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savanna's reviews
286 reviews
Vengeance by Megan Miranda
3.0
Closer to 2.5 stars. I rounded up.
In short, this was a book that didn't really need to have been written. I got the feeling once I saw it existed and it stuck with me while I was reading this novel.
I feel so awful leaving a mediocre review on the sequel to one of my favorite books (especially considering the first of this series is a novel that has some pretty mixed reviews) but I just didn't love it. I wanted to, so badly, but it just didn't happen. When I saw there would be a sequel to Fracture I was immediately excited, but after a few moments of thinking, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly the point of this book would be. One thing I loved about the first one was that in the end things tied together quite well, and while we weren't given some sort of epilogue detailing the rest of their lives I was still satisfied knowing the general direction things would take. What happened in Vengeance, however, isn't exactly what I'd anticipated.
A lot of people are saying that Vengeance is Decker's retelling of Fracture and nothing more, which isn't entirely accurate. This is the story of what everyone's lives are like following the end of the first book, from Decker's point of view rather than Delaney's. I can see where everyone is coming from though with their initial summaries because Decker spends so much time thinking about the events at the beginning of Fracture that it almost makes it feel as though you're back in the first book. Having read Eleven Minutes, which is the tie-in to Fracture and is actually a retelling of Delaney falling through the ice from Decker's POV, I felt all the recurrence in this novel was unnecessary. I liked Eleven Minutes. I liked it a lot. I think the series would have been just fine if it had been left with Fracture and Eleven Minutes; nothing more.
(SPOILERS BELOW)
But this book was written, and so I had to read it. There were parts of this book that were heartbreaking and beautiful, there were parts I loved for their simplicity but genuineness and the entire thing was, in my opinion, pretty well written. I liked Miranda's writing style and I think she comes up with true gems in her work, but unfortunately there just wasn't enough driving the plot for me to truly fall in love with this book. I didn't find it chilling; the idea of a lake coming after people for vengeance is one of the most ridiculous things I've seen, so the idea of a curse laid over the main characters was just laughable to me. Even with the attacks on Decker, Delaney, Kevin, and Tara I was still just saying in my head "lakes don't hurt people, people hurt people". I could no longer relate to the characters, which is what resonated with me so much about Fracture; the fact that I related to Delaney so well. Their actions and their certain beliefs in the lake's power wasn't realistic to me. I understand that was kind of the point, how these kids had all been so jarred over the course of a year that they were sure a body of water was out to get them. It doesn't change the fact that I found it all a bit silly.
Along with the fact that it was generally well written, another saving grace was the character relationships in this book. It was interesting to get a deeper understanding of how close all of the characters were to each other; I feel like in the first book I didn't quite grasp it as well as I had in this one. I was also glad that Tara's character was given more detail and she became more than just the plot device she had been in the first book. With Decker's POV, we're able to see why he likes her, as well as the parts of her Delaney wasn't interested in seeing. And, of course, the dynamic between Decker and Delaney changed a bit in this book. While it was a little hit or miss (in my opinion), I found myself pleased at the end with their relationship.
And that brings us to the end of the book. I thought a lot of what had happened throughout its entirety was melodrama, and then at the end we're revealed something entirely obvious. Maya's mother having been dead for months is really something I'm surprised Delaney didn't sort out earlier, considering how bright she is. Janna being the culprit behind the attacks (excluding Tara's, right?) was less predictable, I'll admit that. But all in all I still came out of that book thinking that nothing much really happened.
Additionally, am I the only one who thought what Decker and Delaney did (calling the police on Maya and her brother for cashing their dead mom's disability checks) was kind of a dick move? Maybe this makes me an awful person but I thought Maya's logic made sense. She and her brother were really doing all they could to support themselves without either of their parents present... it's not as though they were embezzling millions of dollars or anything, they were simply cashing in checks that Decker pointed out himself were not worth much in order to help get by. It's not as if they were living in luxury off her checks alone and it's not as if they were the ones who killed her. She died on her own and Maya and Holden made what is to me the smart, albeit slightly morally questionable, choice. I will admit that Holden's action of trying to drown Tara was bad, obviously, but if I were Decker and Delaney I would have let them just leave. Holden wouldn't try to kill Delaney again after disappearing and no one in their new town would know what their story was. It seems relatively okay. But maybe that's just me...
All in all I found this book repetitive, I prefer Delaney's perspective to Decker's, and I actually hate the cover with nearly every fibre of my being. It just irks me. This book had some beauty in the writing but for the most part it wasn't a satisfying follow up to an amazing debut novel.
In short, this was a book that didn't really need to have been written. I got the feeling once I saw it existed and it stuck with me while I was reading this novel.
