There isn’t much worth living for in Gypsum, Missouri—or Trashtown, as the rich kids call the run-down neighborhood where sixteen-year-...
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reviews
Mar 08, 2011
Vinaya
rated it: 
OH. MY. GOD.
This was me about one minute after finishing Banished,
After another minute or so, I was at this stage:
Now I'm here...
.....
I've only been on Goodreads for a little more than a month now. But in that time, I've had some truly amazing books recommended to me. I've read and fallen in love with The Queen's Thief series, Fever series, and The Hunger Games, amongst others. And I owe all of this literary munificence to my Goodreads fri More...
This was me about one minute after finishing Banished,
After another minute or so, I was at this stage:
Now I'm here...
.....
I've only been on Goodreads for a little more than a month now. But in that time, I've had some truly amazing books recommended to me. I've read and fallen in love with The Queen's Thief series, Fever series, and The Hunger Games, amongst others. And I owe all of this literary munificence to my Goodreads fri More...
25 comments
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(40 people liked it)
May 21, 2011
Wendy Darling
rated it: 
Meh. Banished held my interest for the first half, but somehow I just didn't connect with this one. The best paranormal books offer unique worldbuilding of their supernatural side and combine that with strong, compelling characters and relationships for their urban side. Unfortunately, neither one is particularly well-done or unusual in this book. I don't mind books that have a less complex mythology, but what's here seemed underdeveloped and not terribly original . Hailey's powers are handy, bu
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4 comments
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(13 people liked it)
Jul 08, 2011
papalbina
rated it: 
2.5 out of 5
first of all - &%#@/&%ç!!! another trilogy/series/whatever!!!!!!! the second one is scheduled for next summer/fall, unforsaken is supposed to be titled ¬¬ it's very annoying to realize you're been reading the first in a serie when you finished it... that explains why 40 pages to the ending i wasn't able to figure out the book's meaning/plot/point... it didn't have one... not yet!! this book is quite introductory fO.o
second - what a gorgeous cover!!!!
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first of all - &%#@/&%ç!!! another trilogy/series/whatever!!!!!!! the second one is scheduled for next summer/fall, unforsaken is supposed to be titled ¬¬ it's very annoying to realize you're been reading the first in a serie when you finished it... that explains why 40 pages to the ending i wasn't able to figure out the book's meaning/plot/point... it didn't have one... not yet!! this book is quite introductory fO.o
second - what a gorgeous cover!!!!
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3 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Dec 12, 2011
Paula
rated it: 
Haylie has lived a life that she is about to discover has all been a lie , nothing she knows except that her Gran is really her Gran will be true. Haylie , for as long as she can remember has always felt like an outcast and she doesn't know why. Though, this year her powers are about to be awakened and her true destiny and who she really is , is about to be revealed . Haylie has always grown up thinking that her mother died in childbirth but it seems that Haylie's family is said to be cursed and
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Sep 22, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
See My Full Review Here: http://www.hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy.com...
First Impressions: Well, I loved Sophie Littlefield’s, “A Bad Day For Sorry” and I felt like I needed to give Banished a chance as well. I have heard a few negative things about this book, but I had heard a few positive things as well. This book originally was released in 2010, and I waited to read it. Luckily for me, the publisher was kind enough to send me a copy of this book for review. I adore the cover art and a More...
First Impressions: Well, I loved Sophie Littlefield’s, “A Bad Day For Sorry” and I felt like I needed to give Banished a chance as well. I have heard a few negative things about this book, but I had heard a few positive things as well. This book originally was released in 2010, and I waited to read it. Luckily for me, the publisher was kind enough to send me a copy of this book for review. I adore the cover art and a More...
