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kamarie112's review against another edition
2.0
The book was okay. It was an interesting idea, and Aprilynne Pike is an amazing author. I read the first book in her other series, Wings, and am waiting to read the second one. But, with Earthbound, it felt like the chemistry between Tavia and Benson was forced. It didn't seem real and how she found out who she was. It just didn't seem to be believable, I guess.
echo_echo_echo's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
heather4994's review against another edition
5.0
First thoughts- Holy cow! That was a lot to take in! But it was awesome! I am so glad this is a series!
They do say better late than never right? I read this as soon as it came out but I'm just now reviewing it. Sorry, for that because it's a great novel, the start of a new supernatural/paranormal series that I really loved! First there is a unique sort of romance. Well, there is a triangle of sorts but, not really. You can tell where Tavia's interests lie. As always, the book blurb is totally misleading. I'll clear it up.
Tavia has been the only survivor of a plane crash. In order to avoid publicity, her aunt and uncle keep that secret and she is not allowed to contact her friends at home. She is in New Hampshire, home is Michigan. Benson, her crush, is something that has developed just over the last few months as she's been visiting the library. He helps her with her studies as she is basically homeschooling herself. So it's not like she's liked him since the fourth grade or anything, in fact, it has only been a month since she finally came clean about who she actually was and that she realized she was falling for Benson. But now, there is this strange boy that disappears right in front of her, who dresses in period costume and feels like he's someone she should know, someone she misses. And she's not sure if she should tell anyone about him or keep him to herself. There, I should have written the blurb.
Tavia, is a unique character. She is orphaned, broken-both physically and emotionally, damaged. All of a sudden she starts seeing this boy in period costume and these silver symbols on buildings. Is she being stalked? Is she just seeing things? Or, from the strain of everything, is she losing her mind? Tavia (rhymes with cave not mauve thank you author for working that into the book) is cautious in not jumping to conclusions. She has a therapist that she talks to, but everything in her urges caution with this boy. She was headed to an art school interview with her parents when the plane crashed and so she hasn't been able to even doodle since then. Everything she loves has been ripped from her in that plane crash. Everything familiar has been taken from her. Even her hair from the brain surgery they did and a little act of frustration on her part is foreign to her. She looks in the mirror and doesn't know who she is anymore. But this is not a young woman that feels sorry for herself. She wonders why she survived. How she survived. But she doesn't feel sorry for herself. She walks to the library despite her limp. She does her schoolwork at the library. That's where she met Benson, he's a library intern. She walks to physical therapy. She goes to therapy. She endures bloody and graphic nightmares. All without complaint. She really tries to feel connected and grateful to Reese and Jay the only relatives she has left. And then this weird boy comes into her life and everything she's known since the accident begins to unravel. And still, Tavia plays it smart. Except for one major mistake. And it makes all the difference.
To say that Tavia is a well developed character is understated. From every limp to every doodle to every thought, you understand every thing about her. Benson, as somewhere between a main character and a secondary character is a little murky. You don't know if you can trust that he's on Tavia's side as it becomes clear that there are sides. And then there are Reese, Jay and Elizabeth, Tavia's therapist. They all seem to want her to get better, have her best interests at heart, but there is a question again about their loyalty.
There is non-stop action after a certain point and it's hard to keep up. The supernatural element is one that is unique. The boy that Tavia is drawn to is explained believably and what might be construed as a love triangle goes away. The ending is a brutal battle between Tavia and her foes and it isn't completely clear who survives and who doesn't, except, well, Tavia or there wouldn't be a series. But that isn't the end. There is one more chapter that sets up the next book. No cliffhangers, (Thank You) but great potential for the next in the series. I cannot wait for the next book!!
There is a great romance in this, history, action, mystery and a fabulously unique supernatural element I haven't seen in my previous reading in YA. The writing is to the point with enough detail for you to picture where you are and what's going on and the characters' state of mind, but leaves you room to fill in the blanks.
They do say better late than never right? I read this as soon as it came out but I'm just now reviewing it. Sorry, for that because it's a great novel, the start of a new supernatural/paranormal series that I really loved! First there is a unique sort of romance. Well, there is a triangle of sorts but, not really. You can tell where Tavia's interests lie. As always, the book blurb is totally misleading. I'll clear it up.
Tavia has been the only survivor of a plane crash. In order to avoid publicity, her aunt and uncle keep that secret and she is not allowed to contact her friends at home. She is in New Hampshire, home is Michigan. Benson, her crush, is something that has developed just over the last few months as she's been visiting the library. He helps her with her studies as she is basically homeschooling herself. So it's not like she's liked him since the fourth grade or anything, in fact, it has only been a month since she finally came clean about who she actually was and that she realized she was falling for Benson. But now, there is this strange boy that disappears right in front of her, who dresses in period costume and feels like he's someone she should know, someone she misses. And she's not sure if she should tell anyone about him or keep him to herself. There, I should have written the blurb.
