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My Blood Approves (My Blood Approves, #1)
by Amanda Hocking (Goodreads Author)
by Amanda Hocking (Goodreads Author)
Entertaining, and plenty of potential, but needs an editor.
Right off, I can see why this book was turned down by publishers. Having said that, I must say that I disagree with those publishers, in that My Blood Approves was actually a fairly entertaining read. The characters have dimension and are believable as real people. And there's enough of a twist on the traditional vampire lore to keep it fresh. Hocking has clearly given her world-building its due and I applaud that.
However, I must say here and now that THIS BOOK DESPERATELY NEEDS AN EDITOR.
Too many niggling little mistakes made the reading experience bumpy and somewhat irritating. Spell-check only goes so far. The unintended use of synonyms, certain grammar missteps and an over-fondness for dropping in brand names all require an experienced editorial eye... not to mention, red pen.
The brand name issue, in particular, relegates the story to a specific place in time, but not in any good way. The heavy-handed use of those brand names may, for now, help teens connect with the story, but brand trends change so quickly that what works now will only alienate future readers. For that reason alone, in 30 years (at most) this book will be unreadable. Compare that to something like Pride & Prejudice, which is still widely read after 200 years, and you can see why that's a problem.
In the main, this book was pretty good, (good enough that I intend to read the next one) but with a little editorial polish, it could be so much better.
Right off, I can see why this book was turned down by publishers. Having said that, I must say that I disagree with those publishers, in that My Blood Approves was actually a fairly entertaining read. The characters have dimension and are believable as real people. And there's enough of a twist on the traditional vampire lore to keep it fresh. Hocking has clearly given her world-building its due and I applaud that.
However, I must say here and now that THIS BOOK DESPERATELY NEEDS AN EDITOR.
Too many niggling little mistakes made the reading experience bumpy and somewhat irritating. Spell-check only goes so far. The unintended use of synonyms, certain grammar missteps and an over-fondness for dropping in brand names all require an experienced editorial eye... not to mention, red pen.
The brand name issue, in particular, relegates the story to a specific place in time, but not in any good way. The heavy-handed use of those brand names may, for now, help teens connect with the story, but brand trends change so quickly that what works now will only alienate future readers. For that reason alone, in 30 years (at most) this book will be unreadable. Compare that to something like Pride & Prejudice, which is still widely read after 200 years, and you can see why that's a problem.
In the main, this book was pretty good, (good enough that I intend to read the next one) but with a little editorial polish, it could be so much better.
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Joey
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Mar 18, 2011 11:02am
Completely agree here. I bought these after reading about how popular they are, and I'm having a hard time getting through her prose, though I love her blog (her level-headedness and awesomeness about her success puts, say, Scott Kurtz and/or many another popular webcomicker to shame). Give her some time -- she's managed to get herself into a situation where she can afford time to write, write, write, something most young writers aren't able to do.
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Joey wrote: "Completely agree here. I bought these after reading about how popular they are, and I'm having a hard time getting through her prose, though I love her blog (her level-headedness and awesomeness ab..."Hey Joey! Yeah, I hope that her current success will lead to more polished final products. She's got the ability and the output to go far and it would be a shame if that was hobbled by a lack of basic grammar.
