The Way We Fall, by Megan Crewe
7:00 AM Posted by Ella Preuss
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Age Group: Young Adult
Overall: 1 out of 5 Stars
Categories: Drama, Dystopia, NetGalley, Did Not Finish*
Read in January 2012
My Opinion:It starts with an itch you just can't shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you'll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.
And then you're dead.
When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island—no one can leave, and no one can come back.
Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.
Because how will she go on if there isn't?
I was expecting to love this book -the premise is good and it's categorised as a dystopia, which is a genre I love- but alas, I did not. A lot of other people seem to have liked it, and maybe that's why I was expecting too much from this novel. I'd seen a lot of 5 stars reviews on GR.
The novel's protagonist, Kaelyn, begins writing a diary for her ex-bestfriend, Leo. It starts out slow, but that's understandable, because that's how you're supposed to write a diary, little by little, not like a normal prose narrative book. But further on, that's exactly what it becomes; the diary transforms into something else, where Kaelyn narrates everything, but still in a slow pace.
I could not for the life of me relate to any of these characters: Kaelyn, her brother Drew, her cousin Meredith, her father... they were all there, but none (it seemed to me) had enough depth, they didn't seem real to me.
The way Kaelyn retells the events happening in her island are dull and unsufficient for my reader curiosity. Nothing interesting happened, and I found myself (after reading 157 pages) skipping chapters, that didn't show much promise either. The ending was predictable, too.
Needless to say is, I was very disappointed. I was truly expecting something different from what I got. I do want to keep reading what Megan writes, though. Maybe I'll like Give Up The Ghost, people say it's funny.
*It wasn't that I didn't finish it, more like -like I said above-, I skipped chapters after reaching the middle, only to see how it ended and move on to my next read.
The novel's protagonist, Kaelyn, begins writing a diary for her ex-bestfriend, Leo. It starts out slow, but that's understandable, because that's how you're supposed to write a diary, little by little, not like a normal prose narrative book. But further on, that's exactly what it becomes; the diary transforms into something else, where Kaelyn narrates everything, but still in a slow pace.
I could not for the life of me relate to any of these characters: Kaelyn, her brother Drew, her cousin Meredith, her father... they were all there, but none (it seemed to me) had enough depth, they didn't seem real to me.
The way Kaelyn retells the events happening in her island are dull and unsufficient for my reader curiosity. Nothing interesting happened, and I found myself (after reading 157 pages) skipping chapters, that didn't show much promise either. The ending was predictable, too.
Needless to say is, I was very disappointed. I was truly expecting something different from what I got. I do want to keep reading what Megan writes, though. Maybe I'll like Give Up The Ghost, people say it's funny.
*It wasn't that I didn't finish it, more like -like I said above-, I skipped chapters after reaching the middle, only to see how it ended and move on to my next read.
Book Review: Crescendo (Hush, Hush, #2), by Becca Fitzpatrick
11:16 PM Posted by Ella Preuss
Release Date: October 19th, 2010
Publisher: Simon and Schuster's Children's Publishing
Overall: 4 Stars
Other books in the series: Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1), Silence (Hush, Hush, #3)
Summary:
My Opinion:Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but atleast she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar.
Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something.
Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperatly searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.
Hush, Hush was such an amazing, exciting, and fun beginning to a series, that I was hoping to be even more in love with Patch in Crescendo. But I was a little disappointed.
It took me a while to remember that Nora's sixteen years old, therefore some of her actions and decisions seemed a little immature to me. Even so, I couldn't help think sometimes that she could make a better choice. Or tell her, "Why don't you see what he's doing to you?" (he being either Patch, Scott or Rixon).
All that aside, I loved how Becca put even more drama into Crescendo, making Nora question her father's death, thinking it might have been Patch who did it, which led to the two of them eventually breaking up. All I could think was, "No! Don't do that! You can't leave Patch, he loves you!" But I've got to admit, she was very determined, and didn't change her mind like some little girl who says first they want one thing, and then they want another. I liked that.
The Marcie Drama was a little too undeveloped, I think it needed more, I needed to know more. But the Scott Issue was really well written! I loved that.
And the ending! Argh, you can't do that Becca, that's mean! Why did you leave us hanging like that? I tell you, it was all worth it for those final chapters!
So, all in all, while I didn't love this book as much as I did Hush, Hush, I still liked it, and that's why I'm giving it 4 Stars.
Have you read Hush, Hush and Crescendo? Are you waiting for Silence too?
Do you love Patch as much as I do? *swoon* (He's no Alex, though!)
xo, Ella
