"When my parents were splitting up, they fought over money, until there was none left. Then they fought over me. So I got out before there was none
"When my parents were splitting up, they fought over money, until there was none left. Then they fought over me. So I got out before there was none of me left, either."
Reread, 10 December 2024�16 February 2025 � ★★� It's been almost a decade since I first read this book, and the sequel has been on my TBR ever since. I finally decided that a reread was needed in order to determine whether I could finally justify removing UnWholly from my shelves, which my 16-year-old enthusiasm has up to this point made me hesitant to do.
Looking back as an adult, I can definitely see why my 10th-grade English teacher chose this as assigned reading: there's plenty to unpack morally and thematically, but the prose is quite simple and the story itself compelling. I definitely wasn't as attached to the characters this time around, but I could appreciate what Shusterman was doing here.
However, I found the worldbuilding, especially in the first half, lacking. Apart from the storking and, of course, the unwinding phenomena itself, this world just felt too close to our own. I can see where that could be deliberate, forcing us into a head-on confrontation with the moral questions in play here, but I found it lazy more than anything else. The concept is naturally fascinating but the rest of the book lacks any real creativity, as Shusterman relies quite heavily on the idea of unwinding to carry the rest of the book. I can totally understand where this approach might be best-suited for a morally complex novel written for teenagers, but it did very little for me as an adult.
Three stars does seem like a rather harsh rating, especially considering that I just awarded the same to a trashy hockey romance of all things, but this just wasn't quite a four for me, and certainly not the five I awarded it ten years ago.
The good news is that I finally feel content leaving the sequel behind. I gave this another shot, and the ending proved satisfying enough for 25-year-old me.
First Read, 15 October�2 November 2015 � ★★★★� Since I read this book for my English class at school, I hadn't really planned on writing a review for it, but now I really feel like I need to.
I loved this book. I really did. It's probably of the most well-structured dystopians out there. It has a plot that moves fluidly, strong, dynamic characters, an interesting concept, and a lasting writing style that adds just enough innocence to the characters and the story as a whole.
Seriously though. The characters. Every last one I started off thinking would be annoying or unnecessary. Every last one I fell in love with. They grow on you very quickly without you noticing. I especially liked the dynamic between Risa and Connor. There was no instalove. Nor was there any instahate-and-later-love, which, in my opinion, is worse than the instalove. Their relationship began as a necessity, turned into a mutual trust and respect, and then later turned romantic, as relationships should go, thank you very much.
Though the concept of this novel was rather odd to me at first, Shusterman handles it beautifully. The plot moves along at a spot-on pace, and the last hundred pages or so threw twist after twist. Every time a new one revealed itself I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it coming.
I was honestly so surprised by this book. And I don't think I could have asked any more from it. It was a quick, entertaining read. It very much lives up to its hype....more
i've read only a few graphic novels, so i am certainly not in any way an expert of any kind. but i loved nimona. it was the perfect book to curl upi've read only a few graphic novels, so i am certainly not in any way an expert of any kind. but i loved nimona. it was the perfect book to curl up with for any hour or two on a stormy september saturday morning.
the art style is cute but sophisticated, the characters are lovable and fun, the plot darkens, but not too much, and it's been optioned FOR A MOVIE, which i am very pumped for.
i highly recommend nimona, especially if you're a lil graphic novel novice like me....more
Love and Freindship was very different from how I thought it would be. I would not recommend going in expecting it to be like the Austen works you alrLove and Freindship was very different from how I thought it would be. I would not recommend going in expecting it to be like the Austen works you already know.
This edition is, naturally, a collection of Jane's works as a teenager. It was really entertaining for me personally to see how far she came as a writer.
Most of the stories in this book are brief, insensitive, and very degrading to the characters in them, who tend to be silly and make heavily unrealistic decisions.
But the writing is still very Jane--quick, sassy, and merciless. And once you get past the utter bizarreness of many of the stories, it becomes very entertaining to see how ruthless Jane could be to the characters she created, as well as the late eighteenth century English society she lived in.
