I was in the right age range for this book when it came out, but I never read it until now. To be honest, from the name, I'd always assumed it was one of those "feel good" sort of books with lots of hugging and talking about feelings.

A while back, it came up in recommendations again and I took a look at the description. I am fond of dystopian stuff, so I decided to give it a go. The introduction of the version I read was filled with descriptions of letters the author had received about the book and how it had changed the reader's lives. I did rather hope that the book would live up to the hype, but I was disappointed.

While it is definitely dystopian, or at least a description of a cult, it doesn't really break any new ground in its message, even when considering how long ago it was released. I can see where people who had never read earlier works along similar lines would be impressed, though. I will say that when the meaning of the title came in (more than halfway through the book), I wasn't expecting that specifically, though it is similar to part of Fahrenheit 451, if less realistic.

The story itself was interesting enough to keep reading, but not compelling enough for me to really feel like I needed to finish reading in a hurry. The characters are a bit flat, which may have been intentional, but it didn't get me emotionally invested in them. The descriptions are also sorely lacking. I had a very hard time picturing almost everything. Being able to picture what I'm reading is essential for my enjoyment. It did start to get more interesting at the end, but then ended abruptly, which was also disappointing.

The 3-star rating is basically a nod to what I think I would have given it if I'd read it at the intended age, before I'd read most of the earlier dystopian novels. The lack of being able to picture the setting is the main issue for me in rating terms. I don't need books to have "purple prose", but they should at least describe the surroundings, especially if it's supposed to look a certain way.