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A review by itsnkbitch
I Chose to Die by Ksenia Anske
3.0
I can't give this book anything less than three stars because at times I was blown away. During the first quarter of the book, when the MC attempts and commits suicide I was immersed in this book. This introduction wasn't shock value. It was a well written, emotionally potent, and complex opening that I really connected with. There were some additional moments in the body of the book that were written just as well, and these scenes indicate that this book could have been amazing.
If it had the time to breathe.
I know how this story was created. I have been following it on Twitter. Six drafts were done in a year and a half of this 3 book series. And I love her dedication. But her later drafts would have been more effective if there was a long period of time between drafts, like I am talking at least a year. For the author to mature and grow and learn how to avoid all the writing errors that make it really obvious that this book is someone's first book.
There is no point in making a long list of every error that is in this book besides battering the author, so I will only mention a few things to explain my point. One thing that really pulled me out of the story was the MC knowing information without having to work to gain that information in anyway. For example, she knows how her siren powers and body works without anyone telling her. She knows what is going on in other character's heads without them expressing it. She just knows. She also "just knows" that everything negative/evil about her is her siren inside of her-- even though there is no reason at all for her to be black/white like that. There are a LOT of selfish and reckless things to say about the MC. I really don't believe that all of this is because she is a siren and she was perfectly good before.
Another thing that jerked me out of the story was the writing style. At times there were paragraphs of purple prose that really added nothing but flowery language to the story. That should have been cut. At other times there were paragraphs of technical telling, especially in regards to emotions of characters, that also should have been cut.
Before I close off with a last complaint, I will admit that though the story seemed to be directionless at times, it did consistently have a high-level of conflict, which kept it interesting and fun to read.
Okay, this book did teach me that when discussing my own writing, I shouldn't talk about my themes, and let my readers infer it. If the author didn't give her main reason for writing this book (to discourage teen suicide), then I wouldn't have the complaint about it. But because she did, I now have to judge wether she succeeded or not.
I say that she didn't. For a book written to discourage teens for killing herself, the MC's life really is a lot better now that she is living dead / killed herself. If the MC was remorseful for her life and she dealt with a plot of being uncomfortable with nothingness and isolation, than that would be a book that discourages teen suicide. But really, killing herself was the best thing she did for herself, at least so far. I understand that it created a romantic disconnect from her human love interest (also v. Twilight) but now she has that siren family she always wanted. So... I wouldn't really say it succeeded thematically though it talked about the painful process of death in a couple of scenes that were very gruesome and discouraging, to a point.
In conclusion, though I said all of this, I do plan on reading the next book. Yes, #1 was sub-par but creative. There were elements to sirenhood that was unique and captivating in comparison to other fantasy books. So, I believe the unanswered questions can have some really unique answers that I want to find out.
If it had the time to breathe.
I know how this story was created. I have been following it on Twitter. Six drafts were done in a year and a half of this 3 book series. And I love her dedication. But her later drafts would have been more effective if there was a long period of time between drafts, like I am talking at least a year. For the author to mature and grow and learn how to avoid all the writing errors that make it really obvious that this book is someone's first book.
There is no point in making a long list of every error that is in this book besides battering the author, so I will only mention a few things to explain my point. One thing that really pulled me out of the story was the MC knowing information without having to work to gain that information in anyway. For example, she knows how her siren powers and body works without anyone telling her. She knows what is going on in other character's heads without them expressing it. She just knows. She also "just knows" that everything negative/evil about her is her siren inside of her-- even though there is no reason at all for her to be black/white like that. There are a LOT of selfish and reckless things to say about the MC. I really don't believe that all of this is because she is a siren and she was perfectly good before.
Another thing that jerked me out of the story was the writing style. At times there were paragraphs of purple prose that really added nothing but flowery language to the story. That should have been cut. At other times there were paragraphs of technical telling, especially in regards to emotions of characters, that also should have been cut.
Before I close off with a last complaint, I will admit that though the story seemed to be directionless at times, it did consistently have a high-level of conflict, which kept it interesting and fun to read.
Okay, this book did teach me that when discussing my own writing, I shouldn't talk about my themes, and let my readers infer it. If the author didn't give her main reason for writing this book (to discourage teen suicide), then I wouldn't have the complaint about it. But because she did, I now have to judge wether she succeeded or not.
I say that she didn't. For a book written to discourage teens for killing herself, the MC's life really is a lot better now that she is living dead / killed herself. If the MC was remorseful for her life and she dealt with a plot of being uncomfortable with nothingness and isolation, than that would be a book that discourages teen suicide. But really, killing herself was the best thing she did for herself, at least so far. I understand that it created a romantic disconnect from her human love interest (also v. Twilight) but now she has that siren family she always wanted. So... I wouldn't really say it succeeded thematically though it talked about the painful process of death in a couple of scenes that were very gruesome and discouraging, to a point.
In conclusion, though I said all of this, I do plan on reading the next book. Yes, #1 was sub-par but creative. There were elements to sirenhood that was unique and captivating in comparison to other fantasy books. So, I believe the unanswered questions can have some really unique answers that I want to find out.