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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I liked the premise and found it to be a quick, fun read. It was very "Mean Girls" meets "Carrie". I could've done without the "Carrie", to be honest. That just disappointed quite me a bit.
I didn't realize until the ending that this is the first book in a series. I thought it was a standalone but I'm actually very curious to see where the story goes. I found the ending to be so abrupt, which made me feel rage-y.
I was disappointed that Reeve only notices Mary at the end and also annoyed at the way it was done. I waited the whole book for him to recognize her and for a better "reunion". I think Mary's story was the most interesting to me but I was really disappointed at the random Carrie-esque powers she had, seemingly out of nowhere.
It was definitely a fun read for me. I read it super quick, considering it seems to take me forever to read a book these days. (reading slump, mayhaps?) The morals in this book are probably a little skewered but there are two more books so it could become a great series. I wish I didn't have to wait for the next book because I want to keep reading about these characters.
(Thanks to PulseIt for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion)
I didn't realize until the ending that this is the first book in a series. I thought it was a standalone but I'm actually very curious to see where the story goes. I found the ending to be so abrupt, which made me feel rage-y.
It was definitely a fun read for me. I read it super quick, considering it seems to take me forever to read a book these days. (reading slump, mayhaps?) The morals in this book are probably a little skewered but there are two more books so it could become a great series. I wish I didn't have to wait for the next book because I want to keep reading about these characters.
(Thanks to PulseIt for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion)
Highly entertaining. Think about if Mean Girls and Carrie set on the suburban Jar Island. Also, imagine that Carrie has friends. This was my first Jenny Han book and I'm not disappointed.
While I was definitely entertained, I'm not invested in the characters particularly and I really did not like the revenge plot. Maybe it's just because I'm old but I was just shouting at them to not do these things. There's no part of me as an adult that thinks even the more minor revenge plans were okay. Also, it's weird that it seems to be flirting with paranormal? Maybe it's aiming to be a take on Carrie? IDK.
I do plan to continue the series, because I'm curious where it's going and because of how much I loved TAtBILB, so there's the eternal hope of an amazing ship.
I do plan to continue the series, because I'm curious where it's going and because of how much I loved TAtBILB, so there's the eternal hope of an amazing ship.
Plot:
A few parts were predictable, but a lot of it wasn't. I actually had a really hard time putting this one down because I wanted to know what would happen next.
Setting:
Small coastal town? Sold. It felt realistic and exactly the kind of place I'd love to live in.
Characters:
This book is told from three POVs--Mary, Lillia, and Kat.
Kat was my favorite. She was snarky, full of personality, and I really enjoyed reading from her POV. She also has an interesting history with Lillia. I also liked Lillia and felt she was easy to connect with. Mary was my least favorite, but I still liked her. I felt her character could have used a little more something, but there are two more books so maybe there's still some development to go.
I feel as-is, all three of them developed over the course of the book and all in good ways. After the end, I can't wait to see what happens in the next two books.
The side characters were good, too, even the ones you're supposed to dislike. Because even though some had a lot to dislike about, they also showed their human and likable sides. I liked the twist with Alex, too.
I would have liked to see more of Mary's aunt, though. She seemed interesting.
Relationships:
My favorite relationships were that between the girls. While Kat and Lillia have some history between them, Mary is basically someone new even though she used to live on the island. I liked how they weren't friends in the beginning yet toward the end it's obvious that they are probably going to end up being close at some point.
I didn't really care for any of the romantic relationships, though I found Alex's poem cute. I'm just not sure if I like him with Lillia or even with Kat.
I liked the family relationships for Kat and Lillia and would have liked to see more of Mary's with her parents and aunt.
I also felt that Lillia and Rennie had an interesting friendship. While I felt at times that they were really close, there were other times where I couldn't believe how they were treating one another.
Writing/Voice:
I've read books by both authors and while I find Han more enjoyable, I think they both did a great job. I'm not sure if they wrote certain characters or collaborated as a whole, but it seemed to read a lot like Han. Her writing style is super easy to get into.
Ending:
The paranormal twist was interesting, though seemed a little Carrie-ish. Still, could be interesting later on down the road. I love dramatic and dark endings so I loved the ending. I also enjoyed how the girls acknowledged what they did but also didn't want to fess up. That feels pretty honest to me.
Overall, I couldn't put it down and it was a fast read. Great characters, fun plot, easygoing writing. I might have to buy and read the next two books this year because I'm not sure I can wait.
This has been lurking on my TBR for ages, as I rather like Jenny Han. This did not disappoint, there were elements of Christopher Pike (Remember Me) with the way the lives weave in and out of each other as well as the requisite YA drama and romance. Nice to have an Asian protagonist, I'm going to take a punt that given the location of the island no one who isn't white would live there? (Ok)
I like a good revenge story and this one is good, it starts out pretty fluffy and then as is always the case ends up somewhere unexpectedly dark. There are a few issues that I have though
- date rape
- mental health
- alcholism
These are things that recur across all three books in the series and no one really does anything about them. At all. Not sure how I feel about that. It's not a case of being rich or uninformed or whatever but it's a bit crap that the first one especially isn't addressed properly.
I like a good revenge story and this one is good, it starts out pretty fluffy and then as is always the case ends up somewhere unexpectedly dark. There are a few issues that I have though
- date rape
- mental health
- alcholism
These are things that recur across all three books in the series and no one really does anything about them. At all. Not sure how I feel about that. It's not a case of being rich or uninformed or whatever but it's a bit crap that the first one especially isn't addressed properly.
This book was surprising for me and how much I really enjoyed this! It had mystery and was extremely fast-paced! I loved the story line and the lessons it taught, cannot wait to read the second.