I feel so awful leaving a mediocre review on the sequel to one of my favorite books (especially considering the first of this series is a novel that has some pretty mixed reviews) but I just didn't love it. I wanted to, so badly, but it just didn't happen. When I saw there would be a sequel to Fracture I was immediately excited, but after a few moments of thinking, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly the point of this book would be. One thing I loved about the first one was that in the end things tied together quite well, and while we weren't given some sort of epilogue detailing the rest of their lives I was still satisfied knowing the general direction things would take. What happened in Vengeance, however, isn't exactly what I'd anticipated.
A lot of people are saying that Vengeance is Decker's retelling of Fracture and nothing more, which isn't entirely accurate. This is the story of what everyone's lives are like following the end of the first book, from Decker's point of view rather than Delaney's. I can see where everyone is coming from though with their initial summaries because Decker spends so much time thinking about the events at the beginning of Fracture that it almost makes it feel as though you're back in the first book. Having read Eleven Minutes, which is the tie-in to Fracture and is actually a retelling of Delaney falling through the ice from Decker's POV, I felt all the recurrence in this novel was unnecessary. I liked Eleven Minutes. I liked it a lot. I think the series would have been just fine if it had been left with Fracture and Eleven Minutes; nothing more.
(SPOILERS BELOW)
But this book was written, and so I had to read it. There were parts of this book that were heartbreaking and beautiful, there were parts I loved for their simplicity but genuineness and the entire thing was, in my opinion, pretty well written. I liked Miranda's writing style and I think she comes up with true gems in her work, but unfortunately there just wasn't enough driving the plot for me to truly fall in love with this book. I didn't find it chilling; the idea of a lake coming after people for vengeance is one of the most ridiculous things I've seen, so the idea of a curse laid over the main characters was just laughable to me. Even with the attacks on Decker, Delaney, Kevin, and Tara I was still just saying in my head "lakes don't hurt people, people hurt people". I could no longer relate to the characters, which is what resonated with me so much about Fracture; the fact that I related to Delaney so well. Their actions and their certain beliefs in the lake's power wasn't realistic to me. I understand that was kind of the point, how these kids had all been so jarred over the course of a year that they were sure a body of water was out to get them. It doesn't change the fact that I found it all a bit silly.
Along with the fact that it was generally well written, another saving grace was the character relationships in this book. It was interesting to get a deeper understanding of how close all of the characters were to each other; I feel like in the first book I didn't quite grasp it as well as I had in this one. I was also glad that Tara's character was given more detail and she became more than just the plot device she had been in the first book. With Decker's POV, we're able to see why he likes her, as well as the parts of her Delaney wasn't interested in seeing. And, of course, the dynamic between Decker and Delaney changed a bit in this book. While it was a little hit or miss (in my opinion), I found myself pleased at the end with their relationship.
And that brings us to the end of the book. I thought a lot of what had happened throughout its entirety was melodrama, and then at the end we're revealed something entirely obvious. Maya's mother having been dead for months is really something I'm surprised Delaney didn't sort out earlier, considering how bright she is. Janna being the culprit behind the attacks (excluding Tara's, right?) was less predictable, I'll admit that. But all in all I still came out of that book thinking that nothing much really happened.
Additionally, am I the only one who thought what Decker and Delaney did (calling the police on Maya and her brother for cashing their dead mom's disability checks) was kind of a dick move? Maybe this makes me an awful person but I thought Maya's logic made sense. She and her brother were really doing all they could to support themselves without either of their parents present... it's not as though they were embezzling millions of dollars or anything, they were simply cashing in checks that Decker pointed out himself were not worth much in order to help get by. It's not as if they were living in luxury off her checks alone and it's not as if they were the ones who killed her. She died on her own and Maya and Holden made what is to me the smart, albeit slightly morally questionable, choice. I will admit that Holden's action of trying to drown Tara was bad, obviously, but if I were Decker and Delaney I would have let them just leave. Holden wouldn't try to kill Delaney again after disappearing and no one in their new town would know what their story was. It seems relatively okay. But maybe that's just me...
All in all I found this book repetitive, I prefer Delaney's perspective to Decker's, and I actually hate the cover with nearly every fibre of my being. It just irks me. This book had some beauty in the writing but for the most part it wasn't a satisfying follow up to an amazing debut novel.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
3.0
The last chapter really saves this book. Throughout my reading, I was never exceedingly gripped or overwhelmed by this story though I wasn't bored by it. A few times I'd come across a particularly moving passage but for the most part this was unremarkable. With the last chapter, however, I found that I actually did like this book a certain amount and I wouldn't consider having read it to be a waste of time.
I can see why so many people enjoyed this book; to me it was just a bit predictable. I'd say if you're gripped by the premise of this book then you should definitely go for it but otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way to read it if I were you.
I can see why so many people enjoyed this book; to me it was just a bit predictable. I'd say if you're gripped by the premise of this book then you should definitely go for it but otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way to read it if I were you.