If you consider yourself an Austen fan, I would definitely recommend this, especially if you're very familiar with her work. This book is a fun, light read that really gives perspective on Jane's journey as a writer....more
"Of all the things and people she missed lately, it was odd to find herself at the top of the list."
midnights by rainbow rowell - five out of five
"Of all the things and people she missed lately, it was odd to find herself at the top of the list."
midnights by rainbow rowell - five out of five stars. rainbow rowell never fails me.
the lady and the fox by kelly link - three out of five stars. i liked the feel of this one, but there were too many plot holes, even for a short story, for me to really enjoy it.
angels in the snow by matt de la peña - three out of five stars. cute but felt wobbly and unrealistic.
polaris is where you'll find me by jenny han - two out of five stars. i was really looking forward to this one because i love jenny's stuff but the main character was so young and naïve and the concept so wonky that i didn't enjoy it.
it's a yuletide miracle, charlie brown by stephanie perkins - five out of five stars. stephanie perkins could write a cookbook and i'd love it.
your temporary santa by david leviathan - two out of five stars. the characters and the plot of this one felt forced and underdeveloped.
krampuslauf by holly black - four out of five stars. this story ended up being super unexpected with fabulously memorable characters. i guess this is a sign i need to read more holly black.
what the hell have you done, sophie roth? by gayle forman - five out of five stars. i think this one was my favorite overall. i loved sophie's sass and the general cuteness. gayle forman kind of dropped off my radar after if i stay and i didn't get along, but after reading this, i want more of her writing.
beer buckets and baby jesus by myra mcentire - three out of five stars. this story was nice but i didn't really feel like it was anything special.
welcome to christmas, ca by kiersten white - four out of five stars. didn't strike me as much as some of the others but the entire thing was strong—plot, characters, setting.
star of bethlehem by ally carter - four out of five stars. i really loved this one. probably the only reason it lost a star is because i have a hard time with made-up celebrities.
the girl who woke the dreamer by laini taylor - three out of five stars. the world building in this one was weird. laini taylor and i never seem to agree.
average rating comes out to 3.58, which rounds up to four stars...more
the more YA dystopians i read, the less i like them. article 5 was not, by any means, a terrible book, especially considering i had to read this for sthe more YA dystopians i read, the less i like them. article 5 was not, by any means, a terrible book, especially considering i had to read this for school.
but there was nothing special about it. the plot was almost identical to that of alexandra bracken's the darkest minds. but alex's book was much more involving and much better done.
if i had read this a year or two ago, i probably would have really enjoyed it. but i've read so much YA dystopia that it just didn't resonate with me anymore. if i weren't so familiar with the plotlines, the characters, the settings of these types of books, it would have been a much better read.
i am rather curious to see where this series may go, but having to discuss this in school will probably ruin this for me anyway....more
“Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts may be; it is mutabl
“Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts may be; it is mutable and cannot withstand you if you say that it shall not.�
Frankenstein disappointed me just a little bit. I had heard excellent things about this, and it turned out to be less of a profound read than I expected it to be. I would have liked a lot more character development on Frankenstein's part and less killing off of my favorite characters on Shelley's part.
But considering what a huge feat of literature this is--it was the first ever science fiction novel and was written by a teenage girl at that, which is freaking awesome--I have to give it a lot of credit. I feel like the fact that Mary completely one-upped her husband in the same field by writing one of the most famous stories of all time goes entirely unrecognized when it is literally the coolest like yes LADY POWER. ...more
it took me an absurd amount of time to read this. it also took me an absurd amount of time to get to it.
thankfully, however, this was all my personal it took me an absurd amount of time to read this. it also took me an absurd amount of time to get to it.
thankfully, however, this was all my personal fault and not that of the book itself.
i really enjoyed this installment of this series. i think i liked it even more than the first book. lia's character development has been incredibly spot-on, as has kaden's.
rafe, not so much. i was team rafe last book, but the two of us are not on good terms anymore, and now i'm team kaden. i lOVE RAFE'S MERRY MEN THOUGH. they are very redeeming for him.
