It's no exaggeration to say that you've been, as a whole, my favorite publisher for my entire reading life. Your G.P.Putnam's Sons imprinDear Penguin,
It's no exaggeration to say that you've been, as a whole, my favorite publisher for my entire reading life. Your G.P.Putnam's Sons imprint has also published many distinguished authors and books, among them the classic LORD OF THE FLIES and Liane Moriarty, one of my recent favorites.
How disappointing it is, therefore, to find a book like THE GIRL BEFORE in your slate this year. The premise for this thriller is intriguing--a young woman finds out her husband is not what she thought--but the execution is an embarrassment. The characters are cartoony, the heroine is unbelievably naive (unsympathetically, frustratingly so), the action is sketched in, the suspense is non-existent (you know from page 2 pretty much what has happened to the MC), and the writing is painfully, excruciatingly simplistic. I understand fully where the story is going, but I just don't care enough about these people, and am so annoyed by them, that it's not worth the effort to continue. And a subject like child trafficking deserves better treatment than this.
This book would be an irritation for someone who paid for a pulpy mass market paperback or even 99 cents for a self-published book, let alone one who forked over $15 for trade paperback from a top 5 publisher, with all the editorial discernment and help that that entails. For that price, the story and writing need to be stellar.
Please reconsider your standards for future releases of this kind. This effort is unworthy of Penguin Random House, and frankly, it's a breach of my trust in you.
Sincerely,
Wendy Darling
P.S. A completely unironic hat tip to the art director responsible for that eye-catching cover, as well as to the marketing people for that terrific blurb. It contains more coherence and intrigue than the book by far.
I would dearly love to know how a book that says "Have you ever loved a book so much you wanted to live in it?" could suggest that children sew a GUMMI would dearly love to know how a book that says "Have you ever loved a book so much you wanted to live in it?" could suggest that children sew a GUMMY WORM NECKLACE to feel as though they were taking part in a March family celebration....more
This story makes a mockery of love, emotional integrity, and mental illness, and it's glamoured by unmagical magical realism, a "sophisticated" lit<.<
This story makes a mockery of love, emotional integrity, and mental illness, and it's glamoured by unmagical magical realism, a "sophisticated" literary style, and a twist upon which everything else hinges. I despise feeling manipulated (much as many of the characters in this book would if they had any sense), especially when the plot and writing are not particularly remarkable, and when the characters and relationships are so incredibly shallow and meaningless.
There's an attempt to interject a point to the story in the end, I suppose, but it's only a footnote to this elaborate, heartless exercise in writing technique.
Seriously, what the fuck. Aside from the rampant, rapey sexualization of a 14 year old by every man who comes into contact with her, the main characteSeriously, what the fuck. Aside from the rampant, rapey sexualization of a 14 year old by every man who comes into contact with her, the main character is annoying, and the writing style drove me crazy. Ugh. ...more
Awful, would not recommend as a serious examination of a sensitive topic, as a mindless (if tasteless) romance, or as...anything. It says a great dealAwful, would not recommend as a serious examination of a sensitive topic, as a mindless (if tasteless) romance, or as...anything. It says a great deal when I find the appallingly amateurish writing so much more offensive than the tricky subject matter. ...more
Read the first 80 pages, skimmed the rest, saw the big secret, saw the big cliffhanger.
Style and story are just not for me, and I really have no inteRead the first 80 pages, skimmed the rest, saw the big secret, saw the big cliffhanger.
Style and story are just not for me, and I really have no interest in spending the time to write a review. More details in my reading status update....more
Wow. This might be the most annoying girl I've ever read about in YA book--and I've read a lot of YA books.
Enid and her boyfriend are on a break, becaWow. This might be the most annoying girl I've ever read about in YA book--and I've read a lot of YA books.
Enid and her boyfriend are on a break, because she is controlling and possessive and mistrustful. She tells him he can't go to parties, she reads his emails, she checks his text messages, she jealously hounds him about a girl who is interested in him, and then she STALKS him 500 miles on a weekend getaway, where she spies on him and his friends.
