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This is the slowest book of all time. I'm more than halfway through, and we've barely progressed from the beginning of the novel. If this were funny or interesting in any way, that would be less of a problem, but there's basically nothing at all to latch onto here. The only way I could picture this being bearable is if you read the whole thing in one sitting. Really, this should've been a novella.

This would be such a good book for a fifth grade language arts class. There are a lot of very simple, digestible examples of foreshadowing, characterization, symbolism, and structure. I guess that makes this book a little simple for an adult reader like myself, but I guess the characterization and stakes are good enough that I can get attached anyway. And it's certainly a relief to read something this functional.

Gabe and Lena are both very bland characters, Lena in particular. We're also shown their relationship through the eyes of people who have only a mild investment in its outcome. In other words, there's absolutely no reason to hope they get together - they're boring, and the characters only sort of care. This is gimmicky and boring.

This is the best kind of mystery: the kind where the search for answers is interesting not because of gimmicks or emotional stakes tangential to the outcome, but because the stakes are high and the characters' emotional arcs are directly tied to the outcome. The way DuPrau slowly, subtly builds the tension is fantastic, and the accompanying message fits the story perfectly. This is masterful.

This plot development sucks in two different ways:

1.) It's so structurally inevitable that it was predictable - I knew this would happen because there's literally no other direction the book could've gone.

2.) It completely ruins the logic of the worldbuilding. Without spoiling, all I can say is that the way this was executed changes the story, so that there's essentially no good reason to get an Echo.

This dialogue is fucking terrible. Hall just seems out-of-touch with how college students actually think, talk, and act. I can't think of a single YA or NA book more obviously written by an adult.

My memories of this book did not prepare me at all for any symbolism, but damn, this is actually very allegorical. So far, it strikes me as a Giver-style allegory, where the emotional parallels are more important than the political ones, but who knows? I could easily see this becoming political. I was not expecting this.

In my memory, this was well-written and entertaining, but without much real substance. Reading it now, I'm wondering if that assessment was accurate. The way the mayor is characterized makes me think there's more going on than I noticed when I was a kid - maybe there is something behind the worldbuilding after all. Well, let's see.

Having Eva be quiet the whole time and just blend in without even trying feels like a copout. The fact that her first week with Amarra's family is just skimmed over feels like a HUGE copout. This book isn't terrible, but it's not nearly as good as it should be.

I'm glad this book talks about sex and relationships in a fairly realistic way. It's just... the plot is over, dude. You resolved it. Just set up the sequel and end the book already.

And now we've got a 'muahahaha evil' villain, and I'm just really bored. I do love the worldbuilding, and there are a lot of good moments of prose. But based on this book's premise, it should've been great, and it's falling completely short. I want to see what this book would've been like if a better writer wrote it.

This is frustrating, because I know for sure from the description that Amarra's going to die, and I feel like the plot won't really have started until that happens. So everything that's happening right now feels like extraneous filler. I've really been offered nothing so far except for a very predictable romance.

And we're almost done! This was a good book, almost as good as the first time I read it. I was thinking that my lack of enjoyment of books lately had to do with me getting sick of reading in general, or just growing up and getting more critical. But maybe I really was reading better books back in the day.

This is a little too heavy-handed. I'm less than a quarter of the way in, and I'm afraid that I already know exactly what this book is trying to say and how it plans on saying it.

Hey, you know what's romantic? Voyeurism! Doesn't it just make you feel more optimistic, happier to be alive?

I feel a little bad hating this book as much as I do, because at least it tries to do something different, and it does have its moments - I've laughed a couple times. But on the whole, it's just so badly-written, and the technique of using multiple perspectives is more juvenile than interesting.

This is a very, very good premise for a book. And while I'm not very far in yet, it's appearing that Mandanna might be a good enough writer to pull this off. I am cautiously optimistic for where this is going to go.

I guess, all things considered, this is a fairly ordinary example of a post-apocalyptic book, it's just exceptionally well-executed. This is a very realistic look at what would happen if all of society shut down and the government had to do something about it.

Are there any good new adult books? Like, at all, in existence? Because I legitimately can't think of any. I think the best way to describe this book is obnoxious - the forced sappiness and cheer is really grating on me. It's also - no surprise - terribly written, and its format is less of a way to explore different perspectives and more of a cheap gimmick.

If I had one complaint about this book, it's that I don't really buy Alex and Darla's relationships. It's a little rushed for one thing, and for another... dude, people don't really have sex drives when they're starving and constantly on the verge of death by exposure.

I don't really have any thoughts at this point, except that this is a good book that deserves praise.

Good books have gotten so few and far between for me that I sometimes forget how it feels to read a book and actually be engaged with what's going on. I know I'm exaggerating a little, but it seems like forever since I've really cared about the outcome of a story. This book is wonderful.

Darla is a lot like Loor from Pendragon, and she has the same dynamic with Alex that Loor does with Bobby. I wonder if this is some kind of archetype? Like, the resemblance is uncanny - hell, Darla and Loor even both lose their mothers. But I can't think of any other examples that are similar. Weird.

I'm honestly surprised that this book is more popular. I guess post-apocalyptic survival stories are seen as too niche for some people? That's the only explanation I can think of - this is the definition of high-quality writing that still has mass appeal.

One of the most interesting things about this book is seeing Against Me!'s lyrics pop up in Laura's journals. She rarely says, "Here's why I wrote this song," but you can often pick up on it.

Also, LAURA'S TRANSITIONING AND I'M HAPPY FOR HER! And it looks like she'll actually be happy with Transgender Dysphoria Blues, so that's a huge relief. It would be depressing if she was dissatisfied with that one too.

I said before that this wasn't particularly well-written, but on second thought, Mullin does an exceptional job of translating a very weird and alien situation into something that you can easily picture and understand. I think it's a big part of what makes this book so immersive and frightening to people - Mullin really knows how to make you feel what's going on. This is a great book, I'm glad I'm rereading it.

It's been a long time since I've been tempted to use the phrase 'compulsively readable', but man this is genuinely difficult to put down. It's not even that well-written (it's not awful, but not great either), but the events are just so interesting. I can already tell that Mullin has a great eye for pacing.

This is a mixed ending. I'm not sure if this is precisely what the book was building up to, since the first half is so badly-organized, but it still manages to hit an emotional note.

"That's when I noticed the guy standing next to me. He was built like a brick..."

I think I'm giving up on YA. Sorry guys, it's been a good run, but if I have to read another sentence like that, I think I'll drop dead on the spot.

On the whole, a decent book, but it would've benefited from tighter editing and better organization. And, ultimately, I would rather read a book written by a member of this community than an outsider. Still, there's some interesting information, and Beam does have a story to tell.

I wonder if Christina - or any of these other characters - ever got any sort of mental health support. I find it interesting that Beam doesn't even address it - they've all been through trauma, and Christina in particular shows a lot of signs of PTSD/BPD.