Wednesday, August 4, 2010

In which I, bleary-eyed, wax enthusiastic on you

If I seem tetchy or incomprehensible (not always mutually exclusive), it is because of this, gentle readers:

Courtesy of Salemhigh.com


I gave myself 20 minutes to read last night. That's a chapter, maybe two. Four hours later I was reading the acknowledgements and wishing I worked for people who loved books as much as I do so that when I called to say I'd be in late because I stayed up all night reading a book they would TOTALLY understand.

I'm still processing this book. There were things I liked, things I didn't like, things I believed, things I didn't believe, plot lines that drove the story and plot lines that died halfway through, characters that seemed realistic and characters that didn't. It was not a book without flaws (find me one, I DARE YOU), but it was incredibly compelling. Obviously. I have grand plans to go back and dissect the book from a writer's perspective, but as a reader I enjoyed the story immensely. I'm not even sure if YA weren't so popular right now that this would be YA. I don't say that to take away from YA readers, but I'm not sure I would have understood a lot of the character observations if I were 16 or 17.

I highly recommend this book. As a reader, as a writer, as a lover of the word you'll be very gruntled to have read this.

And don't worry about me, I've started an IV drip of caffeine that should be kicking in aaaaany second now.

Oh, and if you've read this book and would like to discuss with me, say your piece in the comments! I'd love to know what other readers took away from this book.

6 comments:

Sherrie Petersen said...

I had mixed feelings about this book, too. On one level I loved it, on another level it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I couldn't stop reading and yet at times I was surprised by where the story went, and not in a good way. But it definitely sparks conversations and it does have that element of girl power to it which I love.

JEM said...

Solvang - I know EXACTLY what you're talking about as far as turning out the way I wanted/expected. It went places I didn't expect, and what ended up being important to Frankie in the end I also didn't expect. I think I envisioned a more dramatic ending.

Lydia Kang said...

Wpw. What a glowing review! I think I have to put it on my TBR list for sure now!

Anonymous said...

I haven't read this yet, but am curious to try now. :)

Christina Lee said...

Hmmm now you've got my curiosity piqued! I've got an IV over here too ;--)

Tahereh said...

wow. with a review like that?? hmmmmmm

I MUST READ!