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Bubble World
Freesia's life is perfect. She lives on the beautiful tropical island of Agalinas, surrounded by idyllic weather, fancy dress shops, and peacocks who sing her favorite song to wake her up in the morning. She has so many outfits she could wear a different one every day for a year and not run out. Lately things on the island may have been a bit sudden blackouts, students disappearing, even Freesia's reflection looking slightly . . . off. But in Freesia's experience, it's better not to think about things like that too much. Unfortunately for her, these signs are more than random blips in the universe. In Bubble World by Carol Snow, Freesia's perfect bubble is about to pop.
352 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2013
18 people are currently reading
1147 people want to read
About the author
Carol Snow
40 books226 followersCalled “an author to watch” by Booklist, Carol Snow is an American author of contemporary women’s fiction and young adult literature. After graduating from Brown University with a degree in psychology, she spent many years writing literary short stories before accepting that she couldn't go more than a few hundred words without cracking a joke. She eventually turned her attention to crafting humorous, heartfelt stories with a wider commercial appeal, and In 2006, Berkley/Penguin published her first novel, Been There, Done That, which Publisher's Weekly called “humorous, wise . . . romance with a bit of social commentary.” Since then, she has written four more books for adults, Getting Warmer (2007), Here Today, Gone to Maui (2009), Just Like Me, Only Better (2010), and the upcoming What Came First (2011), about which Laura Fitzgerald, bestselling author of Veil of Roses, said, “Carol Snow mixes her trademark humor with tenderness and understanding in this good-mom/bad-mom tale of unexpected twists and turns.” Carol has also written two young adult books for HarperCollins, Switch (2008), an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and Snap (2009). Foreign rights to her books have sold to publishers in Germany, Norway, and Romania.
Carol Snow grew up in New Jersey. Much of her childhood was spent immersed in books; the rest was focused on avoiding dodgeball. In addition to her psychology degree from Brown University, she holds an M.A.T. in English from Boston College. Before getting her first book published, she had the typical (for a writer) assortment of odd jobs: tour guide, tutor, chambermaid, waitress. She worked for a T-shirt company, a child services agency, and a vanity press. She even had a short stint in local politics. Her campaign brochures were really pretty, with flawless punctuation.
Since leaving New Jersey, Carol has lived all over the place: Rhode Island, London, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Utah, Arizona, and, now, Southern California, where she shares a cat-fur-coated house with her husband and their two children.
Carol Snow grew up in New Jersey. Much of her childhood was spent immersed in books; the rest was focused on avoiding dodgeball. In addition to her psychology degree from Brown University, she holds an M.A.T. in English from Boston College. Before getting her first book published, she had the typical (for a writer) assortment of odd jobs: tour guide, tutor, chambermaid, waitress. She worked for a T-shirt company, a child services agency, and a vanity press. She even had a short stint in local politics. Her campaign brochures were really pretty, with flawless punctuation.
Since leaving New Jersey, Carol has lived all over the place: Rhode Island, London, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Utah, Arizona, and, now, Southern California, where she shares a cat-fur-coated house with her husband and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
May 26, 2015
This book kind of melted my brain, and not in an awesome way. More like in the way your brain gets fried if you watch a thousand episodes of The Only Way Is Essex back-to-back. I imagine.
So the premise of the book is that our MC, Freesia, lives on a beautiful island called Agalinas, where she is beautiful and slim, where peacocks wake her up every morning by singing her pop songs, where her wardrobe is so big she wouldn’t have to repeat an outfit for a year and where she takes classes like Advanced Eye Make Up at her high school.
Sadly for Freesia, Agalinas isn’t real. In reality, she is an ordinary-looking girl living in a town in Arizona, immersed in a 24-7 virtual reality world.
The author has an engaging way of writing that made this a quick, easy read but largely this book didn’t work out well for me and because I hate trashing books, I’m going to explain exactly why. Because, hey, what didn’t work for me might be perfectly good reading for someone else. Warning: spoilers ahead.
The plot of this book started off interestingly, with this shallow, superficial virtual world, and it had me wondering where it was going to go. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. Freesia starts off in Bubble World, commits and infraction, gets kicked out, re-adjusts to the real world, gets re-admitted to Bubble World and then decides to go home. And that’s pretty much it.
I just felt like this book could have been so much more than it was. Bubble World is so saccharine-sweet, so flaky and shallow, so totally devoted to instant gratification, that I think her real-world home should have been a lot more raw and gritty in comparison to add a better contrast. Instead, her home in Arizona was comfortably middle-class, her high school was okay (although not as beautiful as Agalinas) and she made friends within about thirty seconds of arriving back.
There was no real tension in Freesia’s situation. It would have been better if there was some nefarious reason for all these children to be in Bubble World, like their life energy was being harvested, or their brain waves were being used to design new super-weapons without their knowing. Something.
I didn’t understand why the creator of the Bubble World programme made everything so superficial. The reason he gave was that children don’t flourish in traditional educational environments, but he wasn’t exactly churning our future Einsteins with Bubble World. And did he not think he’d get found out when the kids returned to the real world and couldn't add two and two without using their fingers?
I also couldn’t work out why any parent would sign their child up for Bubble World. At all. To completely immerse your child in a virtual world - night and day - without having any access to what your child is doing, or any idea what they’re learning (in this case, nothing whatsoever) just doesn’t sound like something parents would do. I know parents send their children to boarding schools, which I guess would be the closest analogy, but they’re still in the real world, with real experiences and real people.
