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wren_in_black
This one kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. There was no true, good character to root for, and normally I do not like books with such characters, but this one was different. It wasn't overly graphic or gorey and I appreciate that. I think you need to go into this one blind. Don't read reviews. Just read the book.
That said, now I desperately need someone to talk to about this book!
That said, now I desperately need someone to talk to about this book!
To be clear, 3 Stars on the Goodreads system is still a pleasurable read.
I had several problems with this book. The hospital is more of a laid back boarding house instead of an actual hospital. The kids are allowed to roam and get close to each other where in an actual hospital setting they would never be allowed to take such risks. Several unrealistic instances took me outside of the story, which is never what you want to happen to your reader.
Stella and Will are both stereotypes. She is the type A girl and he is the rebel who doesn't care about anything other than what he wants at that moment. They're both a bit like manic pixies.
Without spoiling anything, this book also suffers from the "hide your gays" trope.
The ending also seems like it's a direct copy of another popular YA book-turned-movie, just with CF kids.
It wasn't a bad read. I did like Stella's character, for the most part. I probably just don't like hospital romances that much.
I had several problems with this book. The hospital is more of a laid back boarding house instead of an actual hospital. The kids are allowed to roam and get close to each other where in an actual hospital setting they would never be allowed to take such risks. Several unrealistic instances took me outside of the story, which is never what you want to happen to your reader.
Stella and Will are both stereotypes. She is the type A girl and he is the rebel who doesn't care about anything other than what he wants at that moment. They're both a bit like manic pixies.
Without spoiling anything, this book also suffers from the "hide your gays" trope.
Spoiler
With spoilers, gay people DO exist for reasons other than to simply teach strait characters a lesson.The ending also seems like it's a direct copy of another popular YA book-turned-movie
Spoiler
The Sun Is Also A StarIt wasn't a bad read. I did like Stella's character, for the most part. I probably just don't like hospital romances that much.
Kaz &
Inej &
Jesper &
Wylan &
Nina &
Matthias
These are such wonderful characters, all of them. It took me most of both books in this duology to like all of them, but now that I do, I'm sad to leave them behind. I'm hoping that there will be plenty of mentions of these characters in King of Scars.
Inej &
Jesper &
Wylan &
Nina &
Matthias
These are such wonderful characters, all of them. It took me most of both books in this duology to like all of them, but now that I do, I'm sad to leave them behind. I'm hoping that there will be plenty of mentions of these characters in King of Scars.
This series tanked and it tanked hard.
I suppose I have to start this review by saying that I haven't really cared for any of the books in this series so far. I keep reading them before I put them in my classroom library, because Ignite Me got pretty spicy for my junior high students. Still, they weren't terrible. They just weren't my cup of tea.
I wish I could say that this book was decent too and that it just wasn't for me, but that's not the case. It's not me, Tahereh Mafi; it's you.
The next-to-last book in a series is NOT the time to change up character names, bring back characters who have been gone for ages, ignore beloved characters who have been present until now, and change your main characters' personalities. I feel like Mafi is just pulling stuff out of a mixed bag of Cosmo magazines, plot holes, cliches, and teenage wet dreams. Nothing is described well, the pacing is off, and the entire book is a confusing mess. I feel like Mafi didn't map anything out beforehand and so the plot is a total, steaming pile of junk. The world building makes this whole series so unbelievable. I "literally cannot even" with this series anymore.
0.5 stars - just because Kenji isn't entirely terrible.
I suppose I have to start this review by saying that I haven't really cared for any of the books in this series so far. I keep reading them before I put them in my classroom library, because Ignite Me got pretty spicy for my junior high students. Still, they weren't terrible. They just weren't my cup of tea.
I wish I could say that this book was decent too and that it just wasn't for me, but that's not the case. It's not me, Tahereh Mafi; it's you.
The next-to-last book in a series is NOT the time to change up character names, bring back characters who have been gone for ages, ignore beloved characters who have been present until now, and change your main characters' personalities. I feel like Mafi is just pulling stuff out of a mixed bag of Cosmo magazines, plot holes, cliches, and teenage wet dreams. Nothing is described well, the pacing is off, and the entire book is a confusing mess. I feel like Mafi didn't map anything out beforehand and so the plot is a total, steaming pile of junk. The world building makes this whole series so unbelievable. I "literally cannot even" with this series anymore.
0.5 stars - just because Kenji isn't entirely terrible.
