Between The Lines

Saturday, May 8, 2010

WorDissection: Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Did I like it? YESSSS!!!
You'll love it if you liked: Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols, Sarah Dessen novels, When It Happens by Susane Colasanti and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin.
Aura: Striking and powerful but not overly intense
Read If: You want a contemporary romance that doesn’t preach, overdramatize or undermine.
Main Character: Zoey Commander, high school senior, female
Themes: Hate turned to love, Redemption, Self-discovery, Memory Loss, Family Trouble, Relationships, Romance
Plot: 8.75/10. Beautiful fleshing of a previously used concept.
Narration: 8.75/10. Grasping.
Characterization: 9.5/10. The “wow” factor of the novel.
Overall: 9.25/10
Did I get bored anywhere? Nope.
Did any part confuse me? Not at all. It was a smooth read.
Line/ Page Skippability: 1.5/5. Just at times.
Writing Style: Average sentences, Informal, Communicative
Uniqueness: 8/10
Predictability: 2/10. I loved how the predictability was not there despite the fact it is a simple storyline.
Imagery: 4.5/5. The scenes seem to be playing right before me.
Cover: 9/10. Sensual yet innocent in it’s wonderfully ironic way.
Ending: If the book is thought of as a very, very good looking person, he/she sure has exceptionally sexy feet! (Seriously, how’d you get feet like that?!)
Reading priority: Must Read
Reading duration: Slow readers: 6 days. Fast readers: 4 hours.
Synopsis:

There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four-year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. With her life about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.

But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people—suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

WordVore Prod’s Review:

I felt like I was reading something life-changing. The book has the power to move planets off their orbits. It is truly difficult to come across such powerful prose.

Zoey was such a multidimensional character. She grew so much yet so realistically throughout the book! The way she learns to let go, cope with troubling issues and feel like a blossoming human…it’s simply marvelous. Her narrative was sharp, edgy and strong and I thought it did an amazing job of getting the story across. Her relationship with her parents and its development has been shown in perfectly symmetrical steps and it’s hard to feel out of step when I was following her life story.

Doug was beautiful. His character was not clichéd and offered a fresh new silhouette of the quintessential “bad boy” stereotype. I love the relationship between Zoey and Doug—they learn from each other, mess up but get up again and gradually meld into each other like jagged, but nearly perfect, puzzle pieces. Doug seemed a tad bit controlling though, however, not in the control-freak way, thankfully.

The plot was truly inspiring. It portrayed the downfalls and lessons of growing up without being preachy or unbelievable in any way. Dialogues were well written and fit perfectly with the respective scenario. I LOVED the way Jennifer Echols works with emotions and sentiments in this book. Every single transition in emotion feels like a slight change in temperature—subtle but it’s there and it creates a stirring inside of you.

What bothered me a little is how Brandon, Zoey’s boyfriend, seemed to be missing. It wasn’t as if I missed the guy terribly, but his inclusion would have made the story a little more structured.

Forget You does NOT stay true to its name—because I couldn’t forget a word I read after I was done! I had been waiting for this book for a long time and I’m glad to say it didn’t let me down. The novel is a well-sewn blanket, with the fabric being a vividly visual background, the designs being the little anecdotes and happenings that make up life and the threads being the rush of emotions that accompanies each story.

Labels: Family, Forget You, Hate-to-Love, Healing, Jennifer Echols, Memory Loss, Romance

