Martha

I found the concept wildly exciting, which is why I requested the book from the Goodreads giveaway (thanks for selecting me, btw!). I received no compensation for my review.

Alas, the book did not live up to its promise at all. It was too preachy, with not enough story. It was too obvious, and gave no reasons to care about the characters or the plot. It had too much telling and not nearly enough showing. The plot twists were easy to predict, as was the conclusion. It was very choppy, jumping around from here to there with no continuity and barely a plan. Periodically, the author would remember that the book was supposed to be interesting and stop preaching to throw in a fight scene or a physics discussion. Unfortunately, those tactics generally did not raise the level of excitement. What is fascinating in an essay is not necessarily interesting in a novel.

It contained inaccurate doctrine, especially of non-Catholic faiths (such as the blatant characterization of Mormons as non-Christians and similar to Muslims, neither of which is true). It's not that I mind someone arguing that their church is the true one. Go for it! However, if you're going to use a religion's doctrine as an argument against its truth, at least use the real doctrine, or it isn't a real argument. It quickly dismissed 99% of Christianity with barely a thought, since the two branches of Catholicism are OBVIOUSLY the only religions worth considering. (Yes, I'm being sarcastic, but the book wasn't.)

The entire book comes off as a conversion tract inadequately disguised as a sci-fi adventure novel, but the sci-fi and religious aspects are poorly integrated and both are ineffective. Even Heaven and Hell were boring.

I am very sorry, but I find that I cannot recommend the book.

First, these are not terrifying. They are slightly spooky.
Second, I don't like terrifying, but I can deal with slightly spooky. It wins a point.
Third, even though the stories don't seem related, many of them have a connecting thread. It wins a point.
Fourth, I found it very easy to guess the connecting thread. It would lose a point, except that it didn't bother me to guess it, so I'm calling it even.
Fifth, the writing is good, and the style is good. It wins a point.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Some of the stories were funny & I laughed out loud at the frawgs. A few were touching. The last one was very odd and didn't match any of the rest. Very few of them surprised me. The author was good at implying things clearly, but I got tired of how many girls seemed to catch their man by not saying a word. I think I'm going to have to give 2.5 stars.

Things I liked: Merrill was a very realistic smart-mouthed teenager, but he wasn't afraid to make a fool of himself to protect a friend. Most of the gentle plot twists were easily believable (the culmination of the website situation feels just a bit less plausible, and the finding-the-new-agent part seemed much too easy & perfect). The characters were, in general, nice people (flawed, normal, nice people). There was a happy-but-not-all-perfect ending.

Things I didn't like: What good does it do to buy off someone if they not only don't know WHY, but don't even know they ARE being paid for their silence? Okay, that isn't really a book issue–it's a “that character is stupid” complaint. The pace is a little slow, but that can be considered a style choice rather than a true flaw.

If you want a book with action-packed adventure, this is not that book. If you want a glitzy, exciting book, this is not that book, even with a couple of trips to L.A. If you want a book about good & bad families and about people who are mostly trying to do what is right in hard situations, this might be that book. If you want a book about worthwhile choices in real life and loyalty under pressure, this might