This was a reasonably entertaining YA fiction. Unlike many YA books it builds to a satisfying finish. Honestly I would be more interested in the storyline introduced on the last few pages than the rest of the book. This was weird as hell and I’m not exactly sure what was happening but I liked it
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An inventive idea that only seemed half fulfilled. Great characters with compelling beginnings and middles, especially once they intersect, but none of the arcs really satisfied because the science was lacking. There’s a few half-hearted sci-fi ideas thrown at the reader but without any depth to them. There’s never any explanation, or even questioning, of how or why the time-loop/deja-vu experience exists. A bit of myth/fairytale conceptualization and nothing else. At the end there are still more questions than answers and it just, sort of, ends. Basically, it’s an entirely character-driven book, with a lot of youth examination of their post/current apocalyptic lives, and very little drive, except they keep moving toward vague places. It’s not horrible, but I also found it dissatisfying.

This was a really fantastic read! The time travel aspect and the mythical portal really gave it a great sci-fi feel. I kept expecting to know what was going to happen in this book and then was surprised by each twist and turn.

With life getting in the way it took me forever to get to this book and I was so sad I didn’t have the time for it. But now that I’ve read it I’m definitely I. The minority I think - this book was just not for me. It felt longer than necessary and took me forever to read. I do think there are some very unique and different but I just couldn’t get into it.

Great book of you are a fan of dystopian novels. Or books like the 5th wave. Amazing storytelling. Just the right amount of context/story. The book is medium- fast past four most part. Loved it

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

This book was AMAZING. I was captured and pulled into the story so fast. It had been a while since I had read a post apocalyptic book and I was super excited to dive into a new one. This book was a survivalists dream because it had high stakes and deadly things thrown in for humanity to try and persevere against and at the same time, it had family, friendship and base human connection. These characters endure so much in this book and it was definitely felt.

I loved where the author took the story. It definitely plays on something that I love to see in movies and books (I won’t say what that is to avoid spoiling anything but trust me its worth it).

The book reminded me of the Fifth Wave series but minus the aliens and more just the surviving parts. I really enjoyed that series so I was glad this one had the same vibes. It was also very atmospheric as most of the book takes place journeying through the wilderness for most of it.

I would definitely read more books by this author because they got their hooks in me with this fantastic writing.

After the world has been devastated by Flu Flies, Nico and his father are living on supplies brought by the Deliverer. Nico’s mother fell ill and died. It seems her father will succumb as well. Her father her a beloved story from her childhood is actually true and that she must travel to see for herself a certain geological anomaly. When Nico decides to set out into woods. she quickly learns of the darkness that exists outside—as well as the beauty. As her journey continues, she meets Kit, a serious 12-year-old, as well and Lakie and Monty. They all sense that they have been here before. Forced to consider the constructs of faith, science, and society, they start to wonder if they're in a time loop. A philosophical approach to science fiction, the author's intricate storytelling does a great job of bringing this post-apocalyptic world to life through the eyes of teenagers. The characters are intriguing and engaging. The language is rich and satisfying. Fans of philosophy, science fiction, and post-apocalyptic worlds will want to pick this one up.

This book grabbed me from the beginning but started to lag in the middle. I really had some high hopes but this book ended up just being ok for me.

The Electric Kingdom is a brilliant novel about finding one's way in the world. It is a dystopian book that is ripped from future headlines. David Arnold did an awesome job setting the scene and writing his heart out with this one. The beginning was a little convoluted and I ended up not finishing it, but the rest was a little dry. The main character wanted to find a portal to safety.

I'm so sorry, I DNF'd this. I had a really hard time getting into it. The plot just didn't hook me at first. Maybe one day I will pick it back up and give it more time, but as of right now, I have to put it down!

dnf at 15%. the concept of this book drew me in because who doesn’t love a dystopian book about a post-apocalyptic world? i started it and was just left wildly confused and couldn’t keep up. maybe i’ll start it again in the future but right now i just can’t get through it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

This was a wonderfully written book, and definitely gave me Station Eleven vibes (especially the cat being named St. John). This book was pretty crazy, and so much going on, and like Station Eleven, all the characters and events tie in as the story progresses. However, I was left with more questions than answers, and generally feeling confused as to the big 'why?'. It never truly got answered, and I feel like there were still loose ends that are eating away at me. The lack of closure and lack of answers stopped me from rating this book higher even though it written beautifully.

A little slower than I expected, but very interesting overall. I really enjoyed the story and the main character.

I recommend this to fans of YA dystopian!

This gem is amazing and I loved every bit of it!! Novels like this, I always recommend because it keeps my students reading and fosters the love of lit!!

**Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House/Viking Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my thoughts**

I tried. I really did. I have tried to read this book for 5 months now and it took me that long to get to 55% and call it a day. This was not for me. And given I also DNF’d Arnold’s Mosquitoland, I’m guessing Arnold is not for me either.

The Electric Kingdom is a book told in three POVs: a teenage girl named Nico, a tween boy named Kit, and an adult from the future called The Deliverer. Nico and Kit live in a world where a pandemic is caused by blood sucking flies (more on that) and humanity is on the brink of extinction,. They’re traveling to get to a safe place. The Deliverer is a time traveler who keeps experiencing a groundhogs day type span years in which they try to save humanity.

