Zoe > Recent Status Updates

I was actually able to overlook this because 1) I’ve realized that fiction doesn’t have to be realistic if I’m having fun and 2) I had rose-colored glasses on as a kid and I now I dont. I don’t have a problem believing that in scary, stressful, and apocalyptic situations, people would become selfish and distrustful and violent. Cause I feel like I’ve seen it to a lesser degree and this is dialed up to 11.

Interestingly, it seems like the reason a lot of people are giving it one-star reviews is the same reason why I hated lord of the flies, which this book is inspired by, when I read it back in school: “what? How did it get violent so quickly? This is so unrealistic. Those kids would never start killing each other so fast.”

Was still good though. A fun and scary story about a fake disaster gaining national media attention and psychological think-pieces. I liked the interconnectedness of the characters stories and I particularly liked the commentary from the people who weren’t in the park—the historian, the prosecutor, etc because it gave insight to how the whole thing was perceived by the public

The reporter conducting interviews was a such a mediocre reporter, too. Like, make him bad or make him incredible and then his character might actually be compelling. Instead of crafting a more thought-provoking narrative, he spends too much time and energy providing justification for potential plotholes (why most of the people aren’t in jail, why people weren’t raping or eating each other, why help never came)

Idk. I think I gotta give this a 3 even though I wanted it to be a 4. I so wish that there had been a more nuanced take on the propensity of people, especially young people, to resort to violence in apocalyptic scenarios, but instead we got “they didn’t have their phones therefore and constant stimuli”.

With all the setup for the Brock interview, it should have been way more damning

Men will just be fucking evil

Yeah that bro needs to be in JAILLLLL. Like yesterday.

I think Sophie is my favorite so far. But girl why didn’t you just stay in the bunker with all your stuff???

Mike is good at building up the dread and suspense by name dropping the evil-doer(s) before their interview. I keep flipping back to the table of contents to see where certain interviews are in the order and wondering how their story affects the overall narrative.

Immediately going to cease reading this at night before it gets scary

This was good, but for how slow the pacing was at times, I would have liked to devote more time to Soojin’s development at the end. Her coming to terms with her grief, how she came to accept losing her sister again, how she deals with leaving mark so soon after reconnecting, how she revives her relationship with her father, etc etc

Yeah so the whole book my main critique had been that, for a plot so centered on sisterhood, there hadn’t actually been that many scenes, present or flashbacks, to convince me that their relationship was so strong and cherished that she had to break ancestral laws or whatever to bring Mirae back. So I’m glad we’re acknowledging Soojin “made her sisters death about herself.” Cause yeah.

The way that grief and revenge are discussed by the sisters is so raw and emotional wow

Hmmm. Pacing.

Mehhhhhhhh.

I wasn’t kicking my feet and giggling, I’ll say that.

My favorites:
The air shines like honey.
I am burning.
The first weapon I ever held was my mother’s hand.

This is genuinely the best prose I have read in years. The rhetoric isn’t overly pretentious, but all the metaphors and analogies and similes add to the imagery and emotion being conveyed. Even though historical fiction isn’t my favorite, I recognized early on in this book that this was top tier literature

Oh Jesmyn you are a poet

Oh.

But so much of that is in the context of making it in the Games—knowing how to play to the audience, determining other tributes’ strengths and weaknesses. And just beneath the surface of this survival story, Suzanne reminds us that the oppression, classism, hypocrisy, unequal opportunity, fake care for the children, withholding of resources, and all the systemic inequalities in Panem exist in our society today.

What strikes me the most is how strategically Katniss thinks— specifically as someone who has spent her entire lifetime watching the Hunger Games. To me, this is mainly a story of survival. It becomes a social commentary when Katniss muses about the privilege of people in the Capital, and of the Careers, and even her own privilege in the arena as someone who hunts and sells meat to the local Peacekeepers, etc etc

So I will actually not be taking any criticism of this book ever.

This is why the censorship of children’s literature is a touchy subject.

4) Loving others and knowing that you are loved can save you. That’s what the ending meant to me

Side note: so many words in here that I had to look up the definition of good lord

What I got out of this read that I didn’t remember is 1) megs mom has phds in biology and BACTERIOLOGY 2) major themes of putting your parents on pedestals and being disappointed when they make mistakes 3) once again reminded that children have the capacity to read about heavy topics. There is mention of murder, starvation, punishment, religion, self sacrifice, etc.

The difference between this and the alchemist is that a wrinkle in time recognizes the people who see the world differently and the people who see the world as it is and celebrates BOTH.

“It’s my worst trouble, getting fond. If I didn’t get so fond I could be happy all the time.

Oh, well, ho hum, I manage to keep pretty jolly, and a little snooze will do wonders for me right now.”

This is my Alchemist.

Was promised sunshine x sunshine though and that was indeed what I got.

Also the smut scenes were good in this I will say.

Yeah okay now I see why heartstrings has those amazing covers. She had no choice but to pop off because the lovelight covers are absolutely horrendous.

This was fine. Another central conflict of “I’m too scared to pursue a good thing because I fear it won’t last” type of deal which I don’t love. Also we didn’t ever figure out why Caleb was always striking out it kinda felt like an unresolved plot point

In the same vein as b, c) video games (and I’m assuming D&D campaigns) are often driven by plot but a lot of the time they also explore character relationships and I feel like this book just didn’t give me enough of that.

No shade to any of my friends who genuinely are enjoying these. I’m not disappointed, just shocked tbh. And I better not hear anyone who likes these frown upon the romantasy crowd.