I'm kind of amazed that I actually finished this book - albeit with a lot of skimming and sighing. I can't remember where I heard of this, but I'm preI'm kind of amazed that I actually finished this book - albeit with a lot of skimming and sighing. I can't remember where I heard of this, but I'm pretty sure I put it on my to-read list based on the cover and the fact that it sounded like a quick but cute read. Well, it was a quick read but not necessarily a cute one. Claire is a high school senior who's interested in Luke, the new guy at school. Claire's best friend, Megan, is also interested in Luke. The girls agree to let Luke decide who he wants to date; when he picks Megan, Claire tries to be okay with it, even though she still likes Luke and it seems like he likes her too.
The description of this book calls it "addictive, heartfelt, and often hilarious" and I couldn't disagree more. The only thing that kept me reading was the thought that somehow it would turn around and improve. There was no heart to anything in here, there wasn't a single funny moment, and most chapters made me cringe.
The book was told in alternating chapters, one showing the current situation and the next going back in time to recap a first kiss Claire had with someone. The flashback chapters, especially the earlier ones, were completely superfluous and added nothing to the book. They didn't feel feel believable (or heartfelt, for that matter) and had no depth, so I couldn't help but skim the longer they went on. Some of the later flashbacks showed other pieces of Claire's life, which helped round out backstory, but none of them were really necessary and they all just felt like page fillers.
A big problem was that there was literally no one to root for in this book. The friendships shown in this book were completely toxic. Claire and Megan are supposedly best friends, yet they treat each other terribly and make each other miserable. Claire has no backbone and doesn't stick up for herself; Megan walks all over people. Even the main plot about them fighting over Luke was frustrating because Luke was a total loser. He's dating Megan but Claire thinks he really likes her... I can't root for a supposed "love interest" when he's supposedly unable to stand up for himself and date who he supposedly wants to date. It was pathetic and made me hate Luke. At one point, Luke insults Megan behind her back and that makes Claire happy because even though Megan's her best friend, it "proves" that Luke doesn't really want to be dating Megan and would really rather date Claire. Lest you think this was a singular incident, the flashbacks proved that Claire and Megan often let guys come between them and that constant cat fighting between girlfriends is acceptable behavior. It was all uncomfortable and ugly to read about.
The girls in here all called each other names and treated each other absolutely horribly because, you know, that's what girls do (I guess?). And the guys were jerks with no brains of their own but, you know, boys will be boys (I guess?). There was one scene where I felt like Claire was about to become closer friends with a different girl... but then, nope, she just couldn't feel like she was BFFs with anyone other than Megan. Ugh. I really hated everyone in here and did not understand why anyone was friends with anyone else (misery loves company?). I didn't feel like the author really got into the heads of these characters, since there was no depth to anyone and none of it seemed the least bit realistic.
The book was so shallow overall and did an incredibly poor job of showing any sort of positive anything. There was so much drama in here and all of it was manufactured. It was not only a terrible representation of friendships, relationships, and family, but the book was written as if all this was normal and okay. The writing didn't help the story any, since it didn't make the characters understandable, nor did it evoke any emotions from me except frustration.
Not a book I'd recommend, especially not to teens (who are the target audience!), since it's such an unhealthy look at life. Ugh....more
Let's see if I can make this book sound like it has a plot: Penelope heads off to Harvard for her freshman year of college and meets all sorts of otheLet's see if I can make this book sound like it has a plot: Penelope heads off to Harvard for her freshman year of college and meets all sorts of other students around campus.
Sounds like a pretty short plot, but... yeah, that's it. I actually didn't read the entire book, which was too painful to get through more than a few chapters, but I flipped through the pages, curious where the book was going. Turns out, nowhere (I talked to the friend who gave me this book to confirm this). I honestly don't know what this book was supposed to be. A funny satire of what college is like? A skewering of the pretentiousness found at Harvard? It read like maybe a long inside joke to the author's friends from Harvard (because of course she went there). I don't know who else would read this and enjoy.
