Carmichael Library Sci-Fi (Virtual) Book Club discussion

Read through Chapter 18? Discuss it here.

I have to keep reminding myself that this boy is only 15 years old. Although with this dystopian world I guess that might make him a man. I like the little hints of how his story goes later in time especially about how he gets to know Ursala better. I'm enjoying this book.

With the cover, I thought it might be like this 1950s book I read about plants from space that move around and attack people. It was written like a zombie-style book. This isn't like that at all, which I'm glad of.

I actually just finished it. It's good but depressing as with most dystopian books. I'm planning on reading the rest of the series.

Just to chapter 9 but enjoying book. It’s fun trying to figure out what the tech used to be. This is a great example of the problems that can arise when humans try to fix the problems they caused (i.e. correcting deteriorating climate by genetically engineering plants). I also find the grammar off putting but am adjusting. Not sure why authors seem to think as civilization degrades, language does also.

I was thinking that too about tech - what would last and what wouldn't. And whether it would be considered useful.

I'm kind of slow in getting through the book (life happens!)

Now maybe this changes later in the book, but I was expecting a much greater emphasis on fighting the trees. I guess that's not really all that dissimilar from Carolyn's initial impression. I wasn't thinking '50s, though. I was comparing it to The Girl with All the Gifts in that it seems like the characters were constantly in motion, traveling for most of the story, while also evading zombies.

The language thing also threw me initially. It makes me think, for example, watching the film The Full Monty for the first time. The characters have a thick British accent and use a lot of slang so it took a little bit of time to get the feel of their speaking patterns.

I find it intriguing that it at first feels like this is a place in the past (and the language contributes to that vibe), but as you go on, the tech places it somewhere in the future, and we're so far in the future that things have devolved. I wonder if the author had a specific year in mind and if we will learn the timeframe later in the book or even in one of the sequel books.

At least some of the animals are back. (Discussed further in the book.)