I'm tossing up whether or not I want to give this another half or full star.
I spent at least the first half of this book deciding if I want...moreI'm tossing up whether or not I want to give this another half or full star.
I spent at least the first half of this book deciding if I wanted to abandon it or not, because I was turned off by the writing and the protagonist. My Kindle copy has so many highlights in it with notes saying 'what?!' and 'seriously?!' that I would be able to fill several reviews just with examples. At some points I wondered whether the author/protagonist were just flat-out racist, or if they didn't realise that some terms weren't advisable to use, especially when they weren't even necessary. The first friend that Dru makes is half Asian, but "At least he hadn't drawn the really slit-eyed card a lot of half-breeds have to play". Lucky him. I guess later on, (minor spoiler) (view spoiler)['half-breed' becomes more appropriate (hide spoiler)], but you can't use words like 'ethnic' and 'half-breed'! Dru is bitchy, and rude, but yet cute boys come to her rescue and stick around. There is not a single other female present in the book, besides the awful teacher at school, which is a bit unsettling. I realised that this is a bit of a trope, along with the supernatural love triangle, but is it too much for young women to have female friends? The strong female influences in Dru's life were long dead, and only around when she was young.
Plot-wise, it was a fairly standard YA supernatural novel. There are a few interesting mythology moments, I guess, but calling werewolves 'werwulfen' got really annoying after a while. My e-book was weirdly formatted so it actually displayed the book twice, so the ending caught me by surprise. It was disappointing because the story has essentially just started. It was all a long intro of the main players, and I don't know what's going to happen next. I was hoping I'd find out a lot more about this world and Dru's future by finishing this book.
I am mildly interested in what's going to happen to Dru (but mostly what happens to Graves), but probably not enough to put up with the borderline-offensively bad writing of Ms St Crow. It's not quite SMeyer bad, but it's pretty bad. There were some analogies and descriptions that were so awful I had to make note of them, like "If you've ever heard that sound, you don't need it described, but here goes. It's like a spiral of glass on the coldest night you've ever known, naked outside in the deep woods." That was describing a werewolf, sorry, werwulf howl. Ugh. I don't even know what it means.(less)
I don't know what it was about this book, but I enjoyed I Was Told There'd Be Cake much more. There were touches of brilliant writing and humour in it...moreI don't know what it was about this book, but I enjoyed I Was Told There'd Be Cake much more. There were touches of brilliant writing and humour in it, but there were also some turns of phrase that took me out of the story and one or two that were borderline offensive.
As a seasoned budget traveler, I couldn't relate to her tacky American tourist experience. To be honest, I just wanted to get through it so I could move on to a new book.(less)
I'm not really sure how I can sum up this book. It made me feel a lot of feelings, but it was very long and I had a few issues with a couple of things...moreI'm not really sure how I can sum up this book. It made me feel a lot of feelings, but it was very long and I had a few issues with a couple of things. A lot of stuff happened as well, and there is a lot of similar feeling to The Ask and the Answer, with minor spoiler (view spoiler)[Todd and Viola being separated for pretty much the whole book (hide spoiler)]. This series as a whole was very affecting, difficult to read emotionally (and with suspense endings for pretty much every chapter, which are only a couple of pages long), but worthwhile in the long run.
So, the things I made notes about while I read: (view spoiler)[ 1) The main complications and the serious parts of the war come from Viola's rush to shoot a missile when she thinks Todd is hurt. I know that this is supposed to demonstrate her deep passion for him, and provide her major character obstacle, but I really thought this was out of character for her. She was supposed to be the sensible one. Although if she had been written more like she was in The New World, this might have made more sense.
2) Todd and Viola still have moments where they don't quite trust each other, and him not telling her about his silent Noise, and her not telling him about the infection were obstacles that they didn't have to put there in the first place. I know they are teenagers, but they are supposed to be trusting each other.
3) There were a couple of moments when Viola looked at Lee like she was interested in him, and these were frustrating because they were never really built upon, and never really reconciled (because he lost his eyes?).
4) I was SO happy to see Ben was alive, and that he had somehow made peace with being in communication with the world. It was quite cool that he ended up being able to achieve what the mayor couldn't. Although he was written as seemingly perfect after he came back, I didn't really mind. I like Ben a lot.