Jul 20, 2011
Navdha
rated it:
It was okay, predictable but okay. The writing style was fine not over impressive, and the story was not really new. It had some new elements to it but some parts looked straight out from a movie. The characters were okay and this book was serious, no spark of humor anywhere, which m so used to now, that because of its absence, the book didn’t really do it for me. I wasn’t bored, the story never slowed and there was always something going on, but the important things were predictable once you go
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Jul 05, 2011
Nikki
rated it:
I was not sure what to expect with this book. It took me by surprise as I really felt for the girl from Trashtown. Hailey Tarbell is an outcast in her town of Gypsum even from the others from Trashtown. She lives with her Gram and her foster brother Chub. She has no friends and is neglected by her Gram, Chub is the only one she has to love and love back. She goes through life in a routine and in her own bubble just trying to make it. THen one day things change in her life and she has new obsticl
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Apr 05, 2011
Ardis
rated it:
I read a lot of YA supernatural titles and I was expecting more of the same with Banished, but this one was different. Hailey, our heroine, is intelligent and resilient and happens to have a unique gift. She lives with her abusive grandmother, their dog Rascal, and a four year old named Chub, whose parentage is unknown. Her life is dismal, she lives for the love of Chub and Rascal, and can't wait until she can get herself and Chub out of their small town. When an aunt she never knew she had
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Mar 25, 2011
Reno
rated it:
Sophie Littlefield is one of my favorite new authors. I wasn't sure how Littlefield's dive into Young Adult would go, knowing that her first novel "A Bad Day for Sorry" was targeted for an older audience.
She exceeded my expectations with Banished.
I'm a fan of paranormal and Littlefield's take on Hailey, her female protaganist, and her struggles with finding her true destiny, her true heritage is a universal theme many young people can identify with. It just happ More...
She exceeded my expectations with Banished.
I'm a fan of paranormal and Littlefield's take on Hailey, her female protaganist, and her struggles with finding her true destiny, her true heritage is a universal theme many young people can identify with. It just happ More...
Mar 02, 2011
Mikayla
rated it:
Sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell is not like the other kids. Hailey knows she isn’t, but she’s just not quite sure how she isn’t normal. Hailey will never belong with the other kids. Hailey is determined to figure out why she does not fit in. Hailey lives with her grandmother and never really knew her mom who passed away when she was very young. Hailey lives in gypsum Missouri but the other kids call it trash town. The only thing Hailey has that she cares about is her four-year-old foster brother
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Feb 19, 2011
Annie
rated it:
This book is part horror, part action, part heart breaking drama.
Hailey is a very strong character, but she understands very little about herself and the world she’s grown up in when we first meet her, in Part 1. Throughout the course of the book Hailey’s world expands exponentially and we see her start to grow up.
Sophie Littlefield has created an interesting, well paced thriller in truth. Each character was well drawn, but at all times the ‘bigger picture’ seems to hang abo More...
Hailey is a very strong character, but she understands very little about herself and the world she’s grown up in when we first meet her, in Part 1. Throughout the course of the book Hailey’s world expands exponentially and we see her start to grow up.
Sophie Littlefield has created an interesting, well paced thriller in truth. Each character was well drawn, but at all times the ‘bigger picture’ seems to hang abo More...
Feb 09, 2011
Paradoxical
rated it:
A very nicely written book. Hailey is a strong main character--she cares and struggles not to let others drag her down. She has no idea what's going on, but she still tries to do her best. I find her relationship with Chub to be a strong one. I usually dislike little kids in books, but Chub made for an interesting and worthwhile character. Hailey has a great deal of common sense (which I am very much glad to see) and even when her world is spinning around her, she makes decisions that are not st
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Dec 20, 2010
Amy
rated it:
Banished, to me, left me scratching my head at the end. I was confused and I felt my reading appetite had been unsatisfied. While I like the idea of The Banished, I still haven't quite got the understanding of the history. I had to reread a bunch of parts in this book because it tended to go off onto another subject before explaining the first thing that was introduced.
The author has a wonderful idea for the book. I loved the characters in the story, but I couldn't get invested in t More...
The author has a wonderful idea for the book. I loved the characters in the story, but I couldn't get invested in t More...
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Dec 16, 2010
Claire
rated it:
Teen action adventure with a supernatural twist, written by a thriller writer.
We (at least I) never find out why Hailey's people are banished from Ireland- but it might be that zombie thing.... We do find that the Banished in this southern hamlet are of three types, the Healers (women-now rare) the Seers (men-now rare) and those who cannot bear the Gift. These people are inextricably bound and even attracted to each other supernaturally.
Hailey though, really has no knowledge of this- More...
We (at least I) never find out why Hailey's people are banished from Ireland- but it might be that zombie thing.... We do find that the Banished in this southern hamlet are of three types, the Healers (women-now rare) the Seers (men-now rare) and those who cannot bear the Gift. These people are inextricably bound and even attracted to each other supernaturally.