This issue came to a head for me towards the end of the book, when Freesia is described as having ‘drool on [her] chin, matted and flat hair and dead eyes’. What parent would be happy viewing their child through a plexiglass bubble, looking like that every single day?
Freesia’s parents tell her that their reason for sending her to Bubble World was that she had no friends. Well, boo hoo. That’s life, love. You get knocked back and you get up and try again - it’s called emotional development. Any parent who’d deprive their children of that are dumb and deserve to have their kids taken into care.
The worldbuilding was good and I got a real sense of what Bubble World looks and feels like, but the world was so Barbie-like that I was surprised how anyone could have stood it for more than a day. Just reading about it was like eating a whole jar of marshmallow fluff in one go. Even the slang words they use were too twee for me: sips and nibbles for drink and food, squiggy for crazy, wiggy for angry, de-vicious for attractive, fizz for flirt. Didn’t work for me.
And Freesia. Oh my word. I’ve read a lot of books in my life, but she is a contender for Most Shallow Character Ever. All she cares about is having enough pretty clothes and she judges people solely based on their appearance. She doesn’t grow as a character. Even at the end of the book, when she decides to stay in the real world, she gives this as her reason:
“I don’t want to live in a world without Pop-Tarts.”
Gah!
So the premise of the book is that our MC, Freesia, lives on a beautiful island called Agalinas, where she is beautiful and slim, where peacocks wake her up every morning by singing her pop songs, where her wardrobe is so big she wouldn’t have to repeat an outfit for a year and where she takes classes like Advanced Eye Make Up at her high school.
Sadly for Freesia, Agalinas isn’t real. In reality, she is an ordinary-looking girl living in a town in Arizona, immersed in a 24-7 virtual reality world.
The author has an engaging way of writing that made this a quick, easy read but largely this book didn’t work out well for me and because I hate trashing books, I’m going to explain exactly why. Because, hey, what didn’t work for me might be perfectly good reading for someone else. Warning: spoilers ahead.
The plot of this book started off interestingly, with this shallow, superficial virtual world, and it had me wondering where it was going to go. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. Freesia starts off in Bubble World, commits and infraction, gets kicked out, re-adjusts to the real world, gets re-admitted to Bubble World and then decides to go home. And that’s pretty much it.
I just felt like this book could have been so much more than it was. Bubble World is so saccharine-sweet, so flaky and shallow, so totally devoted to instant gratification, that I think her real-world home should have been a lot more raw and gritty in comparison to add a better contrast. Instead, her home in Arizona was comfortably middle-class, her high school was okay (although not as beautiful as Agalinas) and she made friends within about thirty seconds of arriving back.
There was no real tension in Freesia’s situation. It would have been better if there was some nefarious reason for all these children to be in Bubble World, like their life energy was being harvested, or their brain waves were being used to design new super-weapons without their knowing. Something.
I didn’t understand why the creator of the Bubble World programme made everything so superficial. The reason he gave was that children don’t flourish in traditional educational environments, but he wasn’t exactly churning our future Einsteins with Bubble World. And did he not think he’d get found out when the kids returned to the real world and couldn't add two and two without using their fingers?
I also couldn’t work out why any parent would sign their child up for Bubble World. At all. To completely immerse your child in a virtual world - night and day - without having any access to what your child is doing, or any idea what they’re learning (in this case, nothing whatsoever) just doesn’t sound like something parents would do. I know parents send their children to boarding schools, which I guess would be the closest analogy, but they’re still in the real world, with real experiences and real people.
This issue came to a head for me towards the end of the book, when Freesia is described as having ‘drool on [her] chin, matted and flat hair and dead eyes’. What parent would be happy viewing their child through a plexiglass bubble, looking like that every single day?
Freesia’s parents tell her that their reason for sending her to Bubble World was that she had no friends. Well, boo hoo. That’s life, love. You get knocked back and you get up and try again - it’s called emotional development. Any parent who’d deprive their children of that are dumb and deserve to have their kids taken into care.
The worldbuilding was good and I got a real sense of what Bubble World looks and feels like, but the world was so Barbie-like that I was surprised how anyone could have stood it for more than a day. Just reading about it was like eating a whole jar of marshmallow fluff in one go. Even the slang words they use were too twee for me: sips and nibbles for drink and food, squiggy for crazy, wiggy for angry, de-vicious for attractive, fizz for flirt. Didn’t work for me.
And Freesia. Oh my word. I’ve read a lot of books in my life, but she is a contender for Most Shallow Character Ever. All she cares about is having enough pretty clothes and she judges people solely based on their appearance. She doesn’t grow as a character. Even at the end of the book, when she decides to stay in the real world, she gives this as her reason:
“I don’t want to live in a world without Pop-Tarts.”
Gah!
December 17, 2014
Bubble World is utterly bizarre and I loved nearly every word of it! Imagine a world where it's always sunny, warm, and you can do just about anything you want. Where the names are ridiculous and the slang even ridiculouser. And where teachers praise you for admitting you went to a party rather than doing your homework. That is Bubble World aka the island of Agalinas. This is where sixteen year old Freesia lives with her peacocks for alarm clocks and where she studies things like "Foundations of Foundation" and "Lipgloss Technology." All is perfect until blackouts become frequent and her world appears to be glitching. Soon enough we learn that Agalinas isn't entirely real, but it takes a little long for Freesia to find this out.
I loved Bubble World (the book and the place) from the beginning. It put a huge smile on my face from page one, and I was immediately engrossed in this bright and strange world. There is just so much that is not normal about the life Freesia is living, and I had to know more about it! I don't want to give too much away, but just a handful of chapters in, it's revealed that it's all just a simulation. It was suppose to be an educative environment, but clearly, it's not. I still want to go there though! But that's probably not a good thing...
