
*****************Spoils Below*****************
Spoiler-y Review:
Not sure how much I have to put here considering that this book didn’t really have much happen. Again the elements at the hospital were mostly uninteresting. At some point, Joy learns that the ‘nurses’ are just normal people who are playing a role and getting to survive because of it, and that the doctor’s main plan is making people believe they can survive. A very “mind over matter” plot line.
The bigger spoilers happen after Joy escapes the hospital becuase her favorite other patients have all died. She and Marcus, the childhood friend are traveling all around and run into a scientist and his girlfrienf with wings have a house that has everything they need. This section really just seemed like filler, but the magical realism was intriguing, however I personally feel that the author should have dug into this if that’s what she wanted. As it was, it was mostly a disappointing side-quest. Additionally the book ends right before Joy finds her mother, and I didn’t care!!!!! If I don’t care that I didn’t see a pivotal scene between the main character and the family, that means the book ultimately failed in making me care about any of the characters.
*****************End Spoilers!!!*****************
Rating: This book earns a shot and a half out of five. The characters were lacking personality. The author seemed to have trouble to actually commit to various plot points and I was disappointed that such an interesting premise ended up being such a lackluster book. There would have been a number of interesting ways to focus on this book: what is the world like as people are losing their minds, what are the people who continue on in the midst of such chaos like, and how do people carry on afterwards. The main character didn’t do a great job of showing anything interesting about the world.
What to Drink: Drink a Natty Light. It’s not particularly pleasant, wont’ really get you drunk but it’s cheap and accessible.