The back of the next book I read had an intriguing plea to readers not to divulge the surprise ending when they were inevitably pursuaded to encourage others to read it. With a lead like that I couldn't help but wonder what the buzz was all about in Little Bee.
Title: Little Bee
Author: Chris Cleave
My start date: 12/22/10
My finish date: 12/27/10
Book count: 81
Well, the book was good, but I am not sure the ending was quite as "startling" as the publishers obviously thought it would be. Once again we have a book told from multiple perspectives, which seems to be the big thing lately. This time we were only working with two angles, the title character, Little Bee, who is a Nigerian refugee in England, and Sarah, a British journalist.
The story is very confusing until you get your bearings. This is due, in combination, to the cycling of perspectives and also to the only "peri-chronological" (I may have just made that word up, but I think it fits) nature of the story-telling. Events seem to flow in order, but sometimes that order is forwards into the future, others it seems to work backwards toward an event in the past. Other times it seems to flow sideways. Quite a jumble. However, once you get what they are working at, things seem to make sense.
I liked the character of Little Bee a lot. Cleave infused her with enough personality for the whole book. Which is good, because I was less impressed with the other lead, Sarah. (Pity, she has such a good name after all) A little of the slack, however, is also picked up in the unique character of Sarah's son, Charlie/Batman. The four-year-old spends the entire novel in a batsuit, convinced he is a superhero. Parents will find it precious and I just find it plain hilarious.
The ending was less surprising to me than promised. But I won't say anymore than that, as the back cover explicitly begs me not too. You will have to read it yourself I guess. And actually, the subject matter is important enough that I will say you should. Heavy, but vital. Or then again, since this novel is joining the ever-expanding ranks of books about to be on film...(sheesh, already) you could just wait and let Nicole Kidman tell it to you.
One more book to end the year!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A "Secret Garden" for Grownups
I don't know about everyone else, but I was a huge fan of the works of Francis Hodgson Burnett growing up. Ok, honestly, I still am. I read A Little Princess every year at Christmas. Well, every year except this one, that is. There is something so very appealing about her mixture of fantasy and reality, as if there is a bit of fairy tale in every little Victorian story. If you like this type of Victorian fairy tale style but are looking for something a little more adult, look no further.
Title: The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton
My start date: 12/7/10
My finish date: 12/21/10
Book count: 80
This gem came on the recommendation of my sister, Rachel, for which I must thank her. Morton writes an enchanting tale incredibly reminiscent of Hodgson Burnett's turn of the century works. In fact, Morton even writes the esteemed author into her own story and the story is rife with intertextual references to the famous The Secret Garden. The reader must be involved however. This story is long, around 550 pages, and told from three different perspectives at varying periods. One set of characters tells their story at the turn of the 20th century in Victorian England, another tells her's during the 70s between Australia and England, and a third story is told in 2005. This doesn't even include the prelude which introduces the story in 1913 and then the 30s. Whew! But no worries! This story is so fantastic that you are immediately drawn in and you can't help but want to keep turning the pages.
The plot is meant to be a mystery. Not that kind of mystery, though. We aren't taking murder, theft or the like here, but the reader must try to put together the pieces of the characters' past along with the characters as they are trying to learn it as well. I figured out the ending pretty early on. I wondered if perhaps that is just because I read for a living and am pretty hard to fool at this point, but my sister confirmed that she also knew the ending rather early on. However, that in absolutely no way detracted from the beautiful ride Morton takes you on to get there. Morton's imagery is beautiful and even if she was telling the most well-known story in the world, I have to believe it would be worth reading again and again.
One of the best aspects of this book is Morton's use of a multi-genre approach. In my teaching, I am beginning to explore genre theory as a way to teach writing to students who are bored with the "standard essay only" stance all too often used in schools. Morton's work is a lovely example of what can be done when genres are blended to create an image. While the vast majority of the story is told in standard narrative prose, she also includes full examples of other genres to paint her picture, such as full newspaper articles, encyclopedia or reference book entries, complete fairy tales, and so on. This brilliant diversity makes for a story that is significantly more well-rounded and paints a full picture, which straight narrative may not have been able to do. At the very least, it prevents the narrative portion from becoming boring. Well played in my opinion. If it was a little shorter, I would want to include it on a future required reading list!