While Bubble World is all good fun and quite funny, it does deal with some serious issues. It appears to be saying a lot about the current state of our world, particularly when it comes to education and technology. More specifically that traditional education is not working for everyone. Every kid is different, and Freesia was one of them. And the alarming amount of time young people (and adults) spend plugged in to their computers and smartphones. It definitely made me more aware of how most of my life revolves around interacting through a screen rather than out in the real world. That said, I'd still like go to Bubble World.
I was prepared to give Bubble World five stars, but it started to lose me toward the end. Of course, in typical Dystopian fashion someone has to go after the evil corporation and make things better for everyone. That's all fine and good, and I still liked that. But on top of this, there seemed to be a stronger focus on weight loss. This I didn't like so much. There is a lot of talk about appearances, but I felt like there was some fat shaming going on. Plus it felt thrown in as an afterthought just to make a point about the fatness of Americans. I'm fat. I'm American. And I love my internet. I don't need my books telling me to go outside and exercise.
Despite that last complaint, Bubble World was amazing. It's entertaining and thought provoking. It was everything I love about reading and I think it needs more love than it's getting!
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
I loved Bubble World (the book and the place) from the beginning. It put a huge smile on my face from page one, and I was immediately engrossed in this bright and strange world. There is just so much that is not normal about the life Freesia is living, and I had to know more about it! I don't want to give too much away, but just a handful of chapters in, it's revealed that it's all just a simulation. It was suppose to be an educative environment, but clearly, it's not. I still want to go there though! But that's probably not a good thing...
While Bubble World is all good fun and quite funny, it does deal with some serious issues. It appears to be saying a lot about the current state of our world, particularly when it comes to education and technology. More specifically that traditional education is not working for everyone. Every kid is different, and Freesia was one of them. And the alarming amount of time young people (and adults) spend plugged in to their computers and smartphones. It definitely made me more aware of how most of my life revolves around interacting through a screen rather than out in the real world. That said, I'd still like go to Bubble World.
I was prepared to give Bubble World five stars, but it started to lose me toward the end. Of course, in typical Dystopian fashion someone has to go after the evil corporation and make things better for everyone. That's all fine and good, and I still liked that. But on top of this, there seemed to be a stronger focus on weight loss. This I didn't like so much. There is a lot of talk about appearances, but I felt like there was some fat shaming going on. Plus it felt thrown in as an afterthought just to make a point about the fatness of Americans. I'm fat. I'm American. And I love my internet. I don't need my books telling me to go outside and exercise.
Despite that last complaint, Bubble World was amazing. It's entertaining and thought provoking. It was everything I love about reading and I think it needs more love than it's getting!
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
July 21, 2013
Stinkerific. The end.
Ok, I'll explain. This book managed to hit some of my bookish pet peeves, which ruined it for me. First off, I really get annoyed when books create words. I understand that sometimes this is needed to help create a setting (like in Scott Westerfield's series). Unfortunately, in Bubble World, instead of adding to the setting it just got annoying... and confused the mess out of me for a good portion of the book. For instance, what the H is "un-utter" supposed to be? Gah! And "scrummy"? You do not describe something that is supposed to be amazing as "scrummy". It looks too much like scummy; therefore, it's a terrible choice in made up words. If you're making crap up, at least make it make sense.
Pet peeve #2 that was breached: superficial characters. Not a single character in this book made an impact on me, except for maybe the 10 lines the English teacher had towards the end. Freesia/Francine is an idiot. Spending time in Bubble World just makes her more of one when she returns. I'm struggling to find something redeeming. Her family should be taken outside and tied to a tree and left to the elements. What a bunch of a-holes. I hated them all. Her dad might have been okay, but he wasn't around enough. Plus, he did everything the crazy mom wanted, which just made him seem spineless. Psycho mom was too much. She was horribly self-absorbed and all over the place. The phrase "sell out" comes to mind when thinking about her, which made her credibility plummet. Not that she had much/any to behind with. Then there is the sister- Angel. OMG. What a whiny brat. I would have slapped her. Several times.
Bad characters lead me to pet peeve #3: unanswered questions. There are so many things that were not resolved. For instance, what is up with Angel? Why does she keep saying no one likes her? A little explanation would be nice. Then there are the old friends/enemies of Freesia/Francine. Erin's role I understand, but what's the deal with the other girl? Why is Angel connected to this chick? I'd like that explained. This book also needs more back story for why the parents were okay with hooking their brilliant child up to a tube for 3 years without ever really following up. Even for a dystopian type book, that is not believable.
I could keep ranting, but I'm not finding this book very "de-vicious" (yeah, another stupid slang word). It's irking me to think about it. I do not recommend reading this book. In fact, you should probably go scrub your toilets or give the cat a bath instead of reading it. At the very least, get it from the library when you have nothing else to read. Do not waste your money on it.
** I'm sorry this sounds so harsh, but I was seriously let down with this one.
Ok, I'll explain. This book managed to hit some of my bookish pet peeves, which ruined it for me. First off, I really get annoyed when books create words. I understand that sometimes this is needed to help create a setting (like in Scott Westerfield's series). Unfortunately, in Bubble World, instead of adding to the setting it just got annoying... and confused the mess out of me for a good portion of the book. For instance, what the H is "un-utter" supposed to be? Gah! And "scrummy"? You do not describe something that is supposed to be amazing as "scrummy". It looks too much like scummy; therefore, it's a terrible choice in made up words. If you're making crap up, at least make it make sense.
