Friday, August 1, 2014

Review: On a Clear Day by Walter Dean Myers



Title: On a Clear Day
Author:
Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers (Random House)
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
Release Date: September 23, 2014

Young heroes decide that they are not too young or too powerless to change their world in this gripping, futuristic young adult novel by the New York Times bestselling author of the Printz Award–winning Monster.

It is 2035. Teens, armed only with their ideals, must wage war on the power elite.

Dahlia is a Low Gater: a sheep in a storm, struggling to survive completely on her own. The Gaters live in closed safe communities, protected from the Sturmers, mercenary thugs. And the C-8, a consortium of giant companies, control global access to finance, media, food, water, and energy resources—and they are only getting bigger and even more cutthroat. Dahlia, a computer whiz, joins forces with an ex-rocker, an ex-con, a chess prodigy, an ex-athlete, and a soldier wannabe. Their goal: to sabotage the C-8. But how will Sayeed, warlord and terrorist, fit into the equation?

Walter Dean Myers was a prolific author for young people, writing over one hundred books and receiving every major award in the field of children's literature during his lifetime. He was the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature during 2012 and 2013.


My Review

I don't believe that I've ever read anything by award-winning author Walter Dean Myers before, so I thought On a Clear Day would be a good place to start. I love speculative fiction, so I was sure that this would be great.

I was wrong.

On a Clear Day seemed to be more character-driven than plot-driven, and there really wasn't any characters that I liked. Dahlia is the main character, and I liked her a lot at first. She was a great tool for Myers to show how bad the situation in the world had become in the future. However, I began to really dislike her by the middle of the book. What really sealed the deal in my dislike is when she snatched a girl by her hair and started threatening her because said girl was yelling at the boy that Dahlia liked. That was not cool at all, and, unfortunately, there were no other characters to keep me interested in the book. (The rest of Dahlia's crew is two-dimensional at best.)

The world in On a Clear Day seems bad, but it is nothing on the level of The Hunger Games or other dystopian novels. I think the purpose of the book was to mirror our current world situation enough to encourage kids to take action in fighting the injustices of the world. You know, because the main characters in On a Clear Day are kids.

I don't know. I read half of the book. Usually by then, I have a general idea of what is going on or why the book was written.

I can definitely see where On a Clear Day attempts to be literature, but it just wasn't for me. I didn't like the characters, I wasn't scared of the world's status, and there was nothing pushing me to keep turning pages. I would recommend On a Clear Day to fans of Myers work, as it is his last novel. The novel also has the diversity needed in YA, but that was unable keep me hooked, as well.

- DNF -

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond



To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received an advance copy of the book briefly for reviewing purposes through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for an honest review. The book was likely provided to the tour by the publisher or author, which has in no way affected the outcome of my review. All opinions expressed are rambling, honest, and completely my own.

3 comments:

  1. Excellent review!! I saw this on Amazon just the other day, and was really excited about it. But now, having read your review, I'm not so sure about reading it anymore. Thanks for the heads-up!! : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you do read it and like it better than me, be sure to let me know!

      Delete
    2. i am not sure if you copy righted this of if what i found copy righted it from you

      Delete

You are going to put words in my box?! *squeezes you* Now I shall stalk YOUR blog!