The book then becomes a totally weird, totally unrealistic, totally uninteresting Lifeboat + Shark Week lite situation in which they all get really hungry and sick and (view spoiler)[a couple of them die (hide spoiler)]. What I don't understand about any of this is that somehow Enid becomes even more of a jealous harpy once they're adrift at sea, and the boyfriend doesn't call her on it at all. She eventually changes a tiny bit once the situation becomes extreme, but it feels like she gives in just because she's become too exhausted and dehydrated to play the martyr more than anything else--and she certainly doesn't acknowledge the stupidity and obsessiveness of her actions. There are a bunch of other things wrong with this book as well, but they pale in comparison to the problem of the main character being such a self-centered, childish airhead, so I'm not even going to bother going into them.
What a bizarre book. I kept skimming ahead because I couldn't really believe how completely asinine the story was, thinking that at some point something good had to happen to redeem it. I'll save you the trouble now and just tell you: that doesn't happen....more
1.5 stars The first book in this series was really entertaining. I liked the concept of a world in which kids born after a certain time period could a1.5 stars The first book in this series was really entertaining. I liked the concept of a world in which kids born after a certain time period could all see ghosts, as well as the idea of exploring how difficult that reality might be for both the ghosts and the ones they leave behind. Aura's boyfriend Logan made a stupid mistake and paid for it with his life, leaving her full of guilt and unresolved feelings. In both the previous book and in this one, she has to find a way to help him come to terms with his future as well as coming to terms with her own. Complicating matters is the handsome Zachary and the Department of Metaphysical Purity, both of whom want Logan gone for good.
With such an interesting set-up, expanding on the story that began in Shade should not have been particularly difficult. But when 75% of this sequel is spent on the ridiculous back and forth relationship of Aura-and-Logan and Aura-and-Zachary and then Aura-and-(view spoiler)[Dylan (hide spoiler)], the direction has officially turned from intriguing paranormal series to annoying romance series. I'm one who actually doesn't mind the dreaded love triangle as long as it's handled well and it's not too drawn out, but the events that happen in this book are absolutely ridiculous. And gross. There are more details in my status updates if you care to see them, but suffice to say that in the space of a few weeks, Aura (view spoiler)[ nearly sleeps with three different guys (hide spoiler)] and there are two hugely, hugely icky moments (between her and one of her partners and between (view spoiler)[one of her crushes and another person (hide spoiler)]) that will turn off a lot of women who read this. Or they should, anyway.
I am so disappointed that the author not only chose to spend so much time on the romantic complications in this book, but that she also chose to put in such unforgivable scenarios, all of which could have easily been avoided. I am especially frustrated because there are some nice moments in it involving a brief, bittersweet journal entry that Aura finds as well as some gallant behavior from (view spoiler)[Dylan (hide spoiler)]. I also think it's pretty ballsy that the author pushes the boundaries a little as far as the sexual intimacy between teens goes, without going overboard. It's just too bad that it's spread around with so many partners in this book, and in such an off-putting way. I really don't know if I'll be checking out the next book in the series, but I probably will just to see if it continues on this hideous path. I'm a glutton for punishment that way.
Oh, and by the way? Reading through 36 pages of an unhappy prom (and more pages wasted on talking about it and shopping for it) does not make for good entertainment.
The beginning of this book is pretty good. There's a little bit of set up that explains Emma's nervousness over attending an exclusive school in a newThe beginning of this book is pretty good. There's a little bit of set up that explains Emma's nervousness over attending an exclusive school in a new city, plus some funny one-liners that make her seem pretty likable. But on page 15, Emma meets Brendan and everything goes downhill from there, because her whole life, including the scant paranormal aspects of this book, then revolves around getting him. Here is a sketch of the story, with some spoilers.
Here's what we know about the main characters:
The Girl
Emma is a high-school junior who lives near Central Park. She likes Brendan. A lot. Immediately after she meets him, she starts obsessing over everything he says and talks about him with literally everyone she knows. When he blows hot and cold, she gets upset. She feels "absolutely crushed" when she walks into a classroom and he's not there.
