mynameismarines's reviews
1076 reviews

Reviews all seem to agree that the less said about this book, the better. That is, the less you know going in, the more effective this moving, intricate and evocative plot will be for you. If that's all you need to hear from me, good. Read this if you haven't already. If you'd like a few more non-specific specifics read on.

Firstly, this story is brilliantly paced. There was a point where I thought, "it is over. There is no more story left. What could possibly happen next?" and really it was just shy of the end of the first act. Then, another big moment absolutely steam-rolled my emotions, and there was still about 20% of the book left. It was very good about keeping me off balance.

And on the topic of off balance: I had to switch between wanting to absolutely plow through the story and needing to take breaks to get my feels in order. There were a lot of details, especially in the first half of the story, and at times I felt tempted to skip over the description of such and such plan or such and such airfield, just to be one step closer to knowing what was happening. DON'T. Temper yourself, pay attention, read and know that every little detail counts.

I loved the characters so much, and I loved their friendship and it made it all the more emotionally compelling that we got to fall in love with their friendship at THIS point in their story.

Truly a great read and one that will stay with me in the many days and weeks to come.

3.5 stars

I'll first admit that I read this book during a weird reading time in my life. I barely had time to do any "for fun" reading and what would normally take a weekend took my about four months to accomplish. That's all just personal crap, I know, but I feel like it's fair to my review to put it in that perspective.

ANYHOW, The Darkest Minds tells the story of a a dystopian future in which children either die or develop unexplained abilities that inspire fear amongst the adults. The surviving children are placed in internment camps, and there we find our protagonist Ruby.

The first few chapters show us some of Ruby's life in the camp, as well as detail her escape from it and to me, it was the highlight of the book. The world Bracken built is far from perfect, and it takes a little work to fully buy what she's selling, but the writing was interesting enough that learning about all the different pieces of our MC and her life thus far was interesting, and often times heartbreaking.

As we enter the road trip portion of the book, things slow down drastically. Just in and of itself, the plot is about ambling, about searching for something our rag-tag group of abilitied kids have no idea how to locate. Unfortunately, because of this, the telling of the story suffers and also seems to amble and search. I had to push myself through the middle chunk of this book, because as I much as I loved the characters, the plot lacked momentum. For a portion of the story, we don't know what Ruby's goal is, and that also adds to the feeling that things happen unconnected from any sort of end game.

I mentioned the supporting characters and they were all wonderful. Well, namely, I liked Zu and Chubs. Liam was pretty solid as a leader and (shock!) love interest, though I'm assuming we'll see more of that in however the author decides to carry on the series.

There was a lot of super evil in this book. The kids are in fact surrounded on all sides by pure evil. I guess cases could be made for some of the villains being complex, and acting in a way that they at least view as what's best, but that would mostly be conjecture, as the author doesn't make that apparent while reading. I mean, we're talking rounding up kids into harsh internment camps from the onset. It builds from there until the story is cocooned in a dense layer of almost-cartoonish villainy.

Overall it was an entertaining premise which is what kept me going. The end was a nice set-up for follow-ups, though I wouldn't say that a single thing from this book was resolved. I would certainly read the next installment, however.

Confession: I have a bit of a soft spot for boys who are a little (or a lot) rough around the edges. And obviously, I'm talking strictly when it comes to books... I can think back as far as reading [b:The Outsiders|231804|The Outsiders|S.E. Hinton|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1314327508s/231804.jpg|1426690] in school and as recently as [b:The Knife of Never Letting Go|2118745|The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking, #1)|Patrick Ness|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1277071696s/2118745.jpg|2124180], which I read this year.

In The Twelve-Fingered Boy I was introduced to Shreve and Jack, two boys serving out sentences in juvie, but our heroes nonetheless. The book was gritty and woven together with a depressing sort of realism. "We're born into pain," Shreve tells us a few times throughout the book, "and we leave in pain, and we cause it along the way too, it seems. It's a damned hard lesson."

Shreve Cannon has a pretty good set-up in juvie. He has a routine. He knows his place and has a lay of the land. Things change when he meets his new roommate Jack who has, no surprise here, twelve fingers. What the two boys learn, though, is that what makes Jack special goes a little beyond just his fingers.

Overall, the story is really bolstered by Mr. Jacobs writing-style. He consistently maintains Shreve's voice: conversational, sarcastic, world weary and still boyish. All the deep life observations come in short sentences, limited descriptions and rely on imagery you'd expect from a 15 year old. It was nicely done and in all, very easy to read.

Thinking about the plot now gives me the distinct impression of this story being a snapshot. It very specifically targets a time frame and tells us what happened during those weeks. The past and future are referenced but the plot is mostly independent from them. Things happen, like a game of Wiffle Ball, and it really does very little to advance the narrative. It's there because it happened, and we're faithfully following these boys on their journey.