Overall, one of the more enjoyable reads of the year. Hats of to you, Rae, for the rec. Keep 'em coming!
Keep reading!
Sarah
P.S. The versions of Hodson Burnett's classics which I have posted here are NOT my prefered versions. I adore the versions in which Graham Rust is the illustrator. They are incomparable in my opinion. However, they are increasingly difficult to find. I am going to have to start buying them up when I find them so that I don't ever find myself without copies, as, alas, I am without one at the moment for Secret Garden.
More P.S. I may not have had time to read A Little Princess this year, but my oh-so-thoughtful husband was sweet enough to give me a copy of the Shirley Temple movie version which I was delighted to watch instead. #myhusbandisthebest.
Title: The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton
My start date: 12/7/10
My finish date: 12/21/10
Book count: 80
This gem came on the recommendation of my sister, Rachel, for which I must thank her. Morton writes an enchanting tale incredibly reminiscent of Hodgson Burnett's turn of the century works. In fact, Morton even writes the esteemed author into her own story and the story is rife with intertextual references to the famous The Secret Garden. The reader must be involved however. This story is long, around 550 pages, and told from three different perspectives at varying periods. One set of characters tells their story at the turn of the 20th century in Victorian England, another tells her's during the 70s between Australia and England, and a third story is told in 2005. This doesn't even include the prelude which introduces the story in 1913 and then the 30s. Whew! But no worries! This story is so fantastic that you are immediately drawn in and you can't help but want to keep turning the pages.
The plot is meant to be a mystery. Not that kind of mystery, though. We aren't taking murder, theft or the like here, but the reader must try to put together the pieces of the characters' past along with the characters as they are trying to learn it as well. I figured out the ending pretty early on. I wondered if perhaps that is just because I read for a living and am pretty hard to fool at this point, but my sister confirmed that she also knew the ending rather early on. However, that in absolutely no way detracted from the beautiful ride Morton takes you on to get there. Morton's imagery is beautiful and even if she was telling the most well-known story in the world, I have to believe it would be worth reading again and again.
One of the best aspects of this book is Morton's use of a multi-genre approach. In my teaching, I am beginning to explore genre theory as a way to teach writing to students who are bored with the "standard essay only" stance all too often used in schools. Morton's work is a lovely example of what can be done when genres are blended to create an image. While the vast majority of the story is told in standard narrative prose, she also includes full examples of other genres to paint her picture, such as full newspaper articles, encyclopedia or reference book entries, complete fairy tales, and so on. This brilliant diversity makes for a story that is significantly more well-rounded and paints a full picture, which straight narrative may not have been able to do. At the very least, it prevents the narrative portion from becoming boring. Well played in my opinion. If it was a little shorter, I would want to include it on a future required reading list!
Overall, one of the more enjoyable reads of the year. Hats of to you, Rae, for the rec. Keep 'em coming!
Keep reading!
Sarah
P.S. The versions of Hodson Burnett's classics which I have posted here are NOT my prefered versions. I adore the versions in which Graham Rust is the illustrator. They are incomparable in my opinion. However, they are increasingly difficult to find. I am going to have to start buying them up when I find them so that I don't ever find myself without copies, as, alas, I am without one at the moment for Secret Garden.
More P.S. I may not have had time to read A Little Princess this year, but my oh-so-thoughtful husband was sweet enough to give me a copy of the Shirley Temple movie version which I was delighted to watch instead. #myhusbandisthebest.
