I know the hype on this one is long since passed, but it’s been on my TBR for SOOOO long. Plus, Lauren Oliver is one of my favorite authors ever, so when I saw this available on audio, I had to give it a try!

I really liked it! Lauren Oliver is such a good writer— even though this isn’t my usual genre, I couldn’t help but fall into her intricate story. Lena went through a slow transformation from true believer in her way of life, to true questioner. I believed that part of it. The part that lost me a little was how quickly she fell in love. That part just kind of sprung out and felt a little insta-lovey for me. I guess I could rationalize it by thinking about how Lena was never allowed to feel, and so of course when she started to feel SOMETHING it felt like EVERYTHING. But I don’t like rationalizing insta-love.

Will I continue on in this series?? Most definitely. I gotta know what happens next! ( )

CW: Frequent references to mother's supposed suicide, suicidal thoughts

Well I should have expected that a dystopia all about cancelling out love would in fact be quite romance heavy, yet I was still a bit surprised at how single-minded the story felt.

I take issue with all consuming love. I can't live without them, they complete me, life is only worth living if we are together. Personally I don't think that is a particularly healthy approach to relationships so I wouldn't want my teenage daughter thinking that this is a realistic portrayal of love.

That aside I liked the concept. Not particularly new in this genre but still interesting. The world was a bit underdeveloped but what existed felt solid. Just okay for me and I won't be continuing with the series. ( )

This book was a 'meh' for me. I wasn't all that excited by the premise or by the execution. The fact that I haven't gobbled up (or even thought about) reading book 2 in the series is a good indicator that I've moved on with nary a look back.

As to the why...? I think that unlike other dystopian YA books, I neither believed the world nor the characters. I can wade through a book that I don't really believe the world if I'm totally invested in the characters and I can wade through a book where the characters are fairly flat, but the world is super intriguing. But if you are missing both, then you've got problems.
I wasn't convinced at the world-building or the premise (which was intriguing, but I felt really never was built up enough or made believable). Perhaps it is the cynic adult in me, but you've got to give me more than 'love causes bad things to happen'.

There was definitely too much of the 'oh, I'm with him, so nothing else matters' - too much of that "Twilight" syndrome in some ways. And what should be big consequences didn't even seem to read as real or troubling to the characters, which made them not feel important to me as a reader.
( )

I didn't love this book quite as much as her first book, Before I Fall, but she has a knack for writing books that I don't want to put down, and I was absorbed by the characters in this book. I think fans of Scott Westerfelds Uglies series will like this one, and it seems like there'll be a sequel to this. ( )

I finished 3 discs on audio and could not continue—the premise was implausible, and not much was happening. ( )