David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite! discussion
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What pushes a book from good to great to incredible?
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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
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


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.

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

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




Books mentioned in this topic
The Lovely Bones (other topics)Stolen (other topics)
The Time Traveler's Wife (other topics)
Warpaint (other topics)
Warpaint (other topics)
More...
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.