Hailey though, really has no knowledge of this- More...
Dec 14, 2010
Sarai
rated it:
Interesting premise, but the book did not entertain me enough and I found some of the events to be improbable (not because of the supernatural side, but because of the character's actions or previous actions), others lackluster. It's obviously leading to a second book, but I won't be reading it.
There isn’t much worth living for in Gypsum, Missouri—or Trashtown, as the rich kids call the run-down neighborhood where sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives. Hailey figures she’ll never More...
There isn’t much worth living for in Gypsum, Missouri—or Trashtown, as the rich kids call the run-down neighborhood where sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives. Hailey figures she’ll never More...
Jul 11, 2011
Fatima
rated it:
This book is definitely something different from other fantasy YA at this time. The main difference being the lack of vampires, faeries, or anything really recognizable. Between that there's a lot of mythology left to explain to build up some sort of a new 'race', which unfortunately that was not done so well. I really liked some of the twists that came in between it, but the character building of their people was not so much present. Instead I think that she explained the character, Hailey, mor
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May 17, 2011
Zenia
rated it:
I was very disappointed with this book! It started off great but right about midpoint, when they flee from Gypsum, then it was a spiraling downhill, to where I almost thought about not finishing it. It just got to be silly. The characters were not very well developed, especially Kaz, who will I'm assuming will be her love interest, (and together make specularly gifted babies - hah). Prairie was annoying - I wanted her to just die, or better yet, become a zombie herself. And the zombies... they d
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Jan 13, 2012
Alicia
rated it:
Read the full review on my website here this is just a small portion of it
In a nutshell, Banished was an interesting read. Hidden and unknown powers. Evil scientist. Zombies. It was a nice turn from vampire and fallen angel books (not that I don't love those either way). One thing I enjoyed most from the story was the background story of how Healers and the Banished came to Gypsum. It gave a history that seemed to enhance the legitimacy of the story and make it more believable, eve More...
In a nutshell, Banished was an interesting read. Hidden and unknown powers. Evil scientist. Zombies. It was a nice turn from vampire and fallen angel books (not that I don't love those either way). One thing I enjoyed most from the story was the background story of how Healers and the Banished came to Gypsum. It gave a history that seemed to enhance the legitimacy of the story and make it more believable, eve More...
Dec 07, 2010
This was so thrilling! The story branches off into some really interesting directions that I never expected, but in hindsight, made perfect sense! I really enjoyed the story, the action, the suspense, the characters...the whole thing. Hailey Tarbell was a great protagonist, a girl who has pretty much excepted her lot in life and tried to make the best of it until she is old enough to get away. I really felt for her and her living situation with her awful drug-dealing grandmother, Alice. It tends
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Sep 22, 2011
Kale
rated it:
Amongst the slums of Gypsum, Missouri, sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell is counting the days to her 18th birthday. Hailey's life is hard. Between her abusive drug dealing guardian grandmother, and her complete loser status her only light is her foster bother Chub. Oddly even in her tight knit Trashtown community she's considered an outcast by the the outcasts, the absolute lowest rank of her small town cast system. Hailey has always been freakishly super healthy and athletic and works extra hard
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Jan 15, 2012
Tez
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 04, 2011
Jewelz
rated it:
I probably had this for about a week and a half, and I did have a little trouble getting into it. This book also reminded me of Beautiful Creatures. The girl lived in a small town, had an evil family member, had special powers, sounds all the same. Thankfully, that was all the similarities these books had.
I really liked Hailey, the main character. She went through a lot of pain and suffering. The only way she knew how to love was because of Chub, the little boy her grandmother " More...
I really liked Hailey, the main character. She went through a lot of pain and suffering. The only way she knew how to love was because of Chub, the little boy her grandmother " More...
Apr 30, 2011
Rose
rated it:
I didn't have any expectations coming into "Banished", as it was the first novel I'd ever read from Sophie Littlefield. Interestingly enough, this is her first YA novel branching off into a series of its own, apart from her adult novels. It was an interesting read full of well-developed, identifiable characters and harrowing scenarios, but I have to admit the story did throw me a little off base in the middle and with the expansion of where the Banished originated. I think the histo
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Nov 24, 2010
Catalina
rated it:
I didn't know what to expect coming into this book. I had thought it was maybe a dystopian type of book. But I was wrong. It is a story about Irish and Polish immigrants who have come to America, and also happen to have healing powers(girls)and visions(boys). Sadly the polish in my blood has no healing powers! :(
Hailey lives with her grandma, and a little boy they rescued named Chub. She finds out about her healing powers after she accidently heals a girl at school, and than when a More...
