Like many of the reviewers for this book, I picked it up because I'm a Starkid fan, but this was great in its own right. The mystery element of the book was enough to keep me glued to the page (Read in one day!) but that didn't detract from the core of the book; the relationship between the bully and the bullied. What really made this book as well was the way that Eric Kahn Gale portrayed the former 'Grunts' - and the way that the experiences from childhood shape you and dictate who you become. My one criticism (and the reason this got 4 instead of 5 stars) is the complete lack of female characters; it is pretty heavily implied that all previous Book owners and Grunts were male and the only real female character served only as a mild love interest. Having spent 7 years in all-girls schools, I can justify that girls can be just as bad if not worse than boys! But apart from that, a good, easy read that is almost painfully insightful.

I JUST
I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS
THE CUTENESS
THE FRIENDSHIPS
THE FAMILY
THE OVERALL ADORABLENESS OF THIS BOOK

Okay, now that's out the way...

This was, by no stretch of the imagination, the best-written book ever. In fact, by about page 20 I was ready to give up, the writing was annoying me that much. But MAN am I glad I stuck with it!!!! I got completely sucked into it, and the only reason it took me 12 hours instead of 2 was that I accidentally fell asleep at 1am. It is also one of maybe 2 or 3 books that have given me feelings enough to actually physically throw the book (only onto the bed, but still!).

I loved the dynamics between the different characters and the diversity of the characters (and not just in obvious stuff like ethnicity or sexuality), I loved Simon's family, and most of all I loved Simon and Blue SO SO SO MUCH. (Also very happy because I correctly guessed who Blue was :D)

So yes, cuteness and adorableness abound in this book, but it only works because that ties together a very moving story about a teenage boy and his struggle with coming out. You should all read this book RIGHT NOW because you will not regret it. At all.

This book was such a wonderful, pleasant surprise. Although it looked interesting, my heart sank at the words "she is drawn to the mysterious Sean" on the blurb, but I'm so, so glad that I picked it up regardless.

The characters were subtle and understated, but still well-rounded, interesting and complex. The story went from strength to strength, and I was very pleased to find that the romance was a by-product of the plot, and not the other way round - in fact, it was more than 100 pages before the two of them properly met. It was so atmospheric that by the end you feel like you've been living on Thisby all your life. I just loved how the story was so small-scale while also feeling heavily significant; the character's don't want to change the world, or save a country - their motives were small and personal, but that in many ways helped them to achieve even more.

There was absolutely nothing that I did not adore about this book. Beautifully crafted and sublime.

I must admit, I didn't actually make it to the end. The stories were good, the characters were good, but personally I just really struggle with Kipling's writing style. I'd read some of his short stories before and struggled, but thought that maybe this would be easier. The words went into my head but I just couldn't make any sense of them, and it was a real struggle to work out what was going on. I feel bad giving it a low rating because it is a good book, but I just wasn't enjoying it and it felt like a really laborious read.

Wow. Just... wow.

The first book in this series was a good, solid dystopian, but this?! This was on a whole different level.

The cast of characters was more diverse, in every way, and the characterisation was excellent; I felt like I related to every character on some level, and there were some nice cameos from the previous book. The relationships between the characters were also excellent; I particularly liked the friendships between Jack and Ed and between Brooke, Aleisha and Courtney, and the plot felt much more character-driven. The attachments I felt towards the characters meant that every death (and there were so, so many) felt so significant, to the point of once actually crying.

The writing was brilliantly engaging (I basically read the whole thing in one sitting, and it's not short!) and the humanisation of the adult "sickos" was also brilliantly touching. An all-round brilliant dystopian YA, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series.

Lord of the Flies meets the zombie apocalypse...

I was absolutely hooked from the first page; the characters and premise were brilliant, and the plot - focussing on day to day survival - was a welcome change from the typical 'overthrow the government' kind that we've become used to. With a mortality rate George R R Martin would be proud of, there was an added tension as to who was going to die next. My one complaint would be that it panders quite a lot to a young teenage male audience; although for the majority of the book there is a fairly even spread of characters ethnicity- and gender- wise, at the beginning in particular, and during most of the fight scenes, the story is much more male-dominated. It also felt at times that Higson was trying to emulate teenage slang, and I don't think anyone has ever read a book where that has been done flawlessly, although it did work at times. That aside, a great read, with a great set-up for the second book.

We are so used to the Pantomime, Disney version of Peter Pan that this was certainly a shock! Whilst the first couple of chapters lured you in with their innocence, quaintness and sheer level of adorable, the story certainly took a rather sinister turn!

The main story has this brilliant juxtaposition of childhood innocence against cruelty and trickery; J. M. Barrie apparently didn't like the now famous statue of Peter in Kensington Gardens because it "doesn't show the devil in Peter". The body of the story has the air of an out-of-control game of make-believe, and reflects some of the violence apparent in children's games. Peter's famous line, "To die would be an awfully big adventure", has a slightly different resonance when he has already killed several times in the story, without it phasing him one bit. Peter's manipulation and carelessness did have a certain innocence to it, in that it was like he was innocent to the effect he was having on others. The book also touched on themes such as the relationship between a mother and child, painting it in an exploitative, unequal light, but nevertheless positive.

An interesting read - especially considering the book's effect on popular culture! With some very interesting ideas behind it, that are often lost.

The actual ghost story part of this was brilliant - I had chills at the end, and desperately wanted to find out what was happening. However, I think this suffered from just being too short. While, obviously, being a world book day book meant that it couldn't really be any longer, I just felt like I was missing a lot of background information and depth on the characters and the setting. I felt that the characters were very interesting and complex but that that wasn't really explored, and to try and compensate then some portions of the book, especially at the beginning, lacked subtlety. I felt that every single point of the book should have been expanded on; it read a bit like an abridged version of a novel, which is a shame, as the actual plot and premise were great!

THIS BOOK.

THIS. BOOK.

I just absolutely cannot cope. I nearly threw it across the room when I finished it with how good it was. I was drawn so, so deeply into the story, it almost hurt whenever I had to stop reading. I had shivers for most of the book, there were points when I couldn't breathe, I was so tense, and I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to 'Funkytown' ever again.

There's a lot of dystopian YA out there, but this blows things like The Hunger Games and Divergent out of the water, the reason being its connection with humanity. Not only is the world expertly extrapolated from our own, right now, but Shusterman focuses so brilliantly on the people of the story; not only the revolutionaries and the activists, but the people at home, the people of circumstance, all the individuals who all contribute to a revolution are given a voice. There were so many small, seemingly insignificant moments that all come together to create something incredible. (It is also one of the few YA books I've read that actually approaches the topic of religion, treats it respectfully and positively, without dwelling on it or making a big fuss about it.)

If you read one dystopian series, make it this one. Seriously. Because I know that I will forever be influenced and haunted by this series.