5) Yay for openly gay couples in this series! Yay for writing The Return's one in particular as ambiguous for so long and not making a big deal about them both being male.
6) The meeting of The (second) Sky and Wilf nearly made me cry. That Wilf was like the people's Sky was kind of amazing.
7) When Todd realised that being able to hear the world was making the Mayor crazy, all I could think was that he was like a Cylon Hybrid (from Battlestar Galactica).
8) I'm still not sure how I feel about both Mistress Coyle and the Mayor killing themselves. There was a lot of death in this series, but these ones were obviously very important. I thought that Coyle's death could have been addressed more fully, and I don't think the Mayor's death was really addressed at all. I guess Todd took precedence, but we never see that Viola told Ben or The Sky the story.
9) Todd's 'death' and the end of the book - when Todd 'died', I was pretty gutted. It came at the obvious point, when they thought they had won. When he hadn't actually died (especially because we never see him come back), I wasn't sure how I felt. I feel like it was a bit convenient that he was in a coma, and I wish he had managed to achieve Ben's state on his own (also it makes me feel like the author took the easy route by not actually killing off Todd in the end). I am satisfied enough with the ending, but thought it could've been done in a different way.
10) I really didn't like Acorn's death. It was nearly as difficult to deal with as Manchee's. Although at least Acorn's death served a purpose to send Viola off on her own at the end, it was still really awful. I loved the horses in these books.
11) I guess it was essential to see the point of view of The Return to see how The Land worked, etc, and to see his character progression, but these were usually my least favourite chapters. I did like the battlemores, though. (hide spoiler)]
Considering this book made me actually bother to make notes and really think about what was going on, wartime morality, individuality, and all, I give it a solid 4, even though a lot of stuff really could've been cut out or written differently.(less)
This prequel short story was worth reading, especially as a short delay tactic before I really get into the third book. It's interesting to hear about...moreThis prequel short story was worth reading, especially as a short delay tactic before I really get into the third book. It's interesting to hear about life on the ships, but I didn't like this bratty version of Viola. I understand that she obviously had to grow up fast, and that she probably had developed from a different kind of person, but I thought the change was too big. She never seemed spoilt in the main series. It was interesting to see the fears about going from living on a ship to living on a world, though, and the tragic end was written well. I would probably recommend that people read this before the Chaos Walking series, just because there are no surprises with the plot otherwise.(less)
Total cuteness and smiles on every page. As good as expected, and I only wish there were more stories! I bought this as a birthday present to myself, ...moreTotal cuteness and smiles on every page. As good as expected, and I only wish there were more stories! I bought this as a birthday present to myself, and do not regret it. (less)
This was one of the most brutal, harrowing books I've read, and I can't believe it's YA. It was written in the same strea...more4.5 stars, again!
This was one of the most brutal, harrowing books I've read, and I can't believe it's YA. It was written in the same stream of consciousness way as the first book, but this time it's from both Todd and Viola's point of view. We get to know Mayor (now President) Prentiss, and he doesn't get any less terrifying. Ness definitely knows how to write complicated and psychologically scary villians and scenarios. The entire book is one big moral grey area, and our heroes have to navigate it and somehow manage to retain their relationship.
The action isn't constant, but the tension is, and the build up to the finale is full of stress. (view spoiler)[I am glad that I have the next book to go straight into because this book, like the first one, finishes right in the middle of the action (and with Prentiss being totally scary). One of my favourite parts of the book was Davy's character development. I'm glad he got his redemption before he died. I was also quite happy with the way that Ness wrote the relationship between Lee and Viola. It had the potential to be an awful love triangle, but it was built realistically and Viola let him down honestly. (hide spoiler)]
Both the Ask and the Answer are horrific and disturbing in their own ways. I really enjoyed this book, although it was intense. I'm looking forward to the conclusion, although this author doesn't pull any punches, so I'm not expecting a happily ever after.
Edit: After looking at a couple of other reviews, I was reminded to add that I really love the animals' Noise, especially the horses. Todd's relationship with Angharrad was touching and consistent and somehow one of the best relationships in the book.(less)
I picked this book to read next because it was short and I like Betty White. It was OK, but hugely disjointed and written without much flair. I still ...moreI picked this book to read next because it was short and I like Betty White. It was OK, but hugely disjointed and written without much flair. I still admire the woman, but it was like listening to an old lady tell random stories, which I guess is what this book really is.(less)
I'm really not sure about this one. The storyline moved along well, and had enough twists to make it compelling, but there were a few major things tha...moreI'm really not sure about this one. The storyline moved along well, and had enough twists to make it compelling, but there were a few major things that bothered me which I'll cover in the spoiler-ridden section below.
