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Kate Ormand

Autor(a) de Dark Days

5 Works 137 Membros 9 Críticas

Obras por Kate Ormand

Dark Days (2014) 68 exemplares
The Wanderers (2015) 64 exemplares
The Pack (2017) 3 exemplares
Made (Between The Lines) (2017) 1 exemplar

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Conhecimento Comum

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Membros

Críticas

I really wish we could give half-stars, because this is better than a 3, more of a 3.5.

For a YA Last Days book, and one set in a dystopian near-future, it had a tight plot and was good at being consistent and not losing sight of what it was trying to do with the storyline.

My least favorite part was — I'd like to know more. Perhaps this is one in a series of books, in which case I'd give it a 4. But we definitely need more backstory on how things got to be the way they are. Sia's mom alludes to this, in the beginning...but sadly, no one ever follows up on that.

Other than that, good job! This book didn't try to do too many things, and it didn't try to do too few. It strained at the limits of believability in a good way — no abrupt and illogical accomplishments by the characters. I'd like to know what happens next!
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Miss_Isle | 6 outras críticas | Jul 9, 2018 |
I really enjoyed Dark Days. It’s something different, and I think it would make an awesome movie.

My only complaint with this book is I felt like the characters weren’t fleshed out very well. I think if the characters had more personality, and the book had more pages to include that, this book would have been perfect. Sia was actually very easy to connect with. She has a hard life in the sectors. She knows she’s going to die, and wants to check things off her bucket list. I was pissed at the way her friend treated her. She has an odd relationship with her parents too. I loved Mace. He’s fun, and pretty easy-going considering everything going on.

I loved the action in this book. It is what made me want more. I’ve very action driven sometimes, my hubby hates this about me when we watch movies. Sia puts herself in crazy situations, and I admire her bravery during them. I would have completely crumpled. There is definitely insta-feelings in Dark Days, but I think it completely works in this novel. Mostly because of the short timeline they have.

I really hope there is another book that ties up the loose ends. If not, I’m okay with how it ended. Dark Days is a mix of dystopian and post-apocalyptic.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
BookishThings | 6 outras críticas | Mar 23, 2016 |
Sixteen year-old Flo’s life is anything but ordinary--she is just one of many performers in a traveling circus. On the outside, this seems like any normal animal circus, but the secret lies in the fact that there aren’t any actual animals in tow. Instead, the humans shape-shift into their animal forms when it is time to perform. Shifters are unknown to the human world, so when a human spots Flo practicing her routine, panic seizes the circus and anxiety causes Flo to accidentally shift from horse to human in front of an unsuspecting audience. Her mistake unleashes the fury of the hunters (a government run group titled EOS whose purpose is to eradicate the shifters and make sure the humans never find out about them). Luckily Flo and a few others are able to flee in time. Together they embark on a journey that reveals secrets they never thought possible and causes them to question everything they’ve been taught and, worst of all, who they can trust.

I thought the entire book was very well written and well-thought out. I really liked the premise of this and the fact that the characters shape-shifted into many different types of animals because the only other books I’ve read about shape-shifters seem to focus solely on werewolves. The beginning is pretty slow, but then everything picks up and doesn’t really slow down until the very last page (it was a bit rushed in my opinion). For anyone that likes a lot of action, this is the book for you. As soon as things go wrong during Flo’s performance the fighting and killing is almost constant (some of it is kind of graphic so be aware of that if it is something you are not comfortable with). There was a lot of death which I thought was kind of excessive, but at the same time believable since it was trained hunters against a bunch of scared kids--in their animal form or not, they still weren’t warriors. The only thing I would have liked to see was a greater emphasis on the circus itself because that was something I was pretty excited about.

Flo isn’t my favorite character, but she does a lot of growing throughout the story which I admired. She starts off terrified of just performing her short act in front of complete strangers, but by the end she is completely willing to put her life on the line for all of her friends. This is stemmed from the fact that she feels responsible that everyone is running for their lives and wants to help make it as right as possible, but I don’t think everyone would step up to the plate that way. She refuses to run when offered the chance mutiple times and fights until the very end.

