Helpful Score: 1
I got an eGalley of this book to review from NetGalley. I am a big fan of Malinda Lo's previous works (Huntress and Ash). I was excited when I saw she was coming out with a new series, but also a bit leery of the fact that is was more of a sci-fi thriller series. This book was okay. I enjoyed the beginning, was confused by how different the middle was, and then thought the ending was just too typical of alien conspiracy types of books.
Reese and David are returning home from a Debate competition along with their coach. At least that is the plan until birds start flying into planes by the flock and planes all over North America are crashing. With their flight canceled Reese and David decide to rent a car and drive home. After a horrible accident in the Nevada desert...Reese wakes up nearly a month later. She is trying to go about her normal life, but something is different. Her and David have strange abilities. Of course that is not the only strange thing going on.
This was an interesting read. One thing I love about Malinda Lo is her beautiful and lyrical writing style. While this style works well for fairy tale retellings, it obviously wasn't a style that would work well in this sci-fi thriller. Lo made a purposeful departure from her previous writing style for this book. I missed her lyrical writing style in this book, her style is much more stark and at times a bit hard to engage with in this book.
Reese and David were both kind of blah characters for me. They just didnt have much personality. This definitely wasnt a character driven story. Reese does meet a spunky girl named Amber who was a lot more fun to read about. However, even Amber comes off as your typical pixie dreamgirl type of stereotype.
The story was kind of all over the place as far as pacing goes. I was completely sucked into the beginning of the story, it was so scary and interesting and engaging. Then in the middle of the book we take a side trip into a romance between Reese and this girl she meets (Amber). It was odd to have such an abrupt switch in pacing. Then in the last third of the book we start to deal with oodles of government conspiracy, things get interesting again but a lot of this part of the plot is just so typical of alien conspiracy books.
I did like some things about this book. It was a young adult sci-fi novel that is easily accessible, it never gets too confusing or complex. There are some good ideas in here as well. I like that Lo doesn't shy away from having her main character be bi-sexual (and a bit confused about it all).
This leads me to a side comment about the romance between Reese and Amber.it was just such insta-love...I hate insta-love. I dont care who the love is between but two characters that fall immediately and desperately for each other is just soooooo typical of oodles of YA books out there.
The book wraps up okay. There is a sequel to it called Inheritance, that I probably wont be reading.
Overall my feelings were just all over the place about the quality of the story. I loved the beginning, thought the middle was boring, and thought the end was okay. The characters are a bit blah and hard to engage with. The end of the story dives straight into very typical alien conspiracy theory and had me rolling my eyes a bit. I would tentatively recommended to those who want an okay YA sci-fi book to read. I personally will not be reading the second book in this series.
Reese and David are returning home from a Debate competition along with their coach. At least that is the plan until birds start flying into planes by the flock and planes all over North America are crashing. With their flight canceled Reese and David decide to rent a car and drive home. After a horrible accident in the Nevada desert...Reese wakes up nearly a month later. She is trying to go about her normal life, but something is different. Her and David have strange abilities. Of course that is not the only strange thing going on.
This was an interesting read. One thing I love about Malinda Lo is her beautiful and lyrical writing style. While this style works well for fairy tale retellings, it obviously wasn't a style that would work well in this sci-fi thriller. Lo made a purposeful departure from her previous writing style for this book. I missed her lyrical writing style in this book, her style is much more stark and at times a bit hard to engage with in this book.
Reese and David were both kind of blah characters for me. They just didnt have much personality. This definitely wasnt a character driven story. Reese does meet a spunky girl named Amber who was a lot more fun to read about. However, even Amber comes off as your typical pixie dreamgirl type of stereotype.
The story was kind of all over the place as far as pacing goes. I was completely sucked into the beginning of the story, it was so scary and interesting and engaging. Then in the middle of the book we take a side trip into a romance between Reese and this girl she meets (Amber). It was odd to have such an abrupt switch in pacing. Then in the last third of the book we start to deal with oodles of government conspiracy, things get interesting again but a lot of this part of the plot is just so typical of alien conspiracy books.
I did like some things about this book. It was a young adult sci-fi novel that is easily accessible, it never gets too confusing or complex. There are some good ideas in here as well. I like that Lo doesn't shy away from having her main character be bi-sexual (and a bit confused about it all).
This leads me to a side comment about the romance between Reese and Amber.it was just such insta-love...I hate insta-love. I dont care who the love is between but two characters that fall immediately and desperately for each other is just soooooo typical of oodles of YA books out there.
The book wraps up okay. There is a sequel to it called Inheritance, that I probably wont be reading.
