Catherine

Mar 22, 2013 karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: continuations-n-retellings, smotherings, why-yes-i-ya

sadly, i did not hate this book as much as i wanted to. this is the same thing that happened to me with Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight (but not New Moon or Eclipse, those were pretty bad); i thought those books were all going to be worse than they actually were, and i was hoping they would inspire gleefully sinister reviews where i would get to vent some of this spleen i got rattling around inside of me. but they weren't as bad as i had expected, and i found myself grudgingly appreciating cer...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Krys rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, retelling, medium-length-book, arcs-manuscripts, own, first-person-narrative, alternating-dual-multi-narratives, fiction, mystery-suspense, read-in-2012, stand-alone, have-a-hardcover-and-an-arc

There's a giveaway for this and several other books here:

http://www.bibliopunkk.net/2013/04/ap...

Contest ends 4/19/13. Please come enter.

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Catherine is the second Bronte retelling by April Lindner for teens. This book is a contemporary reimagining of Emily Bronte's masterpiece Wuthering Heights. After reading Jane this week I was excited to see what she would do with Wuthering Heights, which is my preferred book of the two. I was n...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Mitch rated it 3 of 5 stars

For the most part, Catherine is an effective reimagining of Wuthering Heights. I say reimagining instead of retelling because the central premise here - Chelsea Price (Cathy Linton) looking into the decade old disappearance of her mother Catherine Eversole Price (Catherine Earnshaw Linton) - is a pretty innovative departure from the plot of the original and really explores in some depth these two very interesting characters from Emily Bronte's book in a modern setting. That said, I'm not quite s...more For the most part, Catherine is an effective reimagining of Wuthering Heights. I say reimagining instead of retelling because the central premise here - Chelsea Price (Cathy Linton) looking into the decade old disappearance of her mother Catherine Eversole Price (Catherine Earnshaw Linton) - is a pretty innovative departure from the plot of the original and really explores in some depth these two very interesting characters from Emily Bronte's book in a modern setting. That said, I'm not quite sure April Lindner handled some of the most crucial parts of the source material all that well, hence my conflicted review.

For starters, in order to get the setup to match Bronte's original, Chelsea's led to believe her mom died when she was three - until she stumbles upon the truth between digging up an old letter from her mom in her dad's closet and then doing an online search. So I'm a little confused why Chelsea never once wondered about her mom or popped Catherine Price into Google - where she'd instantly stumble upon the truth - in the fourteen years Catherine's been missing, but what do I know, guess that never occurred to her. Then, I see the book's divided into chapters between Chelsea's point of view, presumably in the present, and Catherine's point of view some time in the past, most of the time alternating between the two, and I'm confused even more, because I have no idea when Catherine's point of view takes place. I assume in the late eighties or early nineties based on the timeline? - except Catherine's voice sounds really modern, so I had a hard time getting into the mindset that I'm reading these two voices decades apart.

Beyond those initial complaints, I actually enjoyed the book at first. Not just the obvious imports from Wuthering Heights, like Catherine's star crossed relationship with Hence (Heathcliff), who's actually toned down in this version if still a bitter guy - the really twisted Bronte original would've probably been a bit too much in a modern version, or the little allusions now and then that are nice touches for anyone familiar with Bronte's work, like that dream of Catherine's ghost haunting The Underground (Wuthering Heights), but also what the new plot brings to the table, Chelsea slowly discovering her mother Catherine over the course of her investigation. Actually, I think adding the Chelsea trying to figure her mother out plot is a stroke of genius, because the stuff that already worked in Wuthering Heights, Hence's descent into bitterness as a result of Catherine breaking his heart, her brother Quentin's (Hindley's) jealousy of Hence coming into their lives, those are things the original did better.