Pet peeve #2 that was breached: superficial characters. Not a single character in this book made an impact on me, except for maybe the 10 lines the English teacher had towards the end. Freesia/Francine is an idiot. Spending time in Bubble World just makes her more of one when she returns. I'm struggling to find something redeeming. Her family should be taken outside and tied to a tree and left to the elements. What a bunch of a-holes. I hated them all. Her dad might have been okay, but he wasn't around enough. Plus, he did everything the crazy mom wanted, which just made him seem spineless. Psycho mom was too much. She was horribly self-absorbed and all over the place. The phrase "sell out" comes to mind when thinking about her, which made her credibility plummet. Not that she had much/any to behind with. Then there is the sister- Angel. OMG. What a whiny brat. I would have slapped her. Several times.
Bad characters lead me to pet peeve #3: unanswered questions. There are so many things that were not resolved. For instance, what is up with Angel? Why does she keep saying no one likes her? A little explanation would be nice. Then there are the old friends/enemies of Freesia/Francine. Erin's role I understand, but what's the deal with the other girl? Why is Angel connected to this chick? I'd like that explained. This book also needs more back story for why the parents were okay with hooking their brilliant child up to a tube for 3 years without ever really following up. Even for a dystopian type book, that is not believable.
I could keep ranting, but I'm not finding this book very "de-vicious" (yeah, another stupid slang word). It's irking me to think about it. I do not recommend reading this book. In fact, you should probably go scrub your toilets or give the cat a bath instead of reading it. At the very least, get it from the library when you have nothing else to read. Do not waste your money on it.
** I'm sorry this sounds so harsh, but I was seriously let down with this one.
May 20, 2014
Feels like there was a deeper message but not sure it was clearly presented... The characters were flat and frankly largely odious... The dialogue was clueless in dystopia or utopia... Yet I turned the pages anyway... I tried to avoid spoilers... An intriguing title, tag line and cover got my attention.... There were echoes of Truman Show... Things that were foreshadowed and fizzled... Stairs anyone? Very hard book to rate... I think it would be a popular book in middle school especially among female readers and one that could inspire discussion on a host of topics ranging from school and testing to sedentary lifestyle to over reliance on technology... Unique... Was it good, that I don't know!
May 15, 2023
2023
2020
I really cute read, definitely not a complicated read, but adorable just the same. Freesia lives in a perfect little bubble where everything is perfect and shiny and happy. But she makes some major mistakes that get her sent back to the real world where it's a bit more difficult to find your happy place. I really liked watching Freesia learn to be a real human instead of the insanely annoying persona she was at the beginning of the novel. It was fun to watch her mature into a much more interesting person. I wish certain other people in the novel could have learned just as much as she did throughout their journeys.
2020
I really cute read, definitely not a complicated read, but adorable just the same. Freesia lives in a perfect little bubble where everything is perfect and shiny and happy. But she makes some major mistakes that get her sent back to the real world where it's a bit more difficult to find your happy place. I really liked watching Freesia learn to be a real human instead of the insanely annoying persona she was at the beginning of the novel. It was fun to watch her mature into a much more interesting person. I wish certain other people in the novel could have learned just as much as she did throughout their journeys.
May 24, 2017
I was debating between 3 and 4 stars on this one, because although I found it pretty good (it was intriguing and I didn't expect the main twist) the ending left me very disappointing. I felt cheated when I finished because that last little twist, which was all that swayed Freesia's decision in the end, had been visited earlier on in the book, but it was dismissed. So for the author to come in and say "Oh, never mind, ignore what I said before!" really ticked me off.
But overall I thought it was a good read and would be great for discussions.
I think it's fine for any age (absolutely no content besides a few kisses), I think that its main targets are pre-teens and teens.
But overall I thought it was a good read and would be great for discussions.
I think it's fine for any age (absolutely no content besides a few kisses), I think that its main targets are pre-teens and teens.
Read
December 23, 2023once upon a time i read this book and i remember being fully submerged in this world and seeing everything play out in my mind so much that at 21 years old i am having vague flashbacks and memories from this book that i now want to hunt down a copy of this book and read it again.
September 14, 2018
This is one of those books that you think about even when you're not reading it. Figuring out how you would feel about it, how you'd react, what you'd do. It's kind of like an itch you can't quite scratch...not quite sure what to do about it. I even wish there was a sequel mainly to see if things go how I've thought through in my head. Very interesting read, but strange in an excellent way.
July 23, 2013
I honestly knew little about BUBBLE WORLD before I picked it up. This knowledge was limited to the cover – Barbies in a fish bowl – and the synopsis, which didn’t give many clues other than dystopian leading toward apocalyptic perhaps. This book has pretty much been a mystery to me other than being labeled as science fiction/contemporary, and to reveal too much about it gives away stuff that you don’t see on the synopsis. Well, I’ll try to deal with this issue as best as I can by comparing it to The Matrix.
Sadly, it wasn’t that part of The Matrix that BUBBLE WORLD is reminiscent of. Damn, if someone would write THAT book, I’d be down. But don’t worry, I am not going to spoil everything, but imagine if Neo and Trinity were actually Ken and Barbie, vapid, and actually only like 17. Then you’d have BUBBLE WORLD.
FREESIA MEETS REALITY
Here is my main problem with BUBBLE WORLD – the first fifty pages before we get to the twist which changes the book into an exciting page-turner are really, really not good. Unless you are really into watching a girl walk around talking about how pretty she is, how awesome her life is, and every single outfit in her wardrobe. But on the island of Agalinas, populated with nothing more than the hottest people in the world (and obviously the hottest teenagers), this is normal. It’s just very boring, very annoying, and it will no doubt make a number of people DNF this book before they get to the good parts.
