Authors: Stephen Graham Jones & Paul Tremblay
Release Date: 11th November 2014
Publisher: Chizine Publications
Find on: Goodreads
Quick Review: Mary's life is going fine. Except for being a freshman in high school. And having anxiety attacks. And her dad having no job. So, introduce one boy who can fly, kidnap the little brother she's supposed to be babysitting, and drop a military quarantine on her town and that should make her anxiety completely disappear, right? Wrong!
Detailed Review: I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review
This is possibly the most negative review I've ever written. Frankly, it's the first bad review I've written so far in my blogging career.
Everything in this book ticked me off. Especially the main character, Mary. I get that she has anxiety, a mental disorder which I understand can be really bad plus the anxiety attacks. But, was it really necessary to bring it up all the time throughout the book? This just served to make me think that the writers wanted to make us think Mary was weak. I understand that anxiety can make you feel weak or helpless at times but I was hoping that maybe the obstacles that Mary had to go through could change something in her, somehow. The authors' attempt at depicting anxiety didn't go quite well.
Mary did possess some heroine in her at times, but those times were rare and I still didn't like her.
The rest of the characters were just a blur, like static in the background and I didn't even focus of them. It was just all over the place.
And the storytelling was just. I can't even describe it. There wasn't even a proper climax. There were some plot twists, but they didn't really do much to alter the course of the story. They weren't life-changing.
In the current YA industry, non life-altering plot twists simply wouldn't do it for many. When you've read lots of good books, your expectations will be higher, which is unfortunate for books like this.
All I could think was that two authors had this brilliant idea they thought could be used in a story and that was all. They seemed to give no thought to climaxes and resolutions or build-ups.
Don't get me wrong. Part of the reason why I requested this book on NetGalley was that I liked the idea as it seemed original and would be a really good and light break from all the heavy reading I'd done. But no matter how good the idea is, it's success also depends on the story telling and characters.
The authors didn't pull the story-telling and characters off quite well as they did with the original idea. Their writing style also dragged the story endlessly at times and this made me wonder at the point of continuing to read it, but I was persistent. Their attempt at using some humourous adjectives didn't go unnoticed but they were very much unappreciated. More straightforward writing would have done the trick. Sometimes simplicity is the key. I did almost DNF this book a few times, mind you.
There actually is romance, but to me it was pretty non-existent because like the characters, there was no development and lacked depth. It was exactly like all those romances that happen suddenly with no background and things building up to THAT moment. I know the authors really tried to make the romance seem more real, but I think the romance was unneccesary. A close friendship between Mary and Floating Boy would be so much more believable.
NOTE: I'm not saying you shouldn't read this book because opinions can vary and I'd like to hear your opinion if you've read it!
Brief Review: This book was mainly a disappointment. Originality was present in this book, but good storytelling skills and characters were sadly not, thus making it rather dull and plain. I did understand that the book was about a girl who didn't fit in with the rest and teaches us about standing out in a world where everyone was the same, but the authors really overdid it. Simplicity would have done it for Floating Boy and The Girl Who Couldn't Fly.
Final Rating: 2/5 'It was OK...'
Your Reviewer:
Don't get me wrong. Part of the reason why I requested this book on NetGalley was that I liked the idea as it seemed original and would be a really good and light break from all the heavy reading I'd done. But no matter how good the idea is, it's success also depends on the story telling and characters.
The authors didn't pull the story-telling and characters off quite well as they did with the original idea. Their writing style also dragged the story endlessly at times and this made me wonder at the point of continuing to read it, but I was persistent. Their attempt at using some humourous adjectives didn't go unnoticed but they were very much unappreciated. More straightforward writing would have done the trick. Sometimes simplicity is the key. I did almost DNF this book a few times, mind you.
There actually is romance, but to me it was pretty non-existent because like the characters, there was no development and lacked depth. It was exactly like all those romances that happen suddenly with no background and things building up to THAT moment. I know the authors really tried to make the romance seem more real, but I think the romance was unneccesary. A close friendship between Mary and Floating Boy would be so much more believable.
NOTE: I'm not saying you shouldn't read this book because opinions can vary and I'd like to hear your opinion if you've read it!
Brief Review: This book was mainly a disappointment. Originality was present in this book, but good storytelling skills and characters were sadly not, thus making it rather dull and plain. I did understand that the book was about a girl who didn't fit in with the rest and teaches us about standing out in a world where everyone was the same, but the authors really overdid it. Simplicity would have done it for Floating Boy and The Girl Who Couldn't Fly.
Final Rating: 2/5 'It was OK...'
QUOTE:
This would be my advice to Mary,
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them---Maya Angelou
Your Reviewer:
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