Kai

I think you can summarize this novel in a honestly really simple way: Ruth is such a bitch. I caught myself saying the phrase “that bitch” too many times to count. Other than that feeling of pure hatred toward this character (not really hatred but maybe like annoyance?) I felt myself feeling very little. 

Tbh I don't really know what this novel was trying to get at. I felt the heartwarming moments to be mild and the character development to be as flat as the Saskatchewan plans. I thought there would honestly be more, be more plot, be more characterization of the characters, just simple be more. But instead I was kind of hit with a super cold and boring novel. One where it said something but I felt nothing from it. I don't think I disliked this book that's for sure (this was acc my first audio book btw) but I just thought that there was nothing to be gained from reading it. 

I think that this thing would've been a cool cool thing where it depicted this amazing and interesting group of friends, their struggle in the real world after being sheltered by this pretty sheltered school, and then there was always some weird thing about them, some mystery regarding the group of friends. They meet later and boom u see how the years have affected them, how the act of becoming an adult changed them. And then at the end, boom, u get exposed to the thingy at the end and whatever. idk the ending part where its supposed to be a surprise ig didn't really feel like anything important it was just kinda like, damn sucks man. 

Characters: 
Kathy - some girl who tbh I dint give two shits about. Like she felt so inhuman. Ig that's the point with them being clones or whatever. But there was acc like no emotion coming out of anything this girl did. The main part of this book was ig the little song she liked and the fact that they couldn't have babies ig? but tbh I thought like bruh this girl is not that girl.

Ruth - Bitch. She was just honestly such an awful friend and I think she was the most real part of this book. This idea that this bitch girl who was such a bitch when she was younger, but only realized when you grew older, reconciles with her friends ig and is not so much of a bitch when she's dying is interesting ig. But yeah pretty realistic of this bitch ass friend ig, shows how friendship is more blah blah and sometimes it's blind or whatever. 

Tommy - bro this guy. What was he even supposed to be. Ig some things happened to him but like idk it just bro this guy encapsulates what is wrong with this novel. Just random things thrown on to the character to make them feel like a human when in reality they just feel hallow and empty and idk. 

Adding on to the characters I felt that this whole true love thing between Tommy and Kathy that ruth said they had was just silly. I don't know what true love is but I don't think those two were a good depiction at all. I felt they were just two chummy friends who kinda knew each others secrets. Could be very easily substituted by others. So def not true love. 

Yeah but honestly I just don't think it was that great of a book. Tbh just something to listen to in the background and it's not that sigh what I was expecting. Tbh I only read this book because some really really pretty girl said it was her fav book and I thought wow I better check it out, but maybe that girl's personality is just as dull as this book. Who knows? 

The best way to describe this book is just lame. It's lame. It's boring, plain, and unoriginal.

I found out it was inspired by Chinese history, which I found interesting and cool. But then I realized the author was a Chinese American who was born in America. This directly coincided with the very warped depiction of China throughout this book. These issues aside, I think the book just simply does not bring anything to the table.

I think my disappointment stems from the overhype that this novel had. They said it was the next best fantasy debut, the best fantasy of the modern era. But I found that to be completely untrue. You can't just reforge ideas made in the past, copy them but make no apparent change or own originality and call it a day.

Let's start with the world. Every fantasy novel the first thing you want to do is open the map and take a look. But what I saw before me was some lame ass place with just a few labels and provinces. That's when I knew this novel was gonna be lame...

Our story is about a peasant girl who somehow aces the exam to go to the best school in the country or whatever. This is a concept that I have seen so many times, but I have never been so flabbergasted at the way the author decides to depict the girls struggles. Sometimes I have an issue with characters having something known as main char syndrome, where for some reason everything is shaped around the main char. Now this isn't particularly true in this book as the war showing the main char's uselessness in the grand scheme of things is quite interesting (there are many issues with this tho that Ill go into later). However, the fact that Rin can just burn herself and ace an exam that you are supposed to study for your entire life for? Also what even is this exam. If you do the best you go to military school... Please. How does a practical exam even prepare you for that.