there are really only two plot issues i had that prevented this from getting five stars: the way the plot dragged on and the romance between rafe and lia.
i know i've already said i don't like rafe, but this is why. his relationship with lia feels so fake to me. it feels like pearson is trying to make something happen where nothing is happening. i think lia's opinion of him is seriously biased, and i'm still trying to come up with grounds to see why she really likes him. all he did last book was lie to her, and all of a sudden since he dumbly ran across the desert after her, he's suddenly some sort of hero.
i really did enjoy the political intrigue in this book. but that was literally the entire plot. we never got away from the komizar parading lia around the city. there were some surprising twists in there�(view spoiler)[the marriage proposal, the morrighan scholars living beneath the sanctum, the way lia herself killed the komizar in the end which i am so very proud of, by the way(hide spoiler)]—but i felt like the entire book was built up for an epic battle that never happened. yes, the (view spoiler)[komizar's death was pretty big, but it was all over so quickly, it feels like it hardly counts. (hide spoiler)]
still, i have strong feelings the beauty of darkness is going to be epic, and i really feel like pearson's world and plot building is going to produce something magnificently complex and good. i am so excited to see how this series concludes!
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PREREADING
3/27/15 imaging this next to kiss of deception on my shelf makes me so heart eye emoji...more
It's kind of hard to write a review for this, considering it's a bind up of various short stories. I do want to say Arthur Conan Doyle is a really greIt's kind of hard to write a review for this, considering it's a bind up of various short stories. I do want to say Arthur Conan Doyle is a really great writer, and every time I read his Sherlock Holmes stories, I am very impressed.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO GIVE A SHOUTOUT TO THE BBC because literally the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch is so flipping spot oh my lord.
If you do watch BBC Sherlock, I would 100% recommend you read the original stories because you appreciate the show so much more, and you see all the little parallels, and it's just great....more
"She'd been a ghost for years now, anyway, her heart full of the forgotten dead."
This review makes zero sense please prepare yourself.
Quite frankl
"She'd been a ghost for years now, anyway, her heart full of the forgotten dead."
This review makes zero sense please prepare yourself.
Quite frankly, I have struggled with trying to love the Throne of Glass series as much as everyone else does. I really liked the first book. Crown of Midnight was pretty good too. But I struggled to make it through Heir of Fire. I still don't understand it, but for some reason whatever made everyone else love HoF never made it around to me. I think maybe if I reread it now, I might like it better, but who knows.
But I am not one to shy away from finishing a series, especially since I really did like the first two books. And I'm so glad I made it to Queen of Shadows. The first two hundred fifty pages were slow and contained a lot on unnecessary fluff, but the rest of the book was fantastic. The plot picked up considerably, the characters finally began to resonate with me, and the intrigue built upon itself as the story moved along.
The plot twists in this book were excellent Especially (view spoiler)[the king not being the real king but actually a demon ??? and Perranth being their real enemy this whole time ?? Props to SJM. (hide spoiler)] Every book this series runs deeper and deeper than you'd expect it too.
I'm really liking the way Lysandra's story has tied into this series. I freaking love her. She honestly made this book eight times better for me. And I'm thrilled and nervous for Untitled and to see what happens to all these people. I am so glad my baby (view spoiler)[Dorian (hide spoiler)] is back. Slight theory (view spoiler)[Dorian lowkey ends up with Elide ??? AND AEDION AND LYSANDRA ARE DESTINED FOR EACH OTHER FIGHT ME ON THIS. Also 389% sure Rowan's dying by the end of this series. Sorry friends I do ship it but there is no way that is endgame. (hide spoiler)]
Also I would like to become a part of the Aelin's court squad. SIGN ME UP PLEASE.
