ladyeirelyn reviewed on
Quick review: It started slow and the MC (Tally) was very unrelatable at the start. But things picked up towards the middle, and the story (and Tally) became much more enjoyable, leaving me wanting more by the end.
Long review: I'm partial to dystopian novels and this one is no exception. It started out slowly for me. Tally is a product of her teachings in this society, full of naivete and judgment about the past. The new friend she meets, Shay, is a much more relatable character, and I found myself rolling my eyes each time they would argue about the pros & cons of being "pretty" vs. being "ugly." I lost count of the number of times they argued about the same exact thing, and it just seemed as though they were beating a dead horse. These were the only two characters who saw any significant amount of page time for the first half of the book, and I found myself relating much more to Shay. I was a little annoyed with Tally.
It wasn't until at least halfway through the book that things picked up for me and started to get much, much better.
*Spoilers ahead*
When Tally finally entered The Smoke, things began to get more intense. I was still a little irritated by her character because her sole reason for going there was to rat out the smokies so that she could be "pretty." I suppose that was a testament to how important this new lifestyle is in this particular society, but I found it more annoying than anything. However, I began to see some redeeming qualities in her when she hesitated to turn in the smokies. And then things got much better from there.
She finally developed her own mind, and she started to see things differently, once she began to think on her own. The rest of the book was great, and I found myself not wanting to put it down. By the end, I couldn't wait to continue on to the next book in the series.
I rated it a 3.5. A 4 would have been a high rating for me, but because of the slow start, I knocked off half a star.
Long review: I'm partial to dystopian novels and this one is no exception. It started out slowly for me. Tally is a product of her teachings in this society, full of naivete and judgment about the past. The new friend she meets, Shay, is a much more relatable character, and I found myself rolling my eyes each time they would argue about the pros & cons of being "pretty" vs. being "ugly." I lost count of the number of times they argued about the same exact thing, and it just seemed as though they were beating a dead horse. These were the only two characters who saw any significant amount of page time for the first half of the book, and I found myself relating much more to Shay. I was a little annoyed with Tally.
It wasn't until at least halfway through the book that things picked up for me and started to get much, much better.
*Spoilers ahead*
When Tally finally entered The Smoke, things began to get more intense. I was still a little irritated by her character because her sole reason for going there was to rat out the smokies so that she could be "pretty." I suppose that was a testament to how important this new lifestyle is in this particular society, but I found it more annoying than anything. However, I began to see some redeeming qualities in her when she hesitated to turn in the smokies. And then things got much better from there.
She finally developed her own mind, and she started to see things differently, once she began to think on her own. The rest of the book was great, and I found myself not wanting to put it down. By the end, I couldn't wait to continue on to the next book in the series.
I rated it a 3.5. A 4 would have been a high rating for me, but because of the slow start, I knocked off half a star.
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