Now let's actually talk about the school. So we are told that at this school you learn strategies and implement super interesting tactics to war. So how come, during the fighting that happens in the books later basically none of this happens? It feels so cast to the side, like half the book was just for nothing. Instead of using tactics and strategies that we learn about in the school, they just use some kind of suicide squad with powers. And also these powers are honestly so so lazy.

The most unique part of this novel is the mentor mentee relationship between the gatekeeper and Rin. But the things learned during this are just thrown away. Like ok your supposed to go through all these steps to channel to god, but these suicide squad kiddos can just do it like that? And then we have my biggest annoyance. How useless Rin is. It doesn't feel that she's useless because this is a big war and she's swept in it. No it's because she is so lame when it comes to her power. Like bro u have the Phoenix or whatever but that Atlan guy has it too so what's the point of Rin even existing.

Let me just say right now, I freaking hate Rin so much. I think she is the reason I disliked this book so much. She's so narcissistic and annoying and honestly just so like bratty. Also we are supposed to have this strong female character, but this girl is so infatuated with these random guys like bro I don't careeee about ur dumb romance subplots. She cares so much about what these guys think of her it's honestly kinda just concerning how weak willed her supposed strong female character is.

I can't even remember half the things that happen in this book because it was just so lame and forgettable. The school was done half assed. The world building half assed. The fight scenes are honestly so lame. Even the war part, the part that is supposed to be the highlight of this novel was just not it.

I think one of my favourite stories is Magus of the Library. This novel reminds me a lot about that novel, it it honestly lacks so much in comparison that I found this one to be so so so lame.

Oh man Oh man. I think I was introduced to this book through instagram reels. Everywhere I looked I saw this novel being recommended. But tbh it was a black cover or the other alternative was this greek statue thing, so suffice to say it wasn't at the top of my list. But then when I was browsing in Indigo (not planning to buy any books since I had just bought like 5 the day before) I saw it tucked away in a section that it wasn't really supposed to be and under impulse I bought it. 

And man it was a great great impulsive decision I made that day. I had just finished reading a bunch of other recommendations and felt pretty disappointed with a few of them and therefore I didn't have the highest expectations for this novel as I feel high expectations always ruined books for me. But man was I just put into the writing of Donna Tart as if it were a drug. I think while reading through the novel, I have never stopped and reread the passage so many times for like these few subtilties that she added or just due to her fantastic writing. I think there were countless, and I mean countless passages where I was just like: damn. 

Even after finishing the novel, I found so many hidden details online that I never would have caught, and I was simply blown away by the amount of subtilties she put in the book. I think tbh this is a book that was meant to be analyzed. One that should be part of highschool curriculums for analysis. Too bad some of the themes r a bit dark and the novel is a bit long for highschool. 

I think my favourite sections of this novel was the description of how Bunny would piss of the other characters. This built greatly into the characterization of so many of the characters and I found Donna doing this so many times, where she wrote this very much needed explanation of some strange but innate behaviour of a character that built on every single other characters personalities. I think the book really does a great job of the point its trying to establish, that everyone has a really dark side to them inside and the characters that show this really do this idea justice. 

I think while I was reading this the one constant thought I had in my head was “bruh what does this mean.” Like that's it. One of my largest complaints was just that I didn't understand greek loll. But after I did search up the meaning it was so interesting, so ig it would defeat the purpose of the greek and latin if there was a direct translation in the book or smth. 

Some final remarks. Bro all the characters r kinda wack. Like we have incenstious abuser, 2 psychpaths ig, gay SA'er, and honestly while the book makes Bunny look very very annoying, he is honestly the most rational person, although he is super weird and annoying as well. But ig thats the point of the book. Francis my personal fav lolll.