Finishing up the Paranormal Collection
As you may recall from the last posts, by the time November was drawing to a close, and with it my review of the paranormal fantasy genre, I had been overcome with pretty strong paranormal burnout. Thankfully, my final reviews ended on a high note, thus restoring some of my earlier enthusiasm. Here is where we ended:
Title(s): Fallen
Torment
Author: Lauren Kate
Reading dates: 11/28/10-12/3/10 & 12/3/10-12/7/10 respectively
Book counts: 78 & 79
This new series is another spin on the fallen angel approach and I admit that the early chapters of the first book combined with my afore-mentioned genre burnout had me wanting to put the book down and walk away. So glad I didn't. Despite a slightly strange and rocky beginning in which the lead character suddenly finds herself in a rather rough reform school and in which the male lead unromantically flips her off, this series grew into one of my favorite finds of the genre. Kate seems to settle into her story as it progresses and what began as slightly awkward and uncomfortable moves gradually into cute and kind of kitsch before finally maturing into a story that has a lot of strength. The initially unsavory male lead, fallen angel Daniel, becomes quite appealing as the pages fly by. The quirky cast of supporting characters similarly finds footing by the second half of the first book and the diversity of the group makes for one of the better story structures I have read in this genre. At the core of what makes this series so appealing, in fact, is the close proximity of good and bad. You can't help occasionally being deliciously drawn to the bad guys and often the good guys make questionable decisions. Best of all, at times they must work together. I love it!
Besides the oddity of the first book's setting, something which is remedied in the second book, my other complaints are fairly minimal. As mentioned, the first book matures as you go along and I am not entirely satisfied with the way in which the lead characters transition from seeming hatred to deep-rooted love. But then again, especially for teenagers, that is such a fine line in truth, isn't it? Wow, I hope my skepticism on that part doesn't represent getting older?!?
Kate still has some room to grow in her writing, but she has great stuff with which to work and two more books scheduled for this series, so she has time. And honestly, I am kind of looking forward to the release of book three this coming summer. And, of course, no surprise, this series too has been picked up for a movie, this time by Disney. Hmmm, maybe I will see it??
Ok, FINALLY, that concludes the paranormal fantasy genre review. I didn't hit NEARLY everything, nor did I even hit everything that is headlining at the moment. I am still curious about some of the other titles out there, both in YA and in adult fiction, so perhaps I will revisit it at some point, but for now I need to read something with normal humans. I am starting to see fantastical creatures in everyone I meet. That's not normal for grown ups. Moving on...
OH, almost forgot:
Grade for this series: A
Would a grownup enjoy: Yep, more so than some of the others. Less high school routine and more good vs. evil philosophy. That seems to be the recipe for adult interest in these YA books.
Ok, that's that then.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title(s): Fallen
Torment
Author: Lauren Kate
Reading dates: 11/28/10-12/3/10 & 12/3/10-12/7/10 respectively
Book counts: 78 & 79
This new series is another spin on the fallen angel approach and I admit that the early chapters of the first book combined with my afore-mentioned genre burnout had me wanting to put the book down and walk away. So glad I didn't. Despite a slightly strange and rocky beginning in which the lead character suddenly finds herself in a rather rough reform school and in which the male lead unromantically flips her off, this series grew into one of my favorite finds of the genre. Kate seems to settle into her story as it progresses and what began as slightly awkward and uncomfortable moves gradually into cute and kind of kitsch before finally maturing into a story that has a lot of strength. The initially unsavory male lead, fallen angel Daniel, becomes quite appealing as the pages fly by. The quirky cast of supporting characters similarly finds footing by the second half of the first book and the diversity of the group makes for one of the better story structures I have read in this genre. At the core of what makes this series so appealing, in fact, is the close proximity of good and bad. You can't help occasionally being deliciously drawn to the bad guys and often the good guys make questionable decisions. Best of all, at times they must work together. I love it!
Besides the oddity of the first book's setting, something which is remedied in the second book, my other complaints are fairly minimal. As mentioned, the first book matures as you go along and I am not entirely satisfied with the way in which the lead characters transition from seeming hatred to deep-rooted love. But then again, especially for teenagers, that is such a fine line in truth, isn't it? Wow, I hope my skepticism on that part doesn't represent getting older?!?
Kate still has some room to grow in her writing, but she has great stuff with which to work and two more books scheduled for this series, so she has time. And honestly, I am kind of looking forward to the release of book three this coming summer. And, of course, no surprise, this series too has been picked up for a movie, this time by Disney. Hmmm, maybe I will see it??
Ok, FINALLY, that concludes the paranormal fantasy genre review. I didn't hit NEARLY everything, nor did I even hit everything that is headlining at the moment. I am still curious about some of the other titles out there, both in YA and in adult fiction, so perhaps I will revisit it at some point, but for now I need to read something with normal humans. I am starting to see fantastical creatures in everyone I meet. That's not normal for grown ups. Moving on...