But after 50 pages, don’t worry – this book, relying on the strength of its somewhat predictable twist, gets going. It blends family drama, self-esteem issues, corporate espionage, and consumerism while being quite scary in a sense. This is really how our world is becoming, one based more on the laurels of getting what you want than actually having something to contribute to society, like skills and ambition. In Agalinas, ambition is relegated to having the most clothes and the biggest house versus things like getting a great education and into a good college.
Freesia’s growth as she begins to unravel the problems with Agalinas is exceptional, albeit compromised by her conditions and those around her. But Freesia really did grow on me from the first 50 pages, I have to give her that, and she was one of my favorite parts of this entire book.
ENDINGS DON’T HAPPEN IN FIVE PAGES
My biggest two problems with this book, though, are the beginning and the ending. After we spend 50 pages in the beginning doing set up about Agalinas and rubbing it into our minds by force that Agalinas is enthralled with shopping and houses and inexplicable things that add up to one big consumerist fairy tale, Snow spends about one chapter dragging this story to a halt kicking and screaming. As such, the ending definitely suffers. Books can rarely be wrapped up in a few pages, and BUBBLE WORLD deserved more pages and more time to tie up threads. As it is, it’s like the story slams on breaks before crashing into a brick wall, and in the end the bumper gets crushed but the occupants are okay. It’s not a great ending, but it’s far from horrible in the long run.
But what can I really say about BUBBLE WORLD without spoiling it? Not much, just that I would definitely recommend this one to people who are into fast-paced moral young adult novels that have a lesson. BUBBLE WORLD is a fable about the excesses of life and the need to focus on simpler things, all while providing some definite entertainment.
VERDICT: While BUBBLE WORLD has a horrible beginning and a car crash ending, it’s a consumerist-age fable that will appeal to teens looking for something reminiscent of The Matrix but not as violent. Check it out.
Sadly, it wasn’t that part of The Matrix that BUBBLE WORLD is reminiscent of. Damn, if someone would write THAT book, I’d be down. But don’t worry, I am not going to spoil everything, but imagine if Neo and Trinity were actually Ken and Barbie, vapid, and actually only like 17. Then you’d have BUBBLE WORLD.
FREESIA MEETS REALITY
Here is my main problem with BUBBLE WORLD – the first fifty pages before we get to the twist which changes the book into an exciting page-turner are really, really not good. Unless you are really into watching a girl walk around talking about how pretty she is, how awesome her life is, and every single outfit in her wardrobe. But on the island of Agalinas, populated with nothing more than the hottest people in the world (and obviously the hottest teenagers), this is normal. It’s just very boring, very annoying, and it will no doubt make a number of people DNF this book before they get to the good parts.
But after 50 pages, don’t worry – this book, relying on the strength of its somewhat predictable twist, gets going. It blends family drama, self-esteem issues, corporate espionage, and consumerism while being quite scary in a sense. This is really how our world is becoming, one based more on the laurels of getting what you want than actually having something to contribute to society, like skills and ambition. In Agalinas, ambition is relegated to having the most clothes and the biggest house versus things like getting a great education and into a good college.
Freesia’s growth as she begins to unravel the problems with Agalinas is exceptional, albeit compromised by her conditions and those around her. But Freesia really did grow on me from the first 50 pages, I have to give her that, and she was one of my favorite parts of this entire book.
ENDINGS DON’T HAPPEN IN FIVE PAGES
My biggest two problems with this book, though, are the beginning and the ending. After we spend 50 pages in the beginning doing set up about Agalinas and rubbing it into our minds by force that Agalinas is enthralled with shopping and houses and inexplicable things that add up to one big consumerist fairy tale, Snow spends about one chapter dragging this story to a halt kicking and screaming. As such, the ending definitely suffers. Books can rarely be wrapped up in a few pages, and BUBBLE WORLD deserved more pages and more time to tie up threads. As it is, it’s like the story slams on breaks before crashing into a brick wall, and in the end the bumper gets crushed but the occupants are okay. It’s not a great ending, but it’s far from horrible in the long run.
But what can I really say about BUBBLE WORLD without spoiling it? Not much, just that I would definitely recommend this one to people who are into fast-paced moral young adult novels that have a lesson. BUBBLE WORLD is a fable about the excesses of life and the need to focus on simpler things, all while providing some definite entertainment.
VERDICT: While BUBBLE WORLD has a horrible beginning and a car crash ending, it’s a consumerist-age fable that will appeal to teens looking for something reminiscent of The Matrix but not as violent. Check it out.
July 2, 2013
Freesia Summers is living the perfect teenage life on the perfectly maintained island of Agalinas. She doesn't have to do anything borrifying (like learn fractions or read books), has more clothes than most stores, and has the perfect bestie. And when blackouts start happening in broad daylight and people start to disappear, Freesia finds that it's much easier not to think about it. Because she's used to it. Not thinking, that is.
Both the book blurb and the cover point to a dystopian novel similar to something like Scott Westerfeld's Uglies or even Brave New World where humans have achieved some cycle of beautiful bliss, but by some stroke of genius, AKA Carol Snow, it's not. This 'dystopia' has a very modern twist to it making it more relatable and original. It makes a once vapid narrator funny. I mean, by the end, we can actually feel empathy for this girl who is re-learning her fractions. The world is realistic and the family dynamics are very well-done. And really, the entire plot is so close to home that people are successfully working on that technology today.
