Review: Out of Air by Rachel Reiss
I am... conflicted. This book spooked me at times. It
definitely grossed me out. I cared about the characters. Yet overall I
am left with a feeling of yep, that was a book. I have clicked back and
forth between 3 stars and 4 stars so many times. Let's get into it.
SUMMARY:
Graduation trip!!! To Australia!!! What could possibly go wrong in Australia???
Everything.
Phoebe Rays is a poor teenager growing up in the Florida Keys. Her grandmother is dying a slow and terrifying death of Alzheimer's. Things are Not Good. Things are made better by her group of rich friends, but Phoebe knows that is soon to end with the summer as they head off to college while she cares for Gram. The graduation trip is the last time she will see them for a while.
Spooky cave, bad air, mysteries, and teen drama follow.
MY THOUGHTS:
This feels wild to say, considering how I felt in the midst of reading this book. But like not much happens????
For example, I really liked the characters. Like halfway through the book, I actually wrote a note that I didn't want any of them to die. But looking back, you don't really know much about these characters? They don't have character arcs, you don't learn much about what they are like or anything. They only feel important to you because Phoebe thinks they are important.
Nobody in this book is ever particularly rational or reasonably motivated, tbh.
Why did we need the awful human antagonists????? What did they add? They showed up just to take up time and die, I guess.
I very much enjoyed Phoebe. She felt very relatable. She was a fun character to follow.
People have giant gashes all over them and the one person who says hey maybe we should go to a hospital is essentially laughed at.
The body horror was pretty great though. So was the fear of the ocean stuff. Going diving at night??? Horrific.
FINAL OPINION:
This book was pretty fun to read. It did feel a little long at times, and rushed at others. You can tell it is a debut novel. That being said, I can not wait to read more by Rachel Reiss. Her writing style is really nice, I loved the setting, the scariness was there. I think if she works on pacing and fleshing out her characters more, her next book will be outstanding.
I think I will rate it 4 stars. The feeling of reading it was fun; I don't want to take away from that by thinking about it too hard.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC! All opinions are my own.
SUMMARY:
Graduation trip!!! To Australia!!! What could possibly go wrong in Australia???
Everything.
Phoebe Rays is a poor teenager growing up in the Florida Keys. Her grandmother is dying a slow and terrifying death of Alzheimer's. Things are Not Good. Things are made better by her group of rich friends, but Phoebe knows that is soon to end with the summer as they head off to college while she cares for Gram. The graduation trip is the last time she will see them for a while.
Spooky cave, bad air, mysteries, and teen drama follow.
MY THOUGHTS:
This feels wild to say, considering how I felt in the midst of reading this book. But like not much happens????
For example, I really liked the characters. Like halfway through the book, I actually wrote a note that I didn't want any of them to die. But looking back, you don't really know much about these characters? They don't have character arcs, you don't learn much about what they are like or anything. They only feel important to you because Phoebe thinks they are important.
Nobody in this book is ever particularly rational or reasonably motivated, tbh.
Why did we need the awful human antagonists????? What did they add? They showed up just to take up time and die, I guess.
I very much enjoyed Phoebe. She felt very relatable. She was a fun character to follow.
People have giant gashes all over them and the one person who says hey maybe we should go to a hospital is essentially laughed at.
The body horror was pretty great though. So was the fear of the ocean stuff. Going diving at night??? Horrific.
FINAL OPINION:
This book was pretty fun to read. It did feel a little long at times, and rushed at others. You can tell it is a debut novel. That being said, I can not wait to read more by Rachel Reiss. Her writing style is really nice, I loved the setting, the scariness was there. I think if she works on pacing and fleshing out her characters more, her next book will be outstanding.
I think I will rate it 4 stars. The feeling of reading it was fun; I don't want to take away from that by thinking about it too hard.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC! All opinions are my own.
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