The Evolution of Claire

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom #1

by Tess Sharpe

Discover the beginnings of one of Jurassic World 's most beloved characters--Claire Dearing--in this original action-packed young adult novel.

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom releases in theaters on June 22, 2018, bringing with it all the wonder, adventure, and thrills of one of the most popular and successful franchises in cinema history. This all-new motion picture event sees the return of favorite characters and dinosaurs including Blue, the Velociraptor; Tyrannosaurus rex; and Mosasaurus--along with new breeds more awe-inspiring and terrifying than ever before!

During the events of Jurassic World, Claire Dearing faced the savage fury of dinosaurs unleashed . . . but it wasn't the first time. In this entirely new coming-of-age story, Claire lands an elite internship working for Simon Masrani and soon discovers his plans to build an all-new theme park--Jurassic World! Along the way, Claire establishes valuable relationships with both her peers and the prehistoric creatures she studies, but when the situation turns dangerous, she begins to see the dinosaurs in a different light. Fans of Jurassic World will delight in filling in the gaps of Claire's past, all while gaining insights into the experiences that transformed her into the strong woman we know today.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dinosaurs, Fiction, Adventure, Teen

392 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2018

About the author

I do not read my goodreads mail, but if you'd like to contact me the best way to reach me is tess(at)tess-sharpe.com

Born in a mountain cabin to a punk rocker mother, Tess Sharpe grew up in rural California. She lives deep in the backwoods with a pack of dogs and a growing cabal of slightly feral cats.

Reviews

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was on the fence with this and kept debating with myself. I would go to buy it but keep setting it aside. Kept waiting for my library to have it but they never got it in (probably not enough interest).

So when I found this cheap (for a new release) used I decided to take a chance on it.

I was hoping this would help me understand/like Claire better. I didn't care for her character in the first movie much (Owen I did like, and Mr. Masrani) and the second movie her character was better but still didn't feel a connection at all.

Why? I didn't find her hugely irritating or anything (aside from the writers trying to convince me with her and Owen had any romantic chemistry.. they were good together onscreen but even with the dangerous situations, I didn't buy it. I can understand to a certain extent but otherwise no.) but that "spark" just wasn't there. She was just.. underwhelming.

It almost felt like they were going for the opposite of Ellie in some ways and in others also trying to put some of her qualities into Claire.

Make sense?

Yes I am very attached to the original cast. I wasn't expecting everyone to be likeable and/or carbon copies but I was expecting to be swept into their lives and to care what happened to them. I felt this with Claire's nephews but not her.

As for Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom.. it was "okay." It had its good parts and the special effects were amazing but it felt like the movie version of "second book syndrome."

Now, I only remember parts of Jurassic park 2 but my subconscious must be remember more because I got strong vibes of that movie during my viewing of Fallen Kingdom. My one coworker and I were both discussing this on break at work (think we were relieved that we weren't the only ones thinking it) we both thought the auction scene was ridiculous but agreed the IndoRaptor was awesome . It had good elements and potential but overall felt haphazard and mostly stalled in terms of character development, developing further anyway .There was one plot point with Claire I thought could have been expanded on more. (If you loved it than I'm happy for you but this is my humble opinion).

Former friend and I had a discussion about Claire before I started reading this and his perspective on her I kept in mind (We had different opinions on her but we could both see where the other was coming from... although we both agreed on "romance" minor plotline in the second film being.. unneccessary).

So long rambling over haha, I was seeing if I was judging Claire too harshly. And to have my own opinion after reading a few reviews.
-----

I went into this with an open mind. Besides being a sucker for origin stories and all I said above, the summary provided on here intrigued me. I was curious to see how Jurassic World was before being opened to the public.

Side note: Rexy made a cameo! <3!
Fangirling moment over hehe

Anyways:

Despite me wanting to drop kick Dr. Wu into a lake with our neighborhood water dinosaur these days, it was nice he got more screen time in here. He gets a little more depth in here and we get to see him in his element more. His talk with Claire after a certain event was.. something. (Can't say more with spoiling it but for him it was very touching).

It was neat to see Claire grow during her time in the park and interacting with the other interns. Her friendships with the other girls was fun to watch and her relationship with Justin was so cute. He was such a nice and genuine guy too.

I do wish we had gotten to know some of the interns more, because they seemed really interesting too. Plus, curious to see if any the others ended up working at the park.

The book doesn't move at a fast pace till the intrigue starts (maybe halfway through) and the action near the end but it is never boring. There's always something going on that keeps the story from dragging.

Wyatt did get on my nerves (check status for reactions)... such a little snot even after Justin died, he had to get in a snide remark. I would not have blamed Claire at all if she had ended up hitting him though and I'm pretty sure the other interns plus Masrani and Bertie would have taken her side. He's a spoiled brat with Daddy issues and a sense of entitlement. Thank goodness he didn't have a bigger part.

Although, I was surprised he wasn't the thief. Definitely wasn't expecting the outcome to be what it was. I felt for Eric and Tanya but it doesn't excuse what they did but I can sympathize with why they felt the way they did. This will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Shame on that company using their sister's health against them *glares*

The decision Claire made to ask Mr Masrani to help Victory as a favor to her warmed my heart. The dinner table sections did have me laughing though.

Pearl was a delight... she had me smiling whenever she came onscreen.

This broke my heart Justin dying. I was tearing up the whole time, specially when he and Clare were talking before his last breath. So unfair yet he was so brave and noble it makes you proud of him as well.


There's a few instances where I can see foreshadowing (right word?) of the newest movies, and it caused me to stop and think and look on the whole picture from past to present... and things that Claire does, says, and how she handles things do make more sense now.

Do I like her more? Yes. And I also have more respect for her character as well. I still love the others more but Claire's inching her way in there in her own way :). We shall see what the third movie will have to offer... how can you not be curious with an ending like that? But going off-topic again haha.

Would recommend... it's a good tie-in to the franchise and I hope they do one on Masrani and Owen as well (and another one that continues where this one left off would welcome too *hint hint*)

Plot: 3.5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 3.75 stars

[yuvi • ia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a new favourite!! Wow. This book left me bereft of any words at all. Utterly speechless. Okay, so a confession... I have always been interested in dinosaurs since I was in 5th grade. By 7th grade, I was so obsessed that I had decided to become a palaeontologist- but that was a looong time ago. lolll