Unfortunately, it's around here that my enthusiasm for this reimagining really dimmed. I liked the changes Lindner made to Hence, but Quentin somehow still manages to be a racist gun toting redneck, which in Bronte's book is a product of the times, but in a more modern setting really could've used a lot more finesse, because here Q seems way out of character with the rest of the writing, and although I kind of expected it his transformation still took me by surprise with how strange it fits with the rest of the story. Needless to say, I didn't see anything in the book to justify crazy Quentin. Then after that, there's the whole class issue that's a big part of the original book that becomes she's going to Harvard while he's going on tour in Europe here, leading to the big misunderstanding, but I just didn’t feel Lindner's version was as effective, as believable, or as satisfying as the original. And while the ending suited Catherine, there's just something missing about how it affects Chelsea.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by Catherine at first, particularly with the girl trying to find and understand her missing mother angle that really worked given how faithfully this book adhered to the basic plot of Wuthering Heights. But then, I think Lindner missed the boat on crucial points and couldn't stick the ending, so I ended up shaking my head a lot towards the end when Catherine really didn’t live up to Bronte’s original.(less)

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May 20, 2013 Stephanie A. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-ya, girl-protagonists

First, let me say I loved Wuthering Heights when I read it, but that was almost 10 years ago and without the benefit of a teacher or classroom discussion so I barely remember it. I debated whether I would enjoy Catherine more or less without rereading the classic first, and compromised by having my mom summarize the nutshell version, which I've concluded is the best way to approach this modern update. That way you get a sense of who the main feature and supporting players are, but don't have all...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Denise Hui rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Catherine was a book unlike any other that I have read. This specific book fell into the category of realistic fiction and told the story of two people; Catherine and Chelsea. Told 20 years apart, Chelsea goes on a mission to search for her mom, Catherine. Growing up, Chelsea learned to accept the fact that her mother died until one day, she unintentionally came across a letter handwritten by her mom 14 years ago. Of course, Chelsea believes there may still be a chance to reunite with her long l...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Haley rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I have not read Wuthering Heights. I started it in college, but could never get through it. So I have no idea how well Lindner kept to the story. Lindner's version inspires me to try the novel again though!

While I did not enjoy this one as much as Jane, I still thought it was a page-turner and was excited to uncover what exactly happened to Catherine. There were too many things left unanswered, mostly related to what happened after Catherine and Hence's break-up. What exactly happened to Quentin...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Riniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This contains spoilers!

Well it certainly was not as infuriating as the original Wuthering Heights story. Catherine was much more tolerable in this one. A few things were different from the original, including Hence not having a son with his ex-wife and Cooper not being Catherine's brother's son. All things that were not entirely necessary but it seemed much more different than the original in the later half of the book. I could see the end coming and was not really surprised when it happened. T...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Karyl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, library-reads, young-adult-reads

It's been so long since I've read Wuthering Heights that I can't speak to how well Lindner reimagined that classic novel. Her novel, however, is quite good on its own, though I had a few quibbles with it. First off, it was difficult for me to determine what era Catherine, the mother, was supposed to be living in. Was it the 80s, or possibly the late 70s? There was a lot of mention of the punk rock scene, but Hence at one time even mentioned something about the seventies scene, which he wouldn't...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Randy Briggs rated it 4 of 5 stars

Usually when I read a book, I take it chapter by chapter. When I reach the end of one, I decide whether or not to continue with the next one. Not with this novel--from the very first chapter, I knew that I'd have to continue on to the end. A haunting, gripping novel told in the alternating voices of Catherine and her daughter Chelsea, written twenty years apart. Fourteen years ago, Catherine disappeared. Chelsea was told by her father that Catherine had died after a short illness. Chelsea believ...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Miss Literati rated it 5 of 5 stars

April Lindner’s second novel, CATHERINE, is a well-paced story told from two perspectives—but twenty years apart! This book is an adaptation to the classic we all know but may not have read, Wuthering Heights. Fortunately, you don’t need to have any former knowledge of Emily Bronte’s story to absolutely fall in love with this book!

April’s take on the tragic love story involves two main characters; Catherine, and her seventeen year old daughter Chelsea. After finding a note from her missing mothe...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Kaity rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary

Catherine is a modern day retelling of Wuthering Heights. It has been 15+ years since I read Wuthering Heights so I read a complete summary of it. I remembered it being convoluted and depressing though; lots of people not marrying who they wanted to and living with the consequences. I don't believe I liked it when I originally read it. I'm a happily ever after sort of gal but I do have a fondness for classics so I was willing to give Lindner's retelling a shot. My review and rating aren't entire...more Catherine is a modern day retelling of Wuthering Heights. It has been 15+ years since I read Wuthering Heights so I read a complete summary of it. I remembered it being convoluted and depressing though; lots of people not marrying who they wanted to and living with the consequences. I don't believe I liked it when I originally read it. I'm a happily ever after sort of gal but I do have a fondness for classics so I was willing to give Lindner's retelling a shot. My review and rating aren't entirely fair to Lindner since, as a retelling, she's got a framework to work from. I can't fault her for sticking to unfortunate moments because they're important to Wuthering Heights but it doesn't change the fact that I disliked them again in her version. This would be the same case for anything. For example I could read the most beautiful and brilliant retelling of Old Yeller and I'd still want to tear the book apart and scream when it ended badly.

Knowing things didn't end well for Hence and Catherine before I began reading their chapters was one thing but actually suffering through them... it was miserable for me. Because of how the book was written (alternating points of view between Chelsea and Catherine), you know how bitter Hence is and that Catherine is missing and presumed dead from the get go. It was impossible for me to enjoy the blossoming friendship/relationship from Catherine's point of view knowing for sure what the outcome was. It would have been awkward but I wish that Catherine had been told more along the lines of the original, where the first part of the book is all one time period and then part two is jumped to the next.

“You should cut him a little slack. He may not be the easiest person in the world, but he’s earned the right to be a little moody.”
A little moody? For a moment or two, I couldn’t speak. “Why?”
“He’s a genius, for one thing. Riptide was one of the most important bands of the whole post-post-punk New York music scene. No—one of the most important bands in the history of rock music.” The passion in his voice startled me.

Chelsea's side of the story was difficult to read as well but for very different reasons. Every chapter was the same thing over and over for a large portion of the novel. Hence is so angry, don't upset him. Chelsea uses the internet to find answers. Cooper says he'll help but does a whole lot of nothing and somehow manages to take up several pages. It was frustrating to read.

Perhaps reading Wuthering Heights before reading Catherine would have made the book much better because I really liked the scene with Chelsea and the ghost which is one of the few specific scenes I remember from the original. Had I not directly remembered this scene from Wuthering Heights... I don't think I would have enjoyed it because of how out of place a ghost was in the modern story. This made me wonder how many of the other scenes that I judged harshly were actually direct adaptions from the book. It could be Brontë (and my memory) that I was most disappointed in.

This has to be a dream, I told myself. It can’t be real. But knowing that didn’t make me feel any less petrified. She wanted something—the girl at the window. Somehow I knew it was a she. The face drew back so that I could see her large desperate eyes, her untamed hair, and her moving lips, enunciating three syllables I couldn’t make out at first. But she repeated them over and over until I got it and said them along with her: Let. Me. In.

I don't like depressing, unhappy books. Color me confused when I found myself enjoying Catherine when things went horribly wrong near the end. I don't consider it spoilery since you know from the beginning that Catherine and Hence don't work out but as soon as Catherine and Hence started fighting and modern day Hence started losing it at Chelsea, I liked the book. I couldn't stomach the previous parts of the book because I knew nothing would come of it but I didn't expect to find myself enjoying the destructive aftermath of both situations.

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Feb 03, 2013 Paula Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars

You know how when books are released , more often than not there is a particular book that you have been holding out for and you can't wait to read it. For me one of those books was Catherine by April Lindner. I fell in love with this authors work after reading her modern rendition of Jane Eyre - "Jane". It was awesome and easy to read , so when I discovered she was writing a rendition of Wuthering Heights - another of my all-time favourite classic novels, I knew I just had to get my hands on it...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first of April Lindner's books I've read; I had Jane on my TBR list for a while, but picked up Catherine first because I've never read a retelling of Wuthering Heights. I started it not knowing what to expect and finished it that same night, unable to put it down. The book is set in NYC and starts out with Chelsea, Catherine's daughter, trying to find out what happened to her mother, and then flips back and forth between Chelsea's investigations and Catherine's relation of what happe...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Jodi Papazian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-reads

I've never read Wuthering Heights so I can't compare this twist to the original. However, I have to say that I really enjoyed this story. When Chelsea finds out that her father has been lying to her for 14 years about her mother's death, she runs away to NYC to find out what happened to her. The story is told in alternating chapters between Chelsea's present and Catherine's (her mom) past.
Catherine grew up in the spotlight - her father was famous for owning a prestigious underground club in N...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* marked it as will-never-read-ever

Shelves: young-adult

Sorry, but ... I don't think so. I was not a fan of what April Lindner did with Jane Eyre in Jane. So, her retelling of Wuthering Heights?