The title character was a limp personality. She didn't make interesting observations about the world around her, she didn't actively do much of anything, and she just kind of was awkward - and not in a good way. It made you wonder how she supposedly got into Harvard (an obvious answer: duh, money). The surrounding characters were equally as shallow, none of them actually seeming like real people. Reading about these "people" was so taxing.
Making the poorly drawn characters and lack of a plot worse was the fact that the writing felt so juvenile. This read like a first draft by someone who had no idea of how college worked or how novels were written. There was literally no tension, no believable dialogue, no character development... nothing. Example:
The day of the placement exam, Penelope woke up with a stiff neck. At first she forgot she was at Harvard. Then she remembered.
I think paragraphs like this are supposed to be funny but just fell flat. As did the dialogue. A typical exchange:
"This party is so nuts," said John.
"It's always like this. Everybody here is insane. But it's so awesome," said Lisa.
And then, on the next page:
"John, what were you saying before?" asked Lisa.
"About what?" said John.
"I forget what we were talking about," said Lisa.
This sort of dialogue happens frequently in real life, but good novels keep their pace up by glossing over unimportant moments like this and focusing on the main points. With this novel not really seeming to have a point, I supposed everything just got included. I wondered multiple times how this go published - and, judging by the reviews on this site, I'm not the only one who feels this way. Ugh. Not even worth the bargain bin price my friend paid for the book!...more
After hearing so much talk about this book, I decided I had to see what all the fuss was about. This didn't sound like something I'd usually read, butAfter hearing so much talk about this book, I decided I had to see what all the fuss was about. This didn't sound like something I'd usually read, but I checked it out anyway to form my own opinion about it. It is, after all, so easy to criticize this book without reading it. It's about the relationship between a naive college grad and an older rich man who's into BDSM, after all - one can make fun of the book off that summary alone. But I was informed (by a few people who'd read it and loved it) that the book was so much more than that. And so I gave it a try.
The entire book reads like bad fan fiction - which, I suppose, is appropriate, considering the fact that it began as Twilight fan fiction. Anastasia is clumsy, naive, and innocent. She's never had a boyfriend and barely even held someone's hand. Christian is intense, secretive, and wants Anastasia to be his. And when I say "be his," I mean that he wants her to be his Submissive and him her Dominant. Anastasia apparently has no backbone or self-respect because she sort of goes along with whatever Christian says; she just can't resist how hot he is! Even when he emails her a lengthy contract spelling out what their relationship will and will not consist of, she thinks multiple times that he's a "control freak" but still thinks about it. Her best friend (who she can't talk about Christian with because he's made her sign a non-disclosure agreement) thinks Christian is creepy and that Anastasia should steer clear of him, but she doesn't heed this good advice. Instead, the reader is treated to pages upon pages of her wondering why Christian is the way he is and why she can't just say no. There's also a TON of sex scenes in between these mental debates... because Anastasia just can't turn him down.
The writing is pretty poor. Anastasia's line of choice is "Oh my..." whenever anything happens. Christian's hot? Oh my. Christian's naked? Oh my. Christian has an entire room devoted to weird sex stuff? Oh my... It really grated on me. The rest of the book was written awkwardly as well; I don't know how else to describe it. It was simple writing trying to be more. Then again, people aren't reading this book because of its writing! If there's a good story, bad writing (to a point) can be overlooked.
But that brings me to the story. I don't quite understand the claim that one doesn't read this simply for the sex because once you take out the multitude of sex scenes (and the pages talking about the sex that's about to happen or just happened or that someone wants to happen...), then there's not much left. Other characters sort of conveniently disappear once Christian shows up (also, let me mention that he's overly jealous that she even has male friends because he wants her all to himself...). At one point, he actually tracks her whereabouts (like with her cell phone) so he can show up... Yeah. I don't understand how I'm supposed to regard him as anything other than a creepy stalker. Despite Anastasia's claims that she's fallen in love with him, there was no romance in the entire book; this was not a love story. Despite all the talk about their relationship being mutually beneficial and how Christian doesn't want to hurt her (at one point he tells her, "I want to claim your ass." Um... yeah...), he comes across as angry and violent toward women. That's not someone I want to root for.
