ARC REVIEW: A LADDER TO THE SKY BY JOHN BOYNE

I tried not to have high expectations for this, I really did. I absolutely ADORED Boyne's The Heart's Invisible Furies, so naturally I was eagerly looking forward to whatever he would release next. But try as I might to moderate my expectations for this novel, A Ladder to the Sky still disappointed me. By and large, my biggest problem with this novel is that--and this is gonna sound harsh--its story felt like nothing special. The main character was a horrible person, sure, but not in a particularly interesting or compelling way. The plot was very linear and predictable; once you establish what kind of character Maurice is, nothing he does comes as a shock. The other POV characters of the story didn't interest me in the least; they seemed like a means to an end as far as Maurice's story was concerned. And then on top of all of that the ending was just underwhelming, a that's it? kind of ending. 

This book is definitely not gonna deter me from reading Boyne's other books, but on its own it was just not a standout book for me.