Emma likes music and she likes to run. (This might be a metaphor.) Her daddy left when she was six and her twin brother died when she was fourteen. Then her mom got sick but found a boyfriend to marry so her daughter wouldn't have to be alone. Emma doesn't like to drink because she was in a car accident with her drunk step-daddy, which is why she's now living with her aunt, who gives her money and doesn't set a curfew. Emma is embarrassed by all this so she lies to everyone about where she came from, although she actually doesn't seem very upset that her entire immediate family has been wiped out. None of this actually has anything to do with the story except that it explains why she is living in the most expensive city in America without a whole lot of adult supervision.
Because she has a necklace that has the same symbol as something Brendan owns and has a couple of weird dreams, Emma is sure that she and Brendan are soul mates who have been searching for each other for 1000 years. Seriously, 1000 years. But her dead twin brother occasionally pops up and makes the lights go out and warns her that their relationship is cursed. This really, really sucks, but her boyfriend is hot so there's got to be a way to make it work. Oh! And she might also be a witch. Her witchy schoolmate looked up some information online and said so.
The Boy
Brendan lives in a multi-million dollar home in Manhattan, where he has an entire floor to himself. He is "spellbound" by Emma as soon as he sees her. He is awesome because when they're out, he only does a couple of shots and then drinks water for the rest of the night so that she doesn't feel uncomfortable about only having one beer. He gives her his hoodie when it's cold, which is the sign of a true gentleman. Brendan is also a deejay (cool job) and he buys her a diamond Claddagh ring (generous guy) and picks her up in a limo (generous guy with style). When Emma feels insecure about the sneering, baby-pink-gloss-wearing Kristin who's after him, Brendan says "Emma, don't even compare yourself to them. It's like comparing a diamond to...I don't know...a booger." He's also really suave.
The Summary
This is essentially a book about a girl obsessed with a boy with some convenient "story-enhancing" paranormal elements thrown in. There are cartoonish teenage villains, friends who appear then disappear never to be seen again (and there is no witchcraft involved!), girls who are called sluts, and a drunk, conceited boy who tries to rape girls and hits people, then yells at them for not cooperating.
There's also off-kilter adult behavior, repeated references to the title of the book, some really odd mentions of Martin Scorcese (which I'll give you, but...it's weird to also mention Thelma Schoonmaker later on for no reason), an eye-rolling climax straight out of a television movie, and most mystifying of all, the assumption that $20 will cover a night out in New York.
If you hadn't already guessed it, in a book like this, whether your crush is ignoring you or whether there are unworthy people trying to get in your pants or whether there are Twilight Zone forces trying to keep you and your boyfriend apart, love will totally conquer all. After all, that's pretty much the whole point of being alive. And definitely the whole point of being a woman.
The full text of this review may be found in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher....more
Given some practice in character and plot development, experience with real relationships, and some life perspective, it's possible this 18-year-old aGiven some practice in character and plot development, experience with real relationships, and some life perspective, it's possible this 18-year-old author might produce an interesting book at some point. As it stands, however, it's unreasonable to expect the average teenager to tackle such weighty subjects as love and evil and faith and redemption with any convincing measure of depth or insight....more
Boy, it sure takes some girls a long time to figure out there's a werewolf in her midst. Dogs react weirdly to Pietr, the new boy in school, he sniffsBoy, it sure takes some girls a long time to figure out there's a werewolf in her midst. Dogs react weirdly to Pietr, the new boy in school, he sniffs people, his eyes look "disconcertingly feral," he has "startlingly beautiful teeth," he heals super fast, he thinks vampires get more attention than werewolves do, there were wolf attacks in the town his family just left...do you need more signs? Oh, how about HE TELLS HER ON PAGE 205? But Jessie Gillmansen doesn't believe him until he actually leads her into the woods and transforms in front of her on page 286. And then the book ends 22 pages later.
