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Jelly
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After a traumatic event that no one can talk about or even quite remember, they're stuck on a giant killer jellyfish, tantalisingly close to the shore and safety. They've had enough of it. They've decided that they're either going to escape, or die trying.
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[Gifted]
A funny and slightly silly concept - people trapped on board a giant jellyfish! - is pulled off with aplomb, wit and tension. This was so inventive and fast paced and surreal, I loved every second.
A funny and slightly silly concept - people trapped on board a giant jellyfish! - is pulled off with aplomb, wit and tension. This was so inventive and fast paced and surreal, I loved every second.
Martha is stuck on the back of the jellyfish and has been for a long time. She and everyone else living there don’t know how exactly they got there or how long they’ve been there or where they’re going—they just remember that something traumatic happened. And they can’t escape.
i love me a bizarre premise and this cover is stunning
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This was a wild ride. I didn't think the concept of "trapped on a giant jellyfish" would be taken literally, but it 100% is. Lately I've been DNFing a lot of books, but this one kept me reading right to the end. I'm interested to see where the author's imagination goes yet – I hope somewhere just as unexpected.
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The premise of this book seems so cool and that’s why I originally picked it up. But I ended up not even being able to finish this book because it was so confusing and I felt like it wasn’t very well thought out. I don’t think that the author did a good job explaining or creating the story in a tangible and comprehensible way for the reader. Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I really liked this, surprisingly gripping tale of attempts to escape from the giant jellyfish that is keeping a small community hostage. Moves along quickly, and the unusual environment sustains it.
This review was originally posted at LiamReads.co.uk 🖥
Okay wow I've never seen a jellyfish this menacing since I watched Spongebob Squarepants S02E29: Jellyfish Hunter (cracking episode btw, 10/10 would watch again). I'm trying to work out where to start with my review for this book but I mean seriously... it's a YA dystopia set on top of a giant killer jellyfish - where do you even begin with something like that?!
Jelly is one of those books that you stumble upon by accident and read the blurb b ...more
Okay wow I've never seen a jellyfish this menacing since I watched Spongebob Squarepants S02E29: Jellyfish Hunter (cracking episode btw, 10/10 would watch again). I'm trying to work out where to start with my review for this book but I mean seriously... it's a YA dystopia set on top of a giant killer jellyfish - where do you even begin with something like that?!
Jelly is one of those books that you stumble upon by accident and read the blurb b ...more
It is not often that I read a book with a totally novel setting. But apocalypse survivors trapped on a rugby pitch sized jellyfish floating just out of reach of the coast? New to me!
It was great to read a book that is obviously aimed at teenagers, but is not in the "angst" category. It was actually a pretty realistic portrayal of teens, down to the "sex, eeeewwww" attitudes, and unwillingness to do their homework. I suspect it helped that these were obviously British teens (a daily game of jelly ...more
It was great to read a book that is obviously aimed at teenagers, but is not in the "angst" category. It was actually a pretty realistic portrayal of teens, down to the "sex, eeeewwww" attitudes, and unwillingness to do their homework. I suspect it helped that these were obviously British teens (a daily game of jelly ...more
It was not what I expected to find, though all I wanted was any YA fantasy as I have been reading too much contemporary lately. It ended up being a very likeable dystopian, YA thriller which felt more scifi than fantasy. It actually reminded me of a lot of the Christopher Pike books I read as a teen (similar to R.L.stine books, but always had more character development and depth, and better messages behind the stories)
Despite it being very absurd, implausible and flawed, I found myself pulled in ...more
Despite it being very absurd, implausible and flawed, I found myself pulled in ...more
I'm not entirely sure what I think of this book. I like the way the characters are - the way they live and interact, the way they're indomitably teenagers despite the situation they've been living in since they were very young. I like the jellyfish and the kriks (well, I like the way they're written - they're not at all likable as characters go). But what I don't like is the lack of background - I'd really like to know how this bunch of people got marooned on a giant sentient jellyfish. But they
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An interesting and fun read with quite a unique premise built off the global crisis we are currently dealing with (climate change). I enjoyed it, but there would have to be a bit more to the story for me to give it anymore than 3.5 stars. A quick read that is definitely worth the time it takes.
Weird.
That’s the perfect word for this book.
I didn‘t love it 100% but also didn‘t hate it.
I just enjoyed what I read. It was a generic read for me which I rarely have.
Its really hard for me to review this book properly so I‘m not haha. There are plenty reviews that will be so much more helpful.
(But the cover inspired me to crochet a jellyfish so bonus points for that!)
That’s the perfect word for this book.
I didn‘t love it 100% but also didn‘t hate it.
I just enjoyed what I read. It was a generic read for me which I rarely have.
Its really hard for me to review this book properly so I‘m not haha. There are plenty reviews that will be so much more helpful.
(But the cover inspired me to crochet a jellyfish so bonus points for that!)