Okay, so now for the book.. This book gets too thought provoking at some times, which truly leaves one pondering over some of the harsh realities of the world. A plus point, it is well written and has dinosaurs. P. S. Rexy also makes a cameo.. I never truly cared for Claire's character in JW movies. Never did like her or hate her. So, I don't know what persuaded me to read this book, but I am so glad I did. Claire is shown as a very observant, naive, innocent teenage girl who cares so much for animals. As far as I remember, she wasn't that way in the first movie. Tbh, I am not a fan of new JW movies. The first movie had a lot of potential in the beginning but, it all kinda fell down the slope after about an hour into the movie, and the next two movies were dumb. So, this book was a pleasant surprise. It gave Claire's character a lot of depth. ( Dr. Wu's and Mr Masrani's as well). As for the romance, I never truly shipped Claire and Owen. Their romance always felt kinda forced. So I can believe that they are friends, after everything they went through, but you won't be able to convince they might be anything more. So, yeah, I was quite pleased when the character of Justin was introduced. Justin was such a nice guy. Honestly, when we first met him, I knew he would be one of those characters who are really unforgettable, and I was right. I would've loved if the author had given him more screen time along with other interns. I felt like we didn't get enough time to explore other side characters in much greater depth. All the characters were really lovable, except for one(looking at you, Wyatt). The prologue.... Goosebumps. This book made me cry! Oh god! I cried so hard. It hurt me physically to read that scene. Why, Tess? Why did you do that? I would have been completely fine if you had completely changed the trajectory of movies and let Claire and Justin be together. Forget Owen. Claire and Justin were so cute. But to kill off Justin for Owen? Wasn't that too cruel? I'm going to pretend that JW new movies do not exist and what I read in the last few pages wasn't there, and Justin Is alive and very much happy with Claire right now. OK, so rant over.
This book was genuinely well written, despite some plot holes. Few things could be delved deeper into, but it was okay. Objectively, it will be satisfying read for anyone. Subjectively, I freakin adored this book. Gonna be a new favorite of mine. I wouldn't mind revisiting this book again.

[m i l o u ✨ (Grumpy Hobbit) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Maybe you'll fall for a handsome dinosaur trainer on the island," Regina says.

"Who needs boys when you have a Brachiosaurus?"


This is the story of Claire Dearing. The first time we got introduced to her Claire was highly intelligent, driven, witty, and a workaholic. She had a high function at the Jurassic Park for years. She is someone who is focused on her work and puts it above everything. In the movie she didn't even remember how old her young nephews were since she drowned herself in work that she hardly contacted or saw her family.


But why does Claire do that?







"I don't think tromping around the dinosaur pens or fields or whatever they are in a dress is the best idea. What if you trip and moon the dinosaur?"

The mental image is so absurd and embarrassing that the laughter just bursts out of me. "I'll have to add new underwear to my list of things to buy."


In this book Claire Dearing is nineteen years old and is going to Jurassic World for an internship where she'll be staying on the island nine months before the park officially opened with eleven other teenagers. Claire is insecure and has the desire that she wants to be the best. When she was little she knew that she wanted to work with animals, and she saved a few stray animals during her childhood. But dinosaurs are what she's truly passionate about.

Claire is very organized. She uses a different colored pen for everything when she's taking notes. Trust me when I say that she's very driven to take notes about everything and she wants to prove others that she's clever and worth noticing. She wants to be accepted. Claire is sociable and makes friends with most of the other students that are staying on the island.

When Claire arrives on Isla Nublar were are introduced to a few familiar faces. There was Dr. Wu, who we first met in the original Jurassic Park movie. He's in charge of the labs and science experiments. Dr. Wu isn't excited about he arrival of the students since he's fearful that they'll break things in his lab. I found it super exciting when I got to read about the many encounters with Claire and Dr. Wu on the island, who she is very eager to impress. And she succeeds.







For those who have seen the Jurassic World movie they may be familiar with Masrani, the person who is behind the restoration of the dinosaurs and is the owner of the park. He's a multimillionaire who has spent a lot of his money to finish the park and to prepare it for the approaching opening. He's a kind man who is just passionate about his park and helps his interns.








There was this moment in the book where Claire sees a dinosaur for the first time her life and she bursts into tears. Can you imagine wanted to see these animals with your own eyes for your whole life and then you finally see them after so many years? That must be a surreal experience. To Claire it was more of a confirmation that she wanted to work more with her animals during her stay there so that she could learn from them.







I mean what is a Jurassic Park without the dinosaurs? Technically the park hadn't been open to the public yet and they were still busy with moving dinosaurs between their island and rehabilitating them before the grand opening. There weren't that many dinosaurs on the island during that part of the story, but we get to meet some of them. The classics. The ones that everyone knows like the Brachiosaurus, Gallimimus, Triceratops and the T-rex. The interns were allowed to interact with some of the dinosaurs.





How cool is that it's the same T-rex that came from the original Jurassic Park and who has been on the island for all these years? Fucking cool.






When I say that Claire Dearing is welcome to throw me on the floor I'm not lying. I already loved her before I started this book, but now that I've seen how much she has grown and how strong she is now, my love for her has only intensified. She's not some easy girl who lets others walk over her. She is humble and someone who can't say no.

By reading this book you'll understand how and why Claire turned into the woman who puts her work above everything. It's because a promise that she made that she's honoring to keep. She's still the girl who's a feminist at heart and passionate about dinosaurs, but she has found her home. A place where she belongs.


It may be hopeless. And I may be human. But it's time to be the kind of prey that fight back.







Getting an insight of the young and inexperienced woman that Claire was before she came to the island was a true delight. It tells you everything that you need to know about Claire and where she came from. I've always been a huge sucker for the Jurassic franchise ever since I was little but Claire is my favorite character from this franchise, and I might be a tad gay for her. This was why I was kind of elated when I found out about this book and that were finally getting the true story of Claire Dearing and we get to return to the island again.

The writing and the story were well put out. I strongly recommend this to people who are who enjoy dinosaurs as much as I do and who want to know the history of a true power woman. You will not be disappointed.




When you narrow yourself down to the base instincts, strip everything else away - family, love, loyalty, intelligence - you discover who you truly are.

[Melissasfandomworld · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was halfway through my read of this book and I was already thinking about How on earth I would do this book justice when writing a review afterwards. I just couldn't come up with the right words to describe exactly what I felt during this read - so many feels.

[kyra s · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for anything even remotely related to Jurassic Park, so when I saw this beauty of a book, (that cover is a work of ART), I obviously picked it up after reading a bit. Dinosaurs and feminism? What I live for.

However, as just a book with no ties to other universes, The Evolution of Claire doesn’t work. But I did thoroughly enjoy it just because it was connected to the Jurassic franchise. However, this book would obviously fail hard without the safety net of the multi billion films behind it. The recurring characters had already been developed in the previous movies, so they were all developed, and you kind of knew everything crucial thing you needed to know about the iconic park. The author didn’t really have to develop her own world, which is half the battle.

However, I’m really saddened to say that the rest of the battle of writing this book was spectacularly lost.

So, since I am running out of metaphors, let’s start off on a good note, with the pros.

Characters: See, one of the things I admire about this book is that the author decided to add new characters to a story that only needed a few. The world of Jurassic Park is just so iconic that you could write an entire novel featuring only one or two characters from the movies. But these never before seen characters are where the book really shined. Most of the newbies were Claire’s fellow interns, and they all were fully fleshed out, they actually had unique traits, concerns, and the author actually spent the time to tell us their stories, and possible futures. That’s hard to do when you’re writing an expansion novel, so hats off to the author for doing that.

Diversity: This book was incredibly diverse, full of POC and a few LBGT+ relationships! The movie side of these stories aren’t very diverse as of now, and I sincerely hope that these movies take these characters and others like them up.