Overall, I found this book unique and engaging. It brings up many points to think about: from being a parent to "What is real?" while slipping in clever humor. Despite an abrupt ending, I would certainly recommend this novel to anyone. (Okay, maybe not a guy because Freesia does get pretty into the fashion descriptions and shallowness in the beginning half.)
Cover Review:
For an unknown reason, I found the cover simply hilarious when I first picked up the book. The plastic dolls in their little paradise within a bubble really set the tone for the book. Just a little bit of creepy lurking behind a whole lot of fake perfection. And the two-dimensional clouds were a nice touch.
Both the book blurb and the cover point to a dystopian novel similar to something like Scott Westerfeld's Uglies or even Brave New World where humans have achieved some cycle of beautiful bliss, but by some stroke of genius, AKA Carol Snow, it's not. This 'dystopia' has a very modern twist to it making it more relatable and original. It makes a once vapid narrator funny. I mean, by the end, we can actually feel empathy for this girl who is re-learning her fractions. The world is realistic and the family dynamics are very well-done. And really, the entire plot is so close to home that people are successfully working on that technology today.
Overall, I found this book unique and engaging. It brings up many points to think about: from being a parent to "What is real?" while slipping in clever humor. Despite an abrupt ending, I would certainly recommend this novel to anyone. (Okay, maybe not a guy because Freesia does get pretty into the fashion descriptions and shallowness in the beginning half.)
Cover Review:
For an unknown reason, I found the cover simply hilarious when I first picked up the book. The plastic dolls in their little paradise within a bubble really set the tone for the book. Just a little bit of creepy lurking behind a whole lot of fake perfection. And the two-dimensional clouds were a nice touch.
June 16, 2014
*I read an ARC won through Goodreads.*
Utterly un-utter.
Okay, so first of all, I feel like I perhaps wasn't the target audience for this book, so if you're a tween girl, maybe skip my review. (Or if you like tween girl books. Don't be ashamed!)
This book is a dystopian, but it's not a traditional dystopian. The protagonist, a teenage girl, cares more about shopping than anything. And that's not a stereotype I'm putting on her, she really does. Anyway, she lives on an island called Agnalias, which is very abnormal. She wakes up to peacocks singing her favorite song, her 'Mummy' is all too sweet and focused on her, and her classes are, well, dumb. Sorry, I mean 'non traditional.' Basically, she goes to class to eat snacks and talk to her friends. Her teachers don't care; they even encourage this behavior. And they have Serfs. Because that's not idiotic. (Sorry, again.) The problem arises when a blackout leaves her in a dark room that she doesn't recognize, near people that seem to know her. Which world is real, and, more importantly, which one does Freesia want to be real?
On a positive note, this book had an interesting concept.
On a negative note, it was a very annoying book. The characters were all cardboard cutouts. Even the few characters that I liked were boring. What's more, the slang used by the islanders was so annoying. I get that it was warranted, as any isolated community of teenagers would create their own slang, but it was annoying nonetheless.
I would like to say, though, that for most of the latter part of the book, I kind of liked it. I think that in about fifth or sixth grade, I might have liked this book. It was hard to rate it, as I didn't feel that it deserved either 2 or 3 stars. I decided on 2, however, because of the characters.
Utterly un-utter.
Okay, so first of all, I feel like I perhaps wasn't the target audience for this book, so if you're a tween girl, maybe skip my review. (Or if you like tween girl books. Don't be ashamed!)
This book is a dystopian, but it's not a traditional dystopian. The protagonist, a teenage girl, cares more about shopping than anything. And that's not a stereotype I'm putting on her, she really does. Anyway, she lives on an island called Agnalias, which is very abnormal. She wakes up to peacocks singing her favorite song, her 'Mummy' is all too sweet and focused on her, and her classes are, well, dumb. Sorry, I mean 'non traditional.' Basically, she goes to class to eat snacks and talk to her friends. Her teachers don't care; they even encourage this behavior. And they have Serfs. Because that's not idiotic. (Sorry, again.) The problem arises when a blackout leaves her in a dark room that she doesn't recognize, near people that seem to know her. Which world is real, and, more importantly, which one does Freesia want to be real?
On a positive note, this book had an interesting concept.
On a negative note, it was a very annoying book. The characters were all cardboard cutouts. Even the few characters that I liked were boring. What's more, the slang used by the islanders was so annoying. I get that it was warranted, as any isolated community of teenagers would create their own slang, but it was annoying nonetheless.
I would like to say, though, that for most of the latter part of the book, I kind of liked it. I think that in about fifth or sixth grade, I might have liked this book. It was hard to rate it, as I didn't feel that it deserved either 2 or 3 stars. I decided on 2, however, because of the characters.
November 7, 2013
I almost didn't read this book because of some of the reviews on here, and that will teach me for putting stock in reviews. I must have read five that said this was for middle schoolers. No way.
This book uses surface shallowness to get to the heart of some very deep issues: body confidence, self confidence, the value of other people's opinions, how your parents treat you, what is "real", and much more. The only thing that I wished Snow had touched on more here was the value of education. Of course, I'm an adult with an education so that matters to me, but poor Freesia really has the equivalent of an eighth grade education here.
Most interesting is the whole product of the environment study going on here. For example, students of Avalon have invented their own language, morals, and standards. Their pasts have been repressed, the only adult figures present are fake, and the kids have complete control of their world (minus the agreement to "earn" money for attending classes to curtail shopping).
I think this book rocked. I knew going in what was going to happen halfway through because of the reviews and because of the foreshadowing, but I read along looking forward to it. Snow could have bored people to death with Avalon, but instead invents fantastic things to make it more interesting. Yes, Fressia and Jelissa talk like Valley Girls, but how cool is the zipline to school?
