This was a FUN book to read. This is not a deep psychological, murder mystery full of twists and turns. This is fluff. Fluff and cliches and handsome This was a FUN book to read. This is not a deep psychological, murder mystery full of twists and turns. This is fluff. Fluff and cliches and handsome boys. I loved every second of it. Sometimes (especially right now with this damn pandemic going on) I like to get lost in a light and easy read. Some of the characters characters were annoying and I hated them (cough Zeena cough), but they were supposed to be written that way. Collins write about the air headed vanity that is Hollywood, and she does a great job portraying that in this book. It’s not all Hollywood bitches, though. Denver is a strong, independent, career oriented woman and she makes a great anti-Annabelle. I really loved reading her chapters the most, she seemed to be the only sane person in the novel (besides Bobby, but he’s a little dumb in his own way). If you want a quick, fun read and have nothing better to do (let’s face it-you don’t), I highly recommend this book. It kept me entertained for hours. I didn’t even need to read the previous books, even though it’s the 7th in the series. It works as a standalone novel, which is great because I didn’t want to start a series right now! ...more
We had to read this in my YA Novel class and I had never heard of it before, but the summary had me very excited. I love reading Native American storiWe had to read this in my YA Novel class and I had never heard of it before, but the summary had me very excited. I love reading Native American stories and was happy to see foster kids represented in this book. I'm used to fast paced, exciting stories with plot twists around every corner, which was the opposite of this. The story progressed very slowly and I didn't feel the strong connection between Sequoyah and Rosemary, even though that was the whole point of this book. We didn't get too much of a backstory for Rosemary, which really added to me not caring about her. It wasn't an awful read, but don't go into this expecting much. I feel like nothing really happened throughout the whole book. And the climax wasn't even that thrilling. We knew it was coming (you find out Rosemary died on the first page) and the build up to it was very drawn out and slow. Basically, the pacing of this novel was not my cup of tea.
I did find it fascinating reading about the daily life of a foster child and they things they can go through. I think if the author would have focused more on that and less on the whole Rosemary thing, I would have been more intrigued. It really opens your mind into what minorities/foster kids lives are like. As a future-adoptive-parent, I would like to keep this book on my shelf in case my future-adoptive-child would want to read it. But, I also want to put it in my local "Free Little Library" in hopes that it'll get into the right hands and some foster child out there feels a little less alone reading a story similar to their own. ...more
It's not that this was a bad book, but it was a disappointing book. I was so excited about reading it, because I thought this was going to be a South It's not that this was a bad book, but it was a disappointing book. I was so excited about reading it, because I thought this was going to be a South Korean feminist novel and I was ready to hate men and rise up against the patriarchy. The back cover reads as, "The dreams torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. It's a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage ans sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that's become sacred to her". So here I am thinking this is going to be a book about a sane woman going against her family's wishes and sticking up for her vegetarianism because of some awful dreams that opened her mind. No. Yeong-hye is just straight up nuts. We never get her perspective of things except when she tells us about this torturous dream that is not really that horrifying. I was expecting some really f*ed up stuff if it made her change her eating habits but (view spoiler)[ it's just her walking through a barn of blood and seeing some face we never get explained to us (hide spoiler)] The book is split into three parts, the first told by her husband, the second by her brother-in-law (who is another weirdo in my opinion), and the third by her sister who was the most likable out of everyone. We never learn Yeong-hye's thought process as she's going through this...change? Metamorphosis? Descent into madness? I think this was supposed to be some beautiful, philosophical story with a deeper meaning, but all I saw was an anorexic schizophrenic losing her grip on reality. There was a scene where she was committed to a psychiatric hospital and she would stand in the corner and do a handstand for over 30 minutes and ignore everyone. As a psych major I can confidentially say...that's not sane. I sided with the family on this one....more
This is one of those books where I watched the movie first before reading it. I'm super glad I did, because I had an amazing guy to picture as Adam. [iThis is one of those books where I watched the movie first before reading it. I'm super glad I did, because I had an amazing guy to picture as Adam. [image] I am slightly angry, though, because I could have finished this book last night had I known that there were only two pages left. The ending consists of about thirty pages full of acknowledgements, club questions, and blah-blah-blah shit no one ever reads. Oh well. Besides that slight annoyance, the rest of the story was amazing. Not five star amazing, but still pretty darn good. I might be slightly biased since the cello has been my favorite instrument since freshman year of high school when I figured out what the hell that sad, yet beautiful sounding instrument was. The characters in this book were refreshingly, completely realistic, and I could easily connect with them. And then there's Adam *cough* my new boyfriend *cough*. He was completely perfect in every way and no one can compare except my original BF Jace (TMI). I'm too busy chasing fictional boys to get a real-life boyfriend or a life in case you can't tell. [image] Now that my fangirling is over (IT'S NEVER OVER) we can talk about the actual writing. It was smooth and quick, just the way I like it. There were two scenes that were horribly awkward to the point where I didn't like it. (view spoiler)[ Like when Adam and Mia first had, I guess...sex? I'm still not sure if they did it or just touched each other like instruments all night. That was werid. And not in a good way. (hide spoiler)] That's the main reason why this wasn't a five star book. I'm so glad I bought the next book, because I cannot wait to start it. Actually, I think I might just start it tomorrow! *whispers* Here I come Adam. [image]...more
This book was good. Not great, but it's good for a YA novel. It kept me entertained during this pandemic and I even grew to love some of the characterThis book was good. Not great, but it's good for a YA novel. It kept me entertained during this pandemic and I even grew to love some of the characters (Jo was my favorite! I wish she played a bigger role). There were some parts that were draggy and made me a little bored, but it's easy enough to push through them to get to the good stuff. I'm not planning on reading the next book, but if I were to see it in a free little library or for a super good discount at a book store, then I would pick it up. ...more
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