. But going around writing "The Asian woman/man" every time the character does something seems equally useless and even more offensive than writing "The Caucasian man did this and that. The Caucasian woman walked around..." (which btw, I saw nowhere in the book. Huh. Not to mention this way of adjectifying occurred with every single character, even ones that were in action for two seconds)). This was a recurring thing and made me roll my eyes every time.
There's also quite a lot, and I mean a whole damn lot, of offensive adjectives used to describe POCs. Right in the first chapter the author chose yellowish man with a wisp of a mustache to describe a Latino character.
Yellowish? Dear god. There's also the descriptions of Mei-Mei, who's an Asian girl, and she is constantly described as a porcelain doll. She is also described, and I quote, word for word, Not really human. This exotification was painful to read and one of the causes of me having to put down the book.
There's also phrases like: An Indian-looking man, The Asian driver, A black woman brought
When he ate, he didn't make noises on his plate, as a Dominican man would have done. (Yeah, this happened).
The only "diversity" in this book is in the characters skin color, and even so I do not call diversity just slapping a different skin color on your character if you're going to make no effort to characterize them, to know them and make them known as a person, to go beyond stereotypes and appearances, to try to reach out to their community. I do not call that diversity (quite the contrary actually) because the POC characters are stereotypical and they way they're written propagates those stereotypes.
Take Drego. He's the only Black guy of the group who, surprisingly, is loud and gets verbally aggressive when he doesn't agree to the ways of the group's leader whereas Michael is the calm white dude who is a charismatic diplomat (there's a particular scene that emphasizes this, not far from the place I decided this book was nearing its end for me, where the both of them argue in the hall).
Then there's the self-pat-in-the-back that was hilarious to me:
"(...) we are a different-looking group. They had one Indian boy with them, but the rest of them looked like they were cut out of the same batch of pizza dough."
This was...My words falter. It's sort of ironic, seeing as the main characters of this book are so one dimensional they are the ones seemingly cut out from the same batch of pizza dough.
I can't even begin to describe my outrage at how POC characters are portrayed in this book, so here's a few quotes that will transmit the idea well:
I was feeling sorry for myself.
Good. I liked feeling sorry for myself."
What message is this suppose to pass to all the Latina girls out there? I'm baffled, but there's more. There's also this gem:
She talked as she mashed some of the chick peas with chili flakes, adding just enough water to make them mushy. Woman stuff. Good.
This quote might honestly the most appalling thing I've ever read, I had to read it about three times to make sure it was really there.
There's also an intense character backstory info dump. Right at the beginning, the way the author finds to reveal details of the group of teenagers is through computer profiles made available by the “leader” in which each character describes many things about themselves all at once. This seemed like a rushed way to make the characters known, and honestly it only allowed that I didn’t remember most of the info further down the line. Because this was dropped at the beginning and all at once.
The interactions between characters are so rushed, flat and hold no emotion that I found it hard to connect in either way, or to feel anything for their relationships at all. Things are said out of the blue (like when Dahlia invites Michael to come in and he says "no" then continues talking without a pause).
The narrative is weird, it's filled with periods and too many stops. I know this is supposed to convey Dahlia’s analytical way of thinking, but when I’m reading it gives everything a weird flow and makes it harder to get into the writing. It give the reader nothing to explore, nothing to feel, it just tells the reader things and leaves room for nothing.
For example:
I was so friggin' down.
Jerk awake. Turn on the light. Check the time. Four-fifteen. A moment of panic. I'm up! I'm dressed. Check the time. Four eighteen. Oh, okay.
This happens a lot and I feel like maybe it could be countered with a change of POVs or something similar, so as to not tire the reader's attention spam so much.
Also, some of the ideas were too unrealistic. It's absolutely plausible that corporations basically own our lives and may grow to do so much more in the future if we let them. But there's a passage in the book that says that schools were globally closed because the government was giving out free tablets and computers.
The actual quote that summarizes this is: What did you need schools for if the curriculum apps were available?
I mean, really? It's just too far-fetched. School isn't just a place you go to read things on a book (which you could do with the apps just fine), it's the entire social, academical and sometimes cultural experience and I don't think a well-built PDF of every subject would ever bring it down. It sounds unrealistic to me and just a way to not bother with a bigger universe. Even if there was a chance this would happen, there's not even mentions of riots or similar protests regarding this matter, which I'm sure would have happen in this case.
Either way, good idea, nice attempt at a cast of characters, but too badly executed for me to keep my interest enough to finish it.
How about I start with how desperate this book seems to be to earn a diversity cookie? Needless to say it won't be getting any from me, as the sad attempt at "diversity" present in the entirety of the book is forced and borderline offensive every step of the way. It felt like the book was rushed out of the author for the sake of numbers, it didn't add anything good to discuss among readers, or the evolving of YA literature.
This actually gives me a good idea of where to start.
First, and most important, because it was a definite deal breaker for me: The book is filled with stereotypical descriptions of POCs and recurring adjectives regarding their skin color that I feel were unnecessary (the latter seemed to only be there for the sake of assuring the guise of diversity. Like "there was an Asian woman. The Asian woman did something in the hotel. The Asian woman walked...". I get it, you got a diverse cast. But going around writing "The Asian woman/man" every time the character does something seems equally useless and even more offensive than writing "The Caucasian man did this and that. The Caucasian woman walked around..." (which btw, I saw nowhere in the book. Huh. Not to mention this way of adjectifying occurred with every single character, even ones that were in action for two seconds)). This was a recurring thing and made me roll my eyes every time.
There's also quite a lot, and I mean a whole damn lot, of offensive adjectives used to describe POCs. Right in the first chapter the author chose yellowish man with a wisp of a mustache to describe a Latino character.
