In the kindest way possible to Ally Condie--this book is best read when you know the author and her previous works and set your expectations accordingly.
Don't get me wrong, this was very different from the Matched series! And I liked it better for it. But I feel like even when an author switches up their style and subject...if you don't like them, you don't like them. I think failing to account for this is where a lot of the middling reviews are coming from.
It's getting a lot of comparisons to We Were Liars, which, to be very clear, SUCKED. Severely. That book is awful. This book was much better, and is what I would recommend to anyone looking for We Were Liars if it was not on the shelf. The same way that if someone was looking for Divergent (no one is ever looking for Divergent), and it wasn't there, you'd politely steer them over to The Hunger Games in hopes of giving them something more worth their time. It's not so much the similar plots but more the similar storytelling methods.
Overall, I don't regret reading it, I think it's recommendable, and even though it was not my favorite book on earth I do think it's nice to see something different from this author. She's just got a knack for writing things that keep you entertained.
Don't get me wrong, this was very different from the Matched series! And I liked it better for it. But I feel like even when an author switches up their style and subject...if you don't like them, you don't like them. I think failing to account for this is where a lot of the middling reviews are coming from.
It's getting a lot of comparisons to We Were Liars, which, to be very clear, SUCKED. Severely. That book is awful. This book was much better, and is what I would recommend to anyone looking for We Were Liars if it was not on the shelf. The same way that if someone was looking for Divergent (no one is ever looking for Divergent), and it wasn't there, you'd politely steer them over to The Hunger Games in hopes of giving them something more worth their time. It's not so much the similar plots but more the similar storytelling methods.
Overall, I don't regret reading it, I think it's recommendable, and even though it was not my favorite book on earth I do think it's nice to see something different from this author. She's just got a knack for writing things that keep you entertained.