James & the Giant Peach meets Robinson Crusoe, and with more than a touch of Hemingway. What I like best about this very weird book is the way everyone is valuable.
I don’t know what I was expecting from this book, but it was a complete surprise. The characters are literally trapped on top of a giant jellyfish floating around the ocean.
As the oceans rise and pollution increases, long-buried sea monsters come out of the depths. The kriks, giant crab creatures, rule the land and are hunting humans to extinction. On the seas, a giant murderous jellyfish is keeping a collection of humans as pets - feeding them fish and trapping them in its gigantic tentacles i ...more
As the oceans rise and pollution increases, long-buried sea monsters come out of the depths. The kriks, giant crab creatures, rule the land and are hunting humans to extinction. On the seas, a giant murderous jellyfish is keeping a collection of humans as pets - feeding them fish and trapping them in its gigantic tentacles i ...more
This is one heck of a weird book. It took until about 30 percent before I was oriented to the story. Although I liked the way the author keeps you guessing about literally everything for the first quarter, it also made it difficult to get into the book. Around the 50 percent mark thing started to be cleared up and there was more of a linear narrative structure. These people are trapped on a giant Jellyfish, they have no idea how they got there. It seems like the rest of humanity may or may not h
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A tangled web of tentacles and teenagers.
Such an original premise, delivered in style. The first few chapters are light on action but full of great characterisation which means you are, very early on, rooting for the main protagonists (Martha plus her teenage friends). The plot quickens as the nasty Kriks are introduced and escape plans become more desperate. A dark vision of the future, lightened by some great wit and banter. Very satisfying conclusion.
Such an original premise, delivered in style. The first few chapters are light on action but full of great characterisation which means you are, very early on, rooting for the main protagonists (Martha plus her teenage friends). The plot quickens as the nasty Kriks are introduced and escape plans become more desperate. A dark vision of the future, lightened by some great wit and banter. Very satisfying conclusion.
I really didn’t enjoy this book.
I picked it up on the recommendation of a website I trust (desperately wishing I’d checked the reviews on here too) and because I love a dystopian novel, but I found this really disappointing.
I don’t want to write a long review, but here are a few of the things I didn’t like about this book.
Lack of backstory: we’re told that two types of sea monsters emerged due to climate change, but not a lot else. In some parts, it seems like they’ve been on the jellyfish for ...more
I picked it up on the recommendation of a website I trust (desperately wishing I’d checked the reviews on here too) and because I love a dystopian novel, but I found this really disappointing.
I don’t want to write a long review, but here are a few of the things I didn’t like about this book.
Lack of backstory: we’re told that two types of sea monsters emerged due to climate change, but not a lot else. In some parts, it seems like they’ve been on the jellyfish for ...more
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and ABRAMS/Amulet Books for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
At the present moment, Jelly has quite a low Goodreads rating–about 3.31. Though I thought it was decent, I really don’t think it deserves a rating like that. Even though the execution was largely flawed, this was a novel with such an inventive premise.
First off, LOOK AT HOW GORGEOUS THE HARDCOVER EDITION IS. It’s the edition that came on my eARC as well, and it’s just…so beautiful. I love a ...more
At the present moment, Jelly has quite a low Goodreads rating–about 3.31. Though I thought it was decent, I really don’t think it deserves a rating like that. Even though the execution was largely flawed, this was a novel with such an inventive premise.
First off, LOOK AT HOW GORGEOUS THE HARDCOVER EDITION IS. It’s the edition that came on my eARC as well, and it’s just…so beautiful. I love a ...more
Mash up "Moby Dick," "Life of Pi," "Lord of the Flies," "The Phantom Tollbooth," and James Thurber's humor, and you'd have "Jelly." I was drawn to the story because of the ridiculousness of the characters' situation and wanted to know how it would all turn out (though, I wouldn't rule out a sequel).
The characters weren't fully-realized people; we're provided just enough description to keep them from being mixed up with each other, which was OK because the characters weren't 'the story.' Their p ...more
The characters weren't fully-realized people; we're provided just enough description to keep them from being mixed up with each other, which was OK because the characters weren't 'the story.' Their p ...more
When I close my eyes and picture ways the world could end, I haven't ever seen killer crabs and giant jellyfish. However, it is poetic justice that the ocean reclaims the land that has polluted it for so long. It's undeniable that humans are killing ocean life and are over all bad for nature.
