While on vacation, I read Beautiful Creatures, Caster Chronicles #1, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and while I had heard mixed responses, I really enjoyed it.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything (GoodReads).
Originality: 6. A YA book from a boy's perspective? say what? And a boy who feels quite a few emotions and love? Maybe this should be in the absurdity section. But overall, I enjoyed this take on witches, southern stuffyness and history, and a sprinkling of libraries and voodoo.
Absurdity: 8. Where is this boy who have so many emotions? in highschool? it was just hard to BELIEVE that they have feelings like this. BUT I tired because in my heart I wish they did, for high school girls everywhere, and anyways, there was a lot more absurdity, namely Lenas unrelenting emo-ness. Girl, I understand you feel doomed, but man, you are way too glass-half-full for me likes. Though, that Carrie-esq stunt the girls at the dance pulled was rough.
Paranormal Romance: 10+. Seriously, it is all here: insta/fated love, emotional high schoolers, magic powers emerging, and some flashbacks. I was very disappointed to how those were resolved, and I would like to go on record saying so.
Harry Potterness: 4. OK, low score, considering I liked this.. BUT THE ENDING. You may remember my feeling about books that RESOLVE NOTHING at the end. huge frustration. While leaving somethings hanging is a literary technique employed by many authors, here, we read the whole book for the last two pages to basically say, got ya good! nothing is resolved! read book 2. siiiiiiiiiiigh. So, anyone read book two? If things get resolved and the plot progresses, I am in. But if we circle around Emo-Lena for another year, I dont know if I have the mental fortitude for that...
This books gets points for kick-ass librarian quotient and cool southern setting... but I TOTS agree with your ultimate evaluation. I only made it through half of book 2 for this reason.
ReplyDeleteI read this one and gave up on the series. Mostly because I hate flashbacks, but also because it felt way to long for how much actually happened.
ReplyDeleteI have a cool signed copy of book 2 that has been sitting on my shelf for a few years, but I have yet to read it... if you read it, tell me if it's good. The ending is what did me in, too!
ReplyDeleteI think you need to take one for the team and read this. Preferably ASAP so I can move on. Thankssomuch.
DeleteI agree with you on the ending to this one... WHAT?! You leave us lacking one of my favourite characters of all time (aka Macon-the-great) and we get NOTHING more!? If Frustration Quotient was a category here, it would be set at an all-time high for this book. And you had a good point, it's nice to see a book told from the POV of a nice guy for a change.
ReplyDeleteI guess because I saw the movie first, I kept comparing it to the charm that was the on-screen version and in that way, it didn't quite measure up. The storyline was much more clear in the book version, however, and it was definitely a good one at that.
I've read book 2... I say just make up a new ending in your head for book 1. Or, go with the ending from the movie.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this book... I really did. So I was excited about the rest of the series. Sadly, book 2 was so boring that I haven't made it to the rest of the books. I probably will... but still.