oh my god, shusshify with all the loving on this book! this is another example of the world conspiring to tell me untruths. like, that sarah jessica parker is really hot.

"yeah, i don't know, she's kind of got a weird face, i am just not attracted to her"

"no! she is hot!! look at her dress!!! look at her shoes!!"

"yeah, no - i get it - her clothing is expensive, but she's just so oddly skinny and she has devil eyes."

"noooo - she is hot - here i made you a drink. you will like it, it is like hawaiian punch."

but this time i am not drinking.

here's the deal - two authors, one book. rarely works in practice. one lady said "i want to write a paranormal romance!" the other lady said "i want to write a civil war-era southern love story. well, let's smooosh them together! it is a great idea!!"

it's not a great result. it is a huge book that is very densely plotted, for teen fiction, which would ordinarily be a good thing if it weren't so shallowly conceived. it seems bloated with plot, but shy on the details. i had several "wait, but what?" moments.

and much of it seemed so... familiar. two teens in love, but both of their families are trying to keep them apart because of some ancient and unresolved family squabble. but also because she has powers, (this is the part shakespeare dropped the ball on)powers which might complicate her relationship to a mortal boy. but when they are together their kisses are like thunder and their embraces cause furniture to break and a teenage heart attack (cured by supernatural means, though. phew)

i worry for kids growing up on the new crop of teen fiction. the relationships always seems to have one paranormal participant, and it's hardly fair for actual teens. how can they compete with these? do kids get all sad after they lose their virginities and it is not as magical as they have been led to expect?? when beds do not rotate and literal sparks do not fly and they are not transported to the past?

it just seems like a lot of pressure to be put on them.

on the one hand - it is cool to have a male protagonist in a teen love story; most of then ones i have read are still goofy girls pining after unworthy boys. this is also the second book i have recently read in which telepathy occurs between the lovers. see - this i think is a bad idea. especially in teen lovers. i don't care how in love i am - once i find out you have the ability to read my mind, i am out. it is too creepy. no one will steal my inventions.

this is such a popular book, and it has such attractive cover-colors, i want to understand its appeal. conceptually, i thought it was a great idea, and with some adjustments, maybe it could have been better. i just thought there were too many loopholes, too many missed opportunities. and i hate this title. i kept calling it a combination of



i know i am no longer supposed to use pictures in my reviews, because it makes them too awesome, but