OH, almost forgot:
Grade for this series: A
Would a grownup enjoy: Yep, more so than some of the others. Less high school routine and more good vs. evil philosophy. That seems to be the recipe for adult interest in these YA books.
Ok, that's that then.
Keep reading!
Sarah
And so the year comes to a close....
and the project comes to a rather incomplete end, but the reading, however, does not. While I do have a handful of posts to write up for December, which was much busier with the holidays than I anticipated, I am sure you can guess from November's numbers that I did not quite make it to 100 books, unless that is, you count my required reading, in which case I hit 104 books this year. I can be pretty pleased with that! And the fun doesn't end here. Not the type to be content, I have decided to try this goal every year. At least, every year until I hit it. So keep reading! I will shortly post my thoughts on the last of my 2010 reads, then some thoughts to wrap up the year and then, check back as we move into an even greater 2011!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Keep reading!
Sarah
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Why can't anyone write a good book about NYC??
As already mentioned, I am hitting paranormal burn out at this point, so I might be getting hard to please by now. However, I don't think that is solely responsible for my feelings on this next series. It just plain didn't float. Let's see why:
Title: Blue Bloods
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
My start date: 11/26/10
My finish date: 11/28/10
Book count: 77
On a completely unrelated note, for those of you still paying attention, my original goal this year was to hit 100 books, without counting the novels and works I have to read for my lit classes at the university. However, if I were to count those required readings, this book would be book 99, which means that, technically, I am one book away (not even, since I am actually in the process of reading the next book at the moment) from hitting 100 books this year. And when you remember that those required readings included such hefty titles as Richardson's Clarissa... that is a heck of a lot of page turning done already in 2010.
Back to the task at hand. I really didn't like this book. Remember what I said in the last blog about believability in paranormal fiction? Obviously the paranormal stuff does not need to be necessarily realistic, however the surrounding story should be sufficiently believable. In the case of this book, either she completely missed the mark here, or NYC is a worse off place than I ever want to think about.
First of all, the main characters are as young as 15. That is on the young side, even for strong YA fiction, in which the characters generally range from 16-18. Further, what these tender little 15 year olds are doing was just too much for me. I am not so naive as to think that teens, even that young of teens, drink, smoke and follow their hormones. But usually they try to be a little discreet about it. This book has little 15 year olds partying every night in dance clubs, in which they would walk unconcerned up to the bar and order drinks and then stand out on the balcony smoking. Ok, fine, fake IDs, but then when you get to the scenes in which the school dance has a smoking area?? What?? I know NYC is its own universe, but last I checked, schools being non-smoking areas is pretty well a national thing.
Moving beyond that, the characters weren't likeable. Nor again were they very realistic. This series combines both the vampire angle and the fallen angel angle, indicating that vampires are in fact just fallen angels. Different, but hey, let's roll with it. However, the teens react unrealistically well to the news that they will shortly begin transitioning and want to start drinking blood. In fact, none of the startling revelations about various plot twists seem to illicit much in the way of real emotion from these characters, not even the mandate to two twins that they are romantically destined. I don't know how many teens de la Cruz has been around, but I know that if I told any of my former high school students that they were destined to hook up with their brother or sister, I would meet a little more resistance...
Conclusion: utter flop. But I must be wrong, because apparently this series too has been snatched up for big screen rights. Are they starting to get desperate??
Grade: D, maybe C-
Would adults enjoy this book? I hope responsible adults would be horrified by this book.
Ugh, fighting the burn out... One, perhaps two final books in the genre remain, both have more promise than the above.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: Blue Bloods
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
My start date: 11/26/10
My finish date: 11/28/10
Book count: 77
On a completely unrelated note, for those of you still paying attention, my original goal this year was to hit 100 books, without counting the novels and works I have to read for my lit classes at the university. However, if I were to count those required readings, this book would be book 99, which means that, technically, I am one book away (not even, since I am actually in the process of reading the next book at the moment) from hitting 100 books this year. And when you remember that those required readings included such hefty titles as Richardson's Clarissa... that is a heck of a lot of page turning done already in 2010.
