Oasis: What's the Story

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When a search party rescues them, they return to a world that seems pale and dim by comparison to the vivid intensity of the Oasis. A stolen artifact from their ordeal fractures the group even further when the power of the Oasis follows them home. Tommy - Yeahhhh alright it didn't take me long to warm up to him. Strong silent type here. Totally dreamy. I tried so hard to read this book, I really did. I hate DNF-ing a book, but I couldn't get through this one. From the beginning, I noticed that I had to force myself to continue reading. By 26%, I realised I still wasn't into it and what's the point reading a book that I have to force myself to read, right? Overall, I'm in love with this book. Everything about is absolutely fantastic from the characters to the writing. If I could change one thing about this book, it would be the ending. I felt like it kind of ended in a bit of a hurry, and I would have liked some more information before it ended, but this is also a great way to get you hyped for the next book. I definitely recommend this book to all dystopian fans, especially fans of The Giver, Hunger Games, and Under the Never Sky. I can't wait to continue this series, and read more from this author. The writing is just very basic. It tries to be descriptive and evocative, but just ends up sounding flowery without a purpose. And at the same time, it's very vague in some instances. The following is an excerpt of a dream our protagonist is describing:

Seeing how this is a thriller, this element may be slightly more obvious than the others. When people are presented with crisis situations, how they act reveals some ugly truths that they perhaps didn’t even know about themselves. Is this book to show how instincts can take over any human when survival is at stake? Or, can logic prevail? This kept me on edge the entire time, trying to figure out who was messing with whom, and who was the sinister mastermind if there was one. There's so much strangeness that every time you think you've got something figured out, it changes again. Well, it had to happen eventually. After a really excellent start to my 2020 reading year, this is my first two-star book of the year.Even though there are a fair amount of swear words, and even though the characters are in their 20s, I found this book incredibly juvenile and would definitely label it as YA geared at 12-14 year olds (boys, in particular). A lot of parts were really eyeroll-worthy… The main character, Theo, and his friends using "cryptic" pig Latin to avoid being overheard, for instance… like anyone with half a brain couldn't figure out what they were saying. And especially how Theo kept referencing things that "ancient humans" used to like. I get that the author wanted to make things relatable to today's audience, but there are certainly more elegant ways to do it than to simply have the main character be reminded of "ancient," "ancient," "ancient" things every time... Theo was also annoyingly dim-witted/slow on the uptake. Even allowing for a certain amount of "I'm a third-party, so of course I can figure stuff out before he does," I still think he was a bit too frustratingly dense. I didn't really like any of the characters - they were all very two-dimensional. The just plot was okay, though not without its gaping craters, and likewise the world-building could've been much improved. The prose itself was nothing special. Alif drops poisonous berries in their source of fresh water on the oasis, which we're supposed to believe taints the water. First, I'm not sure that's how that would work. I mean, I don't actually KNOW how that would work, but unless they'd been smashed and dropped in the water...also, just handling them made Alif's fingers go numb, but they're able to drink the water again a couple hours later, no problem? At first this book really reminded me of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, especially with them being trapped in a dome, if you go outside you die type of thing. Then it sort of turns into a Giver type of situation with the Elders and only one person being able to remember. If you were to ask me what my favourite genre of book to read is, hands down it would be dystopian. There were several aspects that I really liked about the book. One part of the book that I truly admired is that is character development. Before reading, I expected there to be multiple characters, but there are only a few, which actually worked out nice. Theo is depicted as a normal young adult, expect for his strong attachment to Phoe. Theo is a loyal, heroic, and street smart. With the help of Phoe, he is able to navigate his way though challenges and crises that threatens his world.

Though it was all done on gut, feeling and instinct, it never failed to be anything less than effortlessly commercial. The band went to extraordinary lengths to pay justice to their fans, just as these fans go to extraordinary lengths to re-pay this justice to the band. In one of it’s most impressive sections, the ‘Gigography’ pinpoints the many gigs, locations and theatres Oasis played.

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Content warnings (general): mention/descriptions of blood and injury, turbulence, mentions of bullying, mentions of violent behavior, smoking, swearing, physical & verbal fighting, mentions of divorce, mentions of racism and racist micro-aggressions, experience of injury/strain, dehydration, drinking alcohol Zales has carefully crafted an incredible world that becomes more and more fascinating as you work your way through the story. The plot line of this book was excellent. There's tons of action to keep you interested in the book, with lots of mystery and twists. I can guarantee you that you will be surprised at one point or another, and the ending will be totally different than what you predicted. Oasis is a gripping genre-bending story that will be appreciated by those who like a good adventure book set in a fascinating location.

I will say that the Video Game that shaped most of the storyline for this book was way too confusing for me to understand. How did Phoe know there was a video game in her system somewhere that, if won, could restore all of her knowledge? If Phoe didn’t remember who or what she was, how did she know this? And how in the world does a video game do all of that? Who set the video game up to accomplish what it accomplished? There isn’t enough development on that part of the story for me and I often found myself skimming those parts of the story simply because they didn’t make as much sense as I wanted them to. I was hooked from the very beginning of the novel when we meet Theo and he is not sure if he is going insane, has an imaginary friend or some sort of ghost talking in his ear and reading his thoughts all of the time named Phoe, pronounced "Fi". This is a great read and one you definitely want to go slow with even though it’s tempting to read it as fast as you can to see what happens and that ending! Is it January 2020 yet?The secondary characters add to the overall ambience of the dystopian story, creating a sense of exclusion as experienced by the protagonist. Second, as previously mentioned, the story is written in the first person where Theo is the narrator. When a book is written in the first person, it makes you feel more engaged in the story. In addition, the in depth world building transports the reader further into Theo's world.

As for the story itself, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself caught by some of the twists and turns and not knowing what to expect next. The world building was right on point as if I had a question of a how or why it would eventually be answered as the story went on. It was a fun ride with Theo as he discovered just what the society was all about. Alif was the perfect protagonist because she was imperfect and you loved her, and you wanted to ask her what she was doing at times, and you were right there along with her wanting to know what was going on in this desert! And Tommy! Swoon! I loved him! Inside the oasis, Alif and her five friends encounter things where it makes them hard to trust each other, where it breaks them apart, where it creates new bonds, and it utterly had my pulse accelerating. Who were these people? As I observed my friends, I could barely recognize them. Or maybe they were like this all along, their true natures merely were hidden by the excesses of Western civilization, only showing through now, in this extreme situation of life and death. Overall, this was a great Young Adult dystopian story that actually focused on the sci-fi with elements of other classic dystopian books such as The Giver, instead of unnecessary romance and love triangles.

My Personas

There are Youths, Adults and Elders and you become an adult at 40. There is no swearing, vulgarity and you do not ask questions as that will earn you some time in Quietude in the Witch's Prison. The book takes the reader on so many twists and turns, it is hard to put down. I read it in one day because I just had to know what was happening next!