Why You Should Try It – This series starter explores a lot of different genres- mystery, horror, paranormal, romance. More fluffy romance (it’s here, but it’s fairly light and slow-growing.).Mara becoming more capable and active.Far more paranormal/mystery aspects (and more characters who are involved on this side of the story.).Just keeping my fingers crossed that any of these are more prominent, if I decide to continue. Or rather what I’m hoping it would include, the sequel was already released years ago and I’ve yet to read it as of this writing. Even then, I sense there is much more to that night that will be explained in the sequels. We find out early on that Mara has secrets- a terrible event left two friends her ex-boyfriend dead, and the goings-on of that night are shrouded in secrecy until we get closer to the end. They almost delve into horror (like a very light horror) and I’d almost say there were some magical realism vibes as our heroine sees strange and surreal visions/hallucinations and does very otherworldly things in what is otherwise a very down-to-earth, almost boring setting. So, one of the nicer aspects of this novel that I’ll bring up are the paranormal elements. She does have some worthwhile friends, but these scenes were too numerous and not that interesting. The first half seemed slower paced and with a plodding emphasis on Mara’s angsty school life. The pace ramps up to an ending with an event that made me want to read the next book despite preceding issues. The second half of this book is better than the first. I guess I prefer more gutsy and cheerful heroines. I sense that the author may have a better-than-average grasp at making her a convincing teenager with relatable problems, but I thought she had more negative traits than positive ones. She just comes off as angsty and glum so much of the time, however justified it may be by the plot. It’s clear early on that there are mysterious plot points that will reveal why he is so fixated on getting to know her. He’s got some spark and good humor, even as Mara is less than friendly toward him at first. Also liked Noah well enough, perhaps more than most YA love interests. Mara’s parents, especially her mother, are quite involved in the storyline which is somewhat unusual for YA. The two main characters (and couple) are Mara and Noah, and there are various side characters like Mara’s parents, classmates, friends, ex-boyfriend, etc. Unfortunately, I would not categorize this as a page turner until some more exciting scenes near the last 3/4s of the book.
Solid overall, but no frills or really extraordinary facets. The writing style is very simple and easy to follow, a kind of standard YA first person perspective.
0 kommentar(er)
