Warcross by Marie Lu | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5) “It is hard to describe loss to someone who has never experienced it, impossible to explain all the ways it changes you. But for those who have, not a single word is needed.”
First thing first: Marie Lu is one of my all-time favourite YA writers. To say that I was excited for Warcross, the start to her latest series, would be an understatement. And I know what you're thinking: Jessica, you've only given Warcross a three and a half star rating! Which is true--and I am disappointed in myself for it, too. Because there were a lot of things about the book that I adored.
Behind that adoration, there was a lot to it that just wasn't my cup of tea. This may solely be because I only just recently hopped on the Ready Player One train and the similarities between the two are pretty to the point. I should correct that: there are a lot of things that tie the two together but ultimately they are entirely different stories just with a similar vibe and groundwork. That still could contribute to my lower-than-expected rating.
The truth is, Warcross is a good book. But, is it Marie Lu's finest release to date? No. Not in my eyes. There were some parts of Warcross that made me waver in my attention for around 40% of the book. Which is very, very, very uncommon for me when it comes to Lu's fantastic prose. While it certainly had its unique qualities to it and a high-stakes concept, I often found myself comparing it to other works that I've read or seen in the past and found it far too easy to catch onto who the big bads were and weren't.
