For a self conscious book about teen sexuality and unbecoming of age, it was really entertaining. The pages zipped by, and the story while not one hundred percent satisfying, was definitely engaging. I love the premise, that a goth girl can want to be something else, that all labels and boxes are as damaging as any other ones. There was cussing, sexuality issues but nothing too overt.
I avoid books on the holocaust, about cancer, anything that's going to leave me a sodden wreck for hours afterwards. It's too much reality for my fiction. This book has a line about the 'feel-good movie that turns into a cry-fest' and while I didn't tear up, and it did leave me wanting to eat pie with my relatives it was still way too sad to be called, 'hilarious and heartwarming'.
That aside, it was certainly well-written and the characters were well-drawn. It wasn't simple but at the same time, there was a satisfying plot arc. I like my happy endings, and so this book is more 3.75 stars for me. I think the cover deluded me (It was the cover with the bright happy coat on the front) that it was more 'you've got mail' than 'all the people you love will die so you need to accept it', or something.
I liked the old judge, I like the idea that we still have to be fighting for something good, but I think that the lawyer should have had something else in her life besides her work. I mean, she wants to change the world, but she's not involved in anything. Oh well. She's obviously got some issues in her life she has to work through, and I'm sure at the end of everything she'll be able to work at the animal shelter or something.
Now I'm off to send a card to the people who I love who are going to die. You know, all of them. Cuz dying is what we do...
Another YA Urban Dystopian! Cannot get enough of these, and neither can the publishers, obviously. I think my favorite thing about this book was her hair. She has the glossiest black hair in the entire world, and she loves to pull it back into a ponytail to flip around at every man who drools on her, which is everyone. She hates leaving it down because then it's irritating, and I totally relate because hair in my face is irritating too! So I'm just like her, and I LOVE relating to characters in books like that. Also, she wears this cape, and anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE capes, so I'm just like her there too.
The other best part of the book is the mystery. There's an effort to have a plot, which is always nice. Of course, it's the usual dystopian, THE GOVERNMENT IS EVIL, so that's not particularly shocking, but it was nice to see the psychos develop their psychoness and it reminded me of this old book, The WAVE, wonder if it's on Goodreads about this history teacher who conducted an experiment in Southern California to see if he could reenact Hitler's brainwashing/socialistic programming with shocking, disturbing results.
So, if you like the usual dystopian fare and really great hair, this one's for you.
I didn't take this for dystopian because there are magical queens, and whatever a post apocalyptic world might look like, magical queens aren't on my list. Maybe there's some kind of X-men genetic developmental stuff, but it didn't feel like that. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading this story. I loved that it ended and it felt like an ending. I can happily live my life without reading anything else in this world because I have closure. I love that.
I thought the character started out a cool girl, cussing and disrespecting her mother, but then she became kind of a weak chick dragged around by her friend to do all sorts of exciting illicit stuff. For some reason, that didn't really bother me, because some people are like that. Particularly teen type people. Besides which, she was really good about her sister.
Admittedly, I started this book at midnight and read it in a few hours, so I'm probably missing stuff that I'd have been irritated by if I'd been in a more cogent state. I don't mind that. It was an entertaining read with very exciting stuff with Max, although personally I was more 'intrigued' by Xander (agree with another reviewer who finds Max's reason for obsession rather lame) but that's okay because Xander was too cool for her.
I enjoyed it.
I will be honest. This book absolutely drew me in, whether or not it defied all reality or whatever. I loved it. I loved the horror, the humor, the lack of mystery, all of it. I still have no clear idea how you make out with a ghost, but whatever. I still loved it. I would probably be more bothered by the graphic horror bits if I watched horror movies, but I couldn't really visualize that clearly, which was okay because I don't watch horror for a reason.
What a mind-rendingly thoughtful review, right? I liked the way the plots twisted together and resolved beautifully, the way the MC didn't whine too much about his sad life while still putting across that it was pretty sad. I'm not crazy about swears, but it was more for authentic voice than pointlessness so didn't bother me very much.
Fun, pretty mindless stuff. Wow! I should be paid to do reviews. I'm awesome! Seriously, good reviewers are worth their weight in GOLD. Although with the price of gold going down, maybe I should say worth their weight in OIL. Black gold, Texas T...
