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haysaruhh's review against another edition
5.0
oh my god. such an amazing book, could not put it down. the ending totally surprised me. and how she did that to the one she loved.....tragic. a must read, definitely.
librariann's review against another edition
2.0
Ages 13+ (sex, language, violence)
1. Spoiled bitch is so bitchy and unsympathetic.
2. Even worse, teaser bad boy doesn't appear until more than halfway through the book.
Lame, unsubtle, and cliche. At least Marissa Cooper had the good sense to pick Ryan Atwood when she went rogue. Plotwise, it kept me reading, but it had me rolling my eyes the whole time.
1. Spoiled bitch is so bitchy and unsympathetic.
2. Even worse, teaser bad boy doesn't appear until more than halfway through the book.
Lame, unsubtle, and cliche. At least Marissa Cooper had the good sense to pick Ryan Atwood when she went rogue. Plotwise, it kept me reading, but it had me rolling my eyes the whole time.
tigerkat's review against another edition
4.0
Ames has grown up in privilege. She's gone to fancy schools, and never wanted for anything. She thinks her family is perfect, and her father is her hero. Then...her family starts to change. Her father isn't going into work like he used to, and Ames's friends are starting to talk. Soon, her world is turned upside down. Ames learns that her perfect family isn't so perfect, and that her father is far from being a hero.
After Ames's family is forced to move from Colorado to Texas, Ames meets a boy, Marc, and she becomes increasingly alienated from her family and remaining friends, and ever more dependent on Marc for love and affection. But Marc is dark, that darkness attracts Ames, but will it also force her to do the unthinkable?
I really enjoy Gail Giles's work. I was thrilled to get this book in the mail, and couldn't wait to read it. Also, the cover is just awesome.
Ames was a character that I think a lot of teens will be able to relate to. She feels betrayed by her family, and is drawn to someone that makes her feel rebellious, but also someone she feels she can trust. I would have liked to have gotten to know Ames before the downfall of her family a bit more. We get a glimpse, but it mostly feels like a set up for what is to come.
I had a hard time not reading this book, and went through it pretty quickly. I am sure that teens will love it, and it continues Giles's tradition of gritty realistic fiction.
After Ames's family is forced to move from Colorado to Texas, Ames meets a boy, Marc, and she becomes increasingly alienated from her family and remaining friends, and ever more dependent on Marc for love and affection. But Marc is dark, that darkness attracts Ames, but will it also force her to do the unthinkable?
I really enjoy Gail Giles's work. I was thrilled to get this book in the mail, and couldn't wait to read it. Also, the cover is just awesome.
Ames was a character that I think a lot of teens will be able to relate to. She feels betrayed by her family, and is drawn to someone that makes her feel rebellious, but also someone she feels she can trust. I would have liked to have gotten to know Ames before the downfall of her family a bit more. We get a glimpse, but it mostly feels like a set up for what is to come.
I had a hard time not reading this book, and went through it pretty quickly. I am sure that teens will love it, and it continues Giles's tradition of gritty realistic fiction.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. Very compelling book. A disturbing psychodrama. A suspenseful pageturner. Rich spoiled girl loses her fancy house and wealthy trappings, but more than that, she loses trust in her parents-- and then along comes a bad boy... Man, I am still shivering from reading this.
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
2.0
While I like Gail Giles's style, this one has some huge plot holes and lacks enough character development. A little disappointing.
Full review here: http://stackedbooks.blogspot.com/2010/09/dark-song-by-gail-giles.html
Full review here: http://stackedbooks.blogspot.com/2010/09/dark-song-by-gail-giles.html
cgarcia529's review against another edition
3.0
Ames's pretty rich life is falling apart. Her dad loses his job, she loses her private school and masion, and has to move to live in a run down house. With all the changes her parents start to treat her differently and Ames doesn't like it. Neither does Mark. Ames's new fast paced boyfriend, Mar, is dark and twisted and will do anything to keep them together.
This is an incredibly creepy story because it's so plausible. It's not about ghosts or vampires or things that hide under beds or in closets. It's about what happens when your whole life gets turned upside down and your family becomes a group of strangers and how easy it is to cling to something that's wrong when that's all you have to cling to.
I definitely wasn't expecting DARK SONG to end the way it did, but I liked the ending. If you're looking for a fast-paced, drama-filled read, then this is definitely the book for you.
This is an incredibly creepy story because it's so plausible. It's not about ghosts or vampires or things that hide under beds or in closets. It's about what happens when your whole life gets turned upside down and your family becomes a group of strangers and how easy it is to cling to something that's wrong when that's all you have to cling to.