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Monday, July 27, 2009

WorDissection: Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe

Did I like it? Yeah.
You'll love it if you liked: Stories with ghost characters, or stories about the backstabbing of friends.
Aura: Slightly Intense
Read If: You're looking for a fresh read with literary and entertainment value.
Narration: First Person
Main Character: Cass McKenna, high school junior.
Themes: Social outcast, revenge, breaking of trust, trust issues, healing, redemption, friendship, support.
Plot: 9/10
Narration: 8.5/10
Characterization: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Did I get bored anywhere? Slightly when character development seemed a tad bit stagnant.
Did any part confuse me? Nope. it's a neat story with no scope for confusion.
Line/ Page Skippability: 1/5. Not much.
Writing Style: Average sentences, Informal, Self-discovering.
Uniqueness: 8.5/10
Predictability: 1.75/10
Favourite Quote: "I have friends, I wanted to tell her. You just wouldn't believe they exist."
Cover: 9.5/10. You gotta love the cover.
Song(s) to go with book (from author website, click here for source):
1. Trouble By Lisa Germano Ringtone | Buy Song 2. How Soon Is Now- Love Spit Love Ringtone | Buy Song 3. Geek The Girl By Lisa Germano Ringtone | Buy Song 4. Texarkana By R.E.M. Ringtone | Buy Song 5. Smoke By Natalie Imbruglia Ringtone | Buy Song 6. Understand The Dream Is Over By The Juliana Theory Ringtone | Buy Song 7. Country Feedback By R.E.M. Ringtone | Buy Song 8. Displaced By Azure Ray Ringtone | Buy Song 9. Elsewhere By Sarah McLachlan Ringtone | Buy Song 10. Wise Up By Aimee Mann Ringtone | Buy Song 11. How To Save A Life By The Fray Ringtone | Buy Song 12. Into The Dark By The Juliana Theory
Ending: Hopeful, satisfying, very realistic.
Reading priority: Should Read
Reading duration: Fast readers-Approx. 5 hours, Slow readers- Approx 7 days.
Synopsis:
Cass McKenna much prefers ghosts over “breathers.” Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable, and they know the dirt on everybody…and Cass loves dirt. She’s on a mission to expose the dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school.

But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass’s whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.

As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim’s life, she’s surprised to realize he’s not so bad—and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it’s time to give the living another chance….

WordVore Prod's Review:
I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t anticipated this book much—I was dying for it! So when it first landed on my lap, I literally squealed. So naturally, I had a lot to expect from this book. And believe me, I wasn’t disappointed.
Cass McKenna is a social pariah, made so by the overreaction and revenge taken by her ex-best friend just because Cass got a place in the debate team that she wanted by chance, and got to be around the guy that she liked. Now, this idea may seem inflated at first look, but it wasn’t. It was made to be a story that could happen to anyone and everyone. Neither is this book a typical “ghost story”. Even the ghosts have well-crafted characters, which serves as a fresh breath of air. Cass’ desire for revenge is human and not something that turns her into an abominable character. But we can’t help but notice how she also realizes that it wasn’t worth it after all. The trust issues that hold Cass back are very neatly justified, not like an essay in itself but gradually as the story progresses. That is exactly why when she hesitates from being a friend to Tim, her defiance does not annoy us—rather it makes us empathize with her. Tim is one heck of an adorable character. The death of his mother along with his realization that his “friends” aren’t exactly his true friends makes him miserable at best. He feels utterly lonely at this point, and the emotions that he feels are amazingly communicates with the reader. You can’t help but feel like going over and giving him a tight bear hug. I was really glad that Cass came around and offered her friendship and support—and the way their relationship wasn’t all mushy and all-over-the-place. The way Cass takes baby steps towards giving people a chance and not be so stereotyping and opinionated made me admire her. None of the characters are too clichéd or exaggerated. She also gradually but awkwardly comes to terms with the fact that she genuinely cares about Tim. Danielle, Cass’ ex-best friend, showed hopes of redemption near the ending and the fact that she was worried about Tim shows us that she’s not completely disloyal or uncompassionate. Imagery is very well done, as it succeeds in pulling the reader into the book’s own world.
The best parts of the book were the fresh outlook, the hope of redemption and healing that each and every character showed and the well-drawn reasoning behind the characters’ actions. The book certainly had a neat quality about it. What I felt could have been better were: 1.) the character development felt a little stagnant at times—however, all the characters did end up in their proper positions by the end of the book; 2.) The characters could have used a little more depth—especially Cass. I would’ve loved to know more about her. Same goes with Tim.
Everything put together and weighed out against each other, I would recommend this book as a good reader to any reader looking for a spanking new plotline and outlook. The book also has high entertainment value and should keep you occupied throughout the entire read.

Labels: Acceptance, Breaking of Trust, Friendship, Ghosts, Give Up the Ghost, Healing, Megan Crewe, Redemption, Revenge, WorDissection

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