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lburden03's review
5.0
I am still very new to Katie McGarry, having only recently read Pushing the Limits! However, I LOVED that book so much that I knew I needed to pick up something else by her very soon! This short story was on sale for my Kindle, so I thought it would be the perfect read! I really enjoyed this short story! The characters were so cute, and I thought that they were well developed despite the novel running the length of 80 pages total. Although I loved the characters from Pushing the Limits more, I still really enjoyed getting to know these new characters. I also enjoyed the plot of the story; it was a very cute story! And of course the writing style was amazing!! I can't wait to pick up another book by Katie!
For a more in-depth review, check out my book blog, A Nook of Blankets and Books!
http://anookofblanketsandbooks.blogspot.com/2015/05/red-at-night-book-review.html
For a more in-depth review, check out my book blog, A Nook of Blankets and Books!
http://anookofblanketsandbooks.blogspot.com/2015/05/red-at-night-book-review.html
mehsi's review
5.0
Short review:
I just adore Katie McGarry's books, and this one goes right into that list of awesome books. :)
I loved Stella, though I also felt sad for her, that she has this life, this life of uncertainty of barely being able to eat or have clothes. I can imagine that she at first wanted to stop with school and just go for a job. But I am glad that in the end, and with the help of people she saw what was right and went for that. I did like her and Jonah together, I find it wonderful that she was able to forgive him (after all he laughed or did nothing through the years that his friends teased Stella).
Jonah, ah he was a wonderful character. He was a bit a wuss at times, but he got stronger and soon was able to pick what was right and what was wrong. For him, I also felt sad, sad he had to witness that accident and the death that followed and then followed on that, how his family and friends acted. Like he should just go on with life and that he is strange because he can't let it go.
And can I also say, I loved the whole cemetery thing? It makes a nice and interesting setting.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I just adore Katie McGarry's books, and this one goes right into that list of awesome books. :)
I loved Stella, though I also felt sad for her, that she has this life, this life of uncertainty of barely being able to eat or have clothes. I can imagine that she at first wanted to stop with school and just go for a job. But I am glad that in the end, and with the help of people she saw what was right and went for that. I did like her and Jonah together, I find it wonderful that she was able to forgive him (after all he laughed or did nothing through the years that his friends teased Stella).
Jonah, ah he was a wonderful character. He was a bit a wuss at times, but he got stronger and soon was able to pick what was right and what was wrong. For him, I also felt sad, sad he had to witness that accident and the death that followed and then followed on that, how his family and friends acted. Like he should just go on with life and that he is strange because he can't let it go.
And can I also say, I loved the whole cemetery thing? It makes a nice and interesting setting.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
sbsantiago's review
2.0
This was okay. It had a nice message and I liked the author's writing, but the plot was just meh, but hey it was free!
bourbontrailbookfairy's review
5.0
I love this author. Her books are so emotional, and inspiring. I can't put her books down.
tinalynn510's review
5.0
I would really, really like the rest of Jonah and Stella's story! I loved it!
nbwalks's review against another edition
4.0
It's a shame that this was only a novella. I think it really had the potential to be an amazing full-length novel. Probably would have been one of my, if not the top, favorite of the PTL series. Stella is a character that I wouldn't mind getting to know better. Same goes for Jonah.
perilous1's review against another edition
3.0
Not overwhelming...but not underwhelming either. So I guess I'm just 'whelmed.' >.>
This novella was a fast, easy read that happens to include the first chapter of McGarry's next book, "Take Me On." (Oh, and it also happened to be free!) I'd had Katie McGarry on my list for a while now, and I have trouble resisting a freebie. But as a sample of her work, I'm not entirely sure it does the author justice. Allow me to explain...
McGarry apparently was asked to write this novella to highlight a charity called the "Goodie Two Shoes Foundation", which provides underprivileged kids with proper sized shoes of their own choosing. It's truly an admirable endeavor, but this reader had the lingering sense that the charity part came off a little heavy-handed when emphasized in the story itself. But then again, I'm never much a fan of product placement.
The story alternates back and forth by chapters between the hero and heroine's first-person POV. Stella is a quirky, cemetery-dwelling purple-haired girl from the 'wrong side of the tracks'--worn out on the risk of hoping for anything better out of life. And Jonah is a passive, over-privileged follower of his popular pseudo-friends, who's coping with a massive identity shift after the perspective-altering trauma of witnessing a fatal car accident. They find unlikely companionship while spending excessive amounts of time at a local cemetery, and both are challenged to grow into whoever they -decide- to become. The message found in their story is pointed and pragmatic--hopeful and even a little thought-provoking. The inherent value of it, particularly for teenagers, is pretty blatant.
While this reader was genuinely able to like both characters, the length of the story felt a bit constraining to depth of character development--and the ultimate resolution, though satisfying, begged many unanswered questions. Nearly all of the side characters felt one-dimensional, which was particularly disappointing in the primary antagonist (and Jonah's "best friend") Cooper. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why Jonah clung to any kind of association with a mildly sociopathic, bullying manwhore. I kept hoping for some kind of justification--some flashback to something poignant that would help me comprehend the loyalty there. But alas, things remained decisively vague. Much like Stella, I found myself wanting MORE.
As with so many novellas, I really just longed to see it fleshed out into a full-blown novel. So perhaps I'm just not the best judge of these sorts of things. >.< I did like the taste I got for McGarry's next book, and still have every intention of picking up her others eventually.
This novella was a fast, easy read that happens to include the first chapter of McGarry's next book, "Take Me On." (Oh, and it also happened to be free!) I'd had Katie McGarry on my list for a while now, and I have trouble resisting a freebie. But as a sample of her work, I'm not entirely sure it does the author justice. Allow me to explain...
McGarry apparently was asked to write this novella to highlight a charity called the "Goodie Two Shoes Foundation", which provides underprivileged kids with proper sized shoes of their own choosing. It's truly an admirable endeavor, but this reader had the lingering sense that the charity part came off a little heavy-handed when emphasized in the story itself. But then again, I'm never much a fan of product placement.
The story alternates back and forth by chapters between the hero and heroine's first-person POV. Stella is a quirky, cemetery-dwelling purple-haired girl from the 'wrong side of the tracks'--worn out on the risk of hoping for anything better out of life. And Jonah is a passive, over-privileged follower of his popular pseudo-friends, who's coping with a massive identity shift after the perspective-altering trauma of witnessing a fatal car accident. They find unlikely companionship while spending excessive amounts of time at a local cemetery, and both are challenged to grow into whoever they -decide- to become. The message found in their story is pointed and pragmatic--hopeful and even a little thought-provoking. The inherent value of it, particularly for teenagers, is pretty blatant.
While this reader was genuinely able to like both characters, the length of the story felt a bit constraining to depth of character development--and the ultimate resolution, though satisfying, begged many unanswered questions. Nearly all of the side characters felt one-dimensional, which was particularly disappointing in the primary antagonist (and Jonah's "best friend") Cooper. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why Jonah clung to any kind of association with a mildly sociopathic, bullying manwhore. I kept hoping for some kind of justification--some flashback to something poignant that would help me comprehend the loyalty there. But alas, things remained decisively vague. Much like Stella, I found myself wanting MORE.
As with so many novellas, I really just longed to see it fleshed out into a full-blown novel. So perhaps I'm just not the best judge of these sorts of things. >.< I did like the taste I got for McGarry's next book, and still have every intention of picking up her others eventually.