David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite! discussion

Karen and I are doing a buddy read of ! Everyone is welcome to join!

There are no set chapters per day, we just read at our own paces and start each post with how far along you are, i.e., Chapter #, %, using spoilers where needed. Have fun!

Karen and I are reading a chapter at time, both stories simultaneously, but you can read it anyway you want to!

I've just finished chapter 5 on both stories. So far, I'm intrigued. Both stories are so different, but I'm sure they'll converge at some point!

I've just finished both chapter 7s. I'm actually really enjoying this book! Lyra's POV was reminding me a little of Never Let Me Go.

And I'm glad we're reading each chapter of each POV. It's kind of fun and unique to flip the book over to read the next chapter.

Gemma's story just got really interesting now that she's (view spoiler)[met up with the guy from the conspiracy website. (hide spoiler)]

At this time, I think I like Lyra's story better. (view spoiler)[She just found 72! Eep! (hide spoiler)]

I just finished this - on a plane, finally, after being so tired and listening and always falling asleep. I liked Lyra's story a lot better too; the audio starts with her and then ends with Gemma. Both characters are likable in their own way, but Lyra just has a view of the world I find interesting - especially in the way she names things and takes charge of her own environment in such a passive way. Be prepared for a lot of loose ends at the finish, though - hopefully it's a series (I heard at least 2 books?) so it will wrap up all the unsolved elements.

Jen! So glad you've joined in!

So the audio does the entire part of Lyra first without switching back and forth between the girls? Hhmmmm...

I think I read somewhere that this series is a dualogy. Good to know about loose ends. I'll be prepared. :)

The audio doesn't switch, although you might be able to do it with alternating chapters if the book were chaptered. I think there are programs that will do that for you, but I just got the regular 2 part version with Lyra first and Gemma second. They probably did it that way because Gemma's story has the ending. And I'm also glad it's a duology - it definitely needs a bunch of resolution.

I just finished both chapter 9s. And (view spoiler)[ Cassiopia is Gemma's clone/replica??! I didn't see that one coming! Nice twist! Soooooo, is Gemma really a replica? ;) (hide spoiler)]

I'm loving this story! And Lyra is such a little girl with her lack of knowledge of the outside world. It's interesting that she felt safe at Haven and never wanted more. This is so different from all the dystopians we read, where everyone wants freedom and a revolution. This is a refreshing story.

YAY Jen! So glad you're jumping in too! :)

I haven't read any more yet, but I will tonight. Yesterday was a dud of a day....I only slept 2 hours the night before, worked but left work early to take Tessa to the doctor to fix her ears, ended up taking all afternoon, then had to go get her meds and some other errands...got home at 8:00 and went to bed LOL! What a day!!

I've not read anything for the past 3 nights... :( I'm back to my 13/14 hour days ALL week. Can't wait for the weekend!!

I'll be back! ;)

Sorry Karen :(

I'm through chapter 14 on both perspectives, and its gotten crazy good! I didn't want to stop reading last night, but it was getting late, so I forced myself to!

I like Lyra's perspective better as well. She's so innocent and honest, and that's so refreshing. I still don't know what I think of 72. He feels in the way a lot for me right now.

I do like Gemma, but (view spoiler)[ I can't believe she said that to April! So mean! But, obviously she's under a lot of stress! I'm not surprised at all that she's a Replica, that one seemed pretty obvious to me, but I doubt we have the whole story yet. (hide spoiler)]

And poor (view spoiler)[ Jack!!! I actually really liked him! (hide spoiler)]

I finished it last night! Overall, I really liked this one, although it did not feel like a complete book to me, and the ending was rather....odd. The story just kind of ended, without any real resolution at all.

Other than that, I enjoyed this a lot. A real page turner, especially I got closer and closer to the end!

I still don't like 72 (Caelum) all that much. (view spoiler)[The romance between him and Lyra did not feel that real. I actually think they were feeling more lust, and kind of got stuck together. I could easily see something like that happening, so I guess it was realistic, but I didn't buy that they were deeply in love. (hide spoiler)]

I liked Gemma, BUT (view spoiler)[ I though it was weird how she was jumping back in forth in her head from Jack to Pete as potential crushes. It was like a girl and her boy toys, and it had me rolling my eyes. And her and April's fight than make up was weird. It was way too convenient that April just kind of "shows up" at the end, and all of the sudden, the girls are besties again without talking about the fight at all. (hide spoiler)]

I'm sorry if I'm complaining! I did like this one, I like the action, the concept, the premise, and the basic plot. The relationships could have definitely used some work, though.

Oh awesome! I should finish by tonight. I'm through chapter 11 on both POVs and really enjoying this. I still don't like 72 that much. Gemma's chapters are growing on me, maybe because we seem to be getting more answers through her and Jake right now. :)

I finished. Since you guys kind of prepared me for the non-ending, it was fine for me. I expect that we'll get the full ending in the next book.

I liked 72 better by the end. They were so naive of the world, I guess I could see him and Lyra thinking they were in love. They had no clue what the difference between love and attraction was. Their part reminded me of the movie, The Island. They were so completely sheltered from the real world, they knew nothing. I actually was eye rolling more at the way they kept finding their way to their destinations. It seemed a little too easy.

For Gemma, I liked her more and more as the book went on. I loved the (view spoiler)[twists! I knew early on that Gemma was a replica but didn't expect that Lyra was human. (hide spoiler)]

All in all, I enjoyed this much more than I expected! I loved the sci-fi element.

Karen wrote: "I finished. Since you guys kind of prepared me for the non-ending, it was fine for me. I expect that we'll get the full ending in the next book.

I liked 72 better by the end. They were so naive of..."

I think you are exactly right about Lyra and 72. Still not a fan of him, although maybe he'll improve in the next one. He was just so sullen. I'm sure a lot of that came from his experiences, though.

I rated it 4 stars, by the way, because I did really enjoy it, and the entertainment factor was definitely there!

I also rated it 4 stars! I did enjoy the concept and the story overall! I also liked the unique cover and unusual format!

Great buddy read :)

I know!! We haven't done one in awhile! This was fun! :)

I gave it 4 stars too. I think the whole Caelum/Lyra thing is a bit forced, typical YA romance and all that. But I did appreciate the way Lyra was so adamant in convincing Caelum that he's a person.

I was also sorry about Jack. I liked him a lot. Pete - he was just your regular YA character, quirky but lovable guy - now that I'm thinking about it, they were kind of stock characters. Fortunately they had some depth.

Gemma's origins surprised me although Lyra's didn't.

My only real problems with this book, aside from the obvious flaws in the relationships, were with the ending. Still, I think a sequel will address the loose ends. I'm so iffy on Lauren Oliver as an author because she's disappointed me so much. But maybe this will redeem her and make me want to read her books again. I think she's just ok with stories but her characters are wonderful.

Jen wrote: "I gave it 4 stars too. I think the whole Caelum/Lyra thing is a bit forced, typical YA romance and all that. But I did appreciate the way Lyra was so adamant in convincing Caelum that he's a person..."

Have your read yet Jen? I think that may be my favorite Lauren Oliver so far.

Agree with you completely!