I haven't even read Wuthering Heights yet. But, you know what ... In general, I tend to dislike people trying to re-interpret classic books in a modern-day setting. (The one exception I can think of is the movie "Clueless" but ... yeah, I think that's about it.) And I don't count things like fairytale/myth retellings because those tend to have various versions...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Chelsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel by April Lindner was written, of course, as an adaptation to Wuthering Heights which I am sure most of you already know. Let me first say that I have not read Wuthering Heights so I cannot make any comparison between this book and that one. I can say that I do know the gist of that story and this one is very well written. When attempting to retell a classic into a modern adaptation, any author is taking a huge risk. So many toes that they could step on and so many people that could di...more This novel by April Lindner was written, of course, as an adaptation to Wuthering Heights which I am sure most of you already know. Let me first say that I have not read Wuthering Heights so I cannot make any comparison between this book and that one. I can say that I do know the gist of that story and this one is very well written. When attempting to retell a classic into a modern adaptation, any author is taking a huge risk. So many toes that they could step on and so many people that could dislike the more modern version of the story. However, Lindner holds true to the basic storyline, but adds some very small, but powerful details and some stunning characters. Chelsea is on a quest for her mother Catherine, who many believe to be dead but Chelsea feels that her mother is still alive and will stop at nothing to find her.

This story is told in shifting view points between Chelsea and her mother, Catherine, when she was Chelsea’s age. This was a great segue into the minds of both characters and what I loved even more about it was that they are the same age as we process what is happening in their lives. Chelsea’s mom is around seventeen in the chapters that we read about her and the similarities that can be connected between she and Chelsea are remarkable. I honestly liked following Chelsea better, not saying that Catherine’s chapters weren’t interesting, I was just ready to get to the bottom of the mystery that Chelsea was trying to solve. Chelsea’s chapters were more suspenseful while Catherine’s chapters were just filling us in on her life as a club owner’s daughters and her love interest, Hence.

Hence was the common factor binding both perspectives from Catherine and Chelsea. He was very much a real part of both of their lives and I found that so incredibly amazing. Hence was of course bitter and older by the time Chelsea meets him, but from Catherine’s perspective we see a carefree, young musician who is very much smitten with Catherine and who Catherine returns all the same feelings for. Hence was not very likeable within Chelsea’s chapters but readers understand that this is because of her deep connection and physical similarities to Catherine. Catherine is missing in Chelsea’s eyes and dead in Hence’s. Hence is just an old fool still in love if you ask me. I have read quite a few reviews where some have said that they just absolutely did not like Hence, but you have to take into consideration the factors that have made Hence feel the way he does. I like his place in the story and he is also the binding agent for Chelsea and Catherine! We English majors tend to get excited over literary elements like this one!

I would probably enjoy this book even more if I had read Wuthering Heights and had something to connect it with, but I still loved it and I thought it was an exceptional story line with just enough suspense and just enough romance!

***A huge thank you to the publishers at Poppy for providing me with an ARC Copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review***
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Jan 02, 2013 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

April Lindler takes on Wuthering Heights, transporting readers of the classic to New York.As a fan of the original, I really liked reading this modern take.

I was expecting one or two things that happened in the Bronte novel to happen in Catherine that HAD happened in Wuthering Heights and did not occur, but that’s the best part about the writing. Lindler is retelling a classic story, but not letting it rule the characters and stop them from their own lives.