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PREREADING
8/31/15 d-day is tomorrow and my copy isn't supposed to come in for another week ahahahahshhsbfj *cries*
8/10/15 apparently someone on tumblr got an early copy and leaked a TON of spoilers what a great time not to be on tumblr
3/12/15 i really wish everyone would stop obsessing over who celaena's going to end up with like she's celaena effing sardothien or aelin effing ashryver galanthynius or whoever you effing like, but do you really think she's going to just "pick" someone??? she's already chosen duty to terrasen over chaol & dorian multiple times; if it comes down to it, i don't think she'll "chose" anyone thank you very much :-)
3/10/15 AND NOW THERE IS COVERR WOAHH IT IS SO PINK YET SO DARK AND SCARY i wanna see celaena in pretty dress on back tho soon sarah pls???? aLSO I JUST READ ON SARAH'S BLOg that 'celaena' in the narration is officially being switched to 'aelin' i actually do not like this it is going to take me a while to get used to.
3/9/15 SO THERES A RUMOUR GOING AROUND WE'RE GETTING A COVER TOMORROW???...more
I like this series. I like the premise, I like the characters, I like where the story is headed. "Like" is a very adequate description of how I feel abI like this series. I like the premise, I like the characters, I like where the story is headed. "Like" is a very adequate description of how I feel about these books. I do not love them. They are not the best books I've ever read. But they're good, and they're interesting, and that's all you can really ask for.
The plot though. The thing with the whispers is weird. I don't know how else to say it. It's different in some ways, yes, but it's creepy, and it hasn't really been well explained. I'm hoping that in Their Fractured Light we get Tarver or someone to come up with a simple comparison for these whisper people thing because right now all I am is what.
sPEAKING OF TARVER & LILAC CAN WE STOP FOR A MINUTE AND JUSTTT. THEY WERE SO CUTE IN THIS. SO FLIPPING CUTE. How two people can be such cuties, I don't even know.
Okay, right, but this book was about Jubilee and Flynn. I had a hard time with feeling the same boundless love I feel for Lilac and Tarver when it came to Lee and Flynn. Jubilee was the one I really couldn't deal with. There several times in the book where I wanted to reach in and shake her. Flynn I felt was a washed-out, more patriotic version of Tarver. I really feel like they both still have a lot more room for character development. Tarver and Lilac both changed so much after their experience, and I guess I was expecting a little more of an integrity change for Jubilee and Flynn that just really didn't come.
So other than all that, this book was a good read. (lol like goodreads ahahaAHAHHFNNOVOANOA) [ahem] I'm really excited to meet the next two protagonists Amie and Meagan chose and see how this story raps up....more
I don't even have coherent review thoughts for this read. I had heard AMAZING thing about this book, and I'm very pleased to announce it lived upWELL.
I don't even have coherent review thoughts for this read. I had heard AMAZING thing about this book, and I'm very pleased to announce it lived up to the hype. Not a lot of books will do that for you.
I have now learned, through this book and the Lunar Chronicles, that I really love space books. Space exploration always perks my interest. Like there are hundreds of trillions upon millions of billions of little planets just like ours out there. And I think that's cool.
The world (well universe) Amie & Meagan created was sophisticated and sleek and techy and exactly what I want from a sci-fi read. I'm just really pleased overall with this.
And the romance. Lilac and Tarver are literally the cutest people I've ever seen in my entire life. AND THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. bless.
NOT SO IMPORTANT NOTE MY COPY OF THIS IS LITERALLY PERFECT LIKE I ORDERED IT ONLINE & IT CAME IN PERFECT CONDITION. THERE'S LITERALLY NOT A SINGLE BLEMISH OR CRACK OR TEAR ANYWHERE IT'S MADE ME BEYOND HAPPY LIKE SHOUTOUT TO barnesandnoble.com FOR TAKIN CARE OF ME.
There was only one problem I had with this book, and that was (view spoiler)[Lilac's death. I see why it was necessary to the plot, but the way the aftermath was written was confusing and weird and I just didn't like it. (hide spoiler)] Honestly, if it wasn't for how that bit was written, I probably would have given this five stars.