This novel turns humans into pets and flips the narrative. What if humans had to survive on the back of a giant jellyfish creature and are only able to eat what the jellyfish brings to them or whatever happ ...more
This novel turns humans into pets and flips the narrative. What if humans had to survive on the back of a giant jellyfish creature and are only able to eat what the jellyfish brings to them or whatever happ ...more
It took a long time for me to become engaged with this dystopian novel. The premise is unique: sea levels rose, gigantic creatures emerged from the depths of the oceans and destroyed at least the coastal areas, wrecking buildings not already submerged by the rising waters, eating people, etc. Our characters have somehow become encamped on the back of a huge jellyfish and have built a couple of houses out of driftwood. The jellyfish throws fish and seaweed onto its back for them to eat, along wit
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Just like a jellyfish, the flesh is there but it’s missing the skeleton
Who would think you could write an entire book about people living on top a giant floating jellyfish? Clare Rees did. This story has a unique and whimsical premise that immediately got me hooked. And I was not let down when I started the first pages, by immediately getting caught into a very intriguing post-apocalyptic waterworld-like setting following a group of survivors.
I struggled getting any attachments to the characters ...more
Who would think you could write an entire book about people living on top a giant floating jellyfish? Clare Rees did. This story has a unique and whimsical premise that immediately got me hooked. And I was not let down when I started the first pages, by immediately getting caught into a very intriguing post-apocalyptic waterworld-like setting following a group of survivors.
I struggled getting any attachments to the characters ...more
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Jelly in exchange for an honest review.
I live for weird books and Jelly definitely falls into that category. Clare Rees handles the bizarre premise perfectly. Right away you're thrown right onto the back of a giant jellyfish (or a giant not-jellyfish depending on who you ask) with Martha and her friends. A note at the beginning of this book compares being trapped on a giant Jellyfish while the rest of humanity fights for their lives against giant ...more
I live for weird books and Jelly definitely falls into that category. Clare Rees handles the bizarre premise perfectly. Right away you're thrown right onto the back of a giant jellyfish (or a giant not-jellyfish depending on who you ask) with Martha and her friends. A note at the beginning of this book compares being trapped on a giant Jellyfish while the rest of humanity fights for their lives against giant ...more
This book was weird. It was weird in all the best ways. Martha, and a large group of survivors, are stranded on the back of an enormous jellyfish the size of a rugby pitch. As the four youngest of the group Martha and her friends are the main characters the reader follows. Honestly, I couldn't put this novel down. It's a coming of age novel in a post-apocalyptic setting with a really great message about being better than those that came before. Martha and her friends are seen as "kids" on the Je
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Liking this book really did feel like a guilty pleasure, a book that I shouldn't really be enjoying. That said, I did really enjoy it.
I'm just coming out of a reading slump and this was a great, nicely paced, easy to digest book to keep the slump from coming back!
That being said, I was kind of disappointed with the characters. I didn't really fall in love with any of them, nor could I really accredit any of them with a human personality. They were all very one sided, and I found it difficult at ...more
I'm just coming out of a reading slump and this was a great, nicely paced, easy to digest book to keep the slump from coming back!
That being said, I was kind of disappointed with the characters. I didn't really fall in love with any of them, nor could I really accredit any of them with a human personality. They were all very one sided, and I found it difficult at ...more
Nov 23, 2020
Miranda
rated it
liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
netgalley-edelweiss-arc
Thanks to the publisher for access to this title. 3.5 stars
When the ice capes melted and the ocean levels rose, the world as we knew it was changed forever when large sea creatures came from the depths and turned to hunting humans as their new favorite. A large group of people find themselves stranded on an enormous jellyfish floating just off the coast and though they have made multiple attempts to reach the shore, nothing has worked in trying to escape their captor.
This is definitely a weird ...more
When the ice capes melted and the ocean levels rose, the world as we knew it was changed forever when large sea creatures came from the depths and turned to hunting humans as their new favorite. A large group of people find themselves stranded on an enormous jellyfish floating just off the coast and though they have made multiple attempts to reach the shore, nothing has worked in trying to escape their captor.
This is definitely a weird ...more
I am surprised this won the Kitschies Golden Tentacle to say the least. And yes I know I'm going to sound grumpy and ungracious. There are lots of good and great YA novels being written and we undoubtedly need more that address the climate crisis. This a perfectly fine YA novel. It has a breezy quotidian tone to it, and that along with the big, existential metaphor of the giant jellyfish is a little bit Terry Pratchett I suppose. But I won't be excitedly thrusting it into the hands of our studen
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This is a unique story; it puts a new fantastical twist on an apocalyptic survival story. Global warming has caused monsters to rise from the deep and a crew of people imprisoned on a giant jellyfish creature need to escape to freedom. The characters in the group are well written and it was interesting to see how such different people learned to work together. The pacing was a bit slow at first but I also appreciated that it gave the reader more insight to what life was like on the jellyfish and
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I was so excited to read this book about living on the back of a Jellyfish. The subject was fresh and unique and especially intriguing for someone who loves all things water related as I do. The story mostly takes place on the back of a very large jellyfish after destruction of the world as we know it. The life of the inhabitants is developed in great detail which is fascinating but the action is lacking until the very end which, unfortunately, allowed me to lose some interest in the book. The e
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