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Though I can admit this is incredibly well written, I find myself unable to keep reading.
Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
While a beautifully written novel that highlights the downward spiral of a good girl thanks to the murder of a girl near her town, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone didn’t really resonate with me. It’s definitely wonderfully written, with tons of atmosphere. Kat Rosenfield knows how to get the reader into the novel, and I felt just as claustrophobic and confused as Becca, our main character, does as she goes through her last summer in a small town before going to college. Unfortunately, I didn’t care much for Becca or her constant downward spiral, and liked Amelia Anne’s brief chapters of the last day of her life a lot more. For such a short time in her life, Amelia Anne was drawn vividly, and the mystery of her death kept me going. Becca, in constrast, was a constant downer. I eventually found myself skimming through Becca’s chapters to find out who killed Amelia Anne.
While a beautifully written novel that highlights the downward spiral of a good girl thanks to the murder of a girl near her town, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone didn’t really resonate with me. It’s definitely wonderfully written, with tons of atmosphere. Kat Rosenfield knows how to get the reader into the novel, and I felt just as claustrophobic and confused as Becca, our main character, does as she goes through her last summer in a small town before going to college. Unfortunately, I didn’t care much for Becca or her constant downward spiral, and liked Amelia Anne’s brief chapters of the last day of her life a lot more. For such a short time in her life, Amelia Anne was drawn vividly, and the mystery of her death kept me going. Becca, in constrast, was a constant downer. I eventually found myself skimming through Becca’s chapters to find out who killed Amelia Anne.
Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
Touted as the YA version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I had many expectations going in to Dark Eyes. While the novel met them, it was a little tougher to suspend disbelief with Wally, our heroine. She’s a runaway, plagued with anger issues since she was a child, and apparently running away from a mother who loves her unconditionally makes sense? Wally stumbles into a plot that leads her on a chase for her birth mother, while trying to avoid dangerous characters who are also looking for her.
It was an intriguing and easy read, but it felt at times that Wally’s leaps of logic when she finds clues are a bit too much. I know she’s smart and the mystery revolves around her and the places it takes her emotionally, but my suspension of disbelief can only go so far.
Touted as the YA version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I had many expectations going in to Dark Eyes. While the novel met them, it was a little tougher to suspend disbelief with Wally, our heroine. She’s a runaway, plagued with anger issues since she was a child, and apparently running away from a mother who loves her unconditionally makes sense? Wally stumbles into a plot that leads her on a chase for her birth mother, while trying to avoid dangerous characters who are also looking for her.
It was an intriguing and easy read, but it felt at times that Wally’s leaps of logic when she finds clues are a bit too much. I know she’s smart and the mystery revolves around her and the places it takes her emotionally, but my suspension of disbelief can only go so far.
Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
While I can understand and applaud what Siobhan Vivian was trying to do in The List, it all fell completely flat. Each year, this high school posts a list of the prettiest and ugliest girls in school, a pair from each grade. Eight girls whose lives are changed in some way thanks to the list, and we follow all eight girls.
ALL EIGHT.
The split narrative is ultimately what killed the novel for me. Too many girls, too many problems, too many ideas to tackle with not nearly enough time. Half the girls don’t get any resolution at all when the book ends — and it does just that, it ends. The writing itself was decent, but not enough to make me wish The List was longer.
While I can understand and applaud what Siobhan Vivian was trying to do in The List, it all fell completely flat. Each year, this high school posts a list of the prettiest and ugliest girls in school, a pair from each grade. Eight girls whose lives are changed in some way thanks to the list, and we follow all eight girls.
ALL EIGHT.
The split narrative is ultimately what killed the novel for me. Too many girls, too many problems, too many ideas to tackle with not nearly enough time. Half the girls don’t get any resolution at all when the book ends — and it does just that, it ends. The writing itself was decent, but not enough to make me wish The List was longer.
Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
Well, if there’s one thing I can say for this book, it’s fast. We get a few smallish chapters to introduce us to Perry Stormaire, our narrator, and Gobi, a foreign exchange student who turns out to be an assassin when she steals Perry and his father’s car for one crazy night in New York City.
One thing I did really like: each chapter title is a college essay question that somehow ties into the theme of the scene, which I thought was kind of neat.
The likes sort of end there, I guess. Au Revior is incredibly engrossing and a very quick read — I think I clocked in at about an hour and a half — but there isn’t much substance to it, no matter how hard it tries. You can’t get much backstory that means anything in 190 pages, when about 100 of them are pure action scenes. Perry, bless his heart, tries his best to stay sane as he’s dragged along by Gobi. He’s a teenage boy with very little backbone who really wants to be in a rock band, but is trying to get into Columbia just to please his dad. Gobi is a complete mystery until we get the real story behind her murderous rampage — and her story isn’t that impressive, or something I haven’t seen a million times before.
Apart from the non-stop action, there’s not much to this book. Maybe if it was a bit longer, it could have had a bit more emotional weight to it, but all that mattered were the explosions and dudes dying. It excels at being a book aimed right for the teenage boy jugular, but falls short in every other aspect.
Well, if there’s one thing I can say for this book, it’s fast. We get a few smallish chapters to introduce us to Perry Stormaire, our narrator, and Gobi, a foreign exchange student who turns out to be an assassin when she steals Perry and his father’s car for one crazy night in New York City.
One thing I did really like: each chapter title is a college essay question that somehow ties into the theme of the scene, which I thought was kind of neat.
The likes sort of end there, I guess. Au Revior is incredibly engrossing and a very quick read — I think I clocked in at about an hour and a half — but there isn’t much substance to it, no matter how hard it tries. You can’t get much backstory that means anything in 190 pages, when about 100 of them are pure action scenes. Perry, bless his heart, tries his best to stay sane as he’s dragged along by Gobi. He’s a teenage boy with very little backbone who really wants to be in a rock band, but is trying to get into Columbia just to please his dad. Gobi is a complete mystery until we get the real story behind her murderous rampage — and her story isn’t that impressive, or something I haven’t seen a million times before.
Spoiler
The more I think about it, the more I believe this book is an attempt at a teenage version of Taken.Apart from the non-stop action, there’s not much to this book. Maybe if it was a bit longer, it could have had a bit more emotional weight to it, but all that mattered were the explosions and dudes dying. It excels at being a book aimed right for the teenage boy jugular, but falls short in every other aspect.
I finished a book! This gives me hope for getting my reading goal for 2012 done now that I've started the fall semester. Just a tiny bit.