Burn for Burn was a burnout for me. I did not like this book at all. The entire time I was reading this book, I was thinking of Mean Girls. Some people actually liked that aspect, but I didn't. They copied everything that the characters in Mean Girls did. Sure they did it a little bit differently but it was all the same. First means of revenge: the face cream. The girls made Alex's complexion really bad and his skin was horrible for a little bit. In Mean Girls they switch Regina George's lotion and face cream with foot cream to make her face look bad. Hmmm... comparison? I think so. Second means of revenge: the book. Alex's book was full of songs and poetry. What did they decide to do with it? Hmm... let's look to Mean Girls and figure it out! Oh I know! They copied pages and posted it all over the school. Not surprised by that one. Third means of revenge: the clothes. This is the point where I was 100% sure the authors were watching Mean Girls when they were writing this book. In Mean Girls they cut out the boob area of Regina George's tank top. But of course the authors couldn't make it too obvious that the book was like Mean Girls, so they switched out Alex's jersey to say Alex Limp instead of Alex Lind. Oh and they made it one better, and had the announcer say it too. Except here's the thing. They were at a home game. Alex is a senior by now, and he's been playing a while. How would the announcer not know that there was a mistake in the lineup on his paper? Jar Island is such a small island, or at least it's perceived to be, that everyone knows everyone's business. That is a huge screwup in the writing there. If I wrote that in my Creative Writing class, my teacher would see it and immediately notice the mistake and tell me that it wouldn't work. Now, the authors decided to move on from Alex, and guess what? I knew the next revenge plot. The fourth means of revenge: This is against Rennie. The amazing smart girls in this book (total sarcastic tone) decided that their best idea ever was to switch out ballots to make sure Rennie didn't win. Wow! They did the same thing to Regina George! How convenient! I definitely saw that one coming from a mile away! I was surprised by the last revenge plot against Reeve though. They drugged him, but they couldn't do a weak drug that would make you go loopy, nope not at all. They decided to do ecstasy right away. But Kat doesn't think that it's a hard drug. Just Google it one time, like I did. Ecstasy is considered a hard drug. Right up there with heroin. WOW! So of course he's going to react to it and have a seizure if he has the dosage he did and he has never done drugs before. Or at least that how I perceived it. I mean if the coach is hard on not doing drugs, and I was the star quarterback, I would stay as far away from those as possible.
Now that I'm done with the Mean Girls part, let's go the "supernatural part". There are basically no aspects of supernaturalism in here. Okay, it's mentioned two times before the big blowout at the end. I checked and kept track. I was really excited when at page 100 Mary did the whole locker thingy. I mean really excited. I love contemporary type books that bring in the supernatural factor. However, as I kept reading after that event it wasn't until a total 100 pages later that it was mentioned again. 100 PAGES! That is such a waste of a good paranormal story. At page 200 it was Rennie falling off the top of the pyramid, and Mary didn't even realize it was her, because she had just let out a breath. She didn't even intend for the fall to happen! That's horrible paranormal writing! Then at the end... at page 340 or around there, then they decide to make Mary's powers not the wind, like it was the other two times in the story, but let's make it electricity. Electricity people. And not just a little spark, but let's make it a huge sparks flying everywhere. And then Reeve notices Mary. Not the rest of the month or two they were in school. No... now he notices Mary.
Another quick reason that I didn't like this book was because the exposition was waaayyy too long. It was 100 pages long before the rising action started. The authors definitely didn't know how to weave in all those aspects. They did the flashbacks, but they just could have left it at that.
Also, the bully thing. I was okay with Mary getting bullied by Reeve, and that's why she wanted revenge on him. But she had to be really naive to have believed that only at school Reeve would be mean to her. I'm just not going to get into this one. Just... no.
Now that I'm done with the Mean Girls part, let's go the "supernatural part". There are basically no aspects of supernaturalism in here. Okay, it's mentioned two times before the big blowout at the end. I checked and kept track. I was really excited when at page 100 Mary did the whole locker thingy. I mean really excited. I love contemporary type books that bring in the supernatural factor. However, as I kept reading after that event it wasn't until a total 100 pages later that it was mentioned again. 100 PAGES! That is such a waste of a good paranormal story. At page 200 it was Rennie falling off the top of the pyramid, and Mary didn't even realize it was her, because she had just let out a breath. She didn't even intend for the fall to happen! That's horrible paranormal writing! Then at the end... at page 340 or around there, then they decide to make Mary's powers not the wind, like it was the other two times in the story, but let's make it electricity. Electricity people. And not just a little spark, but let's make it a huge sparks flying everywhere. And then Reeve notices Mary. Not the rest of the month or two they were in school. No... now he notices Mary.
Another quick reason that I didn't like this book was because the exposition was waaayyy too long. It was 100 pages long before the rising action started. The authors definitely didn't know how to weave in all those aspects. They did the flashbacks, but they just could have left it at that.
Also, the bully thing. I was okay with Mary getting bullied by Reeve, and that's why she wanted revenge on him. But she had to be really naive to have believed that only at school Reeve would be mean to her. I'm just not going to get into this one. Just... no.
Kat annoyed me, and she hated Rennie for the person she was when in reality she was the exact same as Rennie, but other than that it was a great book. A perfect story about how the innocent idea of revenge spirals out of control.
I did not expect ot enjoy this book. In fact, I don't even know what prompted me to pick it up. However, once I started realind it I really enjoyed it. Sure it's a total guilty pleasure book, and sure the paranormal sub-plot wasn't added in as smoothly as it could have been, but I'll defenetly read more in this series. It may be a tad predictable but entertaining none the less.