Relationship: Probably the #1 issue that I have with YA books is the relationship. Your typical fictional teenage romance goes like this, boy meets girl, girl either falls head over heels with boy or hates him, boy and girl make out. The end. Unlike this boy and girl, Justin and Claire actually had development in their relationship and the author took it slow! Crazy, right! I love Justin and Claire, (Clatin? Juslaire?) They actually starting out as friends, rare, I know, and then slowly became something more. Every scene they shared together was just purely sweet. From diving into lakes, to working together, to charming kisses. Their relationship wasn’t based off looks or attractiveness, which strangely appears in YA a lot. It’s just formed from good ol natural teenage, collage, romance. That’s what a teenage relationship is like. But this just made the climax even worse.

The Death: Alright, here’s the spoilery part of my review.

Poor, poor Justin.

It was kind of obvious that something had to have happened to innocent, pure, beautiful, dorky Justin, since Owen exists. But being mauled by a raptor was just too cruel. Ugh. But it had to be done, and if bae was going to go out in anyway, it was protecting Claire.

At least he murdered Wyatt multiple times with his lovely comebacks before his death. We’ll always have that.

Alright, so that’s the end of the happy side of this review. Let’s get onto the negatives! Yay?

Okay, quick disclaimer. I really appreciate what Tess Sharpe has done here, but I have to keep it honest. I’ve got some complaints. Let’s get into it!

Claire’s Reaction: So I get that there could have been some natural reasons behind this, shock, but Claire didn’t seem as distraught as I though she would after, *sob* Justin’s death. If Justin really was the one for her, which I whole heartedly believe that he was, Claire would be a lot more devastated. The book ends with her vowing to never let people die in Jurassic World again, that goes well, and she does express some grief when says this. But she only cries once. Over her soulmate. Plus, she seems to be only focused on work after seeing her boyfriend ripped to shreds by a velociraptor.

Plot holes: Don’t think too much when reading this book. Because you will definitely comes across some issues. I don’t know if I would necessarily call these issues plot holes, because they seem more like unrealistic occurrences. For example:

You’re really telling me that Jurassic World could cover up these deaths? With all of the media fixated on this park and it’s dangers? With all the different rivals, and money, and corporations?

It just seems so weird that Jurassic World would hire interns with no training. And teenagers. You expect unpaid teenagers to go walk into a park full of dinosaurs and NOT cause chaos?

A bunch of smart businessmen would not allow a teenager to run around a extremely private park with a camera, taking pictures of their top secret dinosaurs.

Claire: I loved Claire’s character in this book, and I loved Claire’s character in the first Jurassic World movie. However, they feel like two completely different people. Claire from JW was business smart, seemed cold, and only did things for the park’s good.
Claire from The Evolution of Claire was a little naive, super friendly, and only did things for an animal’s good. They’re polar opposites, and JW Claire would never even put her self close to any kind of dinosaur.

Plot: The plot was fine, but the way it was executed was just plain boring. The middle of the book was just a drag. I honestly could care less about designing hexagons on gyospheres, or burns on dinosaurs necks, or some dangerous algae. This is a JURASSIC Park novel. See, the thing that makes the Jurassic movies so great is the perfect blend between science and chaos. The middle of the book just had too much science. And this is coming from an honors chem student. But then, the book suddenly exploded with chaos, and it was just too much. Within the span of 20ish pages, a raptor was on the loose, interns had been betrayed, and poor little Justin was dead. It was like the author was reading over her draft, realized it needed something more, and then jammed it within the last 10% of the book.

Teenage Talk: Another one of the huge problems that I have with YA is that YA authors do not know how teenagers speak. Look, I get that these teenagers are total science prodigies, but no teenager talks like how Sharpe writes them. Let’s just use an example to do the explaining for me.

“Pteranodon eggs!..
Did you see how big they were?
Did you see the totally vivid, by-the-minute renderings on the monitors?”

No. Just, no.

So that’s my review! Probably the longest review I’ve ever written! Yay?

So, the final verdict: Although I truly did enjoy The Evolution of Claire, it feel flat, for its tone and plot issues, and wouldn’t be rememberable without the trademark Jurassic Park charm. Sharpe does know how to write a relationship though.

R.I.P Justin 2018-2018.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was for sure one of my most anticipated 2018 reads!

LINK TO MY BOOKTUBE CHANNEL FOR THE NON-SPOILERY REVIEW!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w-FL7lQ...

This book follows my beloved, Claire Dearing at 19 years old, just accepted to the Bright Minds internship program at Jurassic World, run by Masrani Corporation.

We open up with a pretty strong prologue of Claire shortly after the 2015 incident, then get thrust back in time as she remembers where it all began.

I thought the relationship between Claire and her roommate was cute and lovely. Claire reminds me of myself in the fact that she was really only close to her roommate, and didn't have many other friends, since she spent more time focused on her studies. I also really appreciated the relationship she had with her sister, because it's clear how strong her big sis is and how she is definitely the mothering type. Claire also reminded me of myself at 19, in the fact that she has such huge goals for herself, and doesn't want to settle for anything less than achieving her dreams, even if that means leaving her family behind. While I am very close with my family, at 19, I was more determined to leave that life behind me. Now, I value family time much more.

Anyway, I thought the relationship building in the beginning was strong.

Story: I thought the story was fun and adventurous. I liked getting to know the park better and kind of see how it was before it opened. I also loved the mystery that got thrown in there. I definitely wasn't expecting a darker story in there, but it was a nice addition. I was a little irritated with the romance in the novel, but I do understand it is a YA, so it's somewhat expected. I did like the character of Justin, but he didn't seem like Claire's type lol. But they did have some cute (if not cliche) moments together.

Writing: The writing was one of my favorite parts of this novel! There were so many amazing lines that foreshadowed Jurassic World!! I almost cried at the slight references. It was nice seeing those built in. The writing was just really descriptive and the diction felt carefully woven around to create such amazing images and emotions. Everything felt really vivid and I felt like I truly got to know this side of Claire because of it.

Characters. I felt as though Masrani was very true to the character we see in the movie, just a little more into the business aspects that seems to fade away as the park stays open. Dr. Wu felt a little angsty for me, but we don't get much of his character in the original Jurassic Park, so I thought it seemed pretty honest.

I honestly just have some issues with Claire.


SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THIS

SERIOUSLY

STOP

WHAT ARE YOU DOING

OKAY BYE

SPOILERS AHEAD

HUGE ONES

READ AT OWN RISK










Alright. In this book, Claire is a total animal lover. She even has a pet lizard, along with her dog. She loves animals, and in the park, we see this in how she helps the Brachiosaurs. She always refers to them as animals or by their given names: Lovelace, Pearl, etc.

But in Jurassic World, we see the direct opposite of this. Claire is not an animal lover, she barely acknowledges that the dinosaurs are even alive! After the death of Justin, I can see her being afraid and not taking to calling them animals anymore...but then we have that very last scene where she is talking to and petting Pearl...where she finds that fire and joy again.

In Jurassic World, Claire to me doesn't like animals. She didn't grow up with any and she cares more about the park and the human well being than the animals...up until that scene with Owen and the dying Brachiosaur.