Tavia, is a unique character. She is orphaned, broken-both physically and emotionally, damaged. All of a sudden she starts seeing this boy in period costume and these silver symbols on buildings. Is she being stalked? Is she just seeing things? Or, from the strain of everything, is she losing her mind? Tavia (rhymes with cave not mauve thank you author for working that into the book) is cautious in not jumping to conclusions. She has a therapist that she talks to, but everything in her urges caution with this boy. She was headed to an art school interview with her parents when the plane crashed and so she hasn't been able to even doodle since then. Everything she loves has been ripped from her in that plane crash. Everything familiar has been taken from her. Even her hair from the brain surgery they did and a little act of frustration on her part is foreign to her. She looks in the mirror and doesn't know who she is anymore. But this is not a young woman that feels sorry for herself. She wonders why she survived. How she survived. But she doesn't feel sorry for herself. She walks to the library despite her limp. She does her schoolwork at the library. That's where she met Benson, he's a library intern. She walks to physical therapy. She goes to therapy. She endures bloody and graphic nightmares. All without complaint. She really tries to feel connected and grateful to Reese and Jay the only relatives she has left. And then this weird boy comes into her life and everything she's known since the accident begins to unravel. And still, Tavia plays it smart. Except for one major mistake. And it makes all the difference.
To say that Tavia is a well developed character is understated. From every limp to every doodle to every thought, you understand every thing about her. Benson, as somewhere between a main character and a secondary character is a little murky. You don't know if you can trust that he's on Tavia's side as it becomes clear that there are sides. And then there are Reese, Jay and Elizabeth, Tavia's therapist. They all seem to want her to get better, have her best interests at heart, but there is a question again about their loyalty.
There is non-stop action after a certain point and it's hard to keep up. The supernatural element is one that is unique. The boy that Tavia is drawn to is explained believably and what might be construed as a love triangle goes away. The ending is a brutal battle between Tavia and her foes and it isn't completely clear who survives and who doesn't, except, well, Tavia or there wouldn't be a series. But that isn't the end. There is one more chapter that sets up the next book. No cliffhangers, (Thank You) but great potential for the next in the series. I cannot wait for the next book!!
There is a great romance in this, history, action, mystery and a fabulously unique supernatural element I haven't seen in my previous reading in YA. The writing is to the point with enough detail for you to picture where you are and what's going on and the characters' state of mind, but leaves you room to fill in the blanks.
itsannabbyy's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS
Characters: WOW. Tavia, the protagonist, is amazing. She's independent, spunky, and relatable. Benson, love interest #1, is amazing. Although at times, the love between the two seems to be lacking chemistry, it is believable. He's one to swoon over, truly. They're both developed, and extremely likeable. Tavia is someone you root for and scream at in your head because you care about her so much and don't want to see her get hurt. It's important that they're likeable, as the book focuses on only these two characters for a good while.
Underlying Ideas: EARTHBOUND features both the common "Quest for Self" archetype and "Love Triangle", but, thankfully, both work. It certainly helps that the Love Triangle is a main focus, or it would simply end up another typical, possibly lame, and most likely petty YA book. But it doesn't. Regarding the quest for self, Tavia has lost her parents. Thus, despite great hospitality from her aunt and uncle, she feels lost. It's all fine and dandy, but we all know you guys don't care. It's just a nice little thing going.
Author's Writing: Pike writes exceedingly well. At first, the story seems to drag a bit, but then again, I'm extremely impatient. She writes so eloquently! My only true discrepancy is that at times, it wasn't engaging enough. It's amazingly well-written, but at times I just wasn't into it enough. The pacing toward the end is exceptional, however. It really pulled me in and kept me up.
Plotline: WOW. Great plotline, truly. It's nothing new, but it's also nothing overdone. Pike takes the idea of a love triangle involving a past life's love and a current life and meshes it well. There's action, chase scenes, but nothing too crazy. Everything falls in place well, the the twist at the end? Truth be told, I had my suspicions, but it's nothing too obvious, nor too outrageous. Lovely story Pike's written.
Overall? AMAZING read. I haven't read Wings yet, but I think it's safe to say that previous fans of Pike will not be disappointed. In fact, I think I shall be reading Wings in the near future. Perhaps her other novel, too....
I received this book in a First Reads Giveaway. This has not influenced my opinion of the book in any way.
