Look, I was the MOST excited for this book for a long time. It was marketed as being similar to the Hunger Games, but really what we got was a teenage girl version of Lord of the Flies. On a remote island, at a school for girls with certain, unique physical traits, supplies are far and few and tightly rationed and something sinister seems to be happening with the adults.
I was here for it for most of the book, BUT the thing about YA writing for me is that it is still aimed at teens whose brains and morals and ethics are still developing and there are some really messed up decisions made by the girls in this book, all in the name of surviving, but I would argue that some were unnecessary and it sets a bad tone. If anything, I'd say YA readers could walk away with a sense of exactly how to be the worst kind of person in a crisis.
On top of my extreme feelings about the takeaways from the book, the writing was kind of bland. A book I'd looked forward to for months and I found myself almost bored (while still appalled at the characters).
I was here for it for most of the book, BUT the thing about YA writing for me is that it is still aimed at teens whose brains and morals and ethics are still developing and there are some really messed up decisions made by the girls in this book, all in the name of surviving, but I would argue that some were unnecessary and it sets a bad tone. If anything, I'd say YA readers could walk away with a sense of exactly how to be the worst kind of person in a crisis.
On top of my extreme feelings about the takeaways from the book, the writing was kind of bland. A book I'd looked forward to for months and I found myself almost bored (while still appalled at the characters).