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This wasn't an easy story to read. I knew the ending far ahead of looking at the book. Still, I admire Sophie and her friends and I wanted to read her story and remember.
Poetry is an interesting choice as a medium for Sophie's story. Sometimes the back and forth with the present and "the end" made things a bit difficult to understand, as well as the back and forth between Sophie and her pursuer. I think this could have benefited from just a bit more.
I felt deeply for Sophie's parents at the end and for Fritz. I wish I knew more about Fritz's feelings about fighting for Germany and what kind of conflict that created for him internally.
Wilson's use of lengthy German words make this book too difficult for the majority of my junior high students, and that's a shame. I understand the choice in using them, but English would be preferable in the YA market, I believe.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book before its publication in exchange for an honest review.
Poetry is an interesting choice as a medium for Sophie's story. Sometimes the back and forth with the present and "the end" made things a bit difficult to understand, as well as the back and forth between Sophie and her pursuer. I think this could have benefited from just a bit more.
I felt deeply for Sophie's parents at the end and for Fritz. I wish I knew more about Fritz's feelings about fighting for Germany and what kind of conflict that created for him internally.
Wilson's use of lengthy German words make this book too difficult for the majority of my junior high students, and that's a shame. I understand the choice in using them, but English would be preferable in the YA market, I believe.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book before its publication in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely loved every page of this book - except for the last five. Those five pages, to me, didn’t fit. I realize that maybe that’s the point, and I suppose I can appreciate why the author ended this story the way she did, but I still feel like the ending would have been better served either without the epilogue, and simply left vague, or with a different ending altogether.
The writing in this book is the best I’ve read since Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone. The characters, even Kya, seem to invite your right into the story. I’ll automatically read all other fiction by this author, even if I feel like this book needed a different ending.
The writing in this book is the best I’ve read since Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone. The characters, even Kya, seem to invite your right into the story. I’ll automatically read all other fiction by this author, even if I feel like this book needed a different ending.
Profound. Laurie Halse Anderson refused to be silent and has become the confessor for young people who have also been violated in various ways. This author stands up and shouts for the Melindas of the world.
This book makes me want to write poetry. I've just finished [b:Shout|40519254|Shout|Laurie Halse Anderson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1536542610s/40519254.jpg|62882044] by [a:Laurie Halse Anderson|10003|Laurie Halse Anderson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1376224335p2/10003.jpg], so apparently I'm on a big poetry kick lately.
Let me just say that I LOVE Xiomara. Her voice is strong and on fire, even when she isn't sure of herself. She wrestles with the same questions that many of us do who come from a fundamentalist religious background. (Even though Xiomara's family is Catholic, the way her mother practices reminds me very much of my own fundamentalist Baptist experiences). As a teen, I would have loved her questions of faith, but would have been a bit scared by them. As a teen, I would have related with her so much about her complicated relationship with her mother and her writing as an outlet for escape. As an adult, reading this is cathartic. I didn't realize how much I needed it. This is a book about faith and healing and finding identity; something I think we all do for the entire course of our lives, not just in our teens.
Xiomara's English teacher reminds me to be a better teacher. Xiomara herself reminds me that I have healing left to do as well. Time to go pick up my pen and my notebook. Thanks, Poet X, for reminding me that I can.
5/5 Stars!
Let me just say that I LOVE Xiomara. Her voice is strong and on fire, even when she isn't sure of herself. She wrestles with the same questions that many of us do who come from a fundamentalist religious background. (Even though Xiomara's family is Catholic, the way her mother practices reminds me very much of my own fundamentalist Baptist experiences). As a teen, I would have loved her questions of faith, but would have been a bit scared by them. As a teen, I would have related with her so much about her complicated relationship with her mother and her writing as an outlet for escape. As an adult, reading this is cathartic. I didn't realize how much I needed it. This is a book about faith and healing and finding identity; something I think we all do for the entire course of our lives, not just in our teens.
Xiomara's English teacher reminds me to be a better teacher. Xiomara herself reminds me that I have healing left to do as well. Time to go pick up my pen and my notebook. Thanks, Poet X, for reminding me that I can.
5/5 Stars!
Bardugo's writing gets better and better as she writes each book in this series. Her characters get stronger and stronger and her plot seems to get tighter and tighter, addressing holes and issues from previous books. Nina is now my absolute favorite. Zoya is a close second, and I never thought I would say that about her until this book. I love all of these characters as much as I wound up loving those in Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. I'm both excited for them and worried for them as we await the next installment.