I know from personal experience that writing a male voice can be a challenge for a female author, and I found Azael’s voice absolutely authentic and b...moreI know from personal experience that writing a male voice can be a challenge for a female author, and I found Azael’s voice absolutely authentic and believable…so much so, I even wished I was back in his head during the portions of the book that were driven by Lexi’s voice. (less)
Okay—I'm a big fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde. Talking huge. Enormous. They don't come any more devoted than me. And Second Hand Heart is my favorite of a...moreOkay—I'm a big fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde. Talking huge. Enormous. They don't come any more devoted than me. And Second Hand Heart is my favorite of all of Hyde's books.
There's just something about this book. In the first place, it was my introduction to the concept of cellular memory; I have to say that I'm fascinated by the idea that we don't just make memories with our minds but with our entire beings—leave it to Hyde to zero in on such a beautiful idea and build a book around it. But there are also so many poignant passages here...a tree / death analogy early on in the book hit me in an especially powerful way, and I've thought of it many times since.
As an author myself, I'm constantly picking apart a novel as I read it—I'm looking at the parts, figuring out how the thing's "wired," how it works. But this book swept me up and transported me. I was able to just let go and experience it.
Second Hand Heart got into MY heart and resonated powerfully. This is a novel with a positive impact you'll continue to feel long after you've savored the final page.
I devoured this book in about two gulps. Anderson refuses to disappoint, and in this novel does a masterful job of pushing a reader forward, making th...moreI devoured this book in about two gulps. Anderson refuses to disappoint, and in this novel does a masterful job of pushing a reader forward, making the pages fly by with increasing speed. This novel opens in a way that gives the reader a completely off-kilter feeling, and Anderson maintains that off-kilter feeling, refusing to back away from what are hard to read (and what were surely hard to write) passages, driving the reader toward the novel's end. Very admirable…(less)
I finished PERFECT CHEMISTRY a while back…(This book was my elliptical read, and I have to say, it made me want to exercise beyond my usual thirty-min...moreI finished PERFECT CHEMISTRY a while back…(This book was my elliptical read, and I have to say, it made me want to exercise beyond my usual thirty-minute routine…)
But this isn’t a should-you-read-it kind of review. I mean, Simone Elkeles isn’t a name we’re unfamiliar with. This is more like a, “Why is she good?” kind of a review. A, “Why did this book win a Rita?” kind of post.
Basically, I think Elkeles is a great YA writer for the same reason so many teen butt heads with authority figures.
Really. One of my own biggest pet peeves as a teen was that I was expected to perform intellectually on an adult level but was often treated as a child by adult superiors when we interacted on a one-to-one basis.
Simone, though? She doesn’t write teen romances. She writes romances that just happen to be about teenage characters. The emotionally charged love scenes between Brittany and Alex really could have taken place between a couple of twenty-somethings. Elkeles respects her teenage characters enough to treat them as adults—not just intellectually, but emotionally as well. Her characters have the same kind of sexual tension (loved the scene in the library, and the depiction of Brittany putting Alex’s hand on her face) you’d find in any adult romance. And in my opinion, that’s why Elkeles makes a great YA writer… (less)
**spoiler alert** What I really love about this book is Hilderbrand’s ability to write about a physical location in such a way that the location itsel...more**spoiler alert** What I really love about this book is Hilderbrand’s ability to write about a physical location in such a way that the location itself becomes a main character…as I made my way through the chapters, I became so invested in the restaurant—I swear, I could reach out and touch the ambiance—that I found myself, in-between bouts of reading, wondering about the fate of the bistro in the same way I usually wonder about characters I become invested in.
I don’t know that I’ve ever actually had that experience as a reader—being so wrapped up in a book’s setting. I honestly felt that the true romance of the novel—the sparkle, the tingle—existed in that restaurant, just as much as I felt it existed between Thatcher and Adrienne. And when the restaurant was dismantled, I felt that was the real death in the book—as a reader, I mourned for the restaurant just as much as I mourned for its owner, Fiona.
Hildebrand reminds us that location is more than just a two-dimensional backdrop for our characters. Location, when handled right, becomes a breathing entity—a driving force for the plots of our novels. (less)
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