I did not like Hence from the beginnin...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: death, families, friendship, gifted, poverty, romance, urban-life, multiple-narrators

In this modern retelling of the classic Wuthering Heights, the story moves from the point of view of Catherine and her daughter Chelsea. Both characters are intriguing with Chelsea becoming more so over the course of the novel. When Chelsea finds a hidden letter from her long-missing mother, she decides to investigate and heads to New York and The Underground, a club where her mother spent much of her time. In fact, Catherine grew up and fell in love there. When Chelsea arrives at The Undergroun...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: new-sparkly-reads-challenge, 2013-standalone-challenge

So this story is a modern retelling of Wurthering Heights. I've never actually read the book before, but I've heard the basic plot. This story is set in two different time periods: modern day and 20 years before. The past is told by Catherine, a teen girl who lives in one of the hottest music clubs in NYC with her brother, Q (Quentin) and her father. Her father owns it, and they only book up and coming rock bands, so its a really cool setting. She finds a teenage homeless musician by the name of...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm so sad that I didn't like this one. I just didn't enjoy Hence & Catherine's romance. I didn't find it to be epic at all. It was a case of first love then two people starting to grow and go their seperate ways. But then there is this huge misunderstanding that sets everything else in motion. It's hard to believe everything just comes to a crashing halt from one incident. Although it's a doozy of an incident!

I found most of the characters unlikable (Hence & Catherine were both selfish...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Cori rated it 5 of 5 stars

Catherine is a spectacular retelling of Wuthering Heights. Ms. Lindner has beautifully transformed the story of Catherine Earnshaw into the story of Catherine Eversole. In Catherine, Chelsea, Catherine's daughter, sets out on an adventure to find out where her mother disappeared to. Chelsea's sleuthing takes her to New York City where she meets Hence (the modernized version of Heathcliff). Catherine and Hence's tumultuous love story unfolds before Chelsea's eyes when she discovers her mother's j...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Kelly Hager rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read Wuthering Heights in college but I didn't really remember it. (Actually at the same time I read Jane Eyre, which April Linder has also updated/reimagined, although I haven't read Jane yet.) I mention that so if you haven't read Wuthering Heights, you know that's not a prerequisite for loving Catherine.

There is a lot of Wuthering Heights in this, at least in terms of Hence/Heathcliff being incredibly moody and Catherine being incredibly privileged, but it's also completely its own novel. I...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Jocelyn marked it as never-read

No, thanks.

Based on the blurb, I don't think this book looks like it will capture the horribleness of the characters. After all, Heathcliff, Catherine and Hindley are some of the cruelest characters to grace the pages of English literature classics. This book looks like it will exemplify the Heathcliff-Catherine "romance" (I prefer, obsession), furthering the distortion people seem to have of the actual story Brontë presents in her novel.

Or, teen angst.

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Jan 23, 2013 Karen (Book Light Graveyard) rated it 3 of 5 stars

First of all, can I just take a moment to admire how well the cover of “Catherine” matches the cover of “Jane,” Lindner’s other book? They just look so dang pretty together. But moving on, like “Jane” was a modernization of “Jane Eyre,” “Catherine” is a retelling of “Wuthering Heights.” I have a bit of a tumultuous relationship with “Wuthering Heights” in that it’s a book that I equal parts love and hate. If you haven’t read it, “Wuthering Heights” is a hot mess of jealousy, pettiness, bad decis...more First of all, can I just take a moment to admire how well the cover of “Catherine” matches the cover of “Jane,” Lindner’s other book? They just look so dang pretty together. But moving on, like “Jane” was a modernization of “Jane Eyre,” “Catherine” is a retelling of “Wuthering Heights.” I have a bit of a tumultuous relationship with “Wuthering Heights” in that it’s a book that I equal parts love and hate. If you haven’t read it, “Wuthering Heights” is a hot mess of jealousy, pettiness, bad decisions, and unhealthy relationships. It’s pretty much the soap opera to end all soap operas.

So I was curious how Lindner would deal with all that in a relatively short YA novel. And it turns out, she deals with it by not dealing with most of it. She took the basic elements of “Wuthering Heights”—the forbidden and doomed romance, the family relationships, the multigenerational plot—and transformed them into very much her own story. I think I’d even go so far as to say that “Catherine” is slightly less of a retelling of “Wuthering Heights” and more of a mystery as Chelsea tries to find out what really happened to her mother. And while I kinda admire that tactic, I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed that a lot of the passion and drama that make “Wuthering Heights” what it is fell by the wayside as the author took the story in her own direction.

