Review : The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

Title : The Thousandth Floor
Author : Katharine McGee
Genre : YA dystopia
Series : The Thousandth Floor #1
Release Date : August 30th, 2016
Publisher : HarperTeen

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NEW YORK CITY AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE.

A thousand-story tower stretching into the sky. A glittering vision of the future where anything is possible—if you want it enough.

WELCOME TO MANHATTAN, 2118.

A hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and dreams. Everyone there wants something…and everyone has something to lose.

LEDA COLE’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have touched.

ERIS DODD-RADSON’s beautiful, carefree life falls to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart.

RYLIN MYERS’s job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will this new life cost Rylin her old one?

WATT BAKRADI is a tech genius with a secret: he knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy for an upper-floor girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web of lies.

And living above everyone else on the thousandth floor is AVERY FULLER, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.

Amid breathtaking advancement and high-tech luxury, five teenagers struggle to find their place at the top of the world. But when you're this high up, there's nowhere to go but down....

To be frank, I'm going blind with this book, mostly because a) I've never watch Gossip Girls--which a lot of people compare this book with and b) dystopia isn't my favorite genre ever. I just know that it sounds interesting and the 'tower' concept is unique. Sadly, there are a few things I dislike from this book that made me lower the rating.

What I Like

1) The Setting
The setting is unlike any dystopian books I've ever read. While many dystopian books seems to picture the future as a "ruin", this one is not. The concept is actually pretty unique and cool, and I totally want to live there. Basically, the setting is New York City as a thousandth floors apartment. The richer you are, the higher your apartment would be, and of course, the thousandth floor is a penthouse. In that apartment, there's houses, schools, parks, and even hover cars. Also, don't picture the halls like the usual apartment's halls, because it's actually more like streets, complete with trees and streetlights.

2) The Dramas
Okay, I admit that there's a lot of dramas in this book, and some of them might be unnecessary, but they keep this book interesting! I swear everytime I turn the page, one drama will be resolved and a new one will replace it. Every person has their own dramas that mostly (but not always) unrelated. Somehow, in the end, all these dramas will become one that made all the characters met in one place. It might be confusing for some people, but not me. If you love Gossip Girls, you definitely would enjoy this one.

3) The Mystery
This is a surprise for me, since I was expecting the usual dystopian/contemporary book. It's also the reason why I devour this book real fast. At the beginning, we were told that for the first time since the tower was built, a girl fell and died. We don't know who she is or why she fell, but for sure, she's one of our POVs. The entire time I read it, I kept guessing who will fall since every person seems to have a reason to jump. When I found out who she is, I honestly pretty shocked since she was the last person I expected to fall.

4) Unique and Interesting POVs
As you all know, there's 5 POVs in this book. Before I read this book, I was afraid that I will be confused since it seems to be the case whenever I read books with more than 2 POVs. but unfortunately I'm not. Each POV has their own voices, which is unique and easy to differentiate. Also, they're all equally interesting. Here's a little bit about them :
Avery : she's basically the definition of perfect. She's rich, pretty, and yet still humble and definitely not a snob. Everyone thought that she has the most perfect life, but she has a deep and dark secrets that could ruin her.
Leda : Avery's bestfriend since they were a child, and also rich. She has an addiction to drugs and none of her friends know it.
Eris : also Avery's other bestfriends. Her life seems really perfect, complete with 2 loving parents, until a secret from the past ruin it all. I dislike her at first since she's such a snob, but gradually, she became better and better until she's my faves.
Watt : the only boy POV in this book. He's a genius hacker who could hack basically every system. Also has a secret (everyone seems to have a secret)
Rylin : Rylin is from the lower floor, and the poorer of all them, with a hard and tragic life. Fortunately, she's a hardworker, and I really like the relationship between her and her sister.

What I Dislike

1) The Romance

There's only one reason why I gave this book 3.5 stars, and it's because of the romances. The romances are all very complicated, I don't even think it could be called love triangles anymore (more like spindle love? ha). Basically, there's 2 'main' romances, but in every romance there's like, a third or fourth person. I actually like one of the romance (even if it involves cheating and happen a little bit fast), but the other? It's really weird with capital W. I couldn't tell what's weird with it because spoiler (though could you call it spoiler if you know it from the first chapter?), but I dislike it.

So did I recommend this book? Yes, if you like dramas and gossips and if you lower your expectations on the romance. This book is actually pretty interesting and engaging. Will I read the sequel? Also yes, since it's pretty much a cliffhanger and you know I hate one.