NOW, the characterization this book shows of Claire feels fitting for the Claire we see in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. We see her advocating for the dinos and then that lovely moment in the cage when she asks if Owen remembers the first time he saw a dino. She is looking at the Triceratops, which would make perfect sense since those were the first dinos she saw during her internship. The character-arc-Claire from JWFK feels more truthful to this novelization Claire and her love for animals.

Another theory. Claire always loved animals, but after the death of her friend and as she started to rise in her work at JW, she started to lose that side of her as her passion for her work grew. With this, she lost that love she once had for the dinos and lost sight of what really motivated her to work at JW. Then as she is with the dying Brachiosaur, that is the moment the old Claire emerges once more and she remembers the importance of her work and that the dinosaurs truly do matter. That's kind of where I'm leaning now. I do need to read it again.

I think we definitely saw the side of Claire that rises in JW once she has to run through the jungle and get dirty. In the book, she is smart and resourceful and skillful. She knows a lot. I feel as though in the movie, we don’t really see that sciency/adventurous side, but that is also because she is in charge of so much and hasn't gone adventuring since then. She dives more into the park as business and truly loses that adventurous side of her. But also, we know she has done all this before seeing as she runs through the jungle and maintains her cool for most of the movie. She remembers using the flare with Rexy, and we get to see that again. So we have strong moments that get woven into the Claire from JW.

I was questioning why she'd even want to return to the park after such a traumatic incident, but then we have that lovely moment with Henry as he tries to reinspire her to come back and make a difference; to be in charge of making sure it doesn't happen again. So she does.

Losing Justin made her more compassionate, which I think we see in that scene in the film when she runs to Zach and Gray and is ecstatic that they are alive.

But another part of me has a difficult time with this novel and those moments with Jusin and the Velociraptor. I'm not sure it feels truthful to Claire's character.

Books that follow beloved characters of mine are hard for me. As an actor, I truly fall in love with a character, and if I see her on screen first, I'm going to compare them, despite the fact they are separate stories. I love Bryce Dallas Howard so much. Her portrayal of Claire is literally the light in a dark storm for me. I tried to look past certain moments, but some things just didn't feel like Claire, while a lot of others did. I guess I'm building up the rest of the story, but I'm hoping we get more so we can truly see how she became the Claire we know in Jurassic World.

I do need to remind myself that these are TWO. SEPARATE. STORIES. Tess played her own part in exploring Claire’s character. Obviously it’s going to be different. I truly appreciate her take on Claire and this new side she created. The writing was splendid and I am hoping for more! I could hardly put this one down.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll start off by saying this is a gorgeous book. Wonderful cover art, and when you take off the dust jacket? The spine of the book has the title in a striking shimmery blue, and there's an engraving on the cover of a mosquito in amber! It's an unexpected extra touch in the presentation and I quite appreciated it (the book was only like $13!).

Jurassic World is a place of wonder and incredible creatures and this book took me there, and gave me some of that magic. I'm grateful for that. In fact, some of the Jurassic movies probably don't speak to the wonder of relating to dinosaurs as well as this book does. My rating for this book is generous, and that's largely from it being a competent novel that took me to Jurassic World, and that has a lot of value for me.

The pace of the book is a bit slow, like it doesn't overload you with tons of dinosaur stuff right away. It takes its time with it and doesn't give you very many different types of dinosaur, but I found that enjoyable. The book is also very wholesome for most of the time, even twee. For me, that was pretty endearing, but I could see it being strange for some. It does serve for a narrative contrast, at the end. The characterizations and relationships are nicely done, and I liked both the interns and how the established Jurassic franchise characters are handled here. A treat to get so much of Mr. Masrani in particular since he was snuffed out prematurely in the films, a great injustice.

I can imagine Claire being a difficult character to write. She is portrayed very differently between the first and second JW films, with neither film being terribly well-written in my opinion. The Claire of this novel works well and is more arresting than those film portrayals, while building upon them. Tess Sharpe succeeds in giving a good voice to this film character who feels thin in the movies and suffered from plenty of poor screenwriting (though played by a very charismatic actress). This novel feels more aligned with the Claire of Fallen Kingdom, but attempts to explain and acknowledge the steely person we saw in the first JW. It's a tricky task, but it's smartly navigated.

(Actually, I now realize that similar to the meshing of contrasting sides of Claire from the different movies, Sharpe also seemed to nicely integrate both the Wu we saw in Jurassic Park and the Wu of the JW films, which were miles apart. A nice touch!)

Touching on plot more specifically, I think there's some trope usage I'm not sure I really like. I think it feels expected, or played out. See below.

The first trope thing is Wyatt, he could have been less of a one-note heel. Seemed too simplistic of a take, it got tiresome. Decent use of a red herring, sure, but that's not that novel either. He felt like your store-brand Draco Malfoy and then at the end it felt like Scooby Doo, is what I'm saying.

The larger thing is Justin and his end. This is not the first YA prequel about a film character I've seen where they fall in love with a wonderful soul that seems perfect for them, who then dies to clear way for the Chris Pratt or whoever that they're supposed to fall in love with later. It just feels like the easiest way out, I guess I have mixed feelings about the narrative device. It was very sad, in any case. And the aftermath was written well. But I don't know, can't these characters be allowed to just have a relationship, and maybe it's not a forever love? That happens a lot in life! Lots of readers are gonna see Justin and feel like he's marked for death, and in the end - yep, they turn out to be right. The only reason I wasn't sure was just because I wondered if there would be a subversion of that expectation, but no not really.

So, good book, but I'm not sure I would like it as much reading it again knowing that at the end Justin gets killed, sort of for the narrative convenience of the movies.

[Lisa (Rover Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favourite straight romance yet. Warning: tears incoming. And lots of dinosaurs and beautiful prose, too!

[Annie Deo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog.

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This is such a brilliant movie tie-in! I’ve been a huge fan of Claire’s and loved Bryce Dallas Howard’s performance in the two Jurassic World movies, but there were some contradictory aspects of her character and inconsistencies that I couldn’t reconcile between the two movies. Being a huge action block-buster, the movies aren’t suitable for a character study, but The Evolution of Claire delves into her past and showcases the events and people who shaped her, providing the missing pieces to the puzzle.

What makes this book such a success is that if you’re already fond of Claire, it does justice to her character and will delight those who want more from her than the movies had room to provide. If you DIDN’T like Claire, there’s every chance that reading her coming-of-age story will win you over. 😉

The challenge here was developing her character so that she remained familiar to readers without being an exact replica of the movie version of Claire, since most people will grow and change from their teens to their 30s. The author has carefully retained aspects of Claire’s personality that the audience will recognize such as her compulsive organizational skills and control freak tendencies, but made her believable as a nineteen year old girl who for all her drive and ambition is still naive and idealistic. She’s still strong-willed and independent, but she’s a bit softer, cares more about what others think and struggles at times to assert herself.

Teenage Claire cares deeply for animals and her goal is to make connections and gain influence so that she can have the power to affect laws that will protect all wildlife. It’s a clever way to bridge the gap between the first movie where we see Claire as a cold, calculating park executive and the second movie where she’s suddenly an animal rights lobbyist which made no sense to me at the time.