First off, the flies: are not flies. Towards the beginning, it is explained they were bees mutated by “Russian scientists”. However, if we acknowledge they’re bees, we can’t come up with cutesy names like “Fly Flu” for the illness caused. I don’t understand this point being included nor do I think “misinformation” covers it for why we continue to call them Flies YEARS larger when it’s common information they are not, actually, flies,

Writing wise, I think the book would work better as either JUST Nico’s POV or JUST The Deliverer’s POV. Kit annoyed the crap out of me. This kid is meant to be 12. He reads EVERY book in a school library and retains all of the information he’s read. Yet somehow, he has the mentality and speech patterns of a much younger kid. If they hadn’t told me explicitly he was 12, I would’ve a guessed 7 at most. He’s read books from our time and yet routinely refers to things in nonsensical “old time” terms. The most common occurrence was “cash bucks”. No book would have referred to money as this term. Even if an adult, who again, LIVED THROUGH THIS TIME, said that in explanation, it wouldn’t make sense that he insists on calling it “cash bucks”. It sounds both juvenile and like Arnold was attempting some referential humor that fell VERY flat for me. Just nothing about this character made sense and I wish he hadn’t been included.

Other than that, the plot was just moving too slowly for me and the pacing was weird. The Deliverer had the best sections, followed by Nico, and waaaaaaay at the end was Kit, who showed up and knocked decent pacing to a snail’s pace again.

I’m sure there are readers for this, especially as people relate to a global pandemic throwing things off axis, but I did not enjoy this nor would I recommend it,

“𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘭. 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.”⁣
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I was really interested in picking this one up because first of all it’s a book with a pandemic..yes it’s a fly flu pandemic...but still it hits close to home. 😱😱 Thankfully our pandemic is on the rebound and didn’t turn into an world ending apocalyptic thing like in this book. And second it’s a YA fantasy one of my favorite genres. So I was all in!⁣
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Nico is living in a post-apocalyptic world where a Fly Flu has ravaged the world. You either become ill with this deadly disease or get eaten by the actual Fly Swarms themselves consuming human in seconds flat barely leaving bones behind., or are “lucky” enough to try and survive in this new crazy world. When she turns 18 Nico’s Dad sends her on a mythical voyage to try and save the world. She meets friends and foes as she and her dog Harry travel to Manchester. As well as running into The Deliverer who had been her families beacon of hope supplying them every month with essentials. The Deliverer is also on a mission to save the world and is able to frustrating relive their life over and over no closer to the answer to helping the world. Can Nico and/or The Deliverer help their planet or will it continue to destruct?⁣
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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:⁣
There are a gamut of characters throughout the book. Survivors trying to make it through the new world, and of course the crazy, demented or just plain evil others you would expect to see at the end of the world. ⁣
There is also a significant character called The Deliverer, who as their name suggests delivers food and supplies to families on a monthly basis. You don’t know if they are male or female because they are in a space type suit with a helmet at all times. But they are on some sort of time loop and are able to relive. They think is because they are somehow supposed to try and save the planet. ⁣
The main characters are Nico, Lakie, Monty, Kit, Lennon and Loretta, a group of young adults trying to make it to a better place or in Nico’s case Manchester. ⁣
Nico, Lennon, Kit and Harry the dog were my favorites by far. But it was Kit, who is a very mature, kind hearted 12 year old boy with an old soul that touched a special place in my heart. ⁣
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𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭:⁣
It gets a little confusing at times but when you get it, you hit yourself on the head and you’re like “wow that is some intense sh-t!” I feel like this would also make an interesting reread to see if I notice the second time around all the little clues DA left peppered throughout the story before it’s all tied together. ⁣
David Arnold has a way with words. He is an amazing writer which enabled him to pull all these intense feels out of me! I was angry, sad, happy and scared. You name it I felt it. ⁣
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I have to say I was not expecting to like this. I’ve had some ehhh Arc’s lately and I expected this to be the same. But The Electric Kingdom turned out to be a really delightful read. Not as far as uplifting. Because honestly I had a heavy heart throughout the course of this book. But delightful as far as a pleasant surprise. About 1/2 through I was totally invested in Nico and the band of friends she procured along the way. I’m so glad I gave this a chance because this will stick with me for quite awhile. ⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

I'm not usually a big fan of dystopian, but this book did it right. Human characters with deep thoughts and big hearts make The Electric Kingdom something special.

The end has been delivered by the flies! Nico was born in a snow storm, Kit has only know the earth post apocalyptical disaster and is am wealth of knowledge. Both want to find family, security and a way to end the fly flu but how can they battle a pandemic when the odds are against them. The Electric Kingdom is a mind bending adventure in a post-apocalyptic world and will have the reader questioning everything they just read. Arnold provides a slow burn plot that gives tiny hints that accumulate till the reader cannot take it anymore. The characters are fully realized and have depth that will have the reader highly invested in their outcome. The world building is spectacular and fully immerses the reader into every heart pounding moment. While the world building is detailed and immersive, the writing is conversationally driven. Allowing for the reader to fully understand how the characters ended up where they are. As each character shares pieces of them, the reader gains more insight on the situation of the flu flies. While the adventure is exciting, it can take some time to acclimate to the style and the gaps in the story that will be filled in later. This is heavy on critical thinking and can be too heavy for some readers.

3.5/5 Stars

After a deadly Fly Flu sweeps the world, Nico and her dog are some of the only survivors. She begins a journey to find a mystical portal her father used to tell her about. Along the way she meets other survivors, including a little boy named Kit and his friend Lennon. They also learn more about a mysterious individual they call The Deliverer.

This book was very interesting, and slightly confusing. You're thrown into the world without much explanation and have to try to piece things together as you go. The further you get into the story, the more is revealed about Nico and the portal she is looking for. It was a bit slow, without a lot of action happening until farther into the story. It was a bit surreal to read this book during a pandemic, making the themes and things that happened in the book a little more realistic and scary. The book is told in 3 POVs, Nico, Kit and the Deliverer. Kit was definitely my favourite character, he was so precious and I just wanted to protect him from everything. I loved the relationships that develop between Nico and the other kids. The Deliverer was also an interesting character, but I was able to call their identity pretty early on in the story.

Overall, it was an interesting book that I think a lot of people will really enjoy.