Review: Half Wild

Half Wild by Sally Green
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Bummer. After the first one I was so excited, and then this just fell flat. It was boring. Hardly anything ever happened. So much of the book was just Nathan thinking. Trying to understand his gift, obsessing about being with Annalise again, feeling confused about his relationship with Gabriel, and wondering about his dad and joining the Alliance. Ok, ok, so there was some talking with other characters about these things. I hung in there, finally got closer to the end, and then some interesting things happened. It took too long to get there. And Nathan's inner monologuing has become boring.

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Review: A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh wow. Guys. Should you read this book? Yes. If you like fantasty? Yes. If you like sad, real stories? Yes. If you like young adult fiction? If you like books that find tenderness and beauty and truth in exquisitely told stories? If you are a human? Ummm...YESSSSS!

I love how Ness taps into the teenage mind. The narrative is so utterly true to how a teenager that age would actually think and feel and act and experience real dilemmas. A lovely, understated read that finds closure with the simplest yet profoundest of truths.

I'm interested in seeing the movie just so I can relive those emotions with a different perspective, and it did get good reviews. Did anyone see the movie?

Still, I'll probably keep this book in its own place in my heart, a separate thing from any movie remake of the story or any other book with similar themes. It's that special.

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Review: Everything, Everything

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yes, it was good. The characters felt authentic and there was only really one circumstance that I felt was too predictable and contrived for how tender and understated the story had been up to that point. I'm in the camp of people who think that when she decides to throw chance to the wind and live life to the fullest by (ahem, *spoiler*) experiencing teenage sex that it really just cheapened the story instead of sweetening it. But it still wasn't written in a crude or offensive way, so there is that. The twist at the end I thought was clever and added a dimension of humanity to the whole circumstance. Because it reminds us to find vulnerability and tenderness in everybody, instead of overlooking those qualities in the ones we don't expect to have them.

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Review: A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh wow. Guys. Should you read it? Yes. If you like fantasty? Yes. If you like sad, real stories? Yes. If you like young adult fiction? Yes. If you like books that find tenderness and beauty and truth in exquisitely told stories? Ummm...YESSSSS!

I love how Ness taps into the teenage mind. The narrative is so utterly true to how a teenager that age would actually think and feel and act and experience real dilemmas. A lovely, understated read that finds closure with the simplest yet profoundest of truths.

I'm interested in seeing the movie just so I can relive those emotions with a different perspective, and it did get good reviews. Did anyone see the movie?

Still, I'll probably keep this book in its own place in my heart, a separate thing from any movie remake of the story or any other book with similar themes. It's that special.

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Review: Love and Other Theories

Love and Other Theories by Alexis Bass
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Blech. 0 stars. Do not read. Here is found all the WORST things about teen romance. I think Bass was trying to make the point that it's a bad idea for teenagers to be sexually promiscuous in high school, but she failed grossly. What I could stand to read of the book was vulgar and underdeveloped. I decided it was not worth it to read the whole thing, though I did read the ending just to confirm to myself that whatever conflicts were resolved at the end were not worth the tasteless journey. I was right.

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Review: Half Bad

Half Bad by Sally Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the most interesting and original ideas from a male witch's perspective since Harry Potter! This first book set up some interesting questions about white vs. black magic, family allegiances, choosing friends from foes, and coming of age. Characters were clever and believable, and I especially appreicate a first-person perspective when the main character is pleasant company with interesting and honest thoughts. You'll also find some new takes on hidden magical elements existing in the real world that make it fun. I'm definitely continuing with the series.

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Review: After You

After You by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Against several recommendations I received to NOT read this sequel...I did. Mostly because it was the only audiobook immediately available on my app's wishlist so I listened to it to pass the time. And it was a capital B Bummer. It wasn't terribly written, but it didn't have the same tenderness or depth or authenticity or provocative message as the first. It was a bit (okay, a lot) more crass and it couldn't decide what its message was. It couldn't decide whether to focus on Louisa's recovery from grief, her career and love life and a new sensual relationship in her life, her tenuous bond with her family, or her new teenage friend's various scandals due to her salacious lifestyle. I felt sort of yanked around and plunged into an uncharacteristically obscene world compared to this story's predecessor. Okay, so mostly the teenage friend put everything over the edge. Way WAY over the edge. It was like a contrived, campy, soap opera subplot. Darn it.

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