Also, this book reads so quickly. I was reading a digital ARC version and the formatting was a little off, so I'm not sure how many pages are in this book, but it seems short.

Those two things together created the one down side to this book. I'm not sure how to explain it exactly, but it perhaps didn't take itself seriously enough. There were some very dark plot developments but they were handled so quickly and at an arms length. It felt a little cartoonish at points and not as grave as it should be. This is especially true of our main villain, Mr. Quincrux. He probably has a mustache he twirls every night.

On the other hand, the book read so quickly that it there left very little time to be anything other than entertained.

Thinking of my reader friends, I can imagine a few of them grading this a little bit below what I've given it, but I can't imagine any of them regretting picking this up.

First, credit where credit is due, I thought Kristin Cashore had a nice and clean writing style. I never struggled to understand her, I was never lacking a mental picture. Her world was imaginative and intriguing. The Graces were the cherry on top. Even the grievances I had at the beginning of her style being a bit to repetitive worked themselves out. My example of this complaint was the way Cashore kept telling us about Katsa falling asleep. Katsa did this, this and this, she thought this, "and then she commanded herself to sleep." Over and over, until Cashore threw something in the plot that made this make sense, and I forgave her.

The pacing was great. Somewhere towards the end, I started being rude, and ignoring people who were talking to me, because I had a book to finish. The mark of a good book, if you ask me.

The world, the writing, the pacing and the majority of the plot was all good. Perhaps great.

I liked Katsa, mostly. I loved what Katsa represented: a strong willed, physically strong female lead. No, she wasn't the perfect role model, (I'm a girl! I cant handle my emoootions) but I loved that she could stand up for herself, protect herself and survive. I liked her, but because she was so strong and so good, it created problems for the story. Most of the tension in the story was dragged out with filler. Not Katsa facing the bad guy, but the months she spent in the woods trying to get to the bad guy. Not Katsa standing up to her uncle, but the time leading up to her decision to stand up to him.

The actual climatic moments happened a little too fast and were solved a little too quickly. Katsa was Superman. I especially think it just made little sense to have her under the thumb of her uncle. Why? How does that make sense?

I liked Po and, for the most part, I liked their relationship. Or, I should say, I got what Cashore did here. I wasn't sold on the final product. The world Cashore created isn't one we know and yet she gave us few clues about what marriage meant in this world. All we know is that Katsa is strongly against it, because for some reason she felt it would strip her of her freedoms. It was just a little too much for me. "The lady doth protest too much," sort of deal, and it was a flimsy protestation at that. Congrats to Cashore for acknowledging that there is something between friendship and marriage, but then negative points to her for what she ends up making it: sex and some appearances of commitment, but ZOMG LOL not really, because commitment makes Katsa itchy. Katsa does learn to love, I believe, but it's hard to remember that when she's still shouting things about her freedoms and "ew no, I won't marry you."

Although I liked Bitterblue and the whole story of Monsea, King Leck felt a little disconnected from the story.

At one point, the end was exactly what I wanted to happen. And then it kept going. Seriously, the ending kept going and going and going, and
it broke my heart a little more with each additional page.

Naturally I had to mention: What ridiculous names.

Overall, an entertaining read whose imaginative world and strong characters help push it past its warbles and faults.

I received this as an ARC through Netgalley which is the only reason I forced myself to read this to the bitter, bitter end. These opinions are my own and are based on the book I read every word of. That said:

This was bad. The premise in and of itself wasn't terrible. I've seen reviews arguing the fact that a group of kids retaliating against bullies is, essentially, a group of bullies. Yes. And that's the point. Our main character Charlotte subjects herself to this bullying because of her deeper need to belong to something. She has to (slowly. painfully.) come to this conclusion herself. That's a legitimate plot. Unfortunately, it was done artlessly.

The premise of the book is thrown at the reader immediately. Charlotte has received an invitation to meet people she doesn't know, in the middle of the night for unknown reasons. Yeah, not buying that. I don't care how lonely you are.

There, Charlie meets two other girls who received similar invitations. They are greeted by a young, handsome man named Kade who proves that he's essentially been stalking their entire lives. He greets one girl in this manner:

Zoe Carpenter. Let’s see, mom divorced Zoe’s stepfather last year. Well, technically, he was number three. She lives in a home of revolving men, but the only one her mom really loves is Jack… Daniel’s."

Not only is that terribly clunky, it's annoying and mean. Who would say that upon meeting someone, or really, who would stand for that? So far, what exactly am I supposed to like about this book?

As the story goes on, and the League of Strays is born, my issues become more clear:

- All of the characters are unsympathetic. The author tries very hard to get us to relate to them. Oh, one girl got a bad grade and one girl has an alcoholic mother and our main character is bullied. All terrible things, but I cannot feel bad for them when they are bullying in turn. I don't think the author took into account that by making her main character bullies, she's losing the audience's ability to feel for them. I want all of the to be caught. I wanted all of them to be punished. Honestly, I wanted all of them to be punched in the face. But most of all, I wanted to stop reading.