Back to the task at hand. I really didn't like this book. Remember what I said in the last blog about believability in paranormal fiction? Obviously the paranormal stuff does not need to be necessarily realistic, however the surrounding story should be sufficiently believable. In the case of this book, either she completely missed the mark here, or NYC is a worse off place than I ever want to think about.
First of all, the main characters are as young as 15. That is on the young side, even for strong YA fiction, in which the characters generally range from 16-18. Further, what these tender little 15 year olds are doing was just too much for me. I am not so naive as to think that teens, even that young of teens, drink, smoke and follow their hormones. But usually they try to be a little discreet about it. This book has little 15 year olds partying every night in dance clubs, in which they would walk unconcerned up to the bar and order drinks and then stand out on the balcony smoking. Ok, fine, fake IDs, but then when you get to the scenes in which the school dance has a smoking area?? What?? I know NYC is its own universe, but last I checked, schools being non-smoking areas is pretty well a national thing.
Moving beyond that, the characters weren't likeable. Nor again were they very realistic. This series combines both the vampire angle and the fallen angel angle, indicating that vampires are in fact just fallen angels. Different, but hey, let's roll with it. However, the teens react unrealistically well to the news that they will shortly begin transitioning and want to start drinking blood. In fact, none of the startling revelations about various plot twists seem to illicit much in the way of real emotion from these characters, not even the mandate to two twins that they are romantically destined. I don't know how many teens de la Cruz has been around, but I know that if I told any of my former high school students that they were destined to hook up with their brother or sister, I would meet a little more resistance...
Conclusion: utter flop. But I must be wrong, because apparently this series too has been snatched up for big screen rights. Are they starting to get desperate??
Grade: D, maybe C-
Would adults enjoy this book? I hope responsible adults would be horrified by this book.
Ugh, fighting the burn out... One, perhaps two final books in the genre remain, both have more promise than the above.
Keep reading!
Sarah
The coolest paranormal school since Hogwarts
Now this was a series for which I admit I honestly didn't have a lot of hope. At this point I am honestly starting to burn out on the genre and they titles were all starting to blur together. Further, I was becoming increasingly glad that I am no longer a teen. So I was pleasantly surprised when a series in which I was not expecting to find much value turned out to be pretty good! Let's see what it is:
Title: Vampire Academy
Frostbite
Author: Richelle Mead
Respective start/finish dates: 11/23/10-11/25/10
11/25/10-11/26/10
Book counts: 75, 76
I started this series rather disinterested and the first chapter didn't really warm me up. It was a little confusing and I actually thought briefly that I must have accidently purchased the wrong book and was reading a later book in the series rather than the first. However, once I pushed past that first chapter, the series really picks up.
The premise of this series has a little more in common with Harry Potter than with Twilight. Actually, perhaps it is more of a nice fusion of the two. The romance angle is not as central to this series as is the theme of coming of age, discovering who you are and what you can do, and so on. It even takes place in a magical school, rather similar to Hogwarts. There is romance, of course, but not necessarily the life altering, all-consuming passion seen in some of the others. At least not yet. The idea is that there are three kinds of vampires, all existing in a world of which humans are utterly unaware. There are the good, living vampires, called Moroi, who rule the vampire world and who feed on human blood, but must never kill. Then there are the evil, undead vampires, called Strigoi, who are a constant threat to the Moroi. Finally, there are the dhampirs, half human and half Moroi, who don't need blood, but have enhanced senses and who serve as guardians to the Moroi. The series follows Rose, a dhampir determined to guard and save her best friend, the Moroi, Lissa. The both attend a school for vampires and the plot follows both the everyday aspects of being a teenage vampire and, of course, the action that occurs when some not-so-nice vampires come around.
This series is pretty decidedly teenager oriented. However, I really liked it. It stood out from the long list of other books in this genre which have been filling my last several weeks and, once again, despite not initially intending to read beyond the first book, I was compelled to immediately download the second book in the series. And I loved that one too. Although I am too burned out on paranormal YA fiction for now to read beyond thos two, I am sufficiently drawn to find out what happed next to Lissa, Rose, and Rose's love, Dimitri, that I will almost assuredly be reading the remainder of the series in the new year. It is believable in ways that the others often are not. Of course, when I say believable, I don't mean in the sense that I believe there are vampires in schools in Montana, but rather that Mead successfully weaves the paranormal aspects into an approach that isn't so over-the-top outragious that it is all I can focus on and also, the lives of the main characters are completely accessible beyond their fantasy status. That is to say, yes, they are vampires in a vampire school, but beyond that, what they do each day in school isn't so far from the real teen experience that readers wouldn't identify. The romance between Rose and Dimitri is completely realistic. The friendships, and frenemy-ships (is that a word??) are similar to what a reader would really experience. It takes the real and adds a twist of fantasy, which I think is a great combination.
