REVIEW | Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

*** please note, this review may contain spoilers***

Summed up in a sentence?: "This book is definitely for lovers of YA, world-ending reads!

SYNOPSIS

One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as The Travelling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.

MY OPINIONS

I absolutely adored this book. Whilst I'm a sucker for any kind of dystopian typically, this one stood out to me. There's nothing paranormal or creepy about characters, nobody has odd powers, it's just about a random selection of people throughout a number of locations who are all connected in one way or another. It just so happens, that these people are survivors of a potentially world-ending pandemic that has wiped out 99% of the population 48 hours after they first show symptoms. 

When we first delve into the novel, the scenes seem unimportant and somewhat unnecessary. However, these scenes are key to the future of the novel. This is something that is usually the case across all novels, and in this book in particular, we get to see something that enlightens our knowledge of one of the key characters of the novel.

The plot jumps between characters and time-zones after almost every chapter. For me, this is something that I really struggle to comprehend as a read. Why not just write the novel in chronological order following a chain of events? It just makes more sense that way! Whilst I thought this would bother me and become a nuisance throughout the book, it actually didn't bother me at all. In this novels situation, it is necessary and done very well, allowing us to learn about characters as if we are someone they are talking to for the first time, learning about their journey, how it began, and where they are hopefully headed. 

The character developments of Kirsten and Clark in particular are two that I appreciated the most in the novel. 

When we first meet Kirsten, she is no more than 8 or 9 year old, and acting in King Lear alongside a once-famous actor. After seeing him die on stage, and the events following afterwards - the pandemic - she then becomes one of the members of the Travelling Symphony, a company that travel from town to town spreading Shakespeares plays, trying their hardest to keep what little they have of the previous world alive. 

We see Kirsten go from one terrified young girl, to a woman that knows how to handle herself. She mucks in with the duties with the symphony, has her wits about her, and longs for nothing more than a normal life with no pandemic. 

Clark, is Arthers best friend from his education days, and is always the first to hear the latest on Arthers trials and tribulations, particularly when it comes to women. When he hears of his death, he begins the journey to his funeral, and just happens to bump into Arthers second wife Elizabeth, and their son Tyler, who are on the same flight. That flight just happens to be one of the last flights to depart on earth, as the pandemic strikes almost instantly after take off.

When the flight is diverted, with no hope of the journey being complete, realisation sets in, and Arthur makes a home for himself in the airport, along with several other passengers from diverted flights. Over the years, he collects little snippets in souveniors of life before the pandemic, and opens a museum in one of the lounges. Word spreads of this museum, which brings travellers from far and wide to see relics from the 'old world'.

Over the course of years we see different viewpoints to allow us to see a broad spectrum as to how the epidemic has effected people around the globe (or the US at least). This was something I found a little confusing now and again, but it was easy enough to pick up different journeys in each chapter.

MY RATING


Overall I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. Whilst I did really enjoy the book, I felt that it lacked a little something, and was slightly over-doing it in places that didnt need that.
This book is definitely for lovers of YA, world-ending reads!

REVIEW || Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

*** please note, this review may contain spoilers***

BOOK THOUGHTS: STEALING SNOW

First of all, many thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and also to Netgalley, for approving my request also!

I'm just going to put this out there, I've never read a Danielle Paige book prior to this one. As an avid reader and someone who seemingly adores fairytale re-tellings, you would think I'd have read some of her works by now. But, there's a first time for everything, and the plot line of this novel just drew me in.

"Seventeen-year-old Snow has spent her life locked in Whittaker Psychiatric—but she isn’t crazy. And that’s not the worst of it. Her very first kiss proves anything but innocent…when Bale, her only love, turns violent.

Despite Snow knowing that Bale would never truly hurt her, he is taken away—dashing her last hope for any sort of future in the mental ward she calls home. With nowhere else to turn, Snow finds herself drawn to a strange new orderly who whispers secrets in the night about a mysterious past and a kingdom that’s hers for the taking—if only she can find her way past the iron gates to the Tree that has been haunting her dreams.

Beyond the Tree lies Algid, a land far away from the real world, frozen by a ruthless king. And there too await the River Witch, a village boy named Kai, the charming thief Jagger, and a prophecy that Snow will save them all." (taken from Goodreads)

***

When Bloomsbury posted a tweet about this book, saying they had spare ARC's available, I never thought I'd actually get a copy. An ebook, maybe, as I tend to get things approved from NetGalley now and again, but never a physical copy. The fact that I got the physical copy was enough to keep me invested in the book, even just if it was to provide a review for those of you who read my blog.

***

MY OPINION:

This book was well thought out, even if the concept was a little bit typical in some places, and all over the place in others. There were a whole array of characters who just seemed to be there, not doing much. That being said, I was still captivated throughout the book. 

Whilst I was heading into this book expecting a Snow White retelling, it turned out it is actually a re-telling of The Snow Queen.  Now, I'm unfamiliar with this fairy tale, so each twist and turn in the book was unexpected, as I had no true idea of what the initial fairy tale entailed. However, I do think this worked in my favour, as whilst others may have had expectations regarding familiarity, I lacked them. 

One of the issues I struggled with, is that whilst Snow had a lot going on in her life, such as finding out who she really is, whilst trying to find childhood friend Bale in an alternative universe, there is also a love triangle. What is it with pretty much every YA novel having a love triangle? This wasn't exactly needed, considering Snow's feelings were made pretty clear as of page one. 

Overall, I believe the initial idea had a LOT of promise, most of which was not met.  As this is actually the first in a series - possibly a trilogy, I'm unsure - this makes sense, as it allows things to develop and flow a little better in further books.

***

MY RATING: 

TWO AND A HALF STARS

Have any of you read this book? If so, what are your thoughts? Or do you have any recommendations based off my review? Let me know in the comments below!