Moving away from the movies and judging this on its own merit, The Evolution of Claire has a fast-paced, exciting plot that easily captivates the reader. I felt Claire’s awe and wonder when she witnessed Jurassic World for the first time, enjoyed discovering the marvels of the island with her as she and the other interns toured the site and fell into a daily routine assisting the scientists and trainers, and most of all, I ADORED getting to know the dinosaurs. The brachiosaurus and triceratops get their time to shine here, with the younger members Pearl and Lovelace being highlights! Honestly, every moment with Pearl was a sheer delight. ❤

The dinosaurs aren’t the only bright spots in this book, I surprisingly loved most of the human characters as well! Of the dozen interns, the author focuses only on Claire and another five characters, which was a wise decision as we grew to know each of them much better than if we had to learn a dozen different names and personalities. I really appreciated the focus on female friendship between multiple characters as Claire starts off the story farewelling her college roommate Regina and making plans to rent a place together after the summer, then makes fast friends with Tanya, who ends up being her new roommate on the island, as well as the other female interns Amanda and Ronnie. And there is a spark of attraction between Claire and charming geek Justin! At first I wasn’t sure about introducing a romance into this story, but Justin thoroughly won me over and I bought into their budding relationship much more than Claire and Owen in the movies. Seeing the two banter over Edison and Tesla and debate the finer points of the Bone War was ridiculously endearing, and I loved seeing their bond grow.

But it’s not all fun and games on Isla Nublar! There’s a whiff of conspiracy and rumor right from the start, which Claire dismisses until she comes across evidence that perhaps there really was a cover-up of giant proportions and she begins to doubt the integrity of Masrani and his staff. As she investigates further, the sense of paranoia increases until we don’t know if there’s a real threat or if she’s just overreacting. There were moments I held my breath and frantically skimmed the page because the tension was getting to me and I was fretting about what would happen next!

I would recommend this mainly to viewers of Jurassic World, given that the prologue takes place at the end of that movie while Claire considers what to do next. While unpacking her things back at home, she finds mementos from her internship on Isla Nublar, at which point the story goes back in time to detail the events that took place over that fateful summer. It is possible to read this even without having seen the movie, but it’s more rewarding when you have an idea of who Claire is in the present day before seeing how she became that woman.

The Evolution of Claire is well-written with a riveting plot and wonderful characters to invest in, plus it offers more time in the splendor of Jurassic World with multiple lovable dinosaurs to swoon over! You really can’t miss this one. ❤

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Disclaimer: Physical copy provided by publisher free for an unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Taylor Ramirez]

I read the dedication at Target and it was literally “Rawwrr means I love you in dinosaur”.

[Pipesper · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The thing about running scared? You can't run forever."

Me fascinó, no puedo decirlo de otra manera.
En esta libro nos encontramos con una Claire de diecinueve años terminando su primer año de universidad, con sus grandes aspiraciones y motivos, volviendo a casa para el verano justo antes de entrar a uno de los programas de internos a los que postuló. Entre ellos se encuentra "Brigth Minds", el programa que lleva a cabo la corporación Masrani, encargados de darle vida al parque "Jurassic World", y por el cual Claire está más emocionada.

Entonces, sí, me gustó mucho. La trama se desarrolla lentamente en gran parte del libro, introduciendo al personaje de Claire en una versión diferente a la que se muestra en la película. Una amante de los animales, una chica valiente y decidida, dispuesta a encontrar solución a todos los problemas que se presentan de la manera más racional posible. Luego, nos vamos adentrando en lo que significa entrar en el programa de internos en la Isla Nublar, en medio de la construcción del parque y del transporte de los dinosaurios desde Isla Sorna. En la mayor parte del libro no llega a pasar demasiado y en es sí lenta, pero a pesar de ser así, lo disfruté bastante, pues vamos siguiendo a Claire en cada una de sus tareas dentro del parque, en sus aventuras, en sus descubrimientos, y debo admitir que me encantaron esas escenas, porque realmente me sentí dentro del parque, viendo su funcionamiento, conviviendo con los dinosaurios y viendo como se llevaba todo a cabo para la gran apertura. También conocemos a los demás internos, a los trabajadores del parque, a los dinosaurios (y sus lindos nombres), y a Justin, que era adorable. (Y por ahí se desarrolla una especie de amistad/romance que, sí, también fue muy adorable)

Ya llegando al final comienzan a pasar más cosas, la trama se enreda con unos cuantos misterios rodeando el parque y uf, pasan muchas cosas en las últimas páginas, que terminan llevando al personaje de Claire hacia un cambio radical. Pero en realidad, siento que faltó un poco más al final para indicarnos como es que Claire cambió tanto y de manera tan abrupta. O sea, lo que pasa es bastante sorprendente y triste Y bueno, me había hecho un pequeño spoiler con respecto a la muerte de Justin, pero aún así fue bastante triste saber que iba a tener un final como ese y llegar a esa parte me rompió el corazón, pero creo que se necesita un poco más de historia, de explicaciones, para llegar realmente a esa Claire que vemos en la primera película.

En resumen: quedé con muchas ganas de más. Las páginas se me pasaron volando y creo que necesito un poco más de historia para llenar los vacíos entre este libro y la primera película. Espero, y necesito, otro libro que le continúe o algo más.

Y eso, me encantó, amé a la pequeña Claire y el libro se va directo a mis favoritos.
(Y eso quedó gigante, lol)

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: death, animal injury, mentions of a car accident.

Oy. I'm going to be honest: I had really high hopes for this book. Possibly too high, really, because of course I was going to be 100% sold on a YA prequel to Jurassic World. Give me ALL the dino mayhem, please and thank you! And written by Tess Sharpe, who we already know can write great characters and gripping stories? YES PLEASE.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with this was the pacing. It's 400 pages long. The first hundred pages or so is just Claire being picked up from college, going home, discovering that she's got the internship, and trekking to the island. And honestly? There was zero need for it to be that damn long. It was clearly trying to establish Claire as someone who's passionate animal rights, someone who's far more like the Claire that we get in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdoms than the Claire we get in Jurassic World. But I don't think it needed to be as explicitly spelled out as it was, because it just felt...long-winded and dry.

The pacing didn't get much better once they were on the island. The mystery side of things definitely picked up in the second half of the story, but it still felt like things were being trickled out at regular intervals and then there was A BIG WATERFALL OF ADVENTURE AND EXCITEMENT AT THE END OMG.

I also wanted way more dino-mayhem than I got. And really, I think that's all any YA reader is going to want in picking up a book set at Jurassic World. Instead, what we got was a lot more "look how cool it is to work with dinosaurs!" and a pretty unnecessary romance.

However, my absolute biggest problem with this book is the technology. We're told that it's 2005. In 2005, I had a Nokia 3310. We had a family desktop computer. There was no wifi. I had an absolute brick of an iPod. And yet in this book, the kids are handed tablets with bio-ID and island-wide wifi and music streaming capabilities. One of the characters seems to have a digital SLR that's capable of recording video. One of the big concerns for the island is images of the dinosaurs being captured by drones before it officially opens. And yet the biggest reaction the kids have to all of this is "Oh. Cool. This device isn't on the market yet - neat!". Which...baffles me. Because if you'd handed 2005 Me a tablet with wifi and bio-ID and music streaming, I think my head probably would have exploded. So really, I think the best way around this would have been to just not give us a year at all. But no. Sigh.

