Read with Me: young adult fiction

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Showing posts with label young adult fiction. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Review: Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The GoodReads description of this story is not even adequate or accurate. First of all, Ethan DOES see "it" coming. "It" being her 16th birthday where she will face the biggest turning point of her life. Second, this story is really about a mysterious girl who moves into a small, closed-minded southern town where everyone but Ethan immediately judges and rejects her. Ethan and Lena bond and in turn learn something about themselves, about the secrets of the town, about the secrets of the past, and about what it means to take your own destiny into your hands. There.

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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Review: Unravel Me

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Yeah, I'm still interested enough to reserve #3 at the library. But I agree with the person who told me about the series;) that there's just a lot of making out and it's unnecessary. It mostly makes me annoyed with the heroine, Juliette, even though I get that the chip on her shoulder is that she can't touch anyone without hurting them and so to have someone (or two) be immune to that deadly touch is a novelty to her. I still think she could show a little self possession. She IS rather self-absorbed and self-pitying, which makes me appreciate the firm beratings of a certain friend so much that those were probably my favorite parts of the whole book. Isn't that the mark of a true friend, who calls you out when they think you can be more than you are acting like you can be? Is it just me or is Kenji really the most interesting character here? Forget the love triangle. Give me Kenji.

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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Review: If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This felt like such a fresh story and I really liked it. I love that the young teenage girl heroine didn't seem like every other teenage heroine in books right now (rebellious, violent, fighting wars, dealing with love triangles, etc.). She was just more...real. I love that the story was really about HER FAMILY and not about having an adventure without parents or a family tying her down. She's a "good girl," but not boring. She's talented, she's in love, she loves her family, and she's at a crossroad where she has to make a REALLY hard decision. It just felt real and interesting and it made me cry a little - not too much; just enough.

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Thursday, February 26, 2015

Review: Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Ugh, I tried. It's an interesting idea and all that, and could have been a good story, but I just can't get into the main character. She's not believable. And neither are the other two corners of her love triangle (the prince and the captain). She's supposed to be this notorious assassin, but she doesn't have a hardened, dark, conflicted, or menacing bone in her body. She gets excited about candy and puppies for crying out loud. There are not nearly enough examples of cold calculation or searing flashbacks or nightmares or self-loathing struggles that you would expect a youngish girl to have if they've spent traumatic years training and earning a living as an assassin. Am I right? If Maas could make me believe that Celaena is the troubled and conflicted assassin that she claims to (and should) be, I might read on. But it just seems like she created the same old love triangle formula and then slapped the label "assassin" on it to make it more interesting. But didn't really follow-through.

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Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love that the author found a new narrative style with the "strike-out" phrases. That alone made the novel feel more unique. The story is well-told from the point of view of Juliette, whose "stream of consciousness"-like narration reflects her state of mind after going through some traumatizing experiences. It's more interesting than disorienting; not overdone. I'm just not sure why the novel decided to go all super-hero at the end with her in a skin-tight purple suit ready to take on the world. Uh, what? It felt abrupt and unnecessary; I just wanted a better idea of how Juliette's "disease" is going to serve a purpose moving forward. And it didn't really answer that question.

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Review: City of Heavenly Fire

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As usual, a page turner. I'm kind of relieved that I'm done with this series. I'm getting a bit tired of YA books with all their teenager makeout scenes. What happened to the thrill of anticipation and the chase?

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