Overall my feelings were just all over the place about the quality of the story. I loved the beginning, thought the middle was boring, and thought the end was okay. The characters are a bit blah and hard to engage with. The end of the story dives straight into very typical alien conspiracy theory and had me rolling my eyes a bit. I would tentatively recommended to those who want an okay YA sci-fi book to read. I personally will not be reading the second book in this series.
Malinda Lo takes her readers way outside her previous fantasy genre with her third novel, ADAPTATION, which I suppose I would describe as sci-fi lite. While the events of ADAPTATION were at times hard for me to immerse myself in, Lo adds a refreshing LGBTQ element to her story that may encourage readers typically reluctant to pick up sci-fi to give this a try.
Part 1 was mind-blowingly awesome. Scary eventsbird strikes downing planes, people forgetting their humanity in the face of their impending mortality, Reese and David struggling to make it home as transportation unravels around themunfolded in an ominously quick fashion reminiscent of apocalyptic movies. I hardly breathed as I followed Reese and David through a road trip fraught with danger, one that led them right up to the accident that changed their lives forever.
And then the rest of the book becomesweird, and awkwardly paced. Obviously theres a speculative element to the story, as the story hints of weird things occurring to Reese and Davids bodies and mindsthough nothing is confirmed until the end of the book, in a manner that seemed rather far-fetched despite all the hints that were dropped throughout. In Part 2 and beyond, ADAPTATION loses the steam it had been so excellently accumulating, and becomes a plodding and seemingly endless period of rising action where little happens and the characters run into more and more questions but dont get any answers. Why is this so often a symptom of YA novels, for which I thought good pacing was key? Little (with the exception of one thing, which I will discuss next) happens in the middle third or so of this book, and the effect of cramming all the information-revealing actions into the last few chapters of the book was that I was left unpleasantly disoriented and unprepared for the shocking curves the story threw us at the end.
I have mixed feelings about Reeses romantic conflicts in ADAPTATION. On the one hand, what Lo always does well in her stories is give lesbian interactions and relationships the full consideration and respect they deserve. This is especially significant in a current publishing world where heterosexual romances often seem written into a story for the sake of having a romance, not because the MC actually learns anything through the experience of a romantic relationship. It adds some well-appreciated novelty to the typical YA love triangle trope. On the other hand, the balance between ADAPTATIONs romantic and sci-fi plotlines felt unevenmost especially in the nothing-happens-sci-fi-wise section of Part 2and the two seemed to come too easily together in the end for me to believe that these characters and their predicaments could exist outside the realm of fiction.
And that, I think, is my ultimate feeling toward ADAPTATION. Its a technically precise YA thriller with LGBTQ aspects, but its uneven pacing never let me forget that I was reading a YA novel that would probably better enthrall a younger audience that may not yet appreciate the shockingly possible dystopian worlds of books like 1984 or The Hunger Games. It fits the current trend of YA sci-fi-ish thrillers with more-or-less plausible premises that nevertheless rely on their assumption of your investment in the books mystery to keep reading.
Part 1 was mind-blowingly awesome. Scary eventsbird strikes downing planes, people forgetting their humanity in the face of their impending mortality, Reese and David struggling to make it home as transportation unravels around themunfolded in an ominously quick fashion reminiscent of apocalyptic movies. I hardly breathed as I followed Reese and David through a road trip fraught with danger, one that led them right up to the accident that changed their lives forever.
And then the rest of the book becomesweird, and awkwardly paced. Obviously theres a speculative element to the story, as the story hints of weird things occurring to Reese and Davids bodies and mindsthough nothing is confirmed until the end of the book, in a manner that seemed rather far-fetched despite all the hints that were dropped throughout. In Part 2 and beyond, ADAPTATION loses the steam it had been so excellently accumulating, and becomes a plodding and seemingly endless period of rising action where little happens and the characters run into more and more questions but dont get any answers. Why is this so often a symptom of YA novels, for which I thought good pacing was key? Little (with the exception of one thing, which I will discuss next) happens in the middle third or so of this book, and the effect of cramming all the information-revealing actions into the last few chapters of the book was that I was left unpleasantly disoriented and unprepared for the shocking curves the story threw us at the end.
I have mixed feelings about Reeses romantic conflicts in ADAPTATION. On the one hand, what Lo always does well in her stories is give lesbian interactions and relationships the full consideration and respect they deserve. This is especially significant in a current publishing world where heterosexual romances often seem written into a story for the sake of having a romance, not because the MC actually learns anything through the experience of a romantic relationship. It adds some well-appreciated novelty to the typical YA love triangle trope. On the other hand, the balance between ADAPTATIONs romantic and sci-fi plotlines felt unevenmost especially in the nothing-happens-sci-fi-wise section of Part 2and the two seemed to come too easily together in the end for me to believe that these characters and their predicaments could exist outside the realm of fiction.
