lilia

Honestly, I couldn't put this book down from the minute I started it and finished it within a day. The story and its characters have sunk their claws into me and I cannot escape. The writing itself definitely isn't extraordinary by any means (I mean this is a YA fantasy and not literary fiction) but Tara Sim definitely has a way of hooking you into her stories so quickly and easily I'm honestly surprised this book doesn't already have a cult following. 

If you're looking for a quick and easy read that is still exciting and tense enough with enough emotional points and plot twists to keep you moving forward then this is definitely a must-read. 

The goodreads app kept eating my review so here is my last attempt. Very slow start but ramped up extremely fast beyond the 50% mark. Left me extremely confused and very deliberately does not answer the questions it forces you to ask, which I think was a key point of the book and something commonly found in other books by the author (from what I've heard). I know it sounds negative but I don't mean this in a negative way, it means we have to come up with our own answers, which isn't always a bad thing.

Ultimately was a study of human behaviour, interaction and motivation in a future that doesn't seem too far off from where we are. I was interested enough to keep reading till the end and, honestly, if you make it past the slow beginning, and enjoy stories like this, it is truly worth the read.

This took me a lot longer to finish than I expected and I was wondering for the longest time if it was just me who found it extremely boring and uninteresting but I see other people have thought the same thing. There is so much I can go into regarding this book and while I acknowledge the classic nature of it within the genre, the only way i can describe it is as a story that's given me a whole lot of nothing. Like A LOT of nothing. So many words later and I still have zero attachment to the characters, and while that can be overlooked in generally plot-heavy books, it felt like this book also had zero plot. I'm mainly just disappointed because I expected to like this book a lot more.

I don't think I've ever read a book that's made me want to sit down and cry while simultaneously contemplate my existence. This was such a beautiful story - when people say ‘coming of age' this is exactly what they mean.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect going into this. I hadn't really read the synopsis or heard people talk about it beyond saying that it was a good book and I'm glad I didn't. Not knowing made it even better, it made me feeling like I was growing up alongside Ari. Maybe I have.

It was an incredible read. I'm glad I started the year off with this book.

all i can say is i want to take this book and wear it’s words like a second skin. i want to be swathed in it until it’s the only thing i know. bury me with it.