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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was underwhelmed... But I think I need a little break from YA for now.
When Katie Greene moves to Japan after her mother's death, she's too caught up in grief to do much. Until she notices drawings that move, drawn by the gorgeous and mysterious Tomohiro. I really wanted to like this book. Japan! Drawings that move! Beautiful Asian boys! But I couldn't finish it. Katie and Tomo were both rather stereotypical YA leads and her obsession with him just seems unfounded, especially given that he's hostile and annoying for the first fifty pages of the book. (Side note: Often, guys who are jerks on the surface are actually just jerks underneath as well. No need to perpetuate unhealthy relationships, YA.) The book also moves rather slowly--I quit around page 200 and all that had happened in the way of action was Katie and Tomo taking a terribly long time to kiss and some menacing moments. In short, great idea, iffy execution.
This book aas very uniquue than other books...the setting is in a place other than America England or Canada which was really cool...also the main guy is Asian...and I thought that teachibg the reader new words was a terrific idea. There was a glossary at the back explaining some of the Japanese words in the story. The story has a descriptiv explanation of life I Japan...and the struggles u would face if u were a foreigner in a new country... so yeah...overall I would rate the book a 4.5/5 stars
An enjoyable read. Picks up after the first few chapters, when the story gets interesting and Tomohiro becomes less of a drama stereotype and more of a three dimensional character. The concept is very interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes.
Good story. It did have moments of teen angst and drama, but overall, I enjoyed the story and characters. I'm interested in finding out what happens next.
Interesting side note: The Sony EPUB version of this book has an interactive set of glossary links. When a Romaji word appears in the text, you can click it to link to the glossary in the back. From the glossary, there is a "go back" link that takes you back to the anchor in the text. Nice touch!
Interesting side note: The Sony EPUB version of this book has an interactive set of glossary links. When a Romaji word appears in the text, you can click it to link to the glossary in the back. From the glossary, there is a "go back" link that takes you back to the anchor in the text. Nice touch!
I really liked this book, more than I thought I would. I liked the way the culture is described and that Ms. Sun has obviously put a lot of research in all the details (things like high school, convenience stores, parks and just all those tiny details that make a book so much more believable).
The story reminded me of an anime or a manga at times, which I didn't really mind? I've been really into Japanese culture for a while already and of course, that's partly because of manga. But the story really was a bit dramatic at times (and it also reminded me of Twilight at some point). Also, I think that all those expressions used in Japanese that could've just been English as well? Those may have been a little bit excessive... But they did attribute to the Japanese feeling of the story, so it was kind of okay, I guess.
As for the characters... I really liked Yuki and Tanaka, they were great friends. Katie's aunt was really sweet, I really liked how she tried to take good care of Katie. Katie as a character... she was okay. I liked that she adapted so easily, but found her sometimes a little bit annoying. Tomohiro was... cute, I guess?
I really liked Jun.
I recommend this book, it's a good book that has an interesting story and makes for a fun read.
The story reminded me of an anime or a manga at times, which I didn't really mind? I've been really into Japanese culture for a while already and of course, that's partly because of manga. But the story really was a bit dramatic at times (and it also reminded me of Twilight at some point). Also, I think that all those expressions used in Japanese that could've just been English as well? Those may have been a little bit excessive... But they did attribute to the Japanese feeling of the story, so it was kind of okay, I guess.
Spoiler
I do think that the glossary at the end of the book was handy, but how many people will take the trouble to keep flipping back and forth in the book? I mean... I'm way too lazy to do that...As for the characters... I really liked Yuki and Tanaka, they were great friends. Katie's aunt was really sweet, I really liked how she tried to take good care of Katie. Katie as a character... she was okay. I liked that she adapted so easily, but found her sometimes a little bit annoying. Tomohiro was... cute, I guess?
Spoiler
Except for the parts where he's a big jerk, which make me like him so much less. One moment he's really nice and sweet to Katie and the next he's the biggest jerky person in the world. Ugh.I really liked Jun
Spoiler
and I was afraid there would be a love triangle, but that doesn't seem to be the case, fortunatelyI recommend this book, it's a good book that has an interesting story and makes for a fun read.
This book was amazing. I loved the world building and the lore that was used for the backdrop of the story. I know the next two books are out and I am looking forward to reading them.