The real world, in contrast, is stark and almost painful. I also appreciated the correlations between the virtual state of Bubble World vs the contraption we use in the real world to make it more virtual (cellphones, video chat, automated voices, etc. This was a smart read, with a great many jumping off points into great discussions for a book club.
This book uses surface shallowness to get to the heart of some very deep issues: body confidence, self confidence, the value of other people's opinions, how your parents treat you, what is "real", and much more. The only thing that I wished Snow had touched on more here was the value of education. Of course, I'm an adult with an education so that matters to me, but poor Freesia really has the equivalent of an eighth grade education here.
Most interesting is the whole product of the environment study going on here. For example, students of Avalon have invented their own language, morals, and standards. Their pasts have been repressed, the only adult figures present are fake, and the kids have complete control of their world (minus the agreement to "earn" money for attending classes to curtail shopping).
I think this book rocked. I knew going in what was going to happen halfway through because of the reviews and because of the foreshadowing, but I read along looking forward to it. Snow could have bored people to death with Avalon, but instead invents fantastic things to make it more interesting. Yes, Fressia and Jelissa talk like Valley Girls, but how cool is the zipline to school?
The real world, in contrast, is stark and almost painful. I also appreciated the correlations between the virtual state of Bubble World vs the contraption we use in the real world to make it more virtual (cellphones, video chat, automated voices, etc. This was a smart read, with a great many jumping off points into great discussions for a book club.
March 13, 2014
This was an impulse pickup because I thought the cover was cute and intriguing, you really can't judge a book by its cover.
This is a story of Freesia called Free by her "friendlies" of which she has many in her idyllic life where school centers around snacks and chats, the post school day is filled with rounds of parties all filled with attractive clothes and people.
Except that's not really what the story is about as you find out about a third of the way through.This starts slow and by the time you get to the "ta-da" moment you're not really liking any of the characters.
I can't figure out if we're supposed to want to be part of the vapid crowd of Free and friendlies or repulsed by them. I will admit to despising the parents for being so careless with their kids. I wonder what the book's message is for the teen audience it's meant to attract.
This is a story of Freesia called Free by her "friendlies" of which she has many in her idyllic life where school centers around snacks and chats, the post school day is filled with rounds of parties all filled with attractive clothes and people.
Except that's not really what the story is about as you find out about a third of the way through.This starts slow and by the time you get to the "ta-da" moment you're not really liking any of the characters.
I can't figure out if we're supposed to want to be part of the vapid crowd of Free and friendlies or repulsed by them. I will admit to despising the parents for being so careless with their kids. I wonder what the book's message is for the teen audience it's meant to attract.
June 5, 2013
What struck me about the book is that it's a totally new take on dystopian fiction where the dystopia in question is our modern world. Very orginal. Also, it brings up ways in which technology affects our relationships and keeps us apart from one another. A great read/
June 16, 2015
Overall, I really liked this book. The only thing I is-is that this book isnt for everyone..I know a lot of people that would probably hate this book. I think the concept of this book and the way the author wrote and imagined this book was really cool and creative.
January 16, 2020
The thing I liked the most about this book was how visual it was. The imagery was strong that I could easily imagine where it was taking place. The rest of the book wasn't that great. From the first page to about 200 it was amazing the last 100 pages I felt that they were like placeholders.
March 24, 2013
Loved this book! Perfect summer read for young adults and young at heart adults. Very creative story which held my attention all the way to the end. Hoping for a sequel!
December 19, 2025
This isn't a book; it’s a literary hate crime. Bubble World by Carol Snow is a 300-page evidence locker for why the publishing industry deserves to collapse. If I were trapped in a room with a shredder and this book, I’d throw myself into the shredder just to spare my eyes from another sentence of this radioactive sludge.
Carol Snow has managed the impossible: she has written a protagonist so lobotomized, so pathologically shallow, and so aggressively irritating that Freesia makes a head of cabbage look like a Nobel Laureate. Freesia isn't a character; she is a sentient void, a shrieking pile of neon-pink entitlement that survives solely on a diet of narcissism and "de-vicious" aesthetics. Watching her "struggle" to adapt to the real world is like watching a spoiled poodle cry because its diamond-encrusted bowl is slightly off-center. I didn't want her to find her identity; I wanted her to be sucked into a digital black hole and erased from the collective memory of the human race.
The writing style is a neurological toxin. Snow’s attempt at "teen speak" is a war crime. The dialogue is a staccato of "wiggy," "squiggy," and "face link"—a dialect so nauseatingly fake it feels like someone is scrubbing your brain with a rusty SOS pad. It’s the kind of prose written by someone who has clearly never spoken to a human child and instead gets their information from discarded 1990s cereal boxes. It is patronizing, it is intellectually insulting, and it is a relentless assault on the very concept of grammar.
The plot is a stagnant pool of tepid vomit. The premise—parents medically inducing a coma in their child so she can live in a virtual Barbie dream house—is a horrifying, dystopian concept that a competent writer could have used to eviscerate modern society. Instead, Snow handles it with the nuance of a sledgehammer wrapped in marshmallow fluff. There are no stakes. There is no tension. There is no intelligence. Every "conflict" is resolved with a level of convenience that mocks the reader’s basic cognitive functions.