But I really did love this book, and I ordered This Shattered World earlier today, and I am vERY EXCITED FOR IT tbh, wowie. ...more
I liked both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, but didn't love them. And I truly did enjoy reading Agnes Grey. But by the end of Wildfell Hall, I was pretty done with Anne's preachiness and moral superiority. And it having been almost two years since I'd read her elder sisters' books, I expected little from Shirley.
And I really didn't get a lot during the first half. I struggled to make it through the first part of this novel. But about halfway through, I hit a point where the whole story began to resonate with me, and suddenly I was zooming through it.
This novel is very political, much more so than Jane Eyre. It has a very different feel from JE that took me a while to get used to. But it's very well-written, in a way that pushes you to keep going.
I think I've got the Brontës figured out. Emily's strength was her ability to write both settings and mood; Wuthering Heights made me want to book the next flight to the Yorkshire moors. Anne's strength was her plots, very carefully outlined and structured, especially in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. And Charlotte's is, naturally, her characters.
I didn't realize how much I loved these characters until (view spoiler)[Caroline got sick. (hide spoiler)] They seriously grow on you. And looking back at Jane Eyre, I saw the same was true of that cast of characters. The people Charlotte creates in her novels are fiercely vivid and endearing. I originally seriously disliked the title character, Shirley Keeldar, but by the end of the story, I was cheering her on just as much as my darling favorite, Caroline.
Shirley Keeldar really shouldn't have been this novel's title character. Caroline should have been. If I had to pick a protagonist for this book, I would choose her. The story doesn't really deal with Shirley as much as its title insinuates; she doesn't even make an appearance until a third of the way through. Caroline was really the character Charlotte centered the novel around. Her situation was very relatable to me on a number of levels: she's in love with a man who acknowledges her as nothing more than a distant cousin, she's caught in the middle of a disagreement between that same man and her uncle, she wants to be independent but has that idea put off by a number of people, and she's constantly in the shadow of her best friend, Shirley, whom she becomes the confidant of, but cannot confide in. And she doesn't deal with it bravely or strongly, like most nineteenth-century literary heroines would. She deals with it as the average man would: sadly, reluctantly, and acceptingly. Caroline Helstone, to me, is proof that things will surely turn out at least okay in the end.
And truthfully, the ending was, to me, the very best part of the whole book. It was well-done and inexplicably pleasing. The blurb on the back of my copy mentioned that this novel was not intended to end as happily as it did. Charlotte had originally planned to kill off Caroline. But Caroline was also based off of her younger sister Anne, who died unexpectedly while Charlotte was in the process of writing this. And then Charlotte changed her mind. She took all that sadness and pain and decided her characters would not have it. That maybe she wasn't happy at that moment, and maybe she felt, like Caroline through much of the story, that she never would be again, but just because she was unhappy didn't mean her characters had to be. She recognized that there was still happiness to be had somewhere in the world, and even if Anne was gone, the Anne in the world she created didn't have to be.
first off, if you scroll all the way down, you will see my predictions for this book. i would like to casually mention they all came true. i am a genifirst off, if you scroll all the way down, you will see my predictions for this book. i would like to casually mention they all came true. i am a genius for once.
alright, secondly, i loved to all the boys i've loved before. it's definitely one of the best books i've read so far this year. and since i was a little late on reading this sequel, i began to hear from people who were not a little late that this book wasn't as good as the first one.
and it wasn't, honestly. but i had expected to be majorly disappointed in it, but i wasn't. so since i had lower expectations up front than anyone else did, i think i enjoyed it slightly more. it really ended up surprising me.
i love the characters in this series so much. so much. they give me the warm fuzzies. they all feel so real. it's beautiful. even though going into this i thought i would be adamantly team peter, i really was rooting for john ambrose mcclaren for a while there. he's literally every girl's dream man. i waNT ONE. (view spoiler)[i'm so glad lara jean chose peter, because now i can freely take john from her without any otp guilt. (hide spoiler)]
am i sad (view spoiler)[lara jean chose peter? absolutely not. they belonged together. as i belong with john ambrose mcclaren. (hide spoiler)]
aLTHOUGH I SERIOUSLY DIDN'T THINK (view spoiler)[IT WAS GEN WHO SENT THE HOT TUB VIDEO TO ANONYBITCH. i thought that was way too obvious. and for a third of the book i thought FOR SURE it was chris, just based on some things she said. but it wasn't. (hide spoiler)] anyway.
