I've previously liked but not loved Johnson's books—Racing the Dark felt too crowded and lacking in focus while Moonshine had a great world but too muI've previously liked but not loved Johnson's books—Racing the Dark felt too crowded and lacking in focus while Moonshine had a great world but too much paranormal-romance-genre-flavored romance for me. The Summer Prince manages to juggle a bit of romance with a lot of worldbuilding, along with a great YA coming of age story that is June coming into her political and artistic own, and it really feels like Johnson has come into her own as a novelist as well.
- liked but for some reason the voice felt off? Maybe it's been too long since I read the other Tiffany books. - liked but for some reason the voice felt off? Maybe it's been too long since I read the other Tiffany books. ...more
A somewhat shaky first book: the emotions ring true and very real, and I particularly like Scott's take on standard YA white girl angst tropes (it's aA somewhat shaky first book: the emotions ring true and very real, and I particularly like Scott's take on standard YA white girl angst tropes (it's a genre, really!). On the other hand, the pacing is incredibly off. The heroine is too static for most of the book, and the realizations at the end are rushed and need more time to develop. Still, I like the emotions, particularly the mad fall into attraction.
I liked Gav's slowly growing notions about slavery and liberty, but the book didn't end up working for me. The slavery plotline and the plotline aboutI liked Gav's slowly growing notions about slavery and liberty, but the book didn't end up working for me. The slavery plotline and the plotline about Gav's powers never connected, and as such, the ending wasn't very satisfactory, and I never felt I went anywhere.
This book is terrifying. Not because it shows civilization falling apart after a meteor knocks the moon closer to earth, but because it shows all the This book is terrifying. Not because it shows civilization falling apart after a meteor knocks the moon closer to earth, but because it shows all the daily details of what might happen. It's terrifying to see how Miranda's world gradually goes from her country to her state to her city to her house, and then finally to a single room. It's also immensely gripping and highly recced to people who like post-apocalyptic scenarios (usually not me).
I really liked the Victorian-era historical details and the details of plotting out each theft, but I'm very unconvinced of the ending and a bit wary I really liked the Victorian-era historical details and the details of plotting out each theft, but I'm very unconvinced of the ending and a bit wary of the class issues in the book.
Napoli writes another fairy tale take, but this time with the Chinese variant of Cinderella: Xing Xing's father has died, and her stepmother is tryingNapoli writes another fairy tale take, but this time with the Chinese variant of Cinderella: Xing Xing's father has died, and her stepmother is trying to marry off her half-sister Wei Ping(or step-sister? I can't recall). Alas for Wei Ping, this means binding her feet to make her a better catch. Xing Xing has been untraditionally taught to read and write, and her father previously was against foot-binding.
So far, to me, this sounds like a recipe for disaster, given how many well-meaning books yet totally anvilly books attempt to tackle foot-binding.
I really loved the vampires in this book; they actually feel like they've lived for quite some time, as opposed to psychologically being a high schoolI really loved the vampires in this book; they actually feel like they've lived for quite some time, as opposed to psychologically being a high school student for centuries. I particularly loved the moral ambiguity of the book, that the threat to Kerry felt real and immediate, and the lack of romanticization. This is what a vampire-human relationship might work out if vampires were real.
Loading...