- There were no redeeming qualities in the characters. You don't have to like all the characters you read. I know that. Charlotte's main flaw was her inability to stand up for herself. However, she had nothing to balance this. I suppose one could say her small, small glimmer of a conscious was present, but that was simply negated by her inability to stand up for herself. She had nothing else going for her. She was a liar, she treated her very sweet and loving parents like crap, she was easily lead, etc, etc, etc. Sure, she may learn a lesson in the final 2-3 chapters, but what's supposed to get me through the first 30+?

Just an example:

"Sidney Bishop told Nicole Haines that Mark Lawrence had beat up his girlfriend, who was recovering at Glenwood Community Hospital with a broken hand. I prayed it was true, because that would mean our plan for Dave had nothing to do with this latest development."

OUR MAIN CHARACTER JUST WISHED DOMESTIC TYPE VIOLENCE ON SOMEONE. I don't want to read about this girl, hence I didn't want to read this book.

- Kade Harlin. Terrible character. I'm not sure if the author was trying for misdirection when it came to him, but she failed. It's clear from page one, when he insults each and everyone of these strangers, that he's a horrible person with, again, no redeeming qualities. He's a villain masquerading as a love interest and he's very present in the novel. There are no breaks from him making the story unenjoyable to read. The charisma and charm we're told about again and again actually come across as creepiness.

- The writing was basic at best, incredibly clunky at worst. Charlotte didn't not read like a high school senior. She read like a middle schooler.

- The "prank" against Richie's bully, where they set him up to look gay, truly made me sick to my stomach. I don't care what lesson you think you're characters eventually learn, think about what you are insinuating when you choose to "punish" someone by making them seem gay. Really? And if you ask me, it wasn't clear enough in the end how WRONG homophobia is. The message at the end was, "escape it. Find somewhere where there is less of it." I think it was sloppily handled and weighed down an already struggling book.

Believe it or not, towards the very end when Charlotte FINALLY started having a back bone and standing up for herself, the book improved exponentially. Too bad it was too little too late. Perhaps it was only a perceived improvement because I was happy to have finally made it to the end.

I did my best to give League of Strays a more than fair chance. I gave it to the last page. Unfortunately, the characters were not worth reading about and the plot was angering.

I would not recommend this book to anyone I know.

This book. Well, let's see...



Basically.

I was so all over the place while reading this book, making it hard to boil it down to neat, general observances. Let me quickly take you through the story, with some light spoilers.

Dark Companion tells the story of Jane Williams who survived a traumatic experience in her childhood, only to lose all those memories and then be placed into foster care. When we pick up her story, she's been offered a full scholarship to Birch Grove, a fancy fancy school for girls. Things seem to be a little too good to be true, and Jane starts slowly discovering and piecing together why.

- The prologue was beautiful. It was dark and set the way for this mystery shrouded story. I really enjoyed the surreal setting it created and had high hopes for this book after reading it.

- The first few chapters consisted of me shouting two things: MOST CLICHE "HOOD" EVAR. and THIS IS A WHOLE LOT LIKE JANE EYRE. I was annoyed by the first and very confused by the second. Orphan girl named Jane? Check. Leaving her foster home and going to school? Check. Yelling at her care taker before she leaves and saying all she wanted was kindness? Check.

It was so blatant that I had to Google if Jane Eyre is mentioned/credited at all in the story summaries. It isn't, directly, but a few reviews I found say things like "anyone who loves Jane Eyre will love Dark Companion!" Hahahaha. Hmmm.

As the story goes on, it gets less and less like JE, but there are a few in your face moments scattered through out, like when Jack crashes into Jane and hurts himself. HE ASKS HER TO FETCH HIS BIKE GUYS. There is even a version of the "do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little" speech!

I'm not against this in and of itself, but I would've liked to have known about it beforehand so it didn't sneak up behind me and slap me in the face.

-

Spoiler

The vampire bit also slapped me in the face. Seriously, I should either pay more attention or that back of the book blurb sucked. (Haha. Sucked.)

- The supporting characters and the dialogue were hit or miss. Examples:

"His name must come from the Latin lucianus, meaning light, and that's what he was, golden and bright. -- Bad. We get it. You're smart and studying Latin. In that case tell me, how do you say, "ewww, clunky!" in Latin?

"I know what my mom's groceries are like. Full of antioxidants, roughage, and upright moral character." -- Good! Funny and witty. This is something I can imagine a smart teen saying.

"Hey Jane. I'm Orneta, but you can call me Ornery, 'cause I'm kinda cranky." -- Uuuugh, really? -_-

"You're such a friendship slut and I find that deeply disturbing. Jane, I hope you aren't as wildly promiscuous with your friendship." Better.