my favorite character from these books is still kitty, even though everyone's been hating on kitty a lot lately. like ??? she's a nine year old girl ??? of course she's going to be a little annoying ?? i'm sure you were annoying as a nine year old too ?? i know i was. and i don't even see why everyone says she's a whiny brat. sure she mailed lara jean's letters in book 1, but that was a key part of the plot. she's adorable, and i love her, and i would def be okay with her being my sister.
speaking of sisters, the best part about this series is definitely the song sisters' relationship. i love their dynamic so much, and i think jenny did an excellent job with it. you go, girl!
i'm super sad that this is the last book with all these characters, but this stuff is great rereading material, and i'm sure i'll be revisiting it at some point in the future.
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PREREADING
5/8/15 THE MENTION OF ANOTHER BOY HAS ME SO TENSE JENNY DON'T FAIL ME
5/3/15 jenny revealed the back cover on instagram/twitter yesterday & tHE CUTENESS HOLY
4/11/15 PREDICTIONS: - the reason the locket was missing from mrs kavinsky's store is bc peter bought it for lara jean - dr covey is going to get a girlfriend (possibly gen's mom or someone nasty like that) - oOH maybe said girlfriend will be coffee spilling neighbor...more
I was was kind of disappointed by this book. I had heard great things about Rae Carson. I had heard she was the master of high fantasy. I was so readyI was was kind of disappointed by this book. I had heard great things about Rae Carson. I had heard she was the master of high fantasy. I was so ready to love this book. But I didn't.
The real reason I feel this series has steady popularity is the diverseness of the main character. Young adult readers eat diversity up like it's dessert, because we so often succumb to repetitive storylines, romances, and character qualities. I will give Rae Carson the fact that she was not afraid of making her protagonist "fat." I applaud that, actually. When the exception of Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park, I can't think of any other main characters, especially female, who are self-proclaimed "fat." There are so many girls out there who need a book that tells them that just because you are viewed as weak or not pretty or fat doesn't mean you can't kick ass and save your kingdom.
Also, Rae did add a number of twists to the plot that surprised me. I've read a lot of young adult fantasy, and I've never seen someone kill off so many potential love interests so fluidly and in so one a book. The inclusion of religion in this book was another feature that surprised me, and that really smoothly weaves itself throughout the story. Young adult literature never addresses religion, and it was refreshing to read a book that actually did.
But besides these three points, which saved the book a star, I was not a fan.
I really didn't care about any of the characters. When Humberto (view spoiler)[died I was like "oh, that's cool" but felt no emotion about it whatsoever. (In fact, I thought Elisa's "grief" throughout the rest of the book felt really forced.) (hide spoiler)] I was not a fan of the writing. It didn't do anything special for me at all. It really lacked the overall fantasy feel for me. The Spanish culture thing was interesting but not very intriguing; the world overall felt second-rate; and, despite all her diversity, Elisa really got on my nerves. She did go through a lot of character development, but all her actions and thoughts felt haphazard and fake.
As I mentioned above, there were some unconventional things done with the plot, but the rest of it of it was all stuff I had seen before. It felt all to similar to The Kiss of Deception.
It's quite possible I may continue with this series at some point in the distant future, but for now I think I'm out. Also, I should probably begin limiting my YA fantasy, because I've read a lot of it recently, and it's starting to turn dry....more
Rebel Angels did a lot more for me than its precursor, A Great and Terrible Beauty. This I'm mainly going to attribute to the London setting, which I Rebel Angels did a lot more for me than its precursor, A Great and Terrible Beauty. This I'm mainly going to attribute to the London setting, which I loved probably too much. Bray's Victorian London was dark and interesting, and you got to see a lot of it, which I really appreciated. Her London society, however, I found a little wobbly and lacking at certain points, but it still gave the story an enjoyable twist.