I think where the book ended up being weakest for me was in the characters of Catherine and Chelsea, and since they were the narrators, it proved to be a bit problematic for me. Hence (that’s his name), I thought was spot on for Heathcliff—moody, jealous, cruel, mysterious. But Catherine . . . she was a little too kind and responsible and level headed. Usually, those are the traits I like in a main character, but the Catherine of “Wuthering Heights” is so spirited, spoiled, and generally frustrating that I couldn’t help but feel like this new Catherine fell flat in comparison, even though she was more likable than her namesake. Chelsea, I just never got attached to. Like Catherine, she just came across as a bit too unmemorable. And really, I felt like neither Catherine nor Chelsea had a distinctive narrative voice and that their characters were pretty much interchangeable.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it was an admirable attempt, but this retelling somehow lacks the basic underlying life and passion that makes “Wuthering Heights” so emotionally powerful. But I do really recommend “Jane” by this same author—Lindner nails the retelling in that one.

Rating: 3 / 5

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Jun 16, 2012 Natalie Garside rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: tales-retold, ya-contemporary

This was my first go with an April Lindner re-telling (though many friends enjoyed "Jane" her retelling of Jane Eyre).

I was a pretty big fan of Wuthering Heights in High School and very eager to see what she did with the story.

Here's what I liked:
- the characters were bang-on, Hence as Heathcliff really captured the vibe, very important, Chelsea's father was an excellent capture of Edgar Linton, and both Catherine & her daughter Chelsea rang true
- the updated setting was very cool (The Un...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Stephanie Redwine rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this story and reading about Chelsea’s adventure to uncover her mother’s mysterious past. I was never really “pulled” into the story until the last 50 pages. I thought the story was interesting and the characters were believable but there was nothing that really caught my interest. I enjoyed being able to read the story from two different points of views told twenty years apart and was able to differentiate between the two most of the time. Each chapter is labeled with the narrator’s n...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-young-adult, read-in-2013

This may surprise some (or most) of you who read my reviews on a regular basis...but Wuthering Heights is one of the great literary loves of my life. As a teen, I was obsessed with this book. I read it over and over again, much to my friends' confusion and my Literature teacher's delight. I even rented the movies repeatedly; the Laurence Olivier (that man could do crazed) and the Ralph Fiennes/Juliette Binoche version. Seriously, my teenage dramatic-self wanted a man to lose his mind over me, to...more This may surprise some (or most) of you who read my reviews on a regular basis...but Wuthering Heights is one of the great literary loves of my life. As a teen, I was obsessed with this book. I read it over and over again, much to my friends' confusion and my Literature teacher's delight. I even rented the movies repeatedly; the Laurence Olivier (that man could do crazed) and the Ralph Fiennes/Juliette Binoche version. Seriously, my teenage dramatic-self wanted a man to lose his mind over me, to walk the cliffs brooding for me. I wanted to be Catherine. Well, excerpt for the whole spoiled brat and dying bit. Like I said. Obsessed.

Having said that, I should also point out that I had unreasonably high expectations for Catherine, and I was wary. How many times have we all been burned by re-imaginings of favored classics? This book made me happy. As happy as a tragic, doomed love story can make anyone.

What made Catherine work, in my opinion, is that Lindner took the best parts of the original, and made them work for this story. You still have the story within a story, but this time it is Catherine's daughter Chelsea, searching for her long-missing mother, who discovers the story within her mother's journal. The story is told in alternating time periods: Chelsea in the present, Catherine twenty years prior. On her search for Catherine, she finds her mother's first love, Hence. In this version, Hence is an up-and-coming rockstar, and Catherine is other girl who loves him. This time, the two are a much easier to love pair. Hence is broody, and does become cruel at certain points, but he's not the sometimes-monster of the original. This Catherine was not awful at all! She is a teenage girl, hopelessly in love, who wants Hence as well as a life and career of her own. The circumstances that drive them apart were realistic to characters in their situation.

As far as Chelsea goes, there is much more to her story than her search for the truth. When she finds Hence, she also meets Coop, a young man who works for him. At first reluctant to get involved, Coop becomes Chelsea's best friend and asset on her journey. As she comes to revelations about her mother's life, she comes to some about her own as well.

Like I've already said, I am a huge nerd when it comes to Wuthering Heights. I could honestly sit here and break down the comparisons for hours. I went into this book worried, and came out a fan. Catherine was cleverly and beautifully told, and in my opinion, did the original story proud.

