I didn't love the last two books that I read for the panel. I'm not going to tell you which books they were...but I am going to say what I didn't like.
Book 4:
Well, first off, I wasn’t thrilled with the character’s voice. I thought it was weak, especially at the beginning. And I know that she’s supposed to be all depressed and detached from everything, but I don’t think that’s an excuse to not have voice. Also, the plot was cliché, and a little didactic at times, to be perfectly frank. When are we going to see a well-done bullying plot?
One of the biggest problems for me, though, was how in-depth it went with tips on suicide. Don’t get me wrong, I hate censorship, but when I find myself deciding which method is best for me, something is wrong. Teens are much more susceptible to that kind of suggestion than I am.
Another thing I didn’t like was that the character wasn’t saved by any realization of her own, but by other characters that decided to like her, and not back off no matter how badly she treated them. Most teens won’t have that, and by not having it, will decide to go through with killing themselves.
I did find myself relating to the main character, though. I liked her. I thought she was sad without being annoying, and I liked that. Love interest was also very likeable. Every girl’s dream.
Basically, potential, potential, potential, and nothing more.
Book 5:
Again, lack of voice bothered me. It’s told from three different points of view. If you’re going to pull that off successfully, the voices need to be RADICALLY different. I could kind of tell, a little bit, but…not enough.
Also, the title promised more than it delivered on. I needed something juicy, something unexpected, something that would make me gasp. None of that happened. It was cute, it was interesting, but it wasn’t exceptional in any way.
It did have an EXCELLENT premise. It was the mystery that pulled me through the entire thing. It was just the execution that bothered me.
Let's hope I do better with Book 6!
About Me
- Cherylynne
- Cher-y-lynne {sher-uhl-lin} –noun 1. One who formerly sold and recommended children’s books at a bookstore; a specialist in young adult, middle grade, and picture books. 2. A para-educator at a middle school. 3. A struggling young adult writer. 4. A lover of chocolate and popcorn. Archaic: An Audiology and Speech Language Pathology major at Brigham Young University. Questions? Suggestions? Books you'd like me to review? E-mail me at cherylynne1 (at) gmail (dot) com.
Well now I want to know what they were!
ReplyDeleteHmm...I do believe I just ordered #4, not sure about #5:) There has been enough disagreement about #4 that I'm looking forward to reading it myself! Sometimes that does more than a good or bad review alone for generating interest.
ReplyDeleteOh no! Is it that obvious what they are, or is it just because you've seen my most recent emails?
ReplyDeletelol - mostly the e-mails, although I'd bet if someone has read the first, they'd recognize it. That's not a bad thing, it's making these reviews fun to read and try to puzzle out:)
ReplyDelete