Helpful Score: 7
Oddly, the book is set in an "end of the world" apocalyptic (minus the rioting, plundering, violence...like a Lifetime movie adaptation) scenario that fits quite well with the media hype of the H1N1 outbreak. But otherwise this book was nothing more than a list of the usual "step mom vs kids" stereotypes: man marries woman after whirlwind romance, man's kids hate stepmom, stepmom is lonely and contemplates having an affair with the too-good-to-be-true divorced neighbor, everybody BONDS!!! over the course of the book). Guess I will pass on this author's other novels.
Helpful Score: 2
Slow paced and extremely well-written, not your typical fare at all. I thought that the scenario that Kasischke presents was very believable. It's just different from the usual end of days story with zombies, alien invasion, and mysterious forces moving the universe type of thing that is very popular now. This book focus on the ordinary life of people as the world slowly crumbles about them and the heroine is not a gun- toting ,supernaturally gifted scion of some long-lost race of supernatural beings . She's just a regular joe trying to make sense of it all.I was never bored with this book. Loved it actually.
Helpful Score: 1
I loved everything about this book EXCEPT the ending. I felt like the author weaved an incredibly thorough and detailed story only to just drop it at the end. The story itself is one of the better ones that I have read lately, and I am very glad I picked up this book. However, I felt empty at the end of the story. While it had an overall hopeful ending, there was a lot left to the reader's imagination. In a way, it is a refreshing change, and its uncertainty made me feel more a part of Jiselle's story rather than just an outsider looking in, but I'm not used to books that just end like that. Despite the quasi-unfinished ending, I devoured the book and was drawn into the story, all marks of a well-written plot, well-developed characters, and an overall gifted storyteller. Even with my disappointment in the ending, I highly recommend this book.
Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this book. It has a soft, dreamy quality about it, an improbable plot, yet draws the reader in.