I am somewhat shame-faced at having read this entire book. I kept waiting for it to get better, but if anything, it just got more and more convoluted. The Russian Mafia stuff makes no sense, the cheating thing makes no sense (Jessie's making him go out with her best frenemy Sarah, who was formerly evil but then killed Jessie's mom with her car, but who is now "good" thanks to Jessie's good samaritan project. So if this girl likes Pietr, Jessie can't have him, so he's got to go out with the other girl, but Jessie can't stop kissing him. Got that?), and the wolf thing doesn't have time to make any sense, because you only get 10 minutes with the knowledge until it's all over. And while it's clear the book was set up for sequels, it's very odd how abruptly the story ends, and how weird behavior from the killer best friend and Derek, the sometime-crush, is never explained (although it's pretty easy to guess what's going on in Derek's case), not even a little bit. Most of all, Jessie herself seems really young and misguided and naive, and with a main character so painfully unaware of herself and those around her, the book seems very skewed towards younger teens.
The thing is, I think somewhere buried deep down (okay, deep, deep down) there might've been a decent book in this. But it needed to go through many more revisions with a lot more character development, a refresher on the importance of providing motivation, and a huge overhaul on planning out a coherent plot. But maybe I'm just kidding myself, just like Jessie did....more
Vivian-the-werewolf lusts after an unsuspecting human boy (MEAT boy, mind you) who is embarrassingly weaThis was an appalling book on so many levels.
Vivian-the-werewolf lusts after an unsuspecting human boy (MEAT boy, mind you) who is embarrassingly weak and supremely uninteresting. She's also fighting off advances from numerous other men who just randomly grab her breasts and has birthdays where her mom and 6 men watch her open gifts of lingerie. And creepiest of all, Gabriel, the 24-year-old head wolf, is after her to be his mate--although that doesn't stop him from sleeping with her 40-year-old mom throughout the book. *shudder*
Vivian is also a self-centered, vain, out of control teenager who calls her mom a bitch and who is surrounded by people who curse all the time for no reason. Every man in the book is a hormone-driven jerk and the few females in it are selfish and unlikable. (Gabriel is actually the most interesting and likable character, except for that icky sleeping with mom thing.) I don't care if you're a werewolf or not, bad behavior is bad behavior. And on top of all this...the book is written in a melodramatic tone with very poor structure and awkward phrasing. After being rejected by the boy she loves, for example, Vivian runs into the woods and screams "I am beautiful! Why can't he see that?" and then drinks a full bottle of booze (given to her by an adult), destroys the room of a girl she's jealous of, and then later (view spoiler)[tries to kill herself by lighting herself on fire (albeit to help "save" the pack) (hide spoiler)]. I can't adequately express how awful scenes like this are, and how surprised I am that more people are not taken aback by the book's content and writing.
This book would be an annoying enough if it were written for adults, but being that it's meant for teenagers, I find the whole thing pretty outrageous. ...more
Embarrassingly lacking in depth, emotion, intrigue, and plot. Also, the boy is named Caspian, for heaven's sake!Embarrassingly lacking in depth, emotion, intrigue, and plot. Also, the boy is named Caspian, for heaven's sake!...more
Interesting concept, some funny dialogue, a fun relationship with her best friend Beanie..but other than that, very little happens, there's no tensionInteresting concept, some funny dialogue, a fun relationship with her best friend Beanie..but other than that, very little happens, there's no tension, and it never feels like anything big is at stake. The book pretty much just ends--spoiler, they just switch back--and that's that. Pretty pointless. ...more
Hypersexed, boy-crazy, annoying teens. Plus some uninteresting supernatural stuff every once in awhile. For a series that involves so many teenagers hHypersexed, boy-crazy, annoying teens. Plus some uninteresting supernatural stuff every once in awhile. For a series that involves so many teenagers having sex, these books sure aren't very sexy....more
Wendy Darling
>
Books:
eye-bleeding
(25)
Loading...
