Book Review: Want by Cindy Pon

This book! I couldn’t put it down! I don’t normally go out of my way to read sci-fi but this book? It was well worth the trip!

Likes:

First off, the author did an amazing job keeping the reader in suspense throughout the entire book! Right from the beginning I’m engaged and wondering what’s going to happen next. The mysteriousness of the protagonist and the intricacy of the “master plan”, it all kept me turning pages.

Another thing that I liked was a control that the protagonist, Jason, had over himself throughout the piece. He kept it cool, but also remained respectful whenever he was in tense or dangerous situations. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind about and he had a cause worth fighting for. He is a very admirable and intelligent protagonist who never cracked under the pressure.

Despite the action and thrills that this novel focuses on, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the romantic subplot. Romance is something that can get to be cringy in YA, but this novel manages it perfectly. It also is a good reminder of Jason’s age, I think whenever he interacts with Daiyu is about the only time we ever see him lose control, but not in a weird creepy way. The romance itself remains, for the most part, pretty innocent throughout the book.

Intelligence of the antagonist is also something that I found very enjoyable about this piece. I don’t care much for villains who aimlessly kill people for the sake of doing so. I prefer antagonists who are intelligent and calculate their attacks. Naturally, the antagonist of this book thinks he holds all the cards and when Jason comes in to strike the final blow, the antagonist is able to brush it off and cover it up with little to no repercussions.

This novel is clearly trying to push a message about environmentalism, it is the driving force of Jason and the others. SPOILER ALERT: The ending left readers feeling very hopeful that some change, no matter how small was about to occur. It implied a change for the better.

Dislikes:

SPOILER ALERT: One of the biggest things that I did not like about the book was Victor’s death. Not only did it feel abrupt, it also felt really down-played. Victor had been a side character that readers, like myself, came to enjoy and then to have him die? We didn’t even get to witness his death, it was something that occurred in the background. A very unnoble death for a well loved character.

SPOILER ALERT: I also didn’t like that Jin got away in the end. Even though the ending implied something greater, it didn’t actually stop Jin, a wealthy businessman, from working around them. He simply moved his headquarters and that was that. Thus creating the perpetual problem which is something I’ve noticed is very common in dystopia.

All in all I did very much enjoy this book. I loved the characters and the subplots and the suspense kept me turning pages. I hope to read the sequel one day in the future but I am mostly satisfied with this book on its own.