I have no idea how this series got so popular or what other people are seeing in it that I don't. Are we reading the same book?!? I won't be reading the rest of the series, but considering how many people are, I'm sure no one cares....more
If this book hadn't been short and a really quick read, there is no way I would have finished it. The main character, Holly, is feeling bad, so she thIf this book hadn't been short and a really quick read, there is no way I would have finished it. The main character, Holly, is feeling bad, so she throws herself into a fling with some guy at her school, who happens to have a girlfriend that Holly later becomes friends with, complicating everything.
Holly is an incredibly unlikable character. She makes bad choices and bad decisions time after time, and it's really obvious that nothing will change unless she takes action, but she seems content to just wallow in self-pity and let others walk all over her. I couldn't identify with her at all and I really didn't like her. The secondary characters are kinda bland too, with no on really standing out. Some of the characters seemed to have the same conversation with Holly over and over again. I guess this was to drive home the point that she was taking no action to change her situation, but it just grew tiring and repetitive. Finally, the end of the book was completely lacking. Nothing was really resolved, Holly hadn't changed, and I wondered what the point of this book was. Not exactly the way one should feel! ...more
I picked up this book expecting to like it, since I've enjoyed the author's previous novels, but sadly, this book wasn't even good enough to finish. II picked up this book expecting to like it, since I've enjoyed the author's previous novels, but sadly, this book wasn't even good enough to finish. I think I read about half of it (skimming a lot of that). It's supposedly about the fallout after a teacher and high school student are accused of having an affair, but really the book just dragged on and on about the girl's weird personality and family; chapters were interrupted by "comments" friends and family made about her life, all written as if they were commenting on a blog or to a newspaper, using their real names. None of the characters were likable, and it felt as if there was no real plot or point to the story; there was also no depth to the characters. I didn't even think it was well-written, which is especially disappointing because (like I said) the author has written other books that were fabulous. This one, blech....more
I read this (obviously) because I've seen and loved the show based on the books. However, this is clearly a case of some producer seeing the glimmer oI read this (obviously) because I've seen and loved the show based on the books. However, this is clearly a case of some producer seeing the glimmer of a good idea in a book and significantly changing the characters and the story to make a show that is actually entertaining.
This book was BAD. I couldn't even finish it, it was so terrible. The writing is poor, the characters are like walking cliches, and the likability factor of anyone in the pages is completely nonexistent. The dialogue is wooden and makes me wonder when the author last heard teens speak. The main character, Elena, is described as a flawless beauty, able to have anyone and anything she wants, and there is absolutely no depth to her at all. All of the characters, in fact, are transparency-paper-thin. Why should I care about any of them? I can't believe how terrible this was!...more
The good thing about this book is that I won it on Goodreads. The bad thing is that the book wasn't very good.
Matt is a husband and father who's unempThe good thing about this book is that I won it on Goodreads. The bad thing is that the book wasn't very good.
Matt is a husband and father who's unemployed, about to lose his house, and thinks his wife's having an affair. He'd quit his previous job to start up a financial website, doling out advice in the form of poetry (which was not particularly funny, despite the attempt to be), and when this idea fell through and bankrupted him, he was unable to get - and hold on to - another job. One night outside a 7/11, he meets a couple of young guys who offer him some pot and Matt suddenly decides becoming a drug dealer for a little while is the answer to his financial problems.
The plot idea isn't all that bad. However, the way it's executed makes the book drag on, and none of the characters are likable. There were a few lines that made me smile; my favorite line is when Matt mentions that the reason he was never jealous of his wife's exboyfriend is because his last name was pronounced "Stain" and how can you be jealous of someone named Stain? That's amusing. Unfortunately, amusing moments were few and far between.
There are poetry interludes constantly through the book, beginning chapters and taking up full chapters as rambling manifestos that have nothing to do with the plot. One short chapter, for example, is a long poem about moms wearing thongs. How does that relate to the main plot? I don't have a clue. And, it wasn't funny. It was just weird.
