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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Gah! So good! Kami Glass is a breath of fresh air in a world of self-doubting YA protagonists. She's Veronica Mars with a paranormal gift, and rather than being isolated a la Bella Swan, she's got her own Scooby Gang who help her solve mysteries. Read it! So good! WHERE IS THE SEQUEL??
This...was really good, in a fun caper-y way. I couldn't get into The Demon's Lexicon, but this was just relaxing to read. Except that it's part of a series, of course. Ugh.
I was perplexed by some of the dialogue -- it sounded super American, even though I know Brennan is Irish? Like, when discussing their grades Kami said she had a B+ in English (I didn't think letter grades were a thing in the UK), and Angela said she only dated guys in college (I thought, does she mean university???? since they're 17). Those weird details startled me out of my reading as Kami is meant to be British born and bred, and she'd say things like "lift" and "flat" and "pavement". I didn't find her speech to be very British.
I'm pointing this out because I think Maureen Johnson does a great job of Britishness in The Name of the Star, and she manages to sidestep the issue of writing a lot in it by having Rory be American. But the other characters are believably British. This...was a little more schizophrenic. I couldn't help but wonder if it was on purpose, because it seems like a large thing to gloss over -- unless the publishers pulled a Harry Potter and changed words for an American audience (stupid, stupid publishers).
Either way, that was my biggest complaint about the book.
The rest of the plot was predictable, but fun. Didn't frighten me like The Diviners. Kind of like how I felt about Hex Hall.
I was perplexed by some of the dialogue -- it sounded super American, even though I know Brennan is Irish? Like, when discussing their grades Kami said she had a B+ in English (I didn't think letter grades were a thing in the UK), and Angela said she only dated guys in college (I thought, does she mean university???? since they're 17). Those weird details startled me out of my reading as Kami is meant to be British born and bred, and she'd say things like "lift" and "flat" and "pavement". I didn't find her speech to be very British.
I'm pointing this out because I think Maureen Johnson does a great job of Britishness in The Name of the Star, and she manages to sidestep the issue of writing a lot in it by having Rory be American. But the other characters are believably British. This...was a little more schizophrenic. I couldn't help but wonder if it was on purpose, because it seems like a large thing to gloss over -- unless the publishers pulled a Harry Potter and changed words for an American audience (stupid, stupid publishers).
Either way, that was my biggest complaint about the book.
Spoiler
ANGELA AND HOLLY!!!! The things that did to my heart - I was mostly into Kami and Jared, and then ANGELA AND HOLLY. All that stuff with them in the bathroom, I was like, I HOPE THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE OUT. And then, well, no. And I read that snippet on Sarah Rees Brennan's website, STAKE A KNIFE INTO MY HEART WHY DON'T YOU. Ugh, no, ladies, please make out. But I'm super psyched for Holly to get POV in the sequel.The rest of the plot was predictable, but fun. Didn't frighten me like The Diviners. Kind of like how I felt about Hex Hall.
Spoiler
The ending crushed my soul a little bit, I'm not gonna lie.
I thought this book was great! It took me a while to actually read this book because when I read the description it sounded like it was going to be one of 'those' books. They finally meet and fall hopelessly in love blah blah blah. But I'm so glad it wasn't like that! I especially loved Kami's relationship with her family, I loved how they joked a lot
I don't think I can explain why I loved this book. It is so cheesy and almost stereotypical tragic supernatural YA romance. But I loved it, even when I want to punch characters in the face for being stupid. Their repartee is beyond witty, their circumstances are dire, and I was completely hooked.
Kami reminded me a bit of my beloved Flavia de Luce.
It's a 3.5
I like the world building, I really like how not everything's what it seems, howvever I could not find the charachters really engaging
I like the world building, I really like how not everything's what it seems, howvever I could not find the charachters really engaging
Oh hey, a YA book that had an independent female POC and knew how to keep you hooked.
There were parts of this I absolutely adored and others that had me wanting to cause physical harm to my Nook. I'm so torn, but ultimately the things I loathed beat out the things I loved.