Scan barcode
sparklethenpop's review
4.0
Before: The President's Daughter trilogy was my absolute favorite in middle school. I was thinking about it this morning and wondered if I could find the books on Amazon. When I went on Amazon I found out that there is a 4th book coming out in October! The last one was written in 1989. Of course I ordered it right away! I'm SO excited! :)
After: So, I gave it 4 stars but really would say 3 1/2 because it was great to see Meg Powers again and I was sad when it ended but I think I was really sad when it ended because I felt like I had read 700 pages and was finally getting somewhere when it ended without much being resolved. Does this mean there will be a fifth book? I hope I don't have to wait another 15 years for it!
After: So, I gave it 4 stars but really would say 3 1/2 because it was great to see Meg Powers again and I was sad when it ended but I think I was really sad when it ended because I felt like I had read 700 pages and was finally getting somewhere when it ended without much being resolved. Does this mean there will be a fifth book? I hope I don't have to wait another 15 years for it!
asurges's review
5.0
I have a not-so-secret love for young adult books, and this one is a particular favorite but mostly because I read the first book (The President's Daughter) in this four-book series in 1984. The third came out my first year in college, and because the author is really smart and sarcastic and fondly mentions the Talking Heads, I've been a hardcore fan and have read almost all her books (another favorite series is set in Vietnam in 1969 and is told from the view of a soldier and then of his future wife, a nurse whose brother dodged the draft by going to Canada).
This last book is huge. Like, 750 pages. It's incredibly depressing. See, when Meg's mom first because President, the book was more about her being shy about being in the spotlight. In book two, her mom gets shot. In book three, Meg is kidnapped by some crazy group, and book four is all about her trying to get through the trauma. Very well written.
This last book is huge. Like, 750 pages. It's incredibly depressing. See, when Meg's mom first because President, the book was more about her being shy about being in the spotlight. In book two, her mom gets shot. In book three, Meg is kidnapped by some crazy group, and book four is all about her trying to get through the trauma. Very well written.
stephwatt617's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nssutton's review
3.0
i wish i'd read the others in the series first, but this part got recommended at the youth services forum so that's how i got to it. as i read it, i felt like i wasn't crazy about it, despite the fact i stayed up late nights and spent days off devouring pages by the hundreds. bottom line, i'm really excited that the series exists - it has a really honest voice and is highly topical, what with a white house family coming to office in a few weeks.
tiredcat's review
4.0
I loved this series when I was a teenage and I am glad that Ellen Emerson White chose to write one more book to finish the series. This is a better ending but I would read a 100 more books about Meg and her family if she would write them.
beckykirk's review
4.0
I was so excited to find out this book existed and it lived up to expectations!
alexblackreads's review
5.0
I love everything Ellen Emerson White writes, but this book might be the best thing I've ever read. I adore every second of reading it. Like it's more than seven hundred pages long and every time I read it, I'm always just so sad when it ends. It feels like it goes on forever, but in the most wonderful way where I'm enjoying every second.
I love Meg's character. Her voice is so strong and she's so smart. I love that it's not an author trying to make a character sound smart, but a character who actually is intelligent and shown through the writing. I love that her pain so visceral. I love that she feels real and relatable, for all that her struggles are nothing like mine. I love that she's allowed self reflection and growth, and that she is flawed.
I love her family and their relationships. Her parents are struggling in their marriage and it's shown through the eyes of the kids as so real. I love Meg's relationship with her siblings. I love her friends and her romantic interests.
This book feels very slice of life, but that isn't to say dramatic events don't happen. A lot happens. It's just that it doesn't feel like it has a very strong narrative force because it's largely about Meg and her personal growth.
The writing is gorgeous. I can't name any other book that can make me both laugh and cry, let alone at the same time. I'm pretty sure there was a line I loved and remembered on every page, and that's a lot of memorable lines. It's utterly masterful. I don't know anyone else who writes like this.
I genuinely can't fully express my love for this book. It's so well done and I literally can't think of anything negative to say about this. It's a masterpiece and I'm pretty sure I spend half my life trying to bully other people into reading it. So please do. It's so wonderful.
I love Meg's character. Her voice is so strong and she's so smart. I love that it's not an author trying to make a character sound smart, but a character who actually is intelligent and shown through the writing. I love that her pain so visceral. I love that she feels real and relatable, for all that her struggles are nothing like mine. I love that she's allowed self reflection and growth, and that she is flawed.
I love her family and their relationships. Her parents are struggling in their marriage and it's shown through the eyes of the kids as so real. I love Meg's relationship with her siblings. I love her friends and her romantic interests.
This book feels very slice of life, but that isn't to say dramatic events don't happen. A lot happens. It's just that it doesn't feel like it has a very strong narrative force because it's largely about Meg and her personal growth.
The writing is gorgeous. I can't name any other book that can make me both laugh and cry, let alone at the same time. I'm pretty sure there was a line I loved and remembered on every page, and that's a lot of memorable lines. It's utterly masterful. I don't know anyone else who writes like this.
I genuinely can't fully express my love for this book. It's so well done and I literally can't think of anything negative to say about this. It's a masterpiece and I'm pretty sure I spend half my life trying to bully other people into reading it. So please do. It's so wonderful.
kricketa's review
3.0
on the whole, i have really enjoyed reading this series. but this conclusion left me feeling unsettled for a few reasons, some of which are admittedly petty:
1. i do not like jack. i want meg and preston to get together. preston understands meg and the way her family works. preston is a man, jack is a little boy. meg needs a man. preston wears killer suits, jack wears hawaiian shirts that he has to UNTUCK to cover his boners. just no.
2. meg's refusal to get professional help for her PTSD, eating problems, or...really, anything at all. i get that she is a private person who doesn't like to ask for anything, and i think her being *slightly* more honest with her parents and friends at the end was supposed to show growth, but it drove me crazy. you got kidnapped by terrorists. if you're willing to accept surgery from the best surgeons in the country, accept some therapy from the best therapists in the country.
3. the entire book was just so long winded. there was so much struggle and so little growth. everyone tries to get meg to eat. meg won't eat. meg is thirsty. meg won't do anything about it. meg is in pain. meg won't do anything about it. meg is lonely. meg won't do anything about it. snail's pace. was this realistic? oh yes, yes it was. didn't necessarily make it any less frustrating to read.
that said, i did like that the ending wasn't all neatly and perfectly wrapped up. it gives me hope that eventually, (maybe after a 5,000 page 5th book?) things will turn out the way i was rooting for.
Spoiler
1. i do not like jack. i want meg and preston to get together. preston understands meg and the way her family works. preston is a man, jack is a little boy. meg needs a man. preston wears killer suits, jack wears hawaiian shirts that he has to UNTUCK to cover his boners. just no.
2. meg's refusal to get professional help for her PTSD, eating problems, or...really, anything at all. i get that she is a private person who doesn't like to ask for anything, and i think her being *slightly* more honest with her parents and friends at the end was supposed to show growth, but it drove me crazy. you got kidnapped by terrorists. if you're willing to accept surgery from the best surgeons in the country, accept some therapy from the best therapists in the country.
3. the entire book was just so long winded. there was so much struggle and so little growth. everyone tries to get meg to eat. meg won't eat. meg is thirsty. meg won't do anything about it. meg is in pain. meg won't do anything about it. meg is lonely. meg won't do anything about it. snail's pace. was this realistic? oh yes, yes it was. didn't necessarily make it any less frustrating to read.
dja777's review
4.0
I didn't like it as much as "Long Live the Queen," but it was still really good. A lot of White's main character's voices sound very similar to each other, but I really enjoy the snarky sense of humor. The whole series is very good.