Although I wanted to feel bad for Matt for being in such a dire financial situation, he wasn't much of a sympathetic character, nor was anyone else in the book. The character development fell flat, and not only did I not sympathize with the characters, I did not even like the characters. Instead of confronting any problem or even acting like a responsible adult, Matt simply headed off to 7/11 to meet up with his new "friends". Most of the attempted humor fell flat, and I had a really difficult time getting through the book. Very disappointing....more
Tried to read this book because it won an award, but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't care about the characters, didn't understand why I should cTried to read this book because it won an award, but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't care about the characters, didn't understand why I should care about what was happening, and it felt like the story was going nowhere. So, I didn't bother finishing it. Reading other reviews of this book, it seems like a lot of people say it takes about 100 pages to get into the story. I ask, why would I want to read 100 pages of a story I'm not enjoying to supposedly get to the heart of the story? Lame. What is it with award winning books sometimes being unreadable???...more
Nowhere near the quality of the first book. This installment basically never needed to be written, and it completely lacks the charm and entertainmentNowhere near the quality of the first book. This installment basically never needed to be written, and it completely lacks the charm and entertainment of the original Penderwicks book. I could only get about 1/4 of the way through before I put the book down, frustrated with its ridiculous plot: The four Penderwick sisters are shocked when their aunt arrives and starts setting their dad up on blind dates, despite him not wanting to go on the dates, and they're afraid they will soon get an awful stepmother. Talk about contrived. I just grew less interested as the pages went on; I wish the author had just left this story alone after the first book....more
Randomly picked this up at the library because the cover was cute and it sounded halfway decent - a girl travels to a faraway (fictional) territory, nRandomly picked this up at the library because the cover was cute and it sounded halfway decent - a girl travels to a faraway (fictional) territory, newly under her empire's control, to be with her father and her fiance, then falls in love with someone else and starts thinking about life in general as well.
When I opened the book, I was amazed by the long list of books the author has penned. Then I started reading and discovered how she'd found enough time to do so - there wasn't much to the book.
The first problem was at the very beginning. Talk about lazy writing - instead of introducing characters in a clever way, this guy Ket tells Averie (the main character) about the territory he comes from, saying that there people usually introduce themselves by telling you all about their background. Averie then "practices" this introduction and tells Ket (and the reader) all about herself, from her age, to her status, to her parents professions, to her siblings, etc. Good grief, it was painful! But I kept reading, mainly because I was in the bathtub and had no other material at my disposal. Not a promising start for the book.
There were a few things I liked in this book, like the description of the marketplace and Averie's friendship with another girl her age who's also visiting the territory. But there were far too many things I didn't like, such as the way the author almost "forced" Averie and her fiance apart (her fiance, for what it's worth, seemed to be a decent guy and Averie's constant spouting about political issues she knew nothing about were irritating), to the "love story" between Averie and Ket (even though they barely saw each other), to the "twist" at the end of the book. I say "twist" in quotation marks because I was expecting it from the moment the character it involved was introduced. Not very subtle foreshadowing.
There are better books out there. I will make sure to bring a stack of them with me next time I want to read in the bath! ...more
This book wasn't the worst book I've ever read, but I'm still surprised that I got through about half of it before tossing it aside. I can't remember This book wasn't the worst book I've ever read, but I'm still surprised that I got through about half of it before tossing it aside. I can't remember where I heard about the author; her most recent book sounded interesting, but the library didn't have that one, so I picked this up instead. It was quite a let down.
The plot had a lot of promise - two girls, determined to get to the top of the high school social chain, decide to do whatever it takes to get there, but once Sloane gets in, she leaves Winter (the main character) behind, who then channels her anger into starting an anonymous blog and spilling Sloane's secrets on it. Cyber-bullying - very timely. Unfortunately, the execution of this idea wasn't as good as it should have been. It takes quite a while for the actual blogging to start, and then other people at school find out about the blog completely randomly, saying something like, "Oh I just found this cool new blog yesterday!" Since WInter doesn't use any identifying details on her blog, that seems pretty farfetched... plus, the blog entries included in the book aren't very interesting anyway; they include nothing any other emo teen would be posting. So, disappointing. Furthermore, their friendship seemed, from the beginning, like it was based on history together rather than actual continuing friendship. Winter is a little irritating, and they all talk like a stereotypical girl from Laguna Beach would, despite the fact that Winter says living there is nothing like life on the show Laguna Beach.
