Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
You know what they say: Never judge a book by its cover. And while this cover is so badowl and the title is awesome, the book itself disappointed me.
Basically Blaze is a quiet, nerdy, comic-loving girl who drives her brother and his friends(and teammates) to soccer practice and games. She is in love with his coach(or so she thinks) and so when one day the coach needs a ride home, she sees it as her chance to get to know him better. Blah blah blah, he's not what she thought and now she's trying to get back at him.
I expected this book to be so much more awesome and while it did end pretty well, I just didn't feel the book lived up to the rest of the expectations I had.
Basically Blaze is a quiet, nerdy, comic-loving girl who drives her brother and his friends(and teammates) to soccer practice and games. She is in love with his coach(or so she thinks) and so when one day the coach needs a ride home, she sees it as her chance to get to know him better. Blah blah blah, he's not what she thought and now she's trying to get back at him.
I expected this book to be so much more awesome and while it did end pretty well, I just didn't feel the book lived up to the rest of the expectations I had.
I couldn't make it through 3 chapters of this book it felt so forced and nothing like what a teenage girl would be thinking about.
I think this book is pretty underrated! I really liked how it was written and I loved the comic book pages. It was very original and I felt like I was feeling all the emotions the main character was feeling throughout the book. When she was in love, I was in love. When she hated someone, I could totally see why. I thought that it tackles issues that not a lot of young adult novels get to talk about, which is one of the things that made it such an interesting read
I read this for free on Wattpad, and I should add that I only read like 80% of the book and then skimmed through the rest, but there is wayyyy to much of slut-shaming and stupid decisions on Blaze's (and her friends) part. (Even if this was the point of the book, it didn't really deliver).
I liked Blaze's little brother and his friends, though. Two stars for them.
I liked Blaze's little brother and his friends, though. Two stars for them.
I really wanted to love this book. As a geek girl myself, I was ready for Blaze to be my YA anthem, the book I desperately wished to have had in middle & high school. But alas, this was not this book. I found the main character Blaze hard to relate to; it's almost as if her geekiness was used as a replacement for actual character, a defining 'quirk' that made her manic-pixie-dream-girl-esque. I didn't want her to worry about others' opinions; I wanted her to be as badass as her role model, Jean Grey, and actually do something. Quentin started off as pure obnoxious (think redditor, men's right's activist, pretentious fanboy that thinks all girls have cooties -- oh wait) and transformed into bland and stereotypical.
I think what mostly I couldn't stomach was that off-brand geekiness - it didn't feel quite authentic. It felt staged. It felt like the geekiness was used as a substitute for substance.I went in hoping for a Community, and instead I just got another Big Bang Theory.
I think what mostly I couldn't stomach was that off-brand geekiness - it didn't feel quite authentic. It felt staged. It felt like the geekiness was used as a substitute for substance.I went in hoping for a Community, and instead I just got another Big Bang Theory.
Simple, yet riveting, Blaze should be on everyone's to-be-read piles and wishlists! Laurie Boyle Crompton has written an amazing debut full of teen angst, girl-power and geek fandom!
Blaze is a 17-year-old comic-book-geek girly-girl who is smart, snark-y and has a huge heart. Her father has taken off to NYC to pursue his acting career which has left her mother a bit bitter and overworked, so Blaze has had to step-up, pitch-in and play "soccer mom" to her 13-year-old brother and his friends. Since most of her free time is taken up by her brother's soccer practices and games, she spends the time reading her comic books, working on her own comic book stories starring Blazing Goddess, her alter-ego, and dreaming about Mark the soccer coach.
And then one day, Mark acknowledges Blaze's existence and Blaze's crush soars into space and she is determined to do whatever it takes to make Mark her boyfriend.
While out shopping one day with her friends, Blaze is trying to get their advice as to what she should do to get Mark to realize that she is the one he wants as his girlfriend; in the spur of the moment, her bestie snaps an unforgettable cell phone picture and sends it off to Mark.
Of course she has his attention now....
And then she learns, that being super-geeky-boring girl wasn't so bad after all.
Well, this book brought back all kinds of high school memories. Although, thank goodness, I never went through any of the bad stuff that Blaze had to endure, I do remember what it was like to have a crush and feel like it would be the end of the world if I couldn't make him mine. Even in my old age now, it is an indescribable feeling to have such a strong need to want someone to like you back as much as you think you like them. You barely know the person, personally. Yes, you see what he likes/dislikes in school, know his schedule by heart, who he's friends with, etc. But you don't really know his personality, what he's like at home, his family, etc. But for some odd reason, you just don't care. He's cute, you like him and no one can convince you otherwise. The things that some girls will go through to prove that they are worthy of a boys attention is heartbreaking.
I love Laurie's writing style; Blazes personality shines through - I felt her loneliness, anger, hurt, snark. I loved every single time she geeked-out about comic books and that she used her talent to release her feelings. I adored the way she and her brother, Josh, cared and took care of each other - the relationship that they both had with Josh's friends was amazing and so genuine. I loved how they kidded around with each other, but mostly, how these group of boys looked up to Blaze like she was their big sister too.
Plus, all of the comic book mentions (Blaze is a hardcore Marvel fan!) were so fitting and perfect! The ARC did not have any of the illustrations, so I'm sure that with the artwork included this book would easily become a 5-star rating for me.