Despite all of that, I will say that there were some fun nods to the movies and to things that were to come in the future. And that cover is gorgeous. So...it wasn't what I wanted from a book set at Jurassic World. And it did feel very sanitised for the YA market. But it wasn't terrible. It was just.........a thing that exists.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book. And there are moments where it had me engaged. I particularly adore that the hero of the Jurassic universe is referred to by her proper name: Rexy. However...

I continue to detest first person, present tense. Though in fairness, I'm not entirely sure that wasn't an editorial decision based on the fact that, like the last book I read, the copy editing was horrid enough near the end that a lot of "says" were "said."

There is also so much telling as opposed to showing, and oddly, though the romance wouldn't have otherwise bothered me as much in this book as in others (aside from: did it have to be a romance for her to care that much? Couldn't it just have easily been a friend?), it was the cliches and the pointless but detailed "he did that take off his shirt with one hand thing that guys do" author fantasy sidebars that annoyed me.

It was predictable as sin, which wouldn't be enough to drag the rating down by itself, but in combination, didn't help its case with me. Along with this, most of the characters are caricatures (*cough* Wyatt - this one is so egregious I rolled my eyes while reading; I am definitely for all the soap boxes he was used to prop up, but good lord, could we be more obvious?), and many (along with a few plot threads) serve little to no purpose as far as I can tell.

This is less of an "evolution" and more of a "thrust into trauma response" in an attempt to reconcile Claire from Jurassic World with Claire from Fallen Kingdom and beyond. Even that isn't particularly well done, in my opinion, since it does nothing to show or explain how she would have shifted from maintaining a sense of wonder and adoration for the dinosaurs to referring to them explicitly as "its" and "assets." I rather doubt the events of Jurassic World would have helped break her out of the cold trauma response, either, considering it would have effectively undone all the work she was doing explicitly to keep something like that from occurring again (and at a massive scale this time). Similarly, it wouldn't ring true for this character to come out of this experience and allow something like the Indominus Rex to even happen.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are simply no words to describe just how much I loved this book. The author perfectly captured Claire in exactly the way I would have imagined her in her college years, and I definitely saw elements of Fallen Kingdom Claire in here!

The plot truly gave me something to think about, and the characters were all wonderful and honestly I wish some of them would have shown up in the films, even if they were only there to comment on how much Claire changed from this book to the first Jurassic World film.

5 out of 5 stars and recommended to fans of Jurassic World and to fans of incredible science-fiction dinosaur stories everywhere!

[Jem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to @scholastic_au for sending me a copy to review. I really loved this one, I knew I probably would as I love Jurassic Park, Jurassic World and dinosaurs 😍😍 As it was a prequel to the Jurassic World movies there was a few things I figured would happen in the book but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. The book is told from Claire Dearing's POV as she goes to intern at Jurassic World as they are setting it all up.
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I loved learning more about Claire, Dr Wu and Simon Masrani. I felt this book showed how those characters got to be where they are in the first movie. It also made me fall in love with Claire even more and understand why she is the way she is in the movie. I really enjoyed that we got to learn more about the training of some of the dinosaurs in the early stages of the park being around, especially the dinosaur that just loved to play with the gyroshperes, I think that was my favourite part of the book.
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If you are a lover of dinosaurs I most definitely think you will enjoy this book as I did 😊

[Jess Youngberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow wow! As a Dino nerd and Jurassic Park enthusiast I am BEYOND thrilled with this book!! Getting to know a young Claire has made me love and understand her even more. This book captures all of the wonder, thrill and discovery that is Jurassic World. I will have to write a better review soon but for right now just WOW!

[Long Live Wonderland · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 80 pages of The Evolution of Claire were EXTREMELY boring. It got so bad that I sat this book aside for months. Almost immediately after the first 80 pages things got exponentially better. The book wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. I was fairly dissapointed with the ending, it just felt rushed and like a cop out.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate this book now that I've seen Jurassic World: Dominion and Claire's character arc has truly evolved.
A solid 4 ⭐ read! 🦖

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

"A noble goal," Mr. Masrani says. "Though politics is a ruthless game."
"Maybe I'm a ruthless girl," I say.
That is quite possibly my favorite quote from this book. Also possibly the only thing that felt like CLAIRE to me. I feel conflicted. Claire Dearing is one of my favorite characters in the Jurassic franchise. But the book version of Claire does not feel like Claire Dearing. At times it feels like there are different versions of her in the book as well. At times she is very introverted and all about rules, and then we have other times where she's a go-getter, bold, and a bit reckless. She says she's intimidated by Dr. Wu and yet was having a full conversation with him beforehand. I think THAT is one of my biggest problems: her characterization and personality is unclear.
Every other person in this book (save for a few) annoyed the hell out of me. Especially the guys. Everyone was so progressive and forward thinking except for Wyatt. And that felt weird. I'm all for progressiveness! But it felt as though the author was really trying to push that with everyone else and make you absolutely hate Wyatt. I'm... still really not sure why? He had nothing to do with anything at all?
JUSTIN. Am I supposed to care that he's dead? Am I supposed to be heartbroken? Shocked? I am not. First of all, you're on an island filled with dinosaurs. As an intern. Y'all really expected that no one was going to die? Okay. Regardless of that, I HATED this romantic subplot. I disliked the idea of them together and it seemed kind of forced. I also dislike that his death is supposed to have been the "turning point" for Claire and the reason why she is the way she is in movie canon. I refuse to accept that. Not my Claire Dearing! Nope!
It felt as though there was no real story for most of this. As weird as it sounds, it felt like a Jurassic World fan fiction that I would've read in 2015. (And for the record, that's not to diss any Jurassic World fan fics! There's one that I've been reading since 2015 and am heavily dedicated to. Some of them are GREAT works.) But this book reads like you would expect a fan fiction to: a romantic sub-plot that we didn't need, main character completely OOC, and no real plot. It was Claire and the gang doing normal intern things with a dash of mystery mixed in. Even though that mystery was made out to be so huge when it was not. It was also the only real part of this that I cared about so I was disappointed.
I came into this book wanting a better understanding of Claire's character but I feel like everything released post-Jurassic World is ruining her character. Fallen Kingdom did a complete 180 on how we saw her in Jurassic World, and The Evolution of Claire did the exact same thing. I noticed that this is apparently a series, so I assume that Owen Grady will get his own backstory novel as well. I just hope that any further books will be better.
I wanted to love this and I am leaving disappointed. I just really liked that quote about Claire calling herself ruthless. And the fact that the dinosaurs have themed names. That's so cute. I truly want to give this 1.75 stars but I figured that I would round up to 2.