(view spoiler)[In some ways it's refreshing to see rape dealt with openly, but I didn't particularly enjoy how it was handled. For a start, Mercy wakes up to find that Tim is raping her, but it's not made 100% clear at that point. All we know is that he's making animal noises. The fact that it was narrated by her even while she was in her goblet-affected state was interesting, but I don't know that it would do rape victims any favours. I liked that there was so much detail in terms of triggering smells, etc, but I really, really don't understand why they would leave her alone with Ben guarding her afterwards. He already had the suspected rape history and they knew she didn't like him. It led to some great character development for Ben, but surely they would have left her with Warren or one of the females? Speaking of the reveal about Ben's past, I thought it was kind of insulting to heterosexual men that Mercy thought that Ben and Adam hugging after the revelation was proof that they weren't human.
In terms of her relationships, I am really glad that she's picked one of the men relatively early on in the series. The will-she-won't-she would have gotten annoying, and I didn't want to see it ending up being a Stephanie Plum or Merry Gentry situation. However, the ending grated on me because it was still relatively soon after her rape, and I'm not sure how realistically that was written.
The final thing that bugged me was the strange focus on interior design. Who knew Mercy cared so much about what the inside of Tim's house looked like? Who cares what the statues in Kyle's hallway are wearing? There were a lot of irrelevant descriptive passages in this book that made me just want it to be over. (hide spoiler)]
I'll likely read the next book, but I won't rush to now. I don't know if the controversial topics were handled all that well. It seemed like they weren't done specifically to be controversial (if they had been, it would've bugged me more), but it's made me think harder about what I think of this author and this series.(less)
This book was initially hard to get into because of the stream of consciousness style of writing, but it didn't take me long to ge...more4.5 stars!
This book was initially hard to get into because of the stream of consciousness style of writing, but it didn't take me long to get past that. Not far in I was already wondering what was going on and what was going to happen. Although there were a few things I guessed, the twists and turns were dramatic and intense, and I don't feel like any of the big moments were gratuitous. The baddie you see most of was genuinely horrifying, and the final scenes went hell for leather until the end kind of caught me by surprise (and coincided exactly with my subway stop!).
The world that Ness has built is unique and realistic, and I am really looking forward to reading the next book. (less)
3.5 stars. This was a cute story, though predictable and slightly unbelievable plot-wise. There was some decent writing and realistic dialogue, and so...more3.5 stars. This was a cute story, though predictable and slightly unbelievable plot-wise. There was some decent writing and realistic dialogue, and some sweet moments between the two teenaged main characters. This would be a good read for younger women. The double time zone format was interesting, though I wasn't keen on the present tense writing style or the weird way that the narrator referred to Hadley as 'Hadley', but her parents as 'Mom' and 'Dad' (not her/Hadley's mom and dad).
In saying all this, I read everything but the first chapter in a single day (weirdly reflecting the time line of the book), and the travel and romance aspects appealed to me. I think Hadley's character development was fairly realistic, and I liked the underlying plot themes. I'd recommend it as a quick and easy feel-good read.
Edit: I just realised that that one day I read this book on was Valentine's Day. I did spend actual time with my boyfriend as well, but we do that every day. (less)
This was an interesting blend of the werewolf/vampire mythology with Native American and Fae, with likable enough characters. The...more3.5 stars.
This was an interesting blend of the werewolf/vampire mythology with Native American and Fae, with likable enough characters. The writing wasn't bad, and the story moved along quite quickly. It was interesting to read the experiences of Mercy as a coyote, though there was one bit where I was a little scared there was going to be some shape-shifted sex, and I really wasn't sure about that (spoiler: there wasn't).
I wasn't really happy with the motivations of the bad guy in the end (lots and lots of stuff happened during the book, but it seemed like he could've achieved his goals in much simpler ways), but the rest of the book rolled along quite well.
I'm still not sure I know that much about the main character, but I like her enough to want to read the next book. There was a noticeable need for a copy editor, but I've seen worse.
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