Reading this book is a form of self-mutilation. It is a soul-crushing, time-thieving, IQ-lowering disaster that serves no purpose other than to prove that trees died in vain. I don’t just want my money back; I want the hours of my life back, and I want an official decree banning Carol Snow from ever touching a keyboard again. If you value your sanity, your dignity, or the basic sanctity of the written word, stay as far away from this "de-vicious" pile of garbage as humanly possible. This book belongs in a lead-lined casket buried at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Zero stars. Negative stars. An absolute, total, and unforgivable failure of the human spirit.
Carol Snow has managed the impossible: she has written a protagonist so lobotomized, so pathologically shallow, and so aggressively irritating that Freesia makes a head of cabbage look like a Nobel Laureate. Freesia isn't a character; she is a sentient void, a shrieking pile of neon-pink entitlement that survives solely on a diet of narcissism and "de-vicious" aesthetics. Watching her "struggle" to adapt to the real world is like watching a spoiled poodle cry because its diamond-encrusted bowl is slightly off-center. I didn't want her to find her identity; I wanted her to be sucked into a digital black hole and erased from the collective memory of the human race.
The writing style is a neurological toxin. Snow’s attempt at "teen speak" is a war crime. The dialogue is a staccato of "wiggy," "squiggy," and "face link"—a dialect so nauseatingly fake it feels like someone is scrubbing your brain with a rusty SOS pad. It’s the kind of prose written by someone who has clearly never spoken to a human child and instead gets their information from discarded 1990s cereal boxes. It is patronizing, it is intellectually insulting, and it is a relentless assault on the very concept of grammar.
The plot is a stagnant pool of tepid vomit. The premise—parents medically inducing a coma in their child so she can live in a virtual Barbie dream house—is a horrifying, dystopian concept that a competent writer could have used to eviscerate modern society. Instead, Snow handles it with the nuance of a sledgehammer wrapped in marshmallow fluff. There are no stakes. There is no tension. There is no intelligence. Every "conflict" is resolved with a level of convenience that mocks the reader’s basic cognitive functions.
Reading this book is a form of self-mutilation. It is a soul-crushing, time-thieving, IQ-lowering disaster that serves no purpose other than to prove that trees died in vain. I don’t just want my money back; I want the hours of my life back, and I want an official decree banning Carol Snow from ever touching a keyboard again. If you value your sanity, your dignity, or the basic sanctity of the written word, stay as far away from this "de-vicious" pile of garbage as humanly possible. This book belongs in a lead-lined casket buried at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Zero stars. Negative stars. An absolute, total, and unforgivable failure of the human spirit.
March 14, 2023
"Bubble World" by Carol Snow is an intriguing and thrilling book that follows the life of Freesia, a girl who lives on a perfect tropical island called Agalinas. She is surrounded by idyllic weather, elegant clothing stores, and peacocks that sing her favorite song to wake her up in the morning. However, strange things begin to happen on the island, such as sudden blackouts and students disappearing. Freesia tries to ignore these events, but they are signs that her perfect bubble is about to burst. Carol Snow's writing is engaging and captivating, keeping the reader hooked until the end. This book is a must-read for those who enjoy mystery and suspense stories with a touch of science fiction. Overall, the story is engaging enough to keep the reader motivated to continue reading.
February 13, 2024
It was just so anticlimactic. I would’ve wanted her to continue on after she leaves bubble world, see her find Ricky and get him to leave too. But he just stays there???? And Jelissa being fake was heartbreaking like this whole time??!! And there the unresolved plot of Erin and hers friendship, and the whole thing with Adam. It was a really good book, should’ve been longer. Would definitely read a sequel
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2017
I had read this when I was 10, and if you'd had asked me then how I felt I would've said, "OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE IT!" But now, I see it more critically. The idea and overall story was amazing. However, Freesia is not the most relatable character even though she's supposed to be. This book would definitely be for a young audience around nine-ish.
June 12, 2024
I really would like to know if Greta Gerwig read this book before making Barbie as the premise of Bubble World is so similar to Barbieland that it's almost the exact same plot line, the only difference being that Freesia is around 16 and has a family and Barbie doesn't.
Overall I did enjoy the book, it was a light read
Overall I did enjoy the book, it was a light read
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July 5, 20182018- The storyline sounds intriguing: it's about a girl named Feesia who lives on a perfect utopian island. Lately, she has noticed odd things beginning to happen. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't a horribly written book that I felt bad I spent $3.00 on. Not good at all.
August 19, 2018
Freesia's one of those people who you see going to rescue like a pidgeon whos collapsed after one too many funnel cakes.
"Oh honey. Why did you ever think that was a good idea."
Yet, ya still will invite her to Sunday brunch. What? She does wonders for the ego!
"Oh honey. Why did you ever think that was a good idea."
Yet, ya still will invite her to Sunday brunch. What? She does wonders for the ego!
February 1, 2020
Boring, very drug out with a very shallow story line kept waiting for something to happen and it gave some kind of climax but was disappointed and then it just ended with no resolution and felt incomplete...
April 10, 2020
This book was okay. I personally enjoyed it a lot but I’m just a plot lover and really enjoyed this story. Characters are kinda not really deep in anyway. I feel that she really has to go through a lot having to join a completely new world and having to learn real things.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2020
This book is so nice I bought it twice....on accident. I know they say that you should not judge a book by its cover, but with Bubble World, I just couldn't help it. It is a familiar concept but the story in entertaining overall.
August 4, 2025
This is one of my all-time childhood classic stories. I have gone back to reread it so many times because the meaning and directive behind this story promotes so many different messages and the plots are insane, i absolutely love.
November 9, 2017
It was a really interesting idea but it was executed in a way that could’ve been better
January 22, 2019
Very easy read. Enjoyed it from the very beginning.
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