Done with my assigned categories- free choice the rest of the way, smooth sailing ahead! This was definitely not a great story. It was okay, and I kind of enjoyed it. But it's not as good as a lot of other YA I've read lately. hidden was emotionally deeper, delving into Ahmed's thoughts and soul and really showcasing the first person narrative in a way that Kindness For Weakness just can't seem to. A Matter Of Days had a much more beautifully built setting, nailing the horror and ruin of a post-pandemic world full of rotting corpses- world building, A+! Exposure carried the tension better. While smaller threads cleared up gradually as the Virals worked their way through the multitude of mysteries, others opened up, keeping me hanging on every word and eagerly anticipating the next installment. Kindness For Weakness was simply... unimpressive. James, Louis, and the entire message of the book were wishy-washy, inconsistent, and less than gripping.
The book floats in the no-man's-land between good enough to enjoy and bad enough to dislike. There were opportunities for redemption; the juvenile detention center could have been a really well-done setting, had the author put more emphasis on the grimness of the place.
The shuffling of the boys from unit to unit felt like a very cheap plot trick. Fight about to happen in the next few pages? Suddenly, one of the conflicting characters has temporarily vanished, only to reappear when the tension resolves itself.
And the end? The scene where a dying James gets glimpses of the future seems like a poor way to slip those details into the story.
All in all, not something I'd pick up again.
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