Can you trust me? Compare our taste!

Title: Serendipity Market
Author: Penny Blubaugh
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Why I Read It: It released in 2009, and I was in the mood for something new.

Summary: When the world tilts off its axis, it’s up to Mama Inez to harness the magical power of story to put it right again.

Stopped on Page: 23
Why I Stopped: I couldn’t get into this one. The problem introduced at the beginning is that the world is tilting off its axis, which sounds bad and all but the book didn’t make me care one whit about it. I need a more personal problem to connect with a story right off the bat.

Part of it is that I didn’t connect with Mama Inez or the other characters introduced at first. Then when we start meeting everybody who’s being invited to tell their stories, I completely lost interest. I had no idea who I was supposed to identify with and root for.

Your Turn: Should I have kept going? Or was I right to stop?

Note: As an aspiring author, I respect the extraordinary amount of effort that goes into writing a book. I did not write this review in order to be unfair or negative about the book. My goal is simply to articulate why the book wasn’t for me.

Can you trust me? Compare our taste!

Title: The ABC’s of Kissing Boys
Author: Tina Ferraro
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Why I Read It: I saw it on the shelf at the library, and the juicy cover convinced me to check it out.

Summary: Parker’s about to start her junior year, but she got stuck on the JV soccer team while all her friends made varsity. So she cooks up a scheme to finagle a spot on varsity. All she has to do is learn how to kiss first.

Stopped on Page: 32
Why I Stopped: I think I’m still pining after Harry Potter, even though it’s now been over a week since I finished the last book. But the premise of this book seemed too contrived to me.

Parker plans to earn her spot on the varsity soccer team by getting her brother’s hot friend to offer $300 if only he can get a kiss from Parker in the varsity team’s fundraising kissing booth. So, her logic goes, the coach will have to let her on the varsity team so she can earn the $300, and then the coach will realize her mistake and let her stay on the team.

But like I said, it could be Harry Potter’s fault I didn’t get into this one.

Your Turn: Should I have kept going? Or was I right to stop?

Note: As an aspiring author, I respect the extraordinary amount of effort that goes into writing a book. I did not write this review in order to be unfair or negative about the book. My goal is simply to articulate why the book wasn’t for me.

Can you trust me? Compare our taste!

Title: Elsewhere
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Why I Read It: I saw it on the shelf at the library before I left for vacation and decided to bring it along.

Summary: 15-year-old Liz gets hit by a car and ends up in Elsewhere—a place where everyone ages backward until they become babies and get sent back to Earth.

Stopped on Page: 122
Why I Stopped: Intriguing concept of the afterlife, but the characters never came alive to me, so to speak. The story also seemed to slow down quite a bit once Liz got to Elsewhere. I was about to board the plane to come back home, so I decided to stop this one and start something new that I might like better.

Your Turn: Should I have kept going? Or was I right to stop?

Note: As an aspiring author, I respect the extraordinary amount of effort that goes into writing a book. I did not write this review in order to be unfair or negative about the book. My goal is simply to articulate why the book wasn’t for me.

Can you trust me? Compare our taste!

Title: Shine, Coconut Moon
Author: Neesha Meminger
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Why I Read It: It released in 2009, and I was in the mood for something new.

Summary: Sam is Indian American but knows nothing about her Indian heritage. Then shortly after 9/11, a man in a turban shows up on her doorstep saying he’s her uncle.

Stopped on Page: 38
Why I Stopped: I loved reading about a culture I know so little about, but I stopped this one because the amount of telling got to me. I feel like it could have been tightened up a lot to avoid telling something we’re about to be shown as well. For example:

“Today I’m on my way to Molly’s house. They’re having a huge birthday celebration for Molly’s great-aunt Maggie. I love and hate Molly’s huge family gatherings. Love, because her family is awesome—they’re a blast to be around, and warm and welcoming. Hate, because when I’m in the midst of all that laughter and familyness, I feel more alone than ever.”

Then the scene right after this shows the exact same things we were just told.

Your Turn: Should I have kept going? Or was I right to stop?

Note: As an aspiring author, I respect the extraordinary amount of effort that goes into writing a book. I did not write this review in order to be unfair or negative about the book. My goal is simply to articulate why the book wasn’t for me.

Title: The Secret Life of Prince Charming
Author: Deb Caletti
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Why I Read It: I’ve never read anything by Caletti, so I thought I should check out one of her books.

Summary: Quinn lives with her mom, her aunt, and her grandma, all of whom have been unlucky in love. She wants to believe in love herself, but it’s not easy when you add in that even your own dad is breaking more than his fair share of hearts.

Stopped on Page: 94
Why I Stopped: This story moved too slow for my taste. In the entire first chapter, it felt like nothing happened. It had all these asides and generalizations, but not much in the way of action.

Here’s the start:

When it came to love, my mother’s big advice was that there were WARNING SIGNS. About the “bad” guys, that is. The ones who would hurt you or take advantage or crumple you up and toss, same as that poem I would once try to write for Daniel Jarvis. The wrong men—the psychopaths, cheaters, liars, controllers, stalkers, ones too lazy or incompetent to hold a job, to hold their temper, to hold you properly, to hold anything but a joint or a beer bottle—well, there were RED FLAGS, and you had to watch for them.

But I’d like to give Caletti’s work another try. So see that Pick My Next Book box at the right? Recommend away!

Your Turn: Should I have kept going? Or was I right to stop?

Note: As an aspiring author, I respect the extraordinary amount of effort that goes into writing a book. I did not write this review in order to be unfair or negative about the book. My goal is simply to articulate why the book wasn’t for me.