Skip to main content

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Brief synopsis (no spoilers):
A large company attacks an illegal mining operating, with the intent of killing all witnesses, taking over the mine, and getting away with it. They mostly succeed- only a small fleet of spaceships escapes. But one of the ships is controlled by an AI, and it seems to take personal offense over the attack. To further complicate issues, the company released a virus that causes people to go crazy and attack each other, and crew members on one of the ships were infected.

Category:
Sci Fi

Why I chose this book:
Recommended on Amazon

My personal opinion:
I didn't really enjoy the book for several reasons. I did enjoy the plot line, I like the characters, the AI was credible, and I typically enjoy this genre. However, the language was not actually clean- it was redacted. There are black blocks that hide what the original word was, but my brain simply put the removed word right back in its place, so I don't feel like I was sheltered at all. Also, I'm not big on zombies or mindless killing, so I didn't enjoy that aspect. So overall, I don't recommend it. If you decide to read it anyway, then at least get it in print. Reading it on an e-reader was frustrating. It's made for a certain sized page, so adjusting the font just messed up the formatting. And it has a ton of pages in which the text and the graphics are mixed, so those were completely impossible to "zoom in" on, they were just unreadable on my Kindle screen.

Warnings
Language: bad words are blacked out (redacted), but they're still obvious
Violence: frequent, and usually pretty graphic
"Adult" situations: none
Death: frequent, including main character(s)

Movie rating equivalent:
R for violence

Protagonist description:
Kady is a brilliant, angsty teen that can hack anything

Point of view of story:
Third person

Book length:
Medium-long

Story flow:
Excellent, flawless

Grammar and spelling issues:
None

Character connection (no spoilers):
None

For series:
Independent or integral:
Assuming integral

Series review as a whole:
I don't plan to read the series

If you only have time for one, read:
Red Rising (different series that's kinda similar)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

Summary: Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: Perfect for my three year old. I would say that ages 2-10 would really enjoy something like this. It really keeps kids engaged and makes them feel like part of the story. There is one word to one sentence per page. Good uses for book in teaching: Interaction, that the reader takes part in making the story, what a tree can do (leaves, blossoms, fruit) Favorite part:      Child: The fact that ...

Kali's Story: An Orphaned Polar Bear Rescue

Summary: Follow the rescue of orphaned polar bear Kali (pronounced Cully) from the Inupiat village of Kali (Point Lay in English) to the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage to his new home at the Buffalo Zoo in New York with Luna, a female polar bear. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: I skipped a few details here or there, but was able to read most of it with my three year-old. It's probably meant for kids 5-10 years old.  Good uses for book in teaching: Animal habits, what happens to animals when they are rescued from the wild Favorite part:       Child - The pictures     Mine - Learning about the process of changing an animal from one zoo to another and finding a new friend from Kali.  Least favorite part: Knowing that Kali's mother died.  W arnings/negative feedback: Opening page: "Don't bite me little one...Your Momma just died. Without her, you won't last long out here by yourself." That's blunt if I've ever heard it. I know ...

Improbable Libraries Alex Johnson

Concept: " A visual journey to the world's most unusual libraries." Author : Alex Johnson, a journalist and consultant . Both parents were librarians.  Monologue score  (1-10) (how entertaining): 8 - Overall I found this book quite interesting. I loved seeing all the ways that people were working to bring books into the community and how many were trying to create a sense of community through books. The pictures did a great job of helping to visualize how these libraries are being used.  Difficulty level: 3- Not very hard. Each of the seven sections (Libraries on the Move, Animal Libraries,Tiny Libraries, Big Libraries, Home Libraries, Mobile Libraries, and Not Libraries) starts with a short introduction and then gives a picture (or three) of the library described.  What I Learned/Review:  I really found this to be an enlightening and uplifting book. Having been a librarian and having a love for books in general it warms my heart to see all the ways that ...