I definitely wasn't expecting DARK SONG to end the way it did, but I liked the ending. If you're looking for a fast-paced, drama-filled read, then this is definitely the book for you.
sunbear98's review against another edition
4.0
Another break-neck read from Giles. Gail is one of my very favorite authors and she didn't disappoint me with her latest. Ames is a very likable rich girl, secure in her family and life. She and her mother, however, are very much alike and struggle to get along. Her father is her hero and she is his little princess.....until their world turns inside out. Everything is gone and Ames must move far away into what looks to have been maybe a crack house. Ames starts searching for security and finds it in Marc, a stretchy character at best. Giles' pacing and character development is spot on. My high school students will love this one.
chwaters's review against another edition
2.0
OK, so I read the ARC of this book in less than a day and I'm generally of fan of Giles' work. I more or less knew what to expect from one of her books: fast pace, suspense, tension and a hint of danger. This one fulfilled those expectations.
However, I had some serious issues with the balance of plot points. Or perhaps it's because the description on the back led me to believe that the latter third of the book was the primary focus. Either way, it was hard for me to reconcile. The first part of book details the downfall of a seemingly-perfect wealthy family. Both daughters are in private school, the family lives in a mansion and they've always been able to anything they wanted. Then, in what to the protagonist, Ames, is a completely unprecedented turn of events, the family loses everything and trust among family members turns to anger, tension and deceit. The family eventually moves to Texas and takes up residence in a rental unit owned by the father's parents. Evidently, the father has managed to convince the kids that they've been dead for years, when in reality, they've been slum lords in the South the whole time. In the process of cleaning out the so-bad-it-should've-been-condemed unit, the character of Marc (the predator alluded to on the back cover) is finally introduced.
I'm I'm fine with the first half of the book; the family relationships throughout the downfall are more or less believable. The main problem I had with it was the introduction of the maternal grandmother as someone who could pull the family together in a time of crisis. She arrives for an intervention, appears a couple more times and then disappears from the book altogether.
It is the part of the book that takes place in Texas that I really took issue with. I had a lot of trouble believing that the main character is so badly scarred by her parent's wrongs that she is willing to put herself in a dangerous relationship. Perhaps if she'd had a long history of abuse/neglect, the decision would've made more sense. Here, it feels it all happens too fast for it to be a logical or realistic development. The character of Marc is very two-dimensional and makes the reader want to smack Ames for not seeing the manipulation that is so painfully obvious. To me, the ending was not only abrupt, it was predictable and somewhat unsatisfying.
However, I had some serious issues with the balance of plot points. Or perhaps it's because the description on the back led me to believe that the latter third of the book was the primary focus. Either way, it was hard for me to reconcile. The first part of book details the downfall of a seemingly-perfect wealthy family. Both daughters are in private school, the family lives in a mansion and they've always been able to anything they wanted. Then, in what to the protagonist, Ames, is a completely unprecedented turn of events, the family loses everything and trust among family members turns to anger, tension and deceit. The family eventually moves to Texas and takes up residence in a rental unit owned by the father's parents. Evidently, the father has managed to convince the kids that they've been dead for years, when in reality, they've been slum lords in the South the whole time. In the process of cleaning out the so-bad-it-should've-been-condemed unit, the character of Marc (the predator alluded to on the back cover) is finally introduced.
I'm I'm fine with the first half of the book; the family relationships throughout the downfall are more or less believable. The main problem I had with it was the introduction of the maternal grandmother as someone who could pull the family together in a time of crisis. She arrives for an intervention, appears a couple more times and then disappears from the book altogether.
It is the part of the book that takes place in Texas that I really took issue with. I had a lot of trouble believing that the main character is so badly scarred by her parent's wrongs that she is willing to put herself in a dangerous relationship. Perhaps if she'd had a long history of abuse/neglect, the decision would've made more sense. Here, it feels it all happens too fast for it to be a logical or realistic development. The character of Marc is very two-dimensional and makes the reader want to smack Ames for not seeing the manipulation that is so painfully obvious. To me, the ending was not only abrupt, it was predictable and somewhat unsatisfying.
arireavis's review against another edition
3.0
This book was weird and twisted and sad and, and, and.... although Ames' complaining and naivety get severly annoying at times, you can totally see where she's coming from. It seems everyone in her life has betrayed her and then expects her to take it on the chin. Then along comes Marc. Oh Marc.... he is straight up crazy... not like 'oh i like em crazy', but like 'RUN GIRLLLLLLL. NOW!' crazy. He reeled Ames into his crazy world little by little and all the while I'm shaking my head wishing she would wake the hell up. But oddly enough, i was mad at how his plans were foiled in the end. Lol