David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite! discussion

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Archive's > What pushes a book from good to great to incredible?

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message 51: by Jen (new)

Jen (jenwesner) | 1222 comments I'm thinking it's just a couple of things -
First, the plot has to surprise me, catch me totally off guard, twist or convolute in such a way that I didn't expect. And it should follow a course and then knock me off my rocker.
Secondly, the characters have to be interesting. Not always likeable, but definitely interesting.

There have been YA books I avoided simply because I didn't like the "creatures" involved. But when others raved about them, I gave them a chance. Two of the series' I read are now my all-time favs. I realised that this was because no matter the backdrop, it's the characters and the unexpected events that make a book incredible.


Karen’s Library | 11320 comments Mod
Meaghan wrote: "After you're done with the first one, we could always buddy read the second too. ;)"

I'm done with the first one, Meaghan!! :-P So whenever you're ready and after we finish with our 100 buddy reads we already have going on, we need to read the next one. I already bought Warpaint (Apocalypsis, #2) by Elle Casey


message 53: by Mara (new)

Mara (maraanne) A good book is something that I pleasantly enjoyed, and there was nothing major that I disliked about it. It never ticked me off, but it didn't impress me. A great book has a little something extra about it that, when I set it aside, my reaction is to kind of sit there for a while and then say, "That was really good!" I more than just pleasantly enjoyed it.

But an incredible book . . . Well, it's got to amaze me. It has to elicit strong emotional reactions - crying, laughing, surprise (good surprise, that is), or an intense hatred and love for the correct characters. It has to enthrall me. The world, the characters, the plot - everything. I have to love the villain (love to hate him, that is), it has to go far beyond my expectations, and just has to "wow" me.


message 54: by chucklesthescot (new)

chucklesthescot David wrote: "Great topic Anthony. I like how Gabriela said it, "it has to touch my soul". For me it's the emotion of the story. I want to be in the book, not just reading it. I think some books do this very wel..."

I LOVED The Book Thief. I'm a great big girlie coz I was in floods of tears at the end!


message 55: by chucklesthescot (new)

chucklesthescot My 3 star reads mean LIKE-as in I enjoyed reading, was glad I picked it up, might read again, and would consider reading the rest of the series. Good characters, decent plot, kept me interested

4 star GREAT-as in really enjoyed it, really want to read it again, definitely want to read the series, lots that had me hooked, lots to enjoy in it.

5 star EXCELLENT-as in hooked from the start and didn't want to put it down, would re-read many times, loved everything about it.

To be in line for my 5 stars it must have at least a few of these elements

-lots of exciting action
-characters you care about
-interesting monsters
-the humour makes you laugh every time
-funny/talented sidekicks and/or talking familiars
-exciting plot
-don't want to put the book down
-not over descriptive
-no huge constant info dumps you don't understand


message 56: by Kelly (new)

Kelly Hull (kellyvan) | 67 comments I'm a little late on this thread, but it's very interesting and there is a book I read months ago and it still creeps up in my mind from time to time. It is Stolen A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher I'm still not over it. No big surprises or anything, which usually I require in a book for it to be blow me out of the water good, but this book has made a big impact on me as far as being transported. I never really got over The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold or The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger either


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