Hailey lives with her grandma, and a little boy they rescued named Chub. She finds out about her healing powers after she accidently heals a girl at school, and than when a More...
Dec 22, 2011
Aleksandra
rated it:
The book started good. There was some story, mystery do discover but it continued to move slowly. Giving unnecessary details in extended form (I'm pretty sure this part could be improved) that makes you want to stop reading and push the book in some dark corner and never read it again. Plain boring until Prairie is introduced and the story starts moving fast. Why only now?!
The idea of introducing Healers is something new - usually it's all about vampires, witches when there's so fantasy or More...
The idea of introducing Healers is something new - usually it's all about vampires, witches when there's so fantasy or More...
Mar 10, 2011
Vasya
rated it: 
I really didn't feel this book.
As far as the writing goes it was good, and the story does have some potential, but I just couldn't connect to Hailey. Or to any other character for that matter. Prairie (and I have to be mean here, but Prairie and Clover are so not the names of the characters I want to read about) didn't feel to me as a savior, nor did Gram feel like the great villain she is supposed to be. Not to mention the unreality of Chub becoming a normal kid overnight.
I More...
As far as the writing goes it was good, and the story does have some potential, but I just couldn't connect to Hailey. Or to any other character for that matter. Prairie (and I have to be mean here, but Prairie and Clover are so not the names of the characters I want to read about) didn't feel to me as a savior, nor did Gram feel like the great villain she is supposed to be. Not to mention the unreality of Chub becoming a normal kid overnight.
I More...
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Dec 15, 2011
Mandy
rated it:
Banished is a smart and creative young adult novel, and I really enjoyed it.
Hailey is 17 years old, smart and pretty, but always on the outside. She doesn't fit in anywhere. Not even with the trash town kids she feels a strange draw toward.
The only person in her life that she feels a connection to is Chub, her handicapped adopted baby brother.
One day in gym class the drudgery of Hailey's life is broken up by an extraordinary event. A classmate is injured - perhaps dying - and Ha More...
Hailey is 17 years old, smart and pretty, but always on the outside. She doesn't fit in anywhere. Not even with the trash town kids she feels a strange draw toward.
The only person in her life that she feels a connection to is Chub, her handicapped adopted baby brother.
One day in gym class the drudgery of Hailey's life is broken up by an extraordinary event. A classmate is injured - perhaps dying - and Ha More...
Nov 02, 2010
Dana
rated it:
Hailey, all she's ever wanted to do is leave Gypsum take her foster brother Chub and run as far away from her grandmother as she can possibly get.
She always knew she was different but she also slowly comes to understand just how different she really is. As things start to heat up her aunt she didn't know she had comes to take her away from her grandmother. Prairie is also running from someone; someone she thought she could trust, someone she thought she loved.
As Hailey More...
She always knew she was different but she also slowly comes to understand just how different she really is. As things start to heat up her aunt she didn't know she had comes to take her away from her grandmother. Prairie is also running from someone; someone she thought she could trust, someone she thought she loved.
As Hailey More...
Jan 29, 2011
Savannah (Books With Bite)
rated it:
What can I say about this book other than I love it. The plot was very intriguing and held me from page to page. Hailey is not your average kid. She is always being picked on and teased by the other kids. She has been told lies about her past and know nothing. One day after saying a student from death does she start to question things. She begins to get closer to the answer when her long lost aunt comes looking for her. There are other people, dangerous people looking for her too.
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Mar 18, 2011
Samantha
rated it:
Hailey Tarbell lives in a neighborhood called Trashtown, with her sickly grandmother and foster brother Chub. Her plan has always been to leave with Chub as soon as she turns 18. But when a classmate gets hurt during gym, she discovers that she has the ability to heal people. Starting then she begins to discover the origins of her town, what she is, and why she has to get out. So, when her unknown aunt Prairie shows up at her house one day, she decides to trust her. Prairie helps her understand
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