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The Dead And The Gone was very different from the previous book, in both good and bad ways. First, it flipped from a first-person journal-style to a third person narrative. Not bad, but a strange transition and I feel like there wasn’t as much introspection (which would have gone poorly tbh). The setting and narrator were changed from a rural PA girl to a NYC boy. Because of this, readers got to see the effects of the disaster in a different context, as NYC was more organized, but also got more horrific quicker. Both were due to having more people on hand.
Most of the character stage presence was taken up by Alex Morales. On the whole, he was a nice change from Miranda. He was a Catholic school boy with deep faith in God and deeper faith in his eventual run as president. He also played the role of the main caregiver to his two younger sisters, whom he was constantly worried about. He also had anger issues. It wasn’t written into his character like he went to therapy or waa at all aware of it, but his temper got the better of him more than a few times. It never built, though, and just happened with drastic consequences that I feel he never faced. It really irked me how rooted in misogyny they were, too, especially when his outbursts were never treated as wrong or something worth apologising to his sisters over. They made me really not root for Alex.
On the whole, this book wasn't as stressful as the first, but was still gripping. I wish more attention had been paid to other characters, but was mostly okay with the writing of the ones we got. However, while The Dead & The Gone offered a more expansive look at the world post-meteor, the main character had some serious problems with toxic masculinity and the book had an unsatisfying ending which invalidated the Morales’ struggles. It fell vastly short of Life As We Knew It for me.
Most of the character stage presence was taken up by Alex Morales. On the whole, he was a nice change from Miranda. He was a Catholic school boy with deep faith in God and deeper faith in his eventual run as president. He also played the role of the main caregiver to his two younger sisters, whom he was constantly worried about. He also had anger issues. It wasn’t written into his character like he went to therapy or waa at all aware of it, but his temper got the better of him more than a few times. It never built, though, and just happened with drastic consequences that I feel he never faced. It really irked me how rooted in misogyny they were, too, especially when his outbursts were never treated as wrong or something worth apologising to his sisters over. They made me really not root for Alex.
On the whole, this book wasn't as stressful as the first, but was still gripping. I wish more attention had been paid to other characters, but was mostly okay with the writing of the ones we got. However, while The Dead & The Gone offered a more expansive look at the world post-meteor, the main character had some serious problems with toxic masculinity and the book had an unsatisfying ending which invalidated the Morales’ struggles. It fell vastly short of Life As We Knew It for me.
Since we return to rural PA with Miranda Evans & her journal, This World We Live In feels so much more like the first book in the series. I enjoyed returning to Miranda’s POV, because she sees & thinks about things more deeply than Alex had. Also, when she exhibits her character flaws, the other characters hold her accountable where Alex really wasn’t. Though the book was more familiar & favored, it also felt unimpressed with itself. There wasn’t that same tension Miranda’s earlier journal had.
Where Life As We Knew It seemed to focus on relationships within hardship, this book wanted to put the spotlight on romantic relationships. I had liked the way hints of romance were used in the first book, but how it seemed to overshadow the apocalypse in this volume was just so bleh. I appreciated the acknowledgement that Miranda’s attraction to Alex could be partially due to him being the Last Living Boy in America (LLBA). However, there was no chemistry to be found. Even the relationship between Miranda’s older brother & his surprise wife felt more believable, if a bit arresting. Though, Syl on the whole never seemed to fit in the narrative. There were also half-hearted attempts at budding connections for Miranda’s mom & younger brother, but, again, I could see the reasons why the pairs got on well.
With our two protagonists meeting & coming to terms with the fact this is how the world is now, I was hoping for more. There wasn’t as much speculating about the future of the planet & I wish Alex & Miranda had had more heart-to-hearts about what it’s like to go through something like this while on the verge of being an adult. Like the book before it, it’s a pretty big let down from the first book of the series. The plot was stable & boring, & the characters I had liked seemed to flatten out before my eyes. I have to say, my hopes aren’t high for the final book.
Where Life As We Knew It seemed to focus on relationships within hardship, this book wanted to put the spotlight on romantic relationships. I had liked the way hints of romance were used in the first book, but how it seemed to overshadow the apocalypse in this volume was just so bleh. I appreciated the acknowledgement that Miranda’s attraction to Alex could be partially due to him being the Last Living Boy in America (LLBA). However, there was no chemistry to be found. Even the relationship between Miranda’s older brother & his surprise wife felt more believable, if a bit arresting. Though, Syl on the whole never seemed to fit in the narrative. There were also half-hearted attempts at budding connections for Miranda’s mom & younger brother, but, again, I could see the reasons why the pairs got on well.
With our two protagonists meeting & coming to terms with the fact this is how the world is now, I was hoping for more. There wasn’t as much speculating about the future of the planet & I wish Alex & Miranda had had more heart-to-hearts about what it’s like to go through something like this while on the verge of being an adult. Like the book before it, it’s a pretty big let down from the first book of the series. The plot was stable & boring, & the characters I had liked seemed to flatten out before my eyes. I have to say, my hopes aren’t high for the final book.
With this morning’s painful events, I tried to focus on the positive. In just 10 more hours, I would see zombie Kate again.
After dealing with a hectic move & other projects that kept me from it, I finally have time to review The Perfect Escape, which was gifted to me by the author! I have to start out by saying this book surprised me. I went in thinking it would be generally cute & enjoyable, but maybe a little too basic for me to hang on to after reading. Lo & behold, Park brought in elements of family & teenagerdom that really got to me with their sincerity. I loved the main characters’ relationships with their families, but especially Kate’s. In fact, if Kate didn’t have such a heavy relationship with her family, I don’t think I would’ve found her as compelling of a character or the story as poignant.
There were some elements that I didn’t enjoy. However, within the context of the story, even the parts I didn’t like made sense. One such example is just how many things go on in the story. It felt less suspenseful and more annoying there was ANOTHER plot point to keep track of - it felt like I was being asked to be concerned about a lot. That’s how I felt dealing with everything in late high school, though, so perhaps my distaste could be due to feeling that senior year stress again.
Overall, I felt like the main characters were pretty solid & the plot was entertaining. I also think this narrative would make a really good movie a la TATBILB. I’m glad to have read such a fun book & am looking forward to reading more of Park’s work in the future!
After dealing with a hectic move & other projects that kept me from it, I finally have time to review The Perfect Escape, which was gifted to me by the author! I have to start out by saying this book surprised me. I went in thinking it would be generally cute & enjoyable, but maybe a little too basic for me to hang on to after reading. Lo & behold, Park brought in elements of family & teenagerdom that really got to me with their sincerity. I loved the main characters’ relationships with their families, but especially Kate’s. In fact, if Kate didn’t have such a heavy relationship with her family, I don’t think I would’ve found her as compelling of a character or the story as poignant.
There were some elements that I didn’t enjoy. However, within the context of the story, even the parts I didn’t like made sense. One such example is just how many things go on in the story. It felt less suspenseful and more annoying there was ANOTHER plot point to keep track of - it felt like I was being asked to be concerned about a lot. That’s how I felt dealing with everything in late high school, though, so perhaps my distaste could be due to feeling that senior year stress again.
Overall, I felt like the main characters were pretty solid & the plot was entertaining. I also think this narrative would make a really good movie a la TATBILB. I’m glad to have read such a fun book & am looking forward to reading more of Park’s work in the future!
