Whoops, I've been meaning to come back and write a review (I finished this book while out to dinner with my family, so it wasn't a good time), but I found myself putting it off until I've forgotten a lot of this book beyond my general impression. Hopefully that'll be enough.

Beyond the obligatory/built-in "Is it ethical to experimentally make a developmentally delayed individual more intelligent?" dilemma, this book explored a lot of loaded themes like compassion, prejudice, and how our past influences our present. To be quite honest, it was disappointing to find that while

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multiple people called Charlie out on his post-operation superiority/how quick he was to dismiss everyone else as ignorant poseurs, losing the friendly sociability he used to have

it took Charlie too long to acknowledge, which definitely made it hard to empathize with him as a narrator. I also wish there had been more (admirable/strong) female characters: Alice Kinnian is nice, but she stands out as an exception rather than the rule which, imo, is a bit iffy.

The ending was definitely poignant:

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unsurprising of course - it was all but spelled out, and you didn't need an IQ as high as Charlie's got to see it coming with all the clues

. I shed a tear or two over the last line in particular.

Short and sweet! A fascinating recombination/retelling of two fairy tales, which manages to maintain that sense of magic and hope while flirting with themes of good/evil and adventure. (Plus it had an action heroine!)

Of course I'm all for Asian representation, which is sorely lacking across the board — media, books, class content — but I cringe every time I read the word Oriental (I'm a person, not a rug!) and the POV/timeline shifts were more than a little disorienting, sometimes unclear. That said, the actual writing is pretty good, the raw emotions definitely evoked by the storytelling, and overall it's a decent read.

Philosophically speaking, the winner's curse/Pyrrhic victory has always fascinated me; however, I think the author fixated too much on the premise, to the point of not really fleshing out the characters and setting. I enjoyed the plot, but I sympathized only minimally with Arin and barely at all with Kestrel - particularly since neither of them seemed to have any real flaws ("each other" and "love of music" are not valid weaknesses), and that's always a huge detractor for me.

For all Kestrel was portrayed as an independent young woman who wanted to make her own path, it was obvious that she was very much a product of her society - the way she "couldn't help" strategizing and scheming, the way she

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resigned herself to enlisting after realizing she couldn't accept Ronan's proposal because she loved Arin - which, I thought there was insufficient development for that relationship; it mostly works because it's predictable

, even her sense of morality. And it wasn't a society that I was really invested in, either; it didn't seem very fleshed-out, so I felt estranged from it throughout the story.

The OG dystopian novel! It's pretty good: brisk pacing, deliberate levels of detail, not fancy but as straightforward as the animals think the situation is.

It's easy to see why this book is hailed as a classic (and, notably, one by a non-white, non-male author). The characters are vivid and their struggles framed in an empathetic light; the only reason I can't quite give this 5 stars is that I didn't personally connect with it on the level I have with my favorites.

Maybe I should stop trying to read books from this era, because the politics of high society bore me terribly, especially when unalleviated by a cast of sympathetic characters. It took me a very long time to even like Lily, and I don't think I empathized with her until the very end — which felt abrupt and disappointing, which I suppose could be seen as a metaphor for life; but it's not one that really appeals to me at all.

SOOOOO ridiculously melodramatic. Basil was the only moral character and therefore my problematic favorite. Loved the justice of the ending.

1.5 stars.

This is the most pretentious woe-is-me wallowing I have EVER had the dubious pleasure of reading. Some interesting ideas and happenstances, though.

I really wasn't sure about this book, considering the controversy and how much I didn't want TKAM (which I adored) ruined. Honestly, the beginning was pretty dull - but it established a rhythm that set up the intensely philosophical ending.