Skip to main content

The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

Brief synopsis (no spoilers)
Honor and her parents are residents on an island. The earth has been ravaged by sea levels reaching their maximum and the only habitable parts are islands. Nearly all islands are under the control of a Corporation and a leader named Earth Mother. The people are kept subdued by chemically treated food. Honor's parents are part of a resistance to the "government".

Category
Young Adult Fiction

Why I chose this book
Recommended from the library site, based on reading history

My personal opinion (the review)
This could have been so much better! It started great, middled great, was ending great, but suddenly it was like the author got tired of writing and just decided to crash land the thing. It ended in, like, 5 pages. Everything tied up and rosy. Maybe she just ran out of imagination. Who knows.
Regardless, it's a decent book. 

Warnings (language, violence, "adult" situations, death, etc.)
Language - none
Violence - One riot scene, but no known characters are permanently harmed
Adult situations - none
Death - none
Not saying it's a bad thing, but this was one of the mildest books I've read all year. Almost boring, it was so mild.

Movie rating equivalent
PG

Protagonist description
Honor starts the story as a free-thinking individual. She becomes a part of "the system" willingly. And then circumstances push her into assisting with the rebellion.

Point of view of story
Third, focused on Honor

Book length
Long

Story flow
Good pace throughout, until the end

Grammar and spelling issues
A few spelling flaws

Character connection (no spoilers)
More could have been done with both Honor and Helix, but the book was getting long, so my guess is that things were cut short for that reason.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Matched By Ally Condie

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow. (Amazon) Category: YA dystopian Why I chose this book: Recommended based on other things I have read, it's been on my list for a while My personal opinion (the review): Of the many popular dystopian/futur

Slave, Warrior, Queen by Morgan Rice

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Ceres is a young woman (17) living in an oppressive Empire, with an equally oppressive mother. She has ties to a rebellion, and stronger ties to her brothers. She is basically thrown around her world constantly- enslaved, imprisoned, set loose, etc. Each time, she puts herself in the best position to cause the most damage to whatever she hates most. Category : YA fiction, fantasy Why I chose this book : Recommended on the library website My personal opinion : It's complicated. I loved the action, the pace, the unknown special power, the strong female lead character, the general story line. But I disliked the coincidence (see Emma Coats, rule #19, link below)- Ceres got out of trouble so many times. Mostly by fighting, but a couple times by coincidence. I disliked that the "Queen" phase never came, before the end of the book. Maybe that's part of the series, but the next book doesn't mention that in its title. I disliked tha

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Brief synopsis Clary and Jace continue their Shadowhunter path, chasing after demons and one "bad guy" in particular. They're attracted to each other deeply, and they're also siblings. Eww. With the help of werewolves and vampires, the good guys fight a bunch of demons led by a madman. Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book My daughter wanted to read the series, so I decided to give the next book a try. My personal opinion  (the review) I'm very disappointed. The characters are caricatures- complete personifications of one particular trait, each. The plot is predictable (the good guys will win, in the end). Jace and Clary are basically invincible. The only thing the story has going for it is the cliffhangers. Throughout the book, it felt like the story was constantly begging, "wait, don't put me down- there's another surprise coming!" I don't recommend this book at all. Warnings Language: A couple f-words at the beginning, less