One thing I do like about this series is that it addresses certain issues that are never really touched on in other books in this genre: Ann's cutting, the racial problem with Kartik and other Indians during this period in British history (I really like that the primary love interest in this series isn't another obnoxious white boy), the (view spoiler)[the abhorrent sexual abuse Felicity suffers. (hide spoiler)] I think it's important to remember that these issues aren't just relevant to contemporary novels, but that they affect people from all time periods and all cultures.
But all positivity aside, my God, these characters are pretentious.
Sometimes I love them and their sweet little friendship, but a lot of the time I want to smack them for being so, well, schoolgirlish. I can see Bray trying to develop their characters and make them rounded, but it's not working. Strong, fluid characters are really important to me, and this series doesn't really have a lot of them.
The plot, too. I mentioned this in my G&TB review, but it's just so lacking. The mystery of the whole Temple thing made this book a little more bearable than last book's silly schoolgirl antics, but I feel like Gemma barely even tried to find it until the last like seventy-five pages. Also, every freaking time they went into the realms, I found myself skimming ahead to get back to the fun social life in London things. If you can't make the reader care about the central plot, you're doing something wrong. The entire setting of the realms also felt very weak and undeveloped to me. I had a hard time envisioning it beyond a dilapidated courtyard.
As I did with the last book, I'm giving this four stars, but once again I feel like that's a little high. Damn Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and their lack of half-star ratings....more
Out of the three books in this series, this one was probably the best. It contained more of a well-developed, central plot, stronger characters, more Out of the three books in this series, this one was probably the best. It contained more of a well-developed, central plot, stronger characters, more twists and turns than one would have expected.
BUT DANG WAS IT LONG.
Eight hundred pages is too long for a YA book, if you ask me.
I really do think Libba stepped up her game with this, though. For once, I actually felt a sense of connection to the realms: they weren't weak and flimsy feeling as they had been for me in the previous two books. I really began to care about what happened to those worlds, instead of putting up with them to get to the Victorian stuff. That was a major improvement.
I also feel like, both throughout the series and this book particularly, almost every single one of the characters went through sometime kind of development. And character development is my favorite. The most notable developing in this book pertains to Mrs. Nightwing, Ann, Felicity, and Fowlson. Mrs. Nightwing's transformation from the strict, Victorian schoolmarm to the strict, Victorian schoolmarm who knows about a secret layer of worlds besides our own, was probably one of my favorite things about this trilogy. I loved her relationship with Gemma. I loved her part in the ending story. I think Libba did an excellent job making use of her character. Ann I ended being so proud of. Though she was relentlessly whiny and helpless through the series, I wanted to give her a standing ovation when she got up the gumption to audition for Charles's show as herself. FINALLY she was making her own decisions and making the most of herself. Felicity Worthington is probably the most complicated character from these books. She is most certainly not the petty mean girl you think she'll be when you first meet her in A Great and Terrible Beauty. Libba had her deal with two controversial topics that are highly disputed in our time, and were never even spoken of in Victorian England: sexual abuse and (view spoiler)[homosexuality. (hide spoiler)] I personally applaud Libba for including those things. She did very well dealing with them, and I think it's important to remember how they affect anyone, in any time or culture. I was also pleased with how Libba turned Fowlson from (view spoiler)[devious bad guy to reluctant good guy. (hide spoiler)] It was fun having him on the team, and getting to know him a little more.
Lastly, the ending. I was really happy with how this series wrapped up, more happy than I have been with anything else in a while. There were so many unexpected things about the ending that I loved. Kartik's (view spoiler)[death (hide spoiler)] really surprised me. You don't really see YA authors going around (view spoiler)[killing off love interests. (hide spoiler)] They're just too essential to the genre. I will take any twist to stereotypic YA with open arms, no matter how I feel about any character. I really love that Ann. Felicity, and Gemma all got to make their own choices and go their own ways on new adventures. There was a twinge of sadness to this, but it made for a good ending.
Libba finally sold me on this series completely. And I'm not complaining....more
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