Yellowish? Dear god. There's also the descriptions of Mei-Mei, who's an Asian girl, and she is constantly described as a porcelain doll. She is also described, and I quote, word for word, Not really human. This exotification was painful to read and one of the causes of me having to put down the book.
There's also phrases like: An Indian-looking man, The Asian driver, A black woman brought
When he ate, he didn't make noises on his plate, as a Dominican man would have done. (Yeah, this happened).
The only "diversity" in this book is in the characters skin color, and even so I do not call diversity just slapping a different skin color on your character if you're going to make no effort to characterize them, to know them and make them known as a person, to go beyond stereotypes and appearances, to try to reach out to their community. I do not call that diversity (quite the contrary actually) because the POC characters are stereotypical and they way they're written propagates those stereotypes.
Take Drego. He's the only Black guy of the group who, surprisingly, is loud and gets verbally aggressive when he doesn't agree to the ways of the group's leader whereas Michael is the calm white dude who is a charismatic diplomat (there's a particular scene that emphasizes this, not far from the place I decided this book was nearing its end for me, where the both of them argue in the hall).
Then there's the self-pat-in-the-back that was hilarious to me:
"(...) we are a different-looking group. They had one Indian boy with them, but the rest of them looked like they were cut out of the same batch of pizza dough."
This was...My words falter. It's sort of ironic, seeing as the main characters of this book are so one dimensional they are the ones seemingly cut out from the same batch of pizza dough.
I can't even begin to describe my outrage at how POC characters are portrayed in this book, so here's a few quotes that will transmit the idea well:
I was feeling sorry for myself.
Good. I liked feeling sorry for myself."
What message is this suppose to pass to all the Latina girls out there? I'm baffled, but there's more. There's also this gem:
She talked as she mashed some of the chick peas with chili flakes, adding just enough water to make them mushy. Woman stuff. Good.
This quote might honestly the most appalling thing I've ever read, I had to read it about three times to make sure it was really there.
There's also an intense character backstory info dump. Right at the beginning, the way the author finds to reveal details of the group of teenagers is through computer profiles made available by the “leader” in which each character describes many things about themselves all at once. This seemed like a rushed way to make the characters known, and honestly it only allowed that I didn’t remember most of the info further down the line. Because this was dropped at the beginning and all at once.
The interactions between characters are so rushed, flat and hold no emotion that I found it hard to connect in either way, or to feel anything for their relationships at all. Things are said out of the blue (like when Dahlia invites Michael to come in and he says "no" then continues talking without a pause).
The narrative is weird, it's filled with periods and too many stops. I know this is supposed to convey Dahlia’s analytical way of thinking, but when I’m reading it gives everything a weird flow and makes it harder to get into the writing. It give the reader nothing to explore, nothing to feel, it just tells the reader things and leaves room for nothing.
For example:
I was so friggin' down.
Jerk awake. Turn on the light. Check the time. Four-fifteen. A moment of panic. I'm up! I'm dressed. Check the time. Four eighteen. Oh, okay.
This happens a lot and I feel like maybe it could be countered with a change of POVs or something similar, so as to not tire the reader's attention spam so much.
Also, some of the ideas were too unrealistic. It's absolutely plausible that corporations basically own our lives and may grow to do so much more in the future if we let them. But there's a passage in the book that says that schools were globally closed because the government was giving out free tablets and computers.
The actual quote that summarizes this is: What did you need schools for if the curriculum apps were available?
I mean, really? It's just too far-fetched. School isn't just a place you go to read things on a book (which you could do with the apps just fine), it's the entire social, academical and sometimes cultural experience and I don't think a well-built PDF of every subject would ever bring it down. It sounds unrealistic to me and just a way to not bother with a bigger universe. Even if there was a chance this would happen, there's not even mentions of riots or similar protests regarding this matter, which I'm sure would have happen in this case.
Either way, good idea, nice attempt at a cast of characters, but too badly executed for me to keep my interest enough to finish it.
May 10, 2020
I started and restarted reading this book three times over the last couple months until finally I made myself finish it. I was often confused about the characters and the plot of the story and wondered what I was missing. Around page 90 the story picks up but still is odd. I can tell that the young characters are meant to inspire and empower other young people to speak up and take action against a powerful agency/government that is harming Earth's inhabitants, but the story makes huge leaps in action that don't seem probable and the dialogue falls flat.
December 16, 2017
Cover on this book looked cool and it fit a challenge that I was working on but unfortunately that was all I really got from this novel.
The story felt very disjointed and all over the place. I didn't really care about the characters and the amount of indecision throughout the whole thing is enough to drive someone mad.
Meh
The story felt very disjointed and all over the place. I didn't really care about the characters and the amount of indecision throughout the whole thing is enough to drive someone mad.
Meh
March 12, 2020
The future holds things no one knows will happen. A world where no governement holds power of its country, but instead companies that dictate everything in someone's daily life will be possible in the near future. There are already companies like Amazon, and Google who control tons of companies and services all around the world, and this book makes me wonder if one day they will control society.
January 26, 2019
This book was really disappointing. The plot seemed interesting but once I got into the book it was downhill from there. This book is a really quick read, as it has about 220 pages and massive text. Overall I would not recommend it.
January 28, 2019
Really like the other Walter Dean Myers books that I’ve read but this one was not on the same level. Some of it was the way his female main character talked about others. Encourage mail writers to have female characters but this one didn’t work very well.
January 21, 2017
Unfortunately, this book was not as interesting as I had hoped it would be. Perhaps it is just me, but I am not quite sure what the group of character do to, well... to save the world.
January 4, 2019
It was boring & I couldn’t follow it...
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