The buzz about this book has been on for a little while and I finally got around to it. What an adorable story. The entire concept is feel good inside and out. And so current, considering how much research is currently going on regarding Autism and Aspergers...while really nothing is known yet. Crazy. Also, I found Don's perspective to be insightful and refreshing. I don't actually have any idea what it feels like to think so "differently" but I felt like this was a great representation. And it really helped me understand, at least more than I did, the thought processes behind anyone "wired differently" as Don would say. Every one of his thoughts and logical progressions made sense, so even though it would never occur to me to think along those lines, I can't completely see how someone would/could. This story and the storytelling behind it was both fascinating and cute, well paced, and really creative.

so the first one was Cinderella. This one was Little Red Riding Hood. I'm really enjoyed this retelling of fairy tales in series format. Slowly bringing plots and characters together until the grand finale. I like Scarlet and Wolf and I think they'll make fun companions for Cinder. The grandmother story line was really sad, but necessary and worked well both for this series and in the original fairy tale sense. And boy do I like Thorne. I hope his story goes somewhere fun and ends well! Also, I'm so glad Iko is back - in different form, but just as much personality. The movement on Kai's front is going to be interesting to watch play out and I see why his fairy tale ending (and likely Cinder's based on how fairy tales go) needs to be postponed til the end. All in all, a fun second book that had a nice individual story line so things didn't slow down, but still advanced the general plot. A lovely YA read.

this is just a great fun trilogy. Drama, love stories, some tears, and a really wonderful plot. This is exactly the type of thing I am looking for when I pick up YA books. It's not written too stilted or juvenile, but it's a quick, entertaining read. This one followed the Rapunzel storyline, as a retelling. And I had totally forgotten the blindness piece of it, but what happened to Thorne totally brought it back. And the technology to bring his sight back brought the story fully around. Well crafted really. Plus, Kai and Cinder back together is really encouraging as well. Now it's just to see where Scarlet and Wolf end up. Plus the end of Levana and Winter's story. Which I wager is going to parallel Snow White. We'll see though. Great pacing and a really solid third installation. I can't wait for the wrap up. Despite my original misgivings about the cyborg piece of this story, I'm really glad I got into it. It acknowledges a whole wider set of equality issues that is an extra bonus on top of the normal YA drama and fairy tale retellings. I like how everything has woven together so far. Here we go onto the big finale!

Yup. That was everything I wanted in the wrap up to this creative, fun series. Adventure, drama, and happy endings for all our fairy tale couples. I enjoyed every second reading these books. Although literarily there wasn't anything particularly transcendent, they were written cleanly, without stilting of dialogue or overly typecast characters. I mean, each story was a bit bound by the original fairy tale it followed, but within that structure the author did enough to make them original to the point that it wasn't a chore to read through, knowing that we already know the ending. I think there were a few pieces used too conveniently throughout the novel, like the medical advancements allowing all characters to always recover from their injuries, however, I do respect that with that as a crutch, the author was not afraid to cause permanent damage, like lost fingers and everything done to Wolf, etc. Also, Winter and Jacin was a great "Snow White" story to end with and perhaps their relationship was my favorite of them all - there was something so sad about their whole history, a sadness that permeates what they have in the present, but they stayed together in any way they could throughout it all.... However, Thorne and Cress were a very very close second - a much more upbeat relationship. And the end that Levana comes to is believable, but still gives the wrap up everyone wants. For all my procrastinating on starting this series, I have really liked reading it!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Nothing overly original about the concepts - traditional "whodunit" mixed with mythology and ancient gods who still walk the earth today. But I have a very big soft spot for Greek mythology. Plus, there were some new details that really made it special - strength remaining or dwindling based on a god's role (Nike and Hermes and Dionysus still have lots of "worshippers," while Demeter and Hestia and Artemis have less) and the translation of what those roles are today (wealth for Hades, planes/trains/cars for Hermes). Also, the exploration of a certain telling of the story of Orion and Artemis and a reconstruction (based on the limited knowledge we have) of the Eleusian Mysteries was really interesting and nicely crafted. The pacing was great as well. Also, I enjoyed the idea that the gods, though they ruled the mortals, were who/what they were and had the powers they had because of the stories created by the mortals themselves. A circle with no beginning or end. And how, in the end, Artemis chooses to stay Selene because she wants to be able to have her feelings and create her own memories, to have power over herself, instead of just power. An incredibly interesting concept. I definitely am interested in reading future installations of Artemis and Theo and the rest of the Olympian pantheon.

Rehvenge and Ehlena - I really liked their story. It was a little different than the rest so far, plus it gave a lot of background info setting up the next one and giving insight to the wider vampire community outside the Brotherhood. Plus, really, a wonderful story of redemption and self-forgiveness, similar to Z's story (which was one of my other favs).

Wow. That was an emotional rollercoaster of a book. And talk about intense theme exploration. I see people asking on here all the time if one book or another is "good for their teenager to read," and all those questions come with follow ups like, "is there sex or swearing?" I tell you what, if this book is considered YA, then those questions are ALL moot. So many difficult topics were broached here, child abuse (physical, psychological and emotional), violent deaths (of young people), racism/homophobia/general bullying, child porn and parents in prison, emotional distress and suicidal thoughts...I mean, if I had kids I'd almost rather they read about things as straightforward as sex and swearing instead. Then again, these are the topics that need to be talked about or else they spiral out of control and poison us in real life. These things are real and should be acknowledged in order for us to be able to deal with them. In any case, all, in all, this novel was so impressive. I'd seen it featured in a lot of blog posts about great YA novels and eventually, I figured I'd like to see what the hype was about. Well deserved hype indeed. The trials of living in a small, rural, uneducated, blue collar community and how that affects people in so many different ways, from Lydia feeling confined and not being able to wait to escape all the way to Travis/Dill, who figured that's all there was to life. I read somewhere that the author worked at a camp in a rural area and this was his love letter to the youth he worked with, a love letter about how any situation is changeable and there is a future for anyone. And sometimes those futures may be cut short, unfairly, but not going for it, whatever it is, would be a greater failure than trying and not succeeding in the way you imagined it being. And in the end, if you have the courage to try for things - standing up for/against someone, telling someone how you feel about them, showing the world a talent, trying for a future you didn't think you had/deserved - you'll find a fullness in life that wasn't there before. A fullness that might make it more worth living. Well, I can't say for sure, because the stories told in the novel are so different from my own, but this book reached me, touched my emotions, and I would say it was a very very successful love letter, hopefully touching the hearts and minds of all the youth it was written for like it touched mine. Beautiful coming of age story on so many levels.