Etc.

- Excuse my language, but mother fuck another unhealthy guy/girl relationship in a YA novel. Jane meets the two sons of the headmistress, Jack and Lucky. Jack is a little sure of himself, and he likes to joke around with Jane. He didn't offend me, even when Jane thought he was being cruel, because as the reader you understand more than Jane and you can see the truth behind Jack's actions.

Lucky and Jane's relationship, though? Irritated my liver. He's an outright flippant jerk. It's a secret, abusive relationship and I hated every second of it because it really didn't need to be in this story in that way. He's using her, but I could deal with that part. Jane reasons that she's being used, but she's also being paid which is important to her. BUT THEN SHE STARTS GETTING GOOGLY EYED.

I cannot buy that and I hate that Jane's character is cheapened for the middle portion of the book as we have to suffer through her falling for a guy who treats her like crap. Which leads me to

- Jane's characterization was a little off. There were times where I believed in her as a street smart, raised in foster care, seen things kind of girl. These times were a little few and far between. I wish we would've seen a little bit more of that life style influencing Jane. Like, for instance, how some one who's been abused that way and fought a way out of it, probably wouldn't fall for the jerk boy, ahemahemahem.

- By the end I was very interested in finding out WTF was going on. Again, the explanations had it's interesting moments and it's "no, stop it." moments. The point here is that at least I was interested. I found the build-up a little slow and all said and down, the resolutions a little too easy and anti-climatic.

- Is this a series? Because it sets up that way. We get a nice tied up ending to this book, but there are some other open ended things, and amongst them is the mysterious disappearance of a villain. It's a nice set-up for a series, so if it is, well done. If it isn't, um, whoops.


Overall, confusing. Jane could've been an amazing, tough protagonist, but instead she's somehow naive and allows herself to be used and abused.

The tone of the story is great, perfectly dark and Gothic, but the plot twists are convoluted and borderline on trite. The supporting characters can be great, including MV, but there are others that are simply caricatures, like the headmistress and Lucky.

I'm stuck between, "I wouldn't recommend this to anyone" and "if there's another part, I'd probably read it."

Do with this information as you please. :)

So many people have recommended Mariana Zapata to me and I can see why. I didn't mind the long, slow, slow burn story. I was interested in all of the background she gave us before the kiss. I will say, though, that it did sometimes feel repetitive. So many details were just constantly rehashed, with exact feelings or explanations given multiple times.

I liked the main couple but I didn't love them. Sometimes their banter was cute and I liked that they were both a little sarcastic and mean in a way that let them get each other. Sometimes, though, it crossed a line for me as a reader and I don't think the book ever makes them face that. They were both downright mean to each other a couple of times. Plus, Ivan did a few pushy things that I get were probably on the MC's level, but that were a little too overbearing for me. He made decisions for her a few times and meh. Pass.

I'm excited to read another Mariana Zapata. I can tell that I'll continue to like her writing, even if this story wasn't the perfect fit for me.

Full review and discussion video.

My initial rating was 2.5 stars but time has made this more solidly 2 stars.

There was a lot wrong here. I've encountered a lot of people who seem to say that they love it in spite of its flaws and for reasons that not a lot of people can quantify or express outside of SQUEE and IDK. YAY!

Unfortunately for me, I missed every bit of SQUEE and YAY! there was to be found here, if it was present at all. This is a super basic YA read with nothing particular to recommend it, as the plot, protagonists, antagonists and world all come across flat. It's riddled with cliches of every kind, from the nearly compulsory love triangle to the MYSTICAL MINORITY CHARACTER WHICH MADE ME SO ANGRY.

Maas tries to beat it over our heads that Celaena Sardothien is a great character, but none of that comes across here. I'm usually all for characters that blend traditional femininity and traditional strength. Here, though, Celaena spends a lot of the book distracted from things like FREEDOM and FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE by thinking about boys and clothes. It's frustrating more than any sort of fulfilling characterization.

The description promises a really great set-up but it fails in execution as most of the action is told in summary. The competition ends up being background noise and most of the competitors meet their fate off screen. Every time we start a new scene with Celaena telling us how many more people died during the cut to black, I screamed.

It reminded me a lot of The Selection in that way. It's more about a girl and choosing a guy and pretty clothes rather than whatever dystopian or fantasy background is erected to prop up the story. And I suppose that would be fine if that were well done, but it isn't. Neither of the love interests were worth the time.

This was solid. It's a foodie romance and a workplace romance, which are two things I generally love. Everything else was good, but not amazing. The main characters were both prickly types. They both were dealing with family drama. It was almost a little too similar and the friction between them wasn't as compelling as some of the surrounding problems. It was fun while it lasted but I'm not sure how much of this will stick to me when neither the main character nor the romance found a way to really differentiate itself.