Name: Capsule
ISBN: 9781734174533

Mel Torrefranca

When a menacing app by the name of Capsule downloads itself onto sixteen-year-old Jackie's phone, she enters a game interlaced with reality. A game threatening to erase two strangers from her high school forever.

Capsule

Sofie

Thank you NetGalley and Lost Island Press for the eARC for review!

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2 kids on opposite ends of the social ladder go missing, and the rumours fly - Peter killed Kat. They ran away together. They were abducted. But when a mysterious app shows up on Jackie's phone with instructions to "save" the missing teens and erase the day, Jackie, Kat, and Peter must work together to win the game.


This book was surprisingly gripping. I'll admit, it took me a bit to get into (mostly because I was busy, not because the beginning was slow), but once I did, it took me on quite the journey.

The characters were the highlight for sure. What you see is definitely not what you get with Peter, Kat, and Jackie. The unlikely friendship that forms was lovely, and each of their personal struggles was complex and deeply-rooted. I also loved Jay, Jackie's brother, and the role he ends up playing in the novel. Something about estranged sibling relationships always gets me right in the gut.

Capsule is definitely a cool concept. I loved the idea of this fully immersive, magical, nonsensical game that only our main characters know about. I'm still deciding how I feel about the mystery surrounding it, but the more I ruminate, the more I think the novel ended perfectly. Not everything needs a perfect explanation or some sort of sci-fi plausibility. The fact that not every question is answered works really well for the structure of the book.

The writing was great (though I didn't feel necessarily that each character has a very distinct voice, given all their chapters were written in 3rd person). The memories were riveting, the underlying mystery of Kat's sister was an unexpected treat (though, yes, I saw the big reveal coming) and it was generally a very exciting book. Fun, even, despite the serious content. 

A solid sci-fi read for anyone interested in something a little different!

Capsule is a really good book! A mixture of the movies Happy Death Day and Countdown. An app that will turn real life into a game and explore the past of the characters until the truth is revealed.

It's a book about forming friendships, about grieving and how that can either bond people for life or tear them apart. The game puts these three very different characters working together and going through some very hard times. It's interesting to see where these characters come from and their changes over time.

The ending is something I'm still torn by. I like it and also don't like it at all. There are still a lot of questions to be answered - enough for a sequel... maybe... 

 - all ends well, but is not that simple. The game app is just like that, like a game, it's not real. And it means something that saddens me. It has a consequence that leaves a bittersweet feeling. Otherwise is a happy heartwarming story.

Joana

Capsule is a really good book! A mixture of the movies Happy Death Day and Countdown. An app that will turn real life into a game and explore the past of the characters until the truth is revealed.

It's a book about forming friendships, about grieving and how that can either bond people for life or tear them apart. The game puts these three very different characters working together and going through some very hard times. It's interesting to see where these characters come from and their changes over time.

The ending is something I'm still torn by. I like it and also don't like it at all. There are still a lot of questions to be answered - enough for a sequel... maybe... wink - all ends well, but is not that simple. The game app is just like that, like a game, it's not real. And it means something that saddens me. It has a consequence that leaves a bittersweet feeling. Otherwise is a happy heartwarming story.

Libby Kowitz

I would probably give this book somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars. It’s an interesting premise, the writing is decent, and the pacing of the book is fine. I really liked Jackie as a character, although I wasn’t overly attached to her.

I had a lot of difficulty getting into the book, if I’m honest. Too many characters were introduced at once, none of them were memorable, and some of the dialogue felt a bit contrived. Though I did like that Jackie was a gamer. There are not enough gamer girls in modern media, and I really did appreciate this about her character. 

However, the capsule app and game was an interesting premise, and I did really enjoyed the way the story followed it. In terms of plot, I would say this story was actually fairly strong.

Overall, this wasn’t the book for me, but I never want to deter someone from reading a book when it could be just the book they need at that very moment. If the premise sounds interesting to you, and you enjoy books with a strong plot, you might really love this book!

***I received an ARC from the author, but all views reflected above are my own.

Capsule

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