Anyway, I gave up with this one. There are so many good teen books out there, but unfortunately this isn't one of them. Even if you're looking for total escapist fare, you could do better....more
I read this book because it had to do with marching bands, even though the plot sounded pretty dumb - two drum majors don't get along but are forced tI read this book because it had to do with marching bands, even though the plot sounded pretty dumb - two drum majors don't get along but are forced to work together and... gasp... discover they're into each other!!! Well, the book was bad. Probably every chapter had something to snicker about or make fun of, and the characters weren't even fully developed. I kept reading because it was so bad it was almost entertaining (plus, it was a quick read, so it wasn't like I wasted a lot of time on it). There were really cheesy scenes where the band director sits the two drum majors down and forces them to talk to each other and to him - not cheesy because it needed to happen, but cheesy in the way it DID happen; the relationship between the drum majors and the band director was very very odd, and I think the director's character was supposed to be funny, but it just came out very forced. The whole "I like the other drum major!!" plot was pretty forced too, what with it magically happening even with some pretty awful things going down between them and the rest of the band. So, so, tacky. What a disappointment. But it made for some good laughs......more
Emily Giffin is a very talented writer. Her first two books were nearly impossible to put down, she wrote the main characters so sympathetically and rEmily Giffin is a very talented writer. Her first two books were nearly impossible to put down, she wrote the main characters so sympathetically and realistically that the stories truly came alive. Her third book was decent - not as mind-blowingly good as the first two, but still okay. This one, unfortunately, I couldn't even finish.
My problem does not stem with the plot - a married woman runs into an ex-boyfriend and starts wondering about him and how her life could have been different if she'd ended up with him. Granted, I thought the plot was on the weak side, but I had hopes that the author would pull this plot off. Sadly, it all just fell very flat, and I did not like the main character at all. I couldn't see why she'd ever dated this ex of hers, and I wasn't sympathetic to her plot because she just seemed so dumb. I made it maybe a quarter of the way through before just having to finally put it down. It just wasn't interesting.
Very disappointing, especially from an author who I know can write wonderful books. I'm sure others enjoyed this because she is a good writer, and even in this book her talent shows through, but for me, the writing wasn't enough to save it....more
The more I think about this book, the less I like it, which is (obviously) the opposite of how it should work. But this book read like poorly written The more I think about this book, the less I like it, which is (obviously) the opposite of how it should work. But this book read like poorly written fan-fiction - both prose and the plot! - and there was very little to like. The writing was just okay (like the previous books), the plot was beyond stupid, all the "twists" were obvious (nothing "subtle" about the foreshadowing...), etc. etc. How did this book get published?!? Even the ending was a huge let down; virtually nothing of interest happened and all possibly interesting conflicts were glossed over. Bella wants to become a vampire and should be having difficult as a "newborn" and giving up her old life... but that all went smoother than anticipated! What a cop out. In fact, the whole book fell under that category...
The characters were less likable than in previous books and it was actually painful to read about Bella, Edward, and Jacob. How, I wondered time and time again, could a person be so stupid? Parts were creepy (not in a good way...), parts were icky, and parts were just so bad that I wanted to burn the book. I am cringing right now just thinking about it all. I can't even begin to list all the times I wanted to put down the book but didn't because I kept thinking it had to get better and that if I wanted to discuss this mess with others, I should finish the whole thing, just to see how it ends. Oh, and the name "Renesmee"???? A HUGE "wtf" is in order here!
Aside from the mind-numbing plot and no character development, I also hated the way everything just worked out. Bella didn't have to give up anything to have everything she wanted and the stakes were pretty much non-existent, even though I think I was supposed to feel that all their lives were in danger. Even Bella's dad was kind of like, "Ok, I'll be kept in the dark about everything! It's all fine!" Uh, what? No conflict? Nothing of interest? Nope - everything was glossed over. Cop out. It was all just so boring. And pretty weak for what's supposed to be the final book in a popular series. Very, very disappointing. Although in one regard it succeeded - I don't want to read anything more in the series by this author, not after this book! So it did cement the series shut, just probably not in the way the author hoped.
