Now What I Expected In a Good Way
What a unique mix of a dystopian and sci-fi plot with a well-done dual narrative. Cee is lost on an abandoned island; Kay is mourning the loss of her sister back in one of the few remaining floating cities that is slowly failing. This is a novel that can either break you or possibly bore you depending on what you choose to focus on. There are multi-faceted twists and turns and a vast amount of information and technical pieces that end up merging together to create a masterfully built novel that touches on climate issues, sisterly bonds, secrets and a future that is all too plausible for this world.
The sisters held the story together for me from start to finish. There was a good bit of technical pieces and world building oddities that didn’t always make sense in the overall scheme of things. Focusing on the sisters and their predicaments ended up making the story that much better for me. They hold a relatability in different areas of their personas that spoke to me at different points and times. There is an underlying pull of tragedy that seeps into the chapters at each turn too. It leaves you at the edge of your seat unconsciously waiting for the next shoe to drop. Patiently waiting for the next blindsiding twist to reveal itself… and you will not see them coming.
It took me a little bit to get into and wrap my head around a lot of the extra pieces that are coming together. To me, survival was a key theme in this novel. Surviving life on an island in the middle of nowhere… alone. Surviving the potential collapse of society, life or possibly the world. Surviving personal and limiting demons. It gave me a sense of urgency as I read; feeding into the cloud of catastrophe that floated like an undercurrent between the characters. I can’t say this is a happy novel, I can’t say it’s wholly sad. It definitely led me through a range of emotions and confusions that I may still be piecing through as I write this. I can say that this is by far one of the more creative novels I’ve read in this genre mix.
Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and Roaring Brook for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
The sisters held the story together for me from start to finish. There was a good bit of technical pieces and world building oddities that didn’t always make sense in the overall scheme of things. Focusing on the sisters and their predicaments ended up making the story that much better for me. They hold a relatability in different areas of their personas that spoke to me at different points and times. There is an underlying pull of tragedy that seeps into the chapters at each turn too. It leaves you at the edge of your seat unconsciously waiting for the next shoe to drop. Patiently waiting for the next blindsiding twist to reveal itself… and you will not see them coming.
It took me a little bit to get into and wrap my head around a lot of the extra pieces that are coming together. To me, survival was a key theme in this novel. Surviving life on an island in the middle of nowhere… alone. Surviving the potential collapse of society, life or possibly the world. Surviving personal and limiting demons. It gave me a sense of urgency as I read; feeding into the cloud of catastrophe that floated like an undercurrent between the characters. I can’t say this is a happy novel, I can’t say it’s wholly sad. It definitely led me through a range of emotions and confusions that I may still be piecing through as I write this. I can say that this is by far one of the more creative novels I’ve read in this genre mix.
Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and Roaring Brook for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.