[Julie (Bookish.Intoxication) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before we get started, let the record show that I am a huge Jurassic Park/World fan and the minute I saw this book, I knew I had to have it. And I have quite high expectations going in. So lets get started!
This book has captivated me from the first page. Sharpe has a way with words in that you are learning as you read, but it feels like fiction. All of the historical facts and dinosaur facts woven into this book are incredible and add to the over all authenticity of it.

Arriving on Isla Nublar is incredible. I feel as though I am an intern taking my first steps on the island. The joy and curiosity is infectious and written so well. I find myself smiling and being genuinely excited as they uncover new things. Sharpe has such a way of deacribing what is happening, showing the reader what this new world is like. And the way she explains what each intern is doing, their physical responses, gestures, makes it so much easier to read their emotions and feelings on a situation.

I love how you don't need to have seen any of the Jurassic Park/World movies to enjoy this book. It is easy to follow, quick to pick up and the perfect introduction to the movies, for younger readers. Or, if you're like me and are obsessed with the films, this book is a fantastic adaptation that gives you, what feels like a backstage pass.

What a fantastic read. Fast paced, jam packed full of action, science, friendship and loss. It is fun, and it takes a deeper step into what goes on in the park behind the scenes. Well written and so, so easy to read. This book is perfect for lovers of the films, of dinosaurs, or for younger girls looking for a positive, strong female scientific mind, to look up to. I love the amount of female scientists in this book. It is showing young girls that it is okay to want to know the answers to the big questions. To want to know how things work and why they work.

Thank you so much to Camila and the team at Scholastic Australia, for providing me with a review copy of this book. I am so grateful for the opportunity!

Full review is live on my blog. Www.bookishintoxicationwrites.com

[Jenny (Bookbookowl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Scholastic Australia for providing me with a copy of The Evolution of Claire, in exchange for an honest review!



“Who needs boys when you have a Brachiosaurus?”


Anyone who knows me, knows if you want to see me excited, you just have to wave anything dinosaur related under my nose. I will forever be in love with all things Jurassic Park, so when I received this book, to say I couldn’t wait to read it was an understatement. The Evolution of Claire is Claire’s backstory – the story of when she completed her internship at the theme park during its construction stage. I expected the dinosaurs, but I wasn’t prepared for the brilliant friendships, mystery and secrets that this book brought to the table.

The Evolution of Claire reads like a YA book, as opposed to the original Jurassic Park books that feel very much like adult books, but I adore YA so that didn’t detract from the story at all for me. I loved being able to watch how Claire became the person she did. I wasn’t a huge fan of her in the Jurassic World movie, but I think now, having her backstory, I understand her character so much more. I understand her motivation to put her work before everything else, to make sure she keeps the promise she made to herself.

The other characters in this book had me feeling all the emotions, from Wyatt who I wanted to use as a mop, to sweet Justin, to playful Pearl the Brachiosaurus. The interactions with the dinosaurs and the focus on animal behaviour just ticked all my boxes for what I love about the Jurassic Park books (I find the focus on this was definitely more pronounced in the books rather than the movies). This book wasn’t super short, but honestly, I just didn’t want it to end. I need more of these books (preferably by Tess Sharpe because she did such a brilliant job here!)

100% recommend for all Jurassic Park fans!

[JR McWilliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am 31 years old, which means Jurassic Park has been a part of my life since childhood. There is nothing more exciting than the thought of the story continuing which is why when this book came into the book store I work in, I was more than obsessed.
I picked the book up as soon as I was able to and I just put down the book after reading the last page. I want to thank Tess Sharpe for writing this book and bringing it back to life in a literary format. I have read Jurassic Park and The Lost World many times so having something new was incredible. She follows the story line in the movies which was a fresh take, rather than the books. Which made sense since Claire Dearing is a character in the movies and Tess most likely needed to stay in that timeline and universe.
This book has twists I didn't expect and it kept me reading for a solid three days. I am officially inspired to finally write my fan fiction that follows the perspective of my very own favorite Jurassic Park character.
Thank you Tess, excellent work.
Read this book if you are a Jurassic Park fan. It's totally worth it and I can't wait to read it again, perhaps a new one she writes that focuses on after her time working in the park.
Much Love.

[Madelyn Lightwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. Gosh. I am feeling so many things right now. I think I'm gonna go through quite a mourning period. I love this book so much. It taught me so many things I didn't expect it to; I think in a way, it changes me as a person to. It makes me love Claire even more and getting to know her more is just an amazing adventure. I learned so much about Claire and, while reading the book, I truly felt like I was going through the journey with her therefore, using present tense throughout this book is a very good call. I can't recommend this book to you enough. If you like Claire or the Jurassic Park series at all, you have to read this book. You will regret if you don't.

[Jessica Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jurassic Park has always been my favourite movie since I first saw it when I was four, and 26 years later it's still my favourite movie, as well as the sequels. I found out about this book when it was released three days after my birthday. It was the one book I knew I had to read, and I was so thrilled to see it at the bookstore just a week before Christmas. I loved every moment of this book, and reading the back story about Claire Dearing. If you are a fan of the Jurassic Park/World movies, you will definitely enjoy this book.

[Jasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love:
Dinosaurs
Strong Women
Strong Women in STEM
Asshat men being put in their place for being skeevy, mysoginistic fuck wits by both strong women AND (god forbid) guys actually standing up for women when the asshat men look to them for back up.
Lovely descriptors of a beautiful island full of DINOSAURS!

Or if you just love any of this, READ THIS BOOK! I had such a lovely time reading this.

[CrossingJordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spannende Lektüre für Jurassic World-Fans. Endlich mal wieder ein Dinobuch, das mich so richtig mitgerissen hat. Ist außerhalb von diesem Franchise offenbar ziemlich schwer zu finden. 😅
Unendlich schade, dass die Reihe offenbar nicht weiter fortgesetzt wird. Daraus hätte man sicher noch einiges mehr machen können.

[Mcw · Rating 1 out of 5]

ughhhh...I had such high hopes for this book and as a fan of the movies, I was excited to get a deeper look into Claire. It is safe to say that I will not be reading any other books in the series and am wishing I could get my 18.00 back.