Favorite Quotes:

Nothing would keep me away from Hence now that I was sure he felt the same way about me that I did about him. Because I was sure. I lay on my bed a long while, replaying the events of that afternoon, remembering how we'd held each other in front of China Yearnings, how Hence had taken my face in his hands, and how, into the tent made by hair, he'd whispered that he had loved me almost from the moment we met. ~ eARC, 38%

"I know Hence can be...unpredictable. But I could never break up with him. There should be a word for something that's beyond love, something this strong." I closed my eyes. "It's like my heart is made out of Silly Putty and he can stretch it all out of shape just by saying my name..." ~ eARC, 72%

He leaned over again. This time I twisted in my seat to meet him halfway. He brushed back the hair that had fallen into my eyes. Before I could think of what to say or how to react, he was kissing me as though everything that had ever happened in our lives had led us to this moment. ~eARC, 85%

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Jan 18, 2013 Crystal rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

I am not sure what to make of this book honestly. On one hand I really enjoyed it and it definitely left a lasting impression on me. On the other hand though the characters felt a little to whiny and I am so mad at them for the way they behaved! I can’t decide which hand I feel more strongly about so I am going to go with undecided at the moment.

There are 2 different stories that make up this book. We have Chelsea first who is trying to find out what really happened to her mom who disappeared fo...more I am not sure what to make of this book honestly. On one hand I really enjoyed it and it definitely left a lasting impression on me. On the other hand though the characters felt a little to whiny and I am so mad at them for the way they behaved! I can’t decide which hand I feel more strongly about so I am going to go with undecided at the moment.

There are 2 different stories that make up this book. We have Chelsea first who is trying to find out what really happened to her mom who disappeared fourteen years ago. After finding a letter from her written before she left, Chelsea follows the clues that were in the letter to The Underground. This is a nightclub and as with every nightclub I am sure it holds many many secrets. The other story is Catherine’s, Chelsea’s moms. Her story takes place when she was in high school and how things came to be later in her life. Her father owned The Underground and after convincing him to hire Hence, a musician who had nowhere else to go, she finds herself smack dab in the middle of a great romance only her brother Quentin doesn’t approve. This makes things very hard for the two and well things go from bad to worse quickly in more ways than one.

These two halves make up one hale of a story. Like I said some parts I liked some parts I didn’t. Catherine’s story was made up of high school puppy love and what happens when we don’t give the people we love time to explain. Her part infuriated me more so than her daughter’s. I didn’t care for some of Catherine’s choices and I felt like she needed to woman up and tell Hence what she was up to. That being said though I remember being in love at a very young age and well we all do stupid things for love so I get it to a point. Chelsea’s story hit home and I enjoyed it more. Yes she was a bit irritating but she never gave up on trying to find her mom and she never backed down when things were tough. I wish the story would have been told just in her point of view, but I can see why the other was needed.

I know this book is based very loosely on Wuthering Heights and I can see the similarities, but I still wasn’t prepared for that ending. That ending by itself deserves a full star. I am still totally blown away with what the author did there and I give her so much credit for doing that. This is a story of love and loss and no matter how the characters bothered me I know this will stay with me for a long time.(less)

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Feb 18, 2013 Misti rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was pretty sure I didn't like this book and then just over halfway into it, I changed my mind.

I really didn't like Wuthering Heights and don't think it's a great love story. There were some nice tributes to the original, but overall I'm not sure I can say if this is a good retelling. I think the Heathcliff I remember from the book wouldn't make a good modern character the way he was written. I didn't really care for Catherine and Hence in this one either. Their relationship felt more like a f...more

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Dec 28, 2012 YA Reads Book Reviews rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: nichole

Originally posted on www.yareads.com, reviewed by Nichole.

A forbidden romance. A modern mystery. Wuthering Heights as you’ve never seen it before.

Catherine is tired of struggling musicians befriending her just so they can get a gig at her Dad’s famous Manhattan club, The Underground. Then she meets mysterious Hence, an unbelievably passionate and talented musician on the brink of success. As their relationship grows, both are swept away in a fiery romance. But when their love is tested by a crue...more

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