Reviews and Comments

It's hard to say too much about this series without spoiling various plot twists and discoveries. Of which there are many.

This book feels like a great setup for the final book. It introduces more knowns, and unknowns, into the state of the world. It's a longer term view of the situation compared to the first book, which is critical backstory, but means less of that "discover the world through Juliettes eyes" thrill from the first book. Also, I wish I hadn't waited as long after reading the first book, there are some specific details that carry over and aren't re-contextualized.

Very much looking forward to the third book.

A very solid ocean caper in a world that has more fantasy depth than I initially expected. Also appreciated that the lead character was aged, and not some youngster with healthy joints.

It was interesting, but never compelling, with an ending felt like the author was trying to get out of the office on a Friday. Neat world though, would maybe like to see a sequel.

It's got great characters a solid message about always doing the work to do what's right and not giving up. I teared up at the end.

Cool things happen in this book! It's not mind-blowing, but it's much more unpredictable than the first book and has some compelling character development. Though wouldn't really recommend the series unless you're someone who likes thinking about cities.

This book has a cool core idea, but it doesn't do too much with it and the plotline is a little too predictable and brief. I'm still in for the second book (it's a duology), but mostly because it's N.K. Jemisin

Easy reading, great characters, plot never gets too dark but certainly does touch on dark topics. Fun book all around.

In a good way! All of the characters are pretty one dimensional, the only way out is through, and it's pretty much chaos the whole time. The good stuff is in the reflections the characters have while going through their lives with everything turned up to 11. Great summer reading.

I'm here because I try to read all the books my kids read. It turns out to be a great coming of age story told through a unique format that focuses only (like, only) on words and thoughts of the characters. The format is absolutely perfect for the story being told and makes the book memorable.

It's a quick read and certainly focused on younger readers who are figuring out their lives. It was a good read (I teared up a little 3/4s of the way through), though I'm mostly happy that my kid has read it.

I'm a former rower who's aware of history and more critically, appreciates good characters.

This book covers an absolutely incredible story with very little joy or nuance. I respect it for capturing some history that would have likely been lost, but regret it didn't do more to bring the challenges the characters faced to the page.

If you want a sense of the depth of this book, it's basically a re-imagined for adults version of Adam Sandler's "Leo" kids movie. Not sure which actually came first, but either way, neither is particularly deep and both involve lots of Deus ex Machina moments.

I got some chuckles out if it along the way, but the characters don't face any complex challenges or grow in any interesting ways other than to magically shed their flaws.

The solid writing makes it a nice casual read when there's nothing else to do?

This was a fun read! Very unique post-apocalyptic Earth plotline with some good twists.

But the characters are a little two dimensional, and the protagonist is a little too good at everything. I'll certainly read the other books in the series. Again, it's a good story, but I'm not craving more time with these characters immediately.

A quirky take on a tech tale in San Francisco. Worth reading if you care about those things, the specific local moments are the things that I remember. It was a wonderful bedtime book.

It's an ok book, it's written by their former head of PR, so everything BART comes off feeling a little too polished and perfect.

BUT!

The author had a lot of access, and it's a great read to learn about how the system was all put together. Dunno if I'd care if it wasn't about my hometown, but if you ride BART, you should certainly check it out

Quirky and unexpected, the things I appreciate most in a book. Also, not that long, which means it can't get too lost in it's unique abstractions. Loved it, will read it again.