Whew, what a relief to find something good, just when I was about to hit burn out. I will look forward to finishing the six part series in a few months, once I have gotten out of the paranormal funk that is starting to set in. If I am not careful here, I might actually start to believe vampires and werewolves are real with all this stuff!
Grade: solid A
Would adults enjoy it: well, only if they are still teens at heart, like I am. The target audience is teens and it plays well to that audience.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: Vampire Academy
Frostbite
Author: Richelle Mead
Respective start/finish dates: 11/23/10-11/25/10
11/25/10-11/26/10
Book counts: 75, 76
I started this series rather disinterested and the first chapter didn't really warm me up. It was a little confusing and I actually thought briefly that I must have accidently purchased the wrong book and was reading a later book in the series rather than the first. However, once I pushed past that first chapter, the series really picks up.
The premise of this series has a little more in common with Harry Potter than with Twilight. Actually, perhaps it is more of a nice fusion of the two. The romance angle is not as central to this series as is the theme of coming of age, discovering who you are and what you can do, and so on. It even takes place in a magical school, rather similar to Hogwarts. There is romance, of course, but not necessarily the life altering, all-consuming passion seen in some of the others. At least not yet. The idea is that there are three kinds of vampires, all existing in a world of which humans are utterly unaware. There are the good, living vampires, called Moroi, who rule the vampire world and who feed on human blood, but must never kill. Then there are the evil, undead vampires, called Strigoi, who are a constant threat to the Moroi. Finally, there are the dhampirs, half human and half Moroi, who don't need blood, but have enhanced senses and who serve as guardians to the Moroi. The series follows Rose, a dhampir determined to guard and save her best friend, the Moroi, Lissa. The both attend a school for vampires and the plot follows both the everyday aspects of being a teenage vampire and, of course, the action that occurs when some not-so-nice vampires come around.
This series is pretty decidedly teenager oriented. However, I really liked it. It stood out from the long list of other books in this genre which have been filling my last several weeks and, once again, despite not initially intending to read beyond the first book, I was compelled to immediately download the second book in the series. And I loved that one too. Although I am too burned out on paranormal YA fiction for now to read beyond thos two, I am sufficiently drawn to find out what happed next to Lissa, Rose, and Rose's love, Dimitri, that I will almost assuredly be reading the remainder of the series in the new year. It is believable in ways that the others often are not. Of course, when I say believable, I don't mean in the sense that I believe there are vampires in schools in Montana, but rather that Mead successfully weaves the paranormal aspects into an approach that isn't so over-the-top outragious that it is all I can focus on and also, the lives of the main characters are completely accessible beyond their fantasy status. That is to say, yes, they are vampires in a vampire school, but beyond that, what they do each day in school isn't so far from the real teen experience that readers wouldn't identify. The romance between Rose and Dimitri is completely realistic. The friendships, and frenemy-ships (is that a word??) are similar to what a reader would really experience. It takes the real and adds a twist of fantasy, which I think is a great combination.
Whew, what a relief to find something good, just when I was about to hit burn out. I will look forward to finishing the six part series in a few months, once I have gotten out of the paranormal funk that is starting to set in. If I am not careful here, I might actually start to believe vampires and werewolves are real with all this stuff!
Grade: solid A
Would adults enjoy it: well, only if they are still teens at heart, like I am. The target audience is teens and it plays well to that audience.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Rising to a Crescendo of Teen Angst
So, back to the fallen angel angle for another try. This series leans more on the ever-popular teen romance approach, so perhaps that livens it up a bit? At least there will be no body snatching monsters, I hope...
