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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Stars Are Fire in Books
Feb 13, 2018
<i>This was an amazing book. </i> I'm not always an historical fiction fan (the story is based on actual fire that occurred in Maine), but I'll make an exception for Shreve, whom I've loved since her beautiful novel, [b:The Pilot's Wife|5191|The Pilot's Wife|Anita Shreve|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435011220s/5191.jpg|3131254]. There is just something poignant and touching about this novel. I was immediately drawn into Grace's story, and I read the novel quickly over the course of a day or so. Shreve creates a fierce and wonderful character in Grace, and you cannot help but root for her.
Grace is held back by so much in her life: her gender, her financial circumstances, her husband. After experiencing such a terrible loss: her entire town is basically burned to the ground, including her home, it's amazing to watch her resilience in the face of such horror. In many ways, it's not as if a lot happens in this novel, yet I feel like so much occurs during Grace's journey. I so loved her spirit, and I also wanted to swoop in and take away all the horrible things that occurred in her life.
I don't want to go into much detail and ruin the details of the plot, but I'll just say that this is a lovely book, with well-drawn characters--led by the tough and wonderful Grace. I was captivated by the story, and I would certainly recommend the novel. 4 stars.
<center><a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">Blog</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/mwcmoto">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristyHamiltonbooks">Google+</a></center>
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Autonomous: A Novel in Books
Dec 22, 2018
Meanwhile, Eliasz is a conflicted military agent who is sexually attracted to robots. Or at least to his partner, Paladin, though a flashback shows what might have been the start of his attraction to robots. Paladin is probably the single most interesting character in the entire book, as she muses on the nature of being indentured, and searches through her memories and the internet for information about her situation.
The book does have LGBT content - Jack is bisexual, and Eliasz is - robosexual? Is that a thing? Paladin could be called nonbinary or trans; she repeatedly mentions that gender isn't a thing to robots, but because she's a military robot, most people call her a he at the beginning of the book. She learns the brain inside her is female, and to make Eliasz more comfortable with his attraction, she decides to use female pronouns. Eliasz does use the F word to refer to himself being attracted to the robot at the beginning, when they were using male pronouns. This puzzles Paladin for a while, causing her to search the term and figure out what Eliasz meant by its use.
There's a lot of complex world-building in this book that is barely brushed past. From the corporations who own patents covering everything, to the system of indenture that covers humans as well as robots, to the bio-domes that cover cities (but it's livable outside the biodomes, so why are they needed?), to the new federations that cover continents that used to be divided into several countries - there's a LOT going on. And there's not just robots, but also some pretty advanced cybernetics implanted in humans as well as an everpresent network of data that can be tapped into with implants that everyone has.
Ultimately, for as complex as the world is, and cohesive as the plot is, I'm left wondering who, if anyone, was in the right in this story. I'm not sure if we're supposed to be happy with the ending or not. I've seen other reviews saying Neuromancer was a way better book in a similar vein, and I actually have copy of that waiting to be read. So we'll see.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Mrs. Fletcher in Books
Jan 23, 2018
First of all, don't bother with this novel if you can't handle sexual or porn references in your reading: let's just get that out there. There are all sorts of said references in Perrotta's latest and while you could argue that they are plot driven, it certainly gets to be a bit much at times.
For me, this one was a tad odd. Parts of it I really enjoyed; others, I just found bizarre and strange (and I've read other Perrotta works, so I know somewhat what to expect with him). The early parts of the novel were almost tender and hit a bit close to home, as I'm the only child of a single (also divorced) mother. The relationship between Eve and Brendan is interesting and well-explored, and you certainly have sympathy for Eve. In fact, many of the adults in this novel are so incredibly sad and lonely--and they have some extremely realistic moments and situations.
Alas, Brendan is really just insufferable, and you can't help but like Eve a little less as the result. I rarely enjoyed any of the sections told from his point of view. As the novel progresses, it increases its perspectives--bringing in the secondary characters--and you really do get drawn into their lives. Perrotta is an engaging writer and while not all his characters in this one are likeable, nor do they always act rationally, they are dynamic. Indeed, this is often just a plain old weird and bizarre novel. Some places I found myself thinking Is this really happening?? (Oh it was.)
So, in the end this is an amusing tale--with a surprising depth--that offers a fairly accurate portrayal about society and sexuality/gender. The characters are certainly interesting, even if pieces can be ridiculous and preposterous. The ending left me feeling a little let down, which was a tad disappointing, and kept it from being higher than a 3-star review for me.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/.
Kyera (8 KP) rated The Maze Runner in Books
Jan 31, 2018
I honestly didn't know the plot of this book prior to reading it and I'm glad. It's a dystopian-style novel akin to Divergent or the Hunger Games. The unique premise sparked my interest and compelling narrative kept it, rapt, for the two days it took me to "read" it. (The first copy I could get my hands from my library on was the audio version, so it's takes longer to read and forces me to review it differently.)
Unlike some novels, I found myself enjoying the speaker of the novel rather than being taking out of the story by their voice acting. It's always amusing to hear the reader do the opposite gender. Despite the quality of the audiobook, my advice? Read the physical book. There are intricacies and conversations that you may wish to reread, which can't happen easily with the audio. Simply, you miss things.
The main characters were quite enjoyable: witty, flawed, cunning, and volatile. Although the explanation of their thoughts or feelings might be redundant, even sometimes being repeated on numerous occasions, verbatim... The characters could have been developed a little better, but I do feel like they evolved. After a time, the characters came into their own. Each had a unique voice and personality. As with all good books, the reader develops a connection to a certain character or characters. That is a sign that the book is worthy of the notice and devoted readers that it receives. (You know the book where a main/supporting character dies and you think, 'that's sad...' and then the other one that caused you to break down in tears. Looking at you J.K.)
The slang? Not my cup of tea. You could tell what the words were supposed to represent if you paid attention to the context, and they weren't incredibly inventive. I could have done without that aspect of it.
I think that the revealing of important information could have been approached better, rather than an "info dump". The book would have been stronger if various characters worked out the why or how and together they determined what was happening. Unfortunately, the main character is the one who manages to "figure" everything out, solely by recalling every important detail when it is finally needed.
The plot was fantastic. I never found my attention wandering and highly recommend it for most teen readers. It's certainly an enjoyable, easy read (middle school level and above, generally) but one that has a degree of quality to substantiate it.
And in case you've been living under a rock, the Maze Runner is being released soon - so go read the book! Then you have my permission to see the movie.