When I first read the blurb for this book I thought 'Awesome!' It's a premise that hasn't really been explored and I was all eager to get started. Then I started seeing quite a few reviews on the negative side and started getting a bit disheartened, but I decided to just read for myself and find out. I'm glad to say that I actually did enjoy this book :)
At first I wasn't very keen about Katie. The way she responded to Diana, made me want to slap her sometimes. She would come across as such a sullen teenager towards her all the time that it was grating on my nerves. My problem wasn't just that, though, it was that she acted like that only with her as if to ascertain that she was indeed a teenager therefore has to be a b**tch towards the only parental figure she has. The rest of the time she acted perfectly alright. Good thing there was some character growth and she stopped being so rude to Diana and treated her with the respect that she deserved. Another thing was I never really understood why she had to keep her relationship with Tomohiro a secret from Diana. I get why to her friends, which found out pretty quickly anyway, but why Diana? It's not like she would have known his reputation unless she explicitly told her, and Diana already thought she was going out with someone...so I didn't get it.
There was also an issue with the pacing. At the start it dragged some but once it hit that halfway mark it really got going. The first half of the book was all really about the romance. The budding relationship between Tomohiro and Katie, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy reading about it. It was just so sweet and goofy that I had a silly grin pasted on my face half the time. Katie did come off as a bit of a stalker but honestly I kinda would have done the same. There was weird crap going on and it was all linked to him so I found it understandable. She was proactive. I liked that about her.
The second half was when the action part really started making an appearance and it came just at the right time, cause as much as I liked seeing their relationship develop it was getting a bit boring by then. We start seeing more of Tomo's powers, some answers about the Kami and a bit about their history as well as a hint about Katie's roll in this whole thing, and we are also introduced to the major sides in the conflict. On one side we have the Yakuza who are obviously the villains, and on the other we have the Kami who technically speaking should be the good guys, but as Katie pointed out, they are just like the Yakuza only with a different reasoning but same means. I really liked that for once there truly isn't a clear cut good guy or bad guy. They both want to use Tomo and by association Katie and they are both willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. I can't wait to find out how the couple is going to handle both of these threats, not to mention Katie's involvement and Tomo's out of control powers.
So, sure we don't get nearly enough answers to really satisfy me, but it's a series so I'll let that one go. I loved the sprinkle of Japanese words thrown throughout the conversation (and they were translated right after like it should be) and the details that came with the Japanese culture. All in all this was a solid start to the series and I'm looking forward to the next one.
At first I wasn't very keen about Katie. The way she responded to Diana, made me want to slap her sometimes. She would come across as such a sullen teenager towards her all the time that it was grating on my nerves. My problem wasn't just that, though, it was that she acted like that only with her as if to ascertain that she was indeed a teenager therefore has to be a b**tch towards the only parental figure she has. The rest of the time she acted perfectly alright. Good thing there was some character growth and she stopped being so rude to Diana and treated her with the respect that she deserved. Another thing was I never really understood why she had to keep her relationship with Tomohiro a secret from Diana. I get why to her friends, which found out pretty quickly anyway, but why Diana? It's not like she would have known his reputation unless she explicitly told her, and Diana already thought she was going out with someone...so I didn't get it.
There was also an issue with the pacing. At the start it dragged some but once it hit that halfway mark it really got going. The first half of the book was all really about the romance. The budding relationship between Tomohiro and Katie, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy reading about it. It was just so sweet and goofy that I had a silly grin pasted on my face half the time. Katie did come off as a bit of a stalker but honestly I kinda would have done the same. There was weird crap going on and it was all linked to him so I found it understandable. She was proactive. I liked that about her.
The second half was when the action part really started making an appearance and it came just at the right time, cause as much as I liked seeing their relationship develop it was getting a bit boring by then. We start seeing more of Tomo's powers, some answers about the Kami and a bit about their history as well as a hint about Katie's roll in this whole thing, and we are also introduced to the major sides in the conflict. On one side we have the Yakuza who are obviously the villains, and on the other we have the Kami who technically speaking should be the good guys, but as Katie pointed out, they are just like the Yakuza only with a different reasoning but same means. I really liked that for once there truly isn't a clear cut good guy or bad guy. They both want to use Tomo and by association Katie and they are both willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. I can't wait to find out how the couple is going to handle both of these threats, not to mention Katie's involvement and Tomo's out of control powers.
So, sure we don't get nearly enough answers to really satisfy me, but it's a series so I'll let that one go. I loved the sprinkle of Japanese words thrown throughout the conversation (and they were translated right after like it should be) and the details that came with the Japanese culture. All in all this was a solid start to the series and I'm looking forward to the next one.