[Halie Halling · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alright- I have to admit, I was super excited for this. I got this book pretty soon after Fallen Kingdom came out, and thought delving into Claire Dearing's past would be amazing. I'm sure it would have been, if the story had even been about the Claire Dearing we all know and love.
In short: blah.
I think even giving this book a one star rating is too high. I think the best thing we could say about the writing is that it was okay,and that's being nice. There were hardly any descriptions where there needed to be, then unnecessary ones, and far too many run on paragraphs.
For example:
"Greenhouses aren't particularly romantic, but the sun's shining through the dome's triangles, and sure, the Venus flytraps are stirring hungrily below us, but it kind of adds to the moment and all i can see for a second, is him, holding the flower" (Sharpe 133). Like, maybe make that four different sentences.
"Greenhouses aren't particularly romantic. Yes, the Venus flytraps are stirring hungrily below us, but the sun's shining through the dome's triangles. It kind of adds to the moment. And in that second, all I can see is him, holding the flower."
And that was just one example.
I think the whole book kind of has this whole choose-your-own-adventure feel to it, which wouldn't be bad- but it's not supposed to be a choose your own adventure. And maybe that's one of the reasons I didn't like it so much; the book is written in present tense which I can. Not. Stand. But I don't think it was just that. I work at a book store, and I have seen this book shelved in the Kids section and the teens. The content is definitely a teen level, but the writing is definitely a young reader level. I think two of the most used words in this book are 'so' and 'totally.' "It was so totally not what I was expecting," "I so wanted to." The use of 'so' and 'totally' are all a part of the whole 'telling and not showing' aspect of writing. When you're telling someone an exciting story, you don't tell the whole thing in five word sentences. You use sensory details, deep descriptions, and as many synonyms as you can to truly convey what you're trying to say. 'So' and 'totally' are descriptive-less words. We want sentences that transport the feelings of the character to our own minds. "My disappointment heightened when I realized this was nothing like what I expected," "though I didn't let it show, my desire burned deep within me, threatening to spill over."
While the writing was a huge part of why I didn't like this book, the other half came from Claire herself. The Claire in this book is not the Claire from the Jurassic World movies. This Claire is pushing for animal rights and wants to give them a better world, she wants to help an animal in distress because she doesn't like to see it hurt, and she's all blushy and mushy when it comes to romance. I feel like this is the Claire post-Jurassic World and Owen, not pre. In the movies, Claire sees these animals as just strands of DNA in a test tube. We see this when Owen asks her, "you know these things are alive, don't you?" Well, yes she KNOWS they're alive. But she doesn't really treat them like it. She understands the protocol and sees no problem chasing after a giant, hungry, raging dinosaur with non-lethal's because it cost them so much money. She wouldn't care about the feelings of an animal, she just doesn't want it to die because it makes them money. As far as romance goes, we see her how many times reject Owen's advances in the movie? She's too sophisticated for the silly plights of romance. The romance between her and Owen blooms when he shows her the side of the dinosaur world she didn't see before. Owen shows her that they do have feelings, they are living things, like when that long necked dinosaur (is it a Brachiosaurus?) dies. Owen shows her how much more the dinosaurs are, and, though this company created them, that doesn't mean they control them.
Those are my main reasons for not liking the book; unsatisfying writing, and just plain wrong characterization.
But there are a few little things as well.
For instance- when Claire starts her internship, Mr. Masrani let's the interns run around the park unattended. Sure, he gives them boundaries, but he doesn't give them a guide or anything. Like THAT would happen. And it's more than once, where the park people just have to much faith in the interns there. Jurassic World is a place where I feel like you'd need a chaperone just to go to the bathroom to make sure you don't wander to far off the path.
They put the interns out on a little gyrosphere exhibition to check out the terrain and to scan it to get the ride used to everything. The interns are out there. Alone. Once again, highly unlikely.
And something really little that comes back to Claire's characterization is the fact that she prefers writing over typing. Her stark white outfit in the movie fits her into the modern, technological world that is Jurassic World. I don't think movie Claire would have preferred writing.
Then, at one point, Claire and Justin (one of the other interns) tell some guards that they're just doing some late night research, and they're let in some high security place with no documentation proof or anything! The guards step aside and just let them walk right in.
Then I have some... coincidence problems.
Claire finds a diary under her bed, stuffed in between her box springs- don't even remember how she found that one- that gives her all these answers for a problem she's having and a mystery she needs to solve. It was just too easy. In this diary, there's a note in it that says "watch your back" rather creepily but pretty cheesy at the same time... it's never found out. At the end, it's still a mystery as to who sent it and why.
And, one of my biggest problems was OWEN WASN'T IN IT. We KNOW they had history, that they went on one date!!! Where was it?
And not only was there a serious lack of Owen Grady, but honestly- nothing happened! A dinosaur didn't even get out until chapter, like, 26 (and there's only 31 chapters), and then their whole adventure with the dinosaur only lasted like sixteen pages! And Claire defeated the dino by first spraying in the face with bear spray, and then electrocuting it. I don't know, it all seemed pretty anticlimactic.
Honestly, though, the whole book was pretty anticlimactic. There was one person that died. No casualties, and hardly any dinosaurs. I felt like this book focused more on Claire and her trying to find some acidic algae to help some dinosaurs from getting infected than her trying to escape dinosaurs.
And I don't know if I would even like that.
To me, Claire Dearing's past shouldn't be anything special. I like her character in the movie much better, and how much she progresses. She's a very extreme character- she's severe, straight to the point, exact, methodical- she doesn't care about the dinosaurs lives, until she's truly face- to- face wit them, and she can see them as living things. She is a very dynamic character. I feel like her past shouldn't have been too exciting, she shouldn't have been special. Her whole experience in Jurassic World changed her, and that's when she became a unique figure, and developed her own personality. I kind of like the idea of her first REAL journey with dinosaurs to have been with Owen. So maybe I went in with expectations that were too high, but, needless to say, I was less than disappointed.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won't even try to play down my feelings for this book. I loved it. This was one of those 'just one more chapter' even if it is already midnight books. I'm so happy that one of the first and main dinosaurs that they had in the book was with triceratops because they are my favourite dinosaur! Reading the book I couldn't help but my mind wander to think about being in Claire and the other interns positions of actually being able to see and work with dinosaurs (especially my favourite ones). It was easy to get lost in the book's world, especially with such a page-turner.

And I could not get enough of it and young Claire. Jurassic Park is my favourite movies and I really enjoyed the Jurassic World characters. I love how quirky young Claire was, how she started with the park and her early relationship with Simon, and how you see her start to evolve (and what led to) the Claire that you see in Jurassic World, and who you start to see come back in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. I really loved the young Claire, but also how Sharpe created her into a much more complex character.

I really enjoyed this book. The only thing that I didn't like was the few times at the beginning where you can tell it was trying too hard to be politically correct or bring up topics just to talk about it, but thankfully those moments are brief. If you love dinosaurs and the world of Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, you'll like this book. It has great and unique characters and engages you and gives you a glimpse into Jurassic World before it began, and how controlling life always comes with a price.

[Books.and.brews_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much Scholastic for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, let me just start by saying Jurassic Park is my all time favourite movie, so I was super excited to dive into this one as a prequel to Jurassic World and to learn about Claire's character development.Claire is a Poli-sci university major with the career hope of changing laws to protect animals. She is strong, smart, independent and has received her pick of prestigious internship opportunities including one for Mr Masrani on the famous Isla Nuba to work at Jurassic World.
Upon arrival at Isla Nuba we are greeted by the familiar face of Dr Wu and a range of new characters including other interns, staff members and of course, dinosaurs!

I loved reading about the different interns, their backgrounds and personalities. It was great seeing their friendships grow and how they come together to solve problems that are important to each other. Of course, it would be Jurassic World with some dinosaurs thrown into the mix! Each of the dinosaurs we were introduced to each and their own personalities and I loved their parts especially Rexy and Pearl the energetic brachiosaurus!

But this internship turned out to not just be all fun friendships and dinosaurs when Claire finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy; was there a cover up? Who are the "phantom interns"? Who can really be trusted?

This book is a well-written prequel to the first Jurassic World movie and I recommend it for fans of Claire and the Jurassic World franchise.