Happy Monday and welcome to my stop on the Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful blog tour!!! I know I don’t usually post reviews on Mondays, but I’m REALLY excited about this book! So read on to find my review, information about the author and the tour, and a giveaway!
I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton Published on December 4, 2018 by Penguin Random House, Delacorte Press
Genres: Futuristic, Science Fiction, YA
Pages: 384
Format: ARC, eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Add to Goodreads
For fans of television shows Black Mirror and Westworld, this compelling, mind-bending novel is a twisted look into the future, exploring how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimen and what it means to be human at all.
Set in our world, spanning the near to distant futures, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is a novel made up of six interconnected stories that ask how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimens, and how hard that will push the definition of "human."
This extraordinary work explores the amazing possibilities of genetic manipulation and life extension, as well as the ethical quandaries that will arise with these advances. The results range from the heavenly to the monstrous. Deeply thoughtful, poignant, horrifying, and action-packed, Arwen Elys Dayton's Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is groundbreaking in both form and substance.
Review
The Good, The Bad, and The GIF
The Good: I loved all the stories! My favorite by far, however, was Part Four, Eight Waded. This was the story of Alexios, who read as autistic, which I really appreciated. There’s this feeling I get when I’m reading and there’s a character who’s like me in some way- fat, ace, autistic, chronically ill- it’s like (and I know this is super cliche but stay with me) I’m letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. It feels good, like I’m being SEEN. And that’s what this story did, so kudos to Arwen because this was great. The other stories were also really good! The first and last parts were my other favorites, because it showed the full spectrum of what you can do with a little bit of information, and what happens when you have too much. There’s an Einstein quote I’m thinking of here (although research to source it says it may not be Einstein’s at all…) “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot.” Which is a good quote I think to sum up this book!
The Bad: Tad Tadd. I can’t tell you why without having there be spoilers, but other than who he is as a character, I’m also really annoyed at his name. It’s a stupid name that makes me irrationally angry when I see it. Ugh.
The GIF:
Judging a Book by its Cover
This cover is intriguing, but honestly not my favorite. I do like the UK cover, though! 6/10 stars.
Read Alikes
For more robots and teen girls, read Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
For more end of the world scifi, read At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Huchinson
For more soft autistic boys, read The Boy Who Steals Houses by CG Drews
Spoilers Sweetie
View Spoiler »Favorite Quotes
Let’s Discuss
What was the last book you read that made you feel seen? I’ve read a few lately, but the one that affected me the most was Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace. Let me know your answer in the comments!
Author Info
About the Author
Arwen Elys Dayton began her career as a teenage staff writer at a foundation that produced Peabody Award-winning educational shows for PBS. Soon afterward, she began writing screenplays and novels, including Sovereign’s Hold and Resurrection, the #1 Amazon bestseller in Sci-Fi in both the US and the UK (and the #2 book on all of Amazon, behind The Hunger Games). Her Seeker series for Penguin Random House is published all over the world. Arwen spends months doing research for her stories. Her explorations have taken her around the world to places like the Great Pyramid (which she explored by flashlight when researching Resurrection), Hong Kong and its many islands, and lots of ruined castles in Scotland. She enjoys creating complete worlds inhabited by characters who charm, frustrate or inspire. Arwen lives with her husband and their three children in both sunny Southern California and the rainy Pacific Northwest. You can visit her at arwendayton.com and follow @arwenelysdayton on Twitter and Instagram, or reach her by email at arwenelysdayton@gmail.com.
Author Links
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram
Tour Info
Tour Schedule
Week One:
12/3/2018- Kait Plus Books- Review
12/4/2018- Novel Novice– Excerpt
12/5/2018- Rhythmicbooktrovert– Review
12/6/2018- Sifa Elizabeth Writes– Review
12/7/2018- The Pages In-Between– Review
Week Two:
12/10/2018- Dani Reviews Things– Review
12/11/2018- Book-Keeping– Review
12/12/2018- A Dream Within A Dream– Review
12/13/2018- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review
12/14/2018- Rainy Day Reviews– Excerpt
Week Three:
12/17/2018- A Gingerly Review– Review
12/18/2018- Always Me – Review
12/19/2018- Sincerely Karen Jo Blog– Excerpt
12/20/2018- Devouring Books– Review
12/21/2018- BookHounds YA– Review
Week Four:
12/24/2018- My Books-My World– Excerpt
12/25/2018- Books of Teacups– Review
12/26/2018- Lifestyle of Me– Review
12/27/2018- Wishful Endings– Excerpt
12/28/2018- Eli to the nth– Review
Week Five:
12/31/2018- Oh Hey! Books.– Review
Giveaway
Enter here for a chance to win one of THREE (3) finished copies of
Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton!!!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Great review! This book wasn’t on my radar until this tour started and I saw another positive review, and I was STOKED to see it is the monthly pick for my subscription with Mysterious Galaxy… so I will have a copy soon to read!
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious recently posted…Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant
Thanks! It was SUCH A GREAT BOOK!!! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