This idea for this book was definitely an interesting one. Cora, Lucky, Rolf, Leon, and Nok are 5 teenagers that were taken from Earth by a race of aliens called the Kindred. They are put into an enclosure that is sort of like a zoo, with eight 'habitats,' each with their own puzzles. The currency in their 'Cage' are tokens that are earned/won by completing the puzzles. There are only 3 rules: 1. Solve the puzzles, to keep their minds sharp 2. Stay healthy, get enough sleep, eat, etc. 3. Reproduce
What I liked
- The characters were interesting and diverse, in their own way
- How the characters interacted with each other
What would have made it better
- If the book focused more on their new daily lives/routines and showed how everyone adapted to their situation
- If there was a part of it that was told by Cassian, aka the Caretaker. I feel like it would be really interesting to see what he would think about some of the humans' activities or just how they did things
- If there was a POV of a scientist or another Kindred that was helping to care for the group. Again, it would be interesting to see what a Kindred really thought of humans and how they would interpret some of the humans' choices throughout their time in observation
- If the book didn't feel so rushed. I felt like it skipped around a lot and only focused on Cora
I would have liked to see more of the puzzles and less of Cora trying to escape. Cora was so single-minded, she seemed like a Mary-Sue, and it kind of annoyed me. To add to that, she didn't have a plan past getting out. She was willing to risk everything that she had to get out of a cage that was designed to make her happy. The book is centered only on Cora and not really on everyone else. If Nok's side of the story, or Cassian's, or anyone else's had been told, it would make it more interesting.
Despite all the negative reviews and the things I would change, I thought that this book was pretty good.
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