Characters: WOW. Tavia, the protagonist, is amazing. She's independent, spunky, and relatable. Benson, love interest #1, is amazing. Although at times, the love between the two seems to be lacking chemistry, it is believable. He's one to swoon over, truly. They're both developed, and extremely likeable. Tavia is someone you root for and scream at in your head because you care about her so much and don't want to see her get hurt. It's important that they're likeable, as the book focuses on only these two characters for a good while.
Underlying Ideas: EARTHBOUND features both the common "Quest for Self" archetype and "Love Triangle", but, thankfully, both work. It certainly helps that the Love Triangle is a main focus, or it would simply end up another typical, possibly lame, and most likely petty YA book. But it doesn't. Regarding the quest for self, Tavia has lost her parents. Thus, despite great hospitality from her aunt and uncle, she feels lost. It's all fine and dandy, but we all know you guys don't care. It's just a nice little thing going.
Author's Writing: Pike writes exceedingly well. At first, the story seems to drag a bit, but then again, I'm extremely impatient. She writes so eloquently! My only true discrepancy is that at times, it wasn't engaging enough. It's amazingly well-written, but at times I just wasn't into it enough. The pacing toward the end is exceptional, however. It really pulled me in and kept me up.
Plotline: WOW. Great plotline, truly. It's nothing new, but it's also nothing overdone. Pike takes the idea of a love triangle involving a past life's love and a current life and meshes it well. There's action, chase scenes, but nothing too crazy. Everything falls in place well, the the twist at the end? Truth be told, I had my suspicions, but it's nothing too obvious, nor too outrageous. Lovely story Pike's written.
Overall? AMAZING read. I haven't read Wings yet, but I think it's safe to say that previous fans of Pike will not be disappointed. In fact, I think I shall be reading Wings in the near future. Perhaps her other novel, too....
I received this book in a First Reads Giveaway. This has not influenced my opinion of the book in any way.
bookfever's review against another edition
3.0
I won't say Earthbound is a favorite of mine by Aprilynne Pike but I definitely liked the story in general. It was intriguing and something sort of new. Only the romance didn't sit well with me.
The premise of the book was interesting for sure. A girl being the sole survivor of a plane crash that also killed her parents. Months later she's grieving and in therapy. It's then that very strange things start happening like having visions of a boy she feels drawn to. Soon she and her best friend (and crush) Benson start to unravel everything.
Tavia was an okay character. At time I liked her and at other times I liked her way less. The romance was probably my least favorite thing about this book. It was very cheesy and I just couldn't get why she liked Benson. And I'm not even going to dwell on the love triangle that was forming.
I'm not actually sure I want to read the sequel. At one hand of course I want to, to find out what happens next but on the other hand I'm not sure it's worth it. Yes, Earthbound was a very quick read, one that didn't take a lot of effort to finish but the romance was just not my thing.
All in all, Earthbound had good as well as bad things. The story overall wasn't half bad, but some decisions Tavia made were just dumb. The writing, though, was the best thing in this book. I've always loved Aprilyinne Pike's amazing writing.
The premise of the book was interesting for sure. A girl being the sole survivor of a plane crash that also killed her parents. Months later she's grieving and in therapy. It's then that very strange things start happening like having visions of a boy she feels drawn to. Soon she and her best friend (and crush) Benson start to unravel everything.
Tavia was an okay character. At time I liked her and at other times I liked her way less. The romance was probably my least favorite thing about this book. It was very cheesy and I just couldn't get why she liked Benson. And I'm not even going to dwell on the love triangle that was forming.
I'm not actually sure I want to read the sequel. At one hand of course I want to, to find out what happens next but on the other hand I'm not sure it's worth it. Yes, Earthbound was a very quick read, one that didn't take a lot of effort to finish but the romance was just not my thing.
All in all, Earthbound had good as well as bad things. The story overall wasn't half bad, but some decisions Tavia made were just dumb. The writing, though, was the best thing in this book. I've always loved Aprilyinne Pike's amazing writing.
toastymaloney's review against another edition
3.0
The beginning was slow for me. I felt like the story really didn't go anywhere until right at the end. I want to know what happens next in the story, though.
caszriel's review against another edition
5.0
awesome, heartbreaking romance with a love triangle that will seriously tear you apart!
sara_evaney's review against another edition
4.0
It wasn't my favorite book, but it was pretty good.
It was easy to read.
It was easy to read.
gingerqueen114's review against another edition
5.0
Good!
Pretty good young adult novel. Especially if you enjoy supernatural mixed with romance with a nice twist. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Pretty good young adult novel. Especially if you enjoy supernatural mixed with romance with a nice twist. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.