I'll be honest, I read this book because it's cover is just gorgeous. I have seen it all over lists of currently popular books and read the jacket description like 6 times and just never thought it seemed that interesting of a story. But the cover got to me and eventually I picked it up. Totally the right call - this is one book I would definitely recommend judging by it's cover. Reminiscent, a bit, of Euphoria (Lily King), this novel tells the historical fiction version of the life of Francis Conway, with particular focus on her time with Ainslie in the Galapagos. It was beautifully embellished, more or less realistic in it's scope and plot details, and never lacking for pace, development, or juicy tidbits. Exploring the tensions of the first half of the 20th century regarding immigrants, Judaism, homosexuality and following the large events of the time with an interestingly and simultaneously involved and removed perspective (being "spies" but living so far from civilization was such an interesting juxtaposition to explore). This was more a character driven novel than anything else, but had just enough plot to keep things moving and not get too stuck on it's own introspections. I enjoyed reading about the relationship between F and A, their love, for what it was, was refreshing and honest in it's growth and trials. Also, the general base relationship, the one that started and ended this novel, between Frances and Rosalie was real in it's secrets and confidences, which I really respect the author for. All in all, this was a nicely crafted period piece that was really enjoyable to read.

This book just never pulled it together. I felt like there was so much mythology happening in the spaces around me while I was reading that was just never explained. I felt lost through most of that story. And the relationship between Maya and Amar was not convincing. There was too much back-shadowing and not enough development in the present. Their attraction to each other seemed contrived and then the story from Nritti, the anger towards Amar, the betrayal of him that turned out to be a huge mistake -the feeling behind it was all much to shallow. Then, when Maya does "save" Amar, I have no idea how. Like, she gives him back a bracelet of her hair and boom he knows her. Then, she goes to the tapestry and is like, all of a sudden I know what I need to do. And then she separates her thread (???) and suddenly no only remembers everything but has bigger and better magic than ever before? Like, she was mortal, and never went through the transition that Amar planned to turn her back into his queen, so where did all that magic come from? And also, when we do find out the back story of Amar's mistake that made Maya run away, it's cause she was super snooty and after centuries of being with this guy, listened more to her upset sister (who had previously threatened her) instead of him? Like, can we talk about how unrealistic that seems as a reason to run away and become mortal? And lastly, the entire storyline with Gauri in the middle...it has no bearing on anything really. Like, I can see it as a "letting go," but it just wasn't written well enough to be compellingly real, so it just seemed like it was an idea plopped down in the middle to probably set up a second book about a different character's life that didn't fit at all into this book. All in all, it seems like this book was full of good ideas that weren't put together well, nor were they proofread by anyone for cohesiveness or sensical story-telling. I'm left fairly confused about how things concluded (I mean, the ending was clear, good guys get together and bad guys trapped, but how things got there...lots of holes) with a plot and cast that was never really well developed. Not really that impressed.

I really am hard pressed to put into words any thoughts or reactions to this book. I mean, at base, I respect the hell out of the author for tackling such HUGE themes with such a totally original and creative method, but I almost think she tried too hard in some ways. The concept is phenomenal - a woman who is forgotten by everyone after she leaves their presence - just utterly fascinating. And the author's imagination in creating this character, her interactions with others, even though objectively it should be impossible to write about a person who leaves no mark, is so impressive. The relationships Hope made with Luca, with Filipa (so sad!) with Byron, with Gauguin and the methods of "remembering" by notes or recordings and the entire concept of "remembering the attempt to remember" was mind boggling. At times I think to the extent that reading about it became a bit of a mental chore, perhaps part of the reason I didn't like the book more. Also, the commentary on our current lives that she makes: impossible standards and the willingness to reach "Perfection" even if we lose ourselves, our individuality, in the process and fundamental beliefs/ideology that people will do anything for (up to and including mass murdering) without remorse because we believe it is right and cannot see another view, another way. Alone each of those is enormous in score, but together...they create a novel of philosophy and exploration and truth that borders on overwhelming. I can see why this story was touted as "poignant" and "little short of a masterpiece" because it's breadth absolutely is. But within that, I felt a bit like Hope, always an outsider. My engagement with the story was objective and never crossed enough into the subjective piece that I personally need to make any given book a favorite. The pacing was good but got tripped up with words I think. So many words. Sentences that trailed off into nothing and picked back up later and lead you in circles and back again. Perhaps that was the point - to make us feel like Hope, or to feel the confusion of those who interacted with her. But for me at least, there was so much filler narration that my interest lagged. I both wanted to read to see what happened because the story was so intriguing, so imaginative, and also wanted to never pick up the book again because my brain felt too bogged down. All in all, there was something magical and something frightening here, but for me, that final piece that would have catapulted this novel into my top favorites was buried somewhere in there too deep to find. A pity. But still a compelling commentary that should, and I think will, prompt readers to re-examine who they are and what they want and how far they are willing to go to get it.