And that, I think, is my ultimate feeling toward ADAPTATION. Its a technically precise YA thriller with LGBTQ aspects, but its uneven pacing never let me forget that I was reading a YA novel that would probably better enthrall a younger audience that may not yet appreciate the shockingly possible dystopian worlds of books like 1984 or The Hunger Games. It fits the current trend of YA sci-fi-ish thrillers with more-or-less plausible premises that nevertheless rely on their assumption of your investment in the books mystery to keep reading.
**I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
2.75 Stars
I really had a hard time deciding how to rate this book. For me, the quality of the story was all over the place. I would give the first third of the book 5 stars, the middle third 1.5 stars, and the last third somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.
This book has a lot going for it you don't (or I don't) see in a lot of YA titles. You have parents who are actively involved in the lives of their children, multiple prominent POC characters, and varying sexual orientations. The characters were well fleshed out and likable.
The first 33% or so, is a fast paced, thrilling ride. As the book starts, our lead characters, Reese and David, are about to fly home from a Debate event. Too bad they weren't on an earlier flight. All over North America flocks of birds are causing plane crashes. No one knows what is causing the flocks to fly into the planes. Soon the government steps in, and all flights are grounded. Reese convinces their teacher, Mr. Chapman, it'd be best to rent a car and drive home. This works out well for a little while, but due to a car jacking gone bad, Mr. Chapman ends up dead and Reese and David are left on their own. Luckily, or unluckily, they still have their car. At this point highways have been shut down and panic is starting to set in. While trying to find another route home, Reese and David are in a horrible car crash. Neither will wake up for close to month. When they do, they'll find themselves at a top secret government facility. They'll also find out that they're very different then they used to be.
Exciting, right? I wish I could say that about the whole book.
The middle of the book fell flat. All the excitement from the first part was put on a back shelf. This part mainly has to do with Reese readjusting to life at home. Along the way she'll notice a few weird things. Her scars are healing dramatically each day, until they are no longer there at all. She can feel what others are feeling when she makes physical contact with them. She'll meet Amber and realize you never know yourself as well as you think you do. And.....that's pretty much it.
We get back to the excitement in the third act. I can't really say much without giving away the ending, but I will say I enjoyed what happened here. It wasn't as good as the beginning of the book, but it was still satisfying.
I'm happy to say this book does tie up all the loose ends. It can be read as a stand alone, if like me, you decide not to continue with the series. Even though this book and I didn't mesh well, I did enjoy Lo's writing. I will definitely read more by her.
2.75 Stars
I really had a hard time deciding how to rate this book. For me, the quality of the story was all over the place. I would give the first third of the book 5 stars, the middle third 1.5 stars, and the last third somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.
This book has a lot going for it you don't (or I don't) see in a lot of YA titles. You have parents who are actively involved in the lives of their children, multiple prominent POC characters, and varying sexual orientations. The characters were well fleshed out and likable.
The first 33% or so, is a fast paced, thrilling ride. As the book starts, our lead characters, Reese and David, are about to fly home from a Debate event. Too bad they weren't on an earlier flight. All over North America flocks of birds are causing plane crashes. No one knows what is causing the flocks to fly into the planes. Soon the government steps in, and all flights are grounded. Reese convinces their teacher, Mr. Chapman, it'd be best to rent a car and drive home. This works out well for a little while, but due to a car jacking gone bad, Mr. Chapman ends up dead and Reese and David are left on their own. Luckily, or unluckily, they still have their car. At this point highways have been shut down and panic is starting to set in. While trying to find another route home, Reese and David are in a horrible car crash. Neither will wake up for close to month. When they do, they'll find themselves at a top secret government facility. They'll also find out that they're very different then they used to be.
Exciting, right? I wish I could say that about the whole book.
The middle of the book fell flat. All the excitement from the first part was put on a back shelf. This part mainly has to do with Reese readjusting to life at home. Along the way she'll notice a few weird things. Her scars are healing dramatically each day, until they are no longer there at all. She can feel what others are feeling when she makes physical contact with them. She'll meet Amber and realize you never know yourself as well as you think you do. And.....that's pretty much it.
We get back to the excitement in the third act. I can't really say much without giving away the ending, but I will say I enjoyed what happened here. It wasn't as good as the beginning of the book, but it was still satisfying.
I'm happy to say this book does tie up all the loose ends. It can be read as a stand alone, if like me, you decide not to continue with the series. Even though this book and I didn't mesh well, I did enjoy Lo's writing. I will definitely read more by her.