Titles: Hush, Hush
Crescendo
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Respective start/finish dates: 11/19/10-11/21/10
11/22/10-11/23/10
Book counts: 73,74
I liked this series much more than our last encounter with fallen angels. However, it still has some issues. As mentioned, this series is more focused on a romance again. Teen girl meets bad boy. Boy is rude, but she falls for him nonetheless. Bad boy turns out to be really bad boy when she discovers he is a fallen angel. Nope, not Nephilim this time, our hero is a full on archangel who lost his wings. Tsk, tsk. The basic plot is, of course, a little stale. They meet when they are assigned to be biology labs partners. (Look out, all you bio teachers out there, little did you know that your tables are the hottest hookup place in your teenage students world) He feels drawn to kill her. He changes his mind. However, unlike many of the other books in which this formula is followed, Fitzpatrick carries the fear factor out a lot longer. In both books, the heroine fears that the hero might kill her (or in the case of the second, has killed her father) almost to the end. This makes the romance between the two of them somewhat less believable. Lust and attraction, sure, but deep, passionate love? Hmm...
That being said, these books worked for me on the mystery level much better than the romance level. Yes, it is cheesy YA fiction, but I must admit that the "who dunnit" aspect kept me turning the pages. I hate spoilers and try to avoid them, but I really don't think it ruins the book if I say, obviously the bad guy isn't the hero figure, despite the fears of the heroine. We already know that, right? But who IS doing the deeds in questions? What is actually happening to cause all of the action in the plot? It was enough that I wanted to keep turning the pages. Moreover, I hadn't initially intended to read the second book of this series. It is newly out and I figured I would just stop after the one. Yet I was so intrigued that I immediately downloaded the second onto my eReader when I finished the first. That says something!
Finally, it turns out this author grew up in North Platte, NE, one of the many places of my childhood! Shout out for that! Not much older than me, perhaps I knew her in days gone by??
Anyway, how does this series stack up in the end?
Grade: B.
Would adults enjoy this book? Hmm, some might, if they are able to not worry about the unlikelihood of such a romance ever working out and just enjoy the light mystery aspects, this could be a fun read.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Titles: Hush, Hush
Crescendo
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Respective start/finish dates: 11/19/10-11/21/10
11/22/10-11/23/10
Book counts: 73,74
I liked this series much more than our last encounter with fallen angels. However, it still has some issues. As mentioned, this series is more focused on a romance again. Teen girl meets bad boy. Boy is rude, but she falls for him nonetheless. Bad boy turns out to be really bad boy when she discovers he is a fallen angel. Nope, not Nephilim this time, our hero is a full on archangel who lost his wings. Tsk, tsk. The basic plot is, of course, a little stale. They meet when they are assigned to be biology labs partners. (Look out, all you bio teachers out there, little did you know that your tables are the hottest hookup place in your teenage students world) He feels drawn to kill her. He changes his mind. However, unlike many of the other books in which this formula is followed, Fitzpatrick carries the fear factor out a lot longer. In both books, the heroine fears that the hero might kill her (or in the case of the second, has killed her father) almost to the end. This makes the romance between the two of them somewhat less believable. Lust and attraction, sure, but deep, passionate love? Hmm...
That being said, these books worked for me on the mystery level much better than the romance level. Yes, it is cheesy YA fiction, but I must admit that the "who dunnit" aspect kept me turning the pages. I hate spoilers and try to avoid them, but I really don't think it ruins the book if I say, obviously the bad guy isn't the hero figure, despite the fears of the heroine. We already know that, right? But who IS doing the deeds in questions? What is actually happening to cause all of the action in the plot? It was enough that I wanted to keep turning the pages. Moreover, I hadn't initially intended to read the second book of this series. It is newly out and I figured I would just stop after the one. Yet I was so intrigued that I immediately downloaded the second onto my eReader when I finished the first. That says something!
Finally, it turns out this author grew up in North Platte, NE, one of the many places of my childhood! Shout out for that! Not much older than me, perhaps I knew her in days gone by??
Anyway, how does this series stack up in the end?
Grade: B.
Would adults enjoy this book? Hmm, some might, if they are able to not worry about the unlikelihood of such a romance ever working out and just enjoy the light mystery aspects, this could be a fun read.
Keep reading!
Sarah
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