Review: Interesting But Needed a Little Help
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 17, 2013
The concept of civil liberties might seem slightly boring and abstract until they’re ripped away from you.“Maybe it was worth losing a few minor privacies for the good of the majority.” As soon as Maya thought these words early on in her tale I knew I’d either love her or hate her by the time I finished it. She has a strong personality and a fiercely stubborn streak that sometimes pokes out at inopportune moments, but ultimately Maya’s narration of this piece reveals the best parts of her personality as well. I’m still not entirely sure if I like her as a person, but following an interesting protagonist around is much more important than shaving down their sometimes rough edges.There were a few pacing issues in this book. While the first few chapters set up everything the reader needs to know about how people in Maya’s society are reacting to this dangerous new disease, explaining all of the ways in which they are pretending that everything is ok does slow down the action in the beginning. I would have preferred to spend more time figuring out some plot holes that develop later on. The narrator’s understanding of why they occur is fairly fuzzy, and I never did fully understand the logic behind certain twists in the narrative.The chilling premise makes up for the inconsistencies in the plot, especially when it focuses on how society at large responds to such a virulent illness. The Tearings sound like a disease cooked up in Stephen King’s laboratory, and Ms. Repetto’s graphic descriptions of how it affects the human body make my skin crawl.The Tearings is a chilling dystopian novel that I’d recommend to adult and young adult readers alike. This is a great choice for anyone who feels a tickle in their throat as cold and flu season begins. Remember that it’s probably just a harmless cold. Probably.Originally posted at Long and Short Reviews