A definite must read for all booknerds, geeks, comic book hero fans and more! Can't wait to get my hands on a finished copy!
Blaze is a 17-year-old comic-book-geek girly-girl who is smart, snark-y and has a huge heart. Her father has taken off to NYC to pursue his acting career which has left her mother a bit bitter and overworked, so Blaze has had to step-up, pitch-in and play "soccer mom" to her 13-year-old brother and his friends. Since most of her free time is taken up by her brother's soccer practices and games, she spends the time reading her comic books, working on her own comic book stories starring Blazing Goddess, her alter-ego, and dreaming about Mark the soccer coach.
And then one day, Mark acknowledges Blaze's existence and Blaze's crush soars into space and she is determined to do whatever it takes to make Mark her boyfriend.
While out shopping one day with her friends, Blaze is trying to get their advice as to what she should do to get Mark to realize that she is the one he wants as his girlfriend; in the spur of the moment, her bestie snaps an unforgettable cell phone picture and sends it off to Mark.
Of course she has his attention now....
And then she learns, that being super-geeky-boring girl wasn't so bad after all.
Well, this book brought back all kinds of high school memories. Although, thank goodness, I never went through any of the bad stuff that Blaze had to endure, I do remember what it was like to have a crush and feel like it would be the end of the world if I couldn't make him mine. Even in my old age now, it is an indescribable feeling to have such a strong need to want someone to like you back as much as you think you like them. You barely know the person, personally. Yes, you see what he likes/dislikes in school, know his schedule by heart, who he's friends with, etc. But you don't really know his personality, what he's like at home, his family, etc. But for some odd reason, you just don't care. He's cute, you like him and no one can convince you otherwise. The things that some girls will go through to prove that they are worthy of a boys attention is heartbreaking.
I love Laurie's writing style; Blazes personality shines through - I felt her loneliness, anger, hurt, snark. I loved every single time she geeked-out about comic books and that she used her talent to release her feelings. I adored the way she and her brother, Josh, cared and took care of each other - the relationship that they both had with Josh's friends was amazing and so genuine. I loved how they kidded around with each other, but mostly, how these group of boys looked up to Blaze like she was their big sister too.
Plus, all of the comic book mentions (Blaze is a hardcore Marvel fan!) were so fitting and perfect! The ARC did not have any of the illustrations, so I'm sure that with the artwork included this book would easily become a 5-star rating for me.
A definite must read for all booknerds, geeks, comic book hero fans and more! Can't wait to get my hands on a finished copy!
I really enjoyed this book, the nerd girl in me loved every page. Blaze is a girl who wants to be seen and desperate for a guy to want her, and tries to find ways to be seen by a guy- a douche named Mark, I really wanted to punch him in the face one time (no, a lot of times). She wanted the spotlight, she got it in the form of her wearing something left to the imagination which has been sent to Mark which he puts on the Internet for all the world to see. No one should ever have to go through what Blaze when she had to go through the aftermath of 'the post'. But this book teaches you about yourself and you shouldn't care what ANYONE thinks about you, whether they are speaking good things or bad things.
"Blaze" is the story of Blaze, a comic book loving/ comic loving girl, who finds out just how quickly a private photo between two people can go viral when things go sour. Even though this is a pretty serious topic, Crompton does a great job of making this cautionary tale into a thoroughly entertaining story that I really enjoyed.
I really liked Blaze. She's quick witted, funny, and sarcastic. She's pretty smart but the mistake she makes in letting her friend take a picture of her in lingerie and sending it to her crush, Mark the Shark, is pretty dumb but I think we've all done something kind of dumb that snowballs into a major chaos situation. I definitely felt for her. She is totally spellbound by Mark. Blaze isn't exactly part of the cool crowd in high school so she's absolutely shocked when Mark, who happens to be her brother's soccer coach, starts showing an interest in her. Even though Blaze is very smart, she is so blindsided by Mark paying attention to her, she does some kind of stupid things. I really felt that Blaze felt like a real character. She's flawed but still very endearing. The dealings between the different characters was one of my favorite things about this book.
I liked that Blaze is independent enough to try to take control of the situation with Mark and also the situation with her absentee father. She doesn't mope too much and wait for someone else to pick up the pieces. You have to admire that.
Overall, this was a good story on an important topic!
I really liked Blaze. She's quick witted, funny, and sarcastic. She's pretty smart but the mistake she makes in letting her friend take a picture of her in lingerie and sending it to her crush, Mark the Shark, is pretty dumb but I think we've all done something kind of dumb that snowballs into a major chaos situation. I definitely felt for her. She is totally spellbound by Mark. Blaze isn't exactly part of the cool crowd in high school so she's absolutely shocked when Mark, who happens to be her brother's soccer coach, starts showing an interest in her. Even though Blaze is very smart, she is so blindsided by Mark paying attention to her, she does some kind of stupid things. I really felt that Blaze felt like a real character. She's flawed but still very endearing. The dealings between the different characters was one of my favorite things about this book.
I liked that Blaze is independent enough to try to take control of the situation with Mark and also the situation with her absentee father. She doesn't mope too much and wait for someone else to pick up the pieces. You have to admire that.
Overall, this was a good story on an important topic!