I’m not sure if this will have a sequel or not (the ending seems to be open for one), but I will most likely pick it up because I am intrigued by this shifter world and how Flo and Jett’s story continues.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
joanab951 | 1 outra crítica | Sep 17, 2015 |
(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through Edelweiss.)

On a scale of one to ten, my level of excitement over The Wanderers scored around a seven or eight - not bad for an author I've never read before. So I was pretty bummed to find myself DNF'ing this one at the 41% mark.

I mean, just look at that ridiculous cover: lush and gorgeous and full of mystery! I know what they say about not judging a book, but the lovely circus artwork featured on the cover had me jonesing for a peek inside.

Not to mention, 2015 has seen some amazing novels starring badass lady carnies: Erika Swyler's The Book of Speculation and Leslie Parry's The Church of Marvels, both of which I absolutely adored, spring to mind. There's also The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore (want!) and Rachel Vincent's Menagerie (next on my reading list). And that's just off the top of my head.

Also, as an ethical vegan, the idea of an animal circus staffed entirely by consenting human(ish) shapeshifters is really quite intriguing. I love circuses and carnivals, but have only been to one since I was a kid: Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas (freaking astounding). Marveling over pachyderms and big cats, without the confinement, torture, and oppression? Sign me up! Bonus points if you can actually watch them shift, because hello? Shapeshifters!

So where did it all go wrong? For starters, the story moves about as fast as molasses. Having just turned sixteen, it's Flo's turn to perform in the circus - but she's terrified. A horse, her act involves jumping over a flaming hurdle; cue daydreams about setting the whole tent ablaze. And yet I can't help but think her fear runs deeper than this; perhaps she's nervous about appearing naked and in her animal form in front of others, particularly those who might not understand? It's as a horse that she's at her most vulnerable - but also her most powerful. But this is just a guess, as Ormand doesn't do a particularly good job of building us a window into Flo's heart and mind.

Which is especially annoying, as Flo spends the first quarter of the book a) fretting over her act and b) mooning over Jett, her best friend/boyfriend. That's literally all that happens. By the time an actual conflict is introduced in the form of possible hunters (40%), I couldn't find a fuck to give. I had lost all interest.

The characters are all pretty blah and one-dimensional, and Flo is absolutely lacking in personality. How on earth do you make shapeshifters so uninteresting, I wonder?

The circus itself gets shortchanged too; it's completely devoid of the expected sense of wonder and magic and showmanship. To be fair, Flo's circus is barely limping along; the show, and everyone involved with it, seems on the constant verge of bankruptcy. The performers own few of their own possessions; after parties, the crew collects uneaten food to reuse later; and sometimes, the shifters pick the pockets of audience members if they didn't earn enough through legitimate means. And this contrast - between the public and private faces of the circus, expectation vs. reality - would have made for a compelling element of the story. Problem is, we're only really treated to the seedy side of the equation.

So many missed opportunities here.

There is an interesting plot line involving protestors, but ultimately it just wasn't enough to hold my interest. Assuming that this animal circus does indeed contain animals, a group of PETA-like protestors descends on the circus, throwing flour (huh?) at the performers after the show. Nora is characteristically ill-tempered about it, and no one refutes her negative view of the nosey activists - even though they'd surely want someone to intervene if they were being held captive and forced to perform against their will. Which is precisely what the protestors believe. What you're actively leading them to believe, as it's preferable to the truth.

Flo wonders if the activists would champion the shifters' cause (e.g., against the hunters) if they knew the truth. As someone who frequently roots for the "monsters" on Supernatural, I'll answer that with an unequivocal "YES!". Every sentient being - whether human, nonhuman, or somewhere twixt the two - deserves to live a life free of exploitation and abuse. Unless you're feasting on human flesh, in which case it's off to shifter jail with you. Social contracts, yo.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2015/09/07/the-wanderers-by-kate-ormand/
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
smiteme | 1 outra crítica | Aug 15, 2015 |

Estatísticas

Obras
5
Membros
137
Popularidade
#149,084
Avaliação
3.1
Críticas
9
ISBN
10

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