I am at least glad I just checked this out of the library; I feel sorry for those who bought it! It's probably hard to write a final book in a series and please readers, but this one didn't even come close to being half decent. It makes me sad to think how many copies this book has probably sold......more
I got almost halfway through this book before having to stop. The book started off okay but not especially enthralling; it felt like a knockoff of TwiI got almost halfway through this book before having to stop. The book started off okay but not especially enthralling; it felt like a knockoff of Twilight, with a little Harry Potter thrown in the mix. Bianca is sent to boarding school where everyone is seemingly perfect and she falls for a guy, Lucas, who thinks it's best they keep apart.. but they can't. For starters, the love plot seemed totally forced. Bianca keeps thinking about Lucas and thinks she's sooo in love with him, even after he's rude to her and starts fights with people who are trying to defend her. Yeah, it's pretty bad... and incredibly painful to read. I started to read a little faster, hoping to get to the "good part" of the book. And then this happened:
***Spoilers***
At the dance, Bianca and Lucas go outside and Bianca can't control herself and bites him. Other students appear and ones says that it's about time Bianca becomes a vampire like the rest of them. Next thing you know, Bianca is mentioning that she's known she was a vampire for years, how her parents always kept her informed about stuff like that, etc. Whaaat?? I couldn't buy the twist at all. It totally came out of nowhere and it didn't make the least bit of sense; if she'd known this all along, the bite wouldn't have been such a shock AND she wouldn't have spent time wondering about everyone else at the school because she would have already known!! At any rate, it was so dumb that I could only read a few more pages, hoping for something that would make everything make sense, and eventually I just put the book down.
This is not a book I'd recommend to anyone. It's one thing to like twists in a book, but there needs to be at least a little set up for it and have the twist actually make sense. This was awful. There are way better books out there to read. ...more
This book had such potential but ultimately did not deliver. Its premise is both interesting and timely: everyone's future depends on passing a standaThis book had such potential but ultimately did not deliver. Its premise is both interesting and timely: everyone's future depends on passing a standardized test; if you don't pass it, you can't graduate high school, and you will never get ahead in life. The class differences are very obvious - there is terrible traffic and smog on the ground, whereas the rich fly around in their own helicopters and attend private schools that don't require the test to graduate. Ann, the main character, discovers that the test is a sham and that Lep, a foreign boy in her class, is being bribed by the maker of the test with test answers in exchange for him to do illegal things.
The story seemed interesting at the beginning, mainly because it was setting up the plot (most of which I already knew from reading the back cover), but even when interesting events happened, it was unable to keep my attention. For example, a substitute teacher comes to Ann's class and seems to know nothing about the all-important test and instead has them read real stories and makes lessons interesting. How, I wondered, did she get a job as a teacher if she doesn't know about the test? Where did the school find her? These questions were never answered.
Problems with the book: Much of Test was written in the passive voice. It drove me crazy and kept any potential action from seeming eventful. Though the book isn't all that long, events were constantly rehashed, such as "If she didn't do ___, then ___ would happen!" I knew that already, in every case, because it was already the driving force behind someone acting a certain way. It felt like much of this had to do will filling up pages so the story would be novel-length. Lep's dialogue also drove me crazy; to drive the point home that his English isn't good, his speech is written out poorly and, after a while, that becomes irritating. Furthermore, the love stories the author tried to develop were very, very lacking and not interesting. Worst of all, the ending is terrible! Everything is wrapped up very quickly, basically summarized, and is not satisfying. I even rolled my eyes at some of the ridiculousness that ensued!
This is all especially disappointing because I remember, years ago, reading books by WIlliam Sleator and enjoying them. I don't know if his writing has declined or if I simply had lower standards as a kid; at any rate, I feel confident that this book wouldn't have pleased me, even if I was that young again. I give this two stars because the overall idea driving this book's plot was interesting and I did enjoy parts of it, but there are much, much better teen books out there that have more developed plots, better paced action, and more satisfying endings. Parts of this book, in fact, made me think of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, which were all so much better than this.
Overall, if you have to read this book, get it from a library. It's just so disappointing....more
I can't believe I read this whole book. Okay, so I started skimming in the middle. But still.
This book sounded so promising: a boy grows up in these dI can't believe I read this whole book. Okay, so I started skimming in the middle. But still.
This book sounded so promising: a boy grows up in these domes that have been built by the government to shield its population from the terribleness in the outside world. His younger sister is one of the Wonder Babies (no one has children the old fashioned way, they all order them and they are delivered by a machine called a stork) that are too smart for their own good and ask too many questions about the world. Well, the government can't have these kids thinking and asking the wrong questions, so they decide to round up and "recall" the Wonder Babies, and the boy decides he needs to venture outside the dome to discover the truth about where they've been taken and the world as a whole.
Sounds interesting, right? The problem is, the author did not carry off the plot well at all. So many supposedly pivotal moments, I couldn't even understand what was going on, she was so vague in the description. I even read certain passages multiple times, hoping to understand! The pacing was another problem - it starts off slow and nothing truly exciting ever really happens. Minor characters all sound the same, and I never really got emotionally invested in the plot.
For all this, however, there are some interesting things. For example, the boy gets a "dog" from his parents as a present (all animals are really robots) and the "dog" turns out to be a modified robot that can do all sorts of illegal things... but it's never explained how the dog happened to be modified or why it was given to him. I felt like the author thought, "This would be interesting; who cares how it happened?"
I kept reading because despite the problems, I liked the premise of the book and wanted to know how it ended (though I was really left hanging on a lot of it... like the dog question...). Unfortunately, the ending was just as much of a let down. Instead of having the boy "earn" the answers of what is going on, he's basically just told by someone else how it works. And by that point, I didn't care.
Definitely not a book I'd recommend to anyone; it was incredibly disappointing. I won't be picking up anything else by this author!...more
This book was SUCH a disappointment. I'd heard of the author, kept seeing the book around, and decided to give it a shot. It started out okay and got This book was SUCH a disappointment. I'd heard of the author, kept seeing the book around, and decided to give it a shot. It started out okay and got better as the story moved forward. Some of the period references got old (for example, instead of just mentioning rations, the author went on and on, describing the different ways this affected their lives), but I was willing to overlook that because I was drawn into the lives of the main characters. When I neared the end, I thought how much I was actually enjoying this book - and then the author went and wrote the absolute worst ending I have ever read in a book. Seriously. The ending absolutely ruined the book for me - it skipped forward in the future, robbing the reader of understanding WHY anything happened and HOW it happened, and it seemed like the author did not know how else to end it but wanted to surprise the readers. It completely ruined my opinion of the book. It just made me mad and did not make me ever want to read another thing by this author. I hate it when an ending is bad, but it's even worse when the ending is SO bad that it makes you forget all the good parts about the novel!...more
Wow, was this book ever bad! I expected something entertaining and funny, since people seemed to like it, but thisbook just dragged on (despite its shWow, was this book ever bad! I expected something entertaining and funny, since people seemed to like it, but thisbook just dragged on (despite its short length) and was not entertaining in the slightest. I didn't care for a single character, didn't care what happened to them, and the writing itself wasn't even good. How did this get to be so popular, much less drag on for an entire series?!?...more
Blech. The plot of this sounded good - a girl joins a secret society on campus and gets in over her head - so I checked it out of the library. I am soBlech. The plot of this sounded good - a girl joins a secret society on campus and gets in over her head - so I checked it out of the library. I am sooo glad I did not waste money on this! It is poorly written, for starters, and the pacing is absolutely horrible. I did not once feel excited about anything going on, just bored. Lots of characters are introduced briefly, and then the reader is supposed to remember them and care about them. Riiiight. The characters are really self-centered and are so incredibly into the whole "I am in a secret society! But oops, I shouldn't really be talking about it, even though I am!" Like it's the biggest deal ever. Then, the big "problem" that occurs with the secret society she's in is that it used to be all-male and the older members don't want females in. Lame. And predictable. I made it about halfway through this book before deciding to set it aside because it was just that bad. ...more