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ninetalevixen
Wow. That took forever, and yet I think I'm warming up to audiobooks — maybe for shorter novels, though, next time.
I have a tendency to zone out when I don't have a visual to follow along with, which is fine in class and when I'm trying to fall asleep but not so much for reading and comprehending a novel. But I'm going to have to track down a print copy of this book, because there were some really great descriptions, the plot is fascinating, and I definitely missed out on a lot of nuances.
I have a tendency to zone out when I don't have a visual to follow along with, which is fine in class and when I'm trying to fall asleep but not so much for reading and comprehending a novel. But I'm going to have to track down a print copy of this book, because there were some really great descriptions, the plot is fascinating, and I definitely missed out on a lot of nuances.
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My love for this book goes way back to middle school, when I did a book report on it (which included a video game adaptation and earned an A+, for the record). So I was delighted to discover that it holds up wonderfully, even all these years later, now that I've grown up a bit and our social norms have shifted.
Despite remembering only the main events of this book — and few, if any, of the mentioned scenes from previous Emelan books — I found it really easy to fall right back in love with the protagonists. Briar is still my favorite and I still relate most to Sandry, but my esteem for Tris and especially Daja has really risen; perhaps more importantly, I'm just as invested in their interpersonal dynamics as pairs and trios and a quartet, which are a focus throughout the series.
The New Adult perspective of this book is well done, imo: the characters show significant growth from the previous two quartets and over the course of this book, as individuals and as a group, and their worldviews are more mature while retaining some youthful idealism and stubbornness. Pierce does a great job balancing social commentary with the main story that acts as our lens, and I'm honestly impressed with the overall effect.
Despite remembering only the main events of this book — and few, if any, of the mentioned scenes from previous Emelan books — I found it really easy to fall right back in love with the protagonists. Briar is still my favorite and I still relate most to Sandry, but my esteem for Tris and especially Daja has really risen; perhaps more importantly, I'm just as invested in their interpersonal dynamics as pairs and trios and a quartet, which are a focus throughout the series.
The New Adult perspective of this book is well done, imo: the characters show significant growth from the previous two quartets and over the course of this book, as individuals and as a group, and their worldviews are more mature while retaining some youthful idealism and stubbornness. Pierce does a great job balancing social commentary with the main story that acts as our lens, and I'm honestly impressed with the overall effect.
2019: Very, very nearly as magical as the first time I read it, and I'm so glad I chose this reread as the start of my 2019 book journey. This was one of the first books where I genuinely felt the characters' desperation to be together despite all the obstacles in the way, how tightly their destinies were intertwined, how large and beautiful and tragic the story truly was. It raised my standards for all other books that followed, and for my own everyday life.
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c. 2012: I distinctly remember writing up a reflection of sorts after finishing this book for the first time, since I was using it as my independent pick for book club. Unfortunately, that notebook seems to have disappeared — whether it's been thrown out or is simply hiding among the stacks of my old scribblings, I have no idea.
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c. 2012: I distinctly remember writing up a reflection of sorts after finishing this book for the first time, since I was using it as my independent pick for book club. Unfortunately, that notebook seems to have disappeared — whether it's been thrown out or is simply hiding among the stacks of my old scribblings, I have no idea.
Still annoyed that , but it feels fitting. I loved the peek at the TLA cast - ooh, James in particular - and man, Alec in love is adorable.
Spoiler
we still don't know why Magnus was banned from Peru.jpg)
I can't believe I just ... forgot half the plot of this book. (I remembered Gwenllian and Bluesey phone calls and Maura disappearing at the end but apparently not Adam + Ronan's grand frame-Greenmantle-for-pedophilia-and-murder scheme ?)
Also I remember this as my least favorite of the series, which still seems to hold. Which of course doesn't mean it's bad, just that I don't like it as much as the other books.
content warnings: minor violence & gore, blood, past physical & emotional child abuse, classism, microaggressions
rep: gay Irish Catholic MC, questioning/bisexual MC, Korean-Canadian minor character, developing M/M relationship
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CONVERSION: 12.9 / 15 = 4.5 stars
Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10
Originality / Trope Execution: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 5 / 5
Also I remember this as my least favorite of the series, which still seems to hold. Which of course doesn't mean it's bad, just that I don't like it as much as the other books.
content warnings:
rep:
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CONVERSION: 12.9 / 15 = 4.5 stars
Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10
Originality / Trope Execution: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 5 / 5
4.5 stars
Hm. The ending is a lot more open than I like (especially since, if memory serves, the Dreamer trilogy wasn't a sure thing yet) which is frustrating — having spent four books with these characters, I really wanted to know that they're as close to okay as they could be, after everything.
I remember actually sobbing the first time I read this, not knowing how it would end (specifically whether they would find a way to save or bring back Gansey ); upon rereading I did tear up, but to be honest I zipped through those scenes to avoid the pain. Because I didn't feel up to reliving that experience, as wonderful/terrible as it was.
Also: I know a lot of people take issue with the way Henry Cheng (and, by extension, the Vancouver crowd) is portrayed. Personally I felt that he was treated as any other character would be — he's as contemplative as Gansey, as much of an outsider as Ronan, as much ordinary-but-not teenage boy as Adam. Being Korean-Chinese-Canadian is part of his identity, and sometimes his second-language English is a little stilted, but I didn't think it was stereotypically or offensively so. There is one in-passing arguably racist joke made by Ronan, but offensive is part of the Ronan Lynch brand, though admittedly it’s not challenged in-text. Of course, this is just the opinion of one Asian(-American) reader; I don't speak for us all, and I’m not saying that it couldn’t possibly be seen as offensive to anyone.
content warnings: major character death(s), some violence, minor gore, blood, classism, past physical & verbal child abuse, past kidnapping [of a child]
rep: gay Irish Catholic MC, bisexual MC, ESL Korean-Chinese-Canadian major character, M/M main relationship
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CONVERSION: 13.1 / 15 = 4.5 stars
Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 5 / 5
Hm. The ending is a lot more open than I like (especially since, if memory serves, the Dreamer trilogy wasn't a sure thing yet) which is frustrating — having spent four books with these characters, I really wanted to know that they're as close to okay as they could be, after everything.
I remember actually sobbing the first time I read this, not knowing how it would end (specifically
Also: I know a lot of people take issue with the way Henry Cheng (and, by extension, the Vancouver crowd) is portrayed. Personally I felt that he was treated as any other character would be — he's as contemplative as Gansey, as much of an outsider as Ronan, as much ordinary-but-not teenage boy as Adam. Being Korean-Chinese-Canadian is part of his identity, and sometimes his second-language English is a little stilted, but I didn't think it was stereotypically or offensively so. There is one in-passing arguably racist joke made by Ronan, but offensive is part of the Ronan Lynch brand, though admittedly it’s not challenged in-text. Of course, this is just the opinion of one Asian(-American) reader; I don't speak for us all, and I’m not saying that it couldn’t possibly be seen as offensive to anyone.
content warnings:
rep:
-----------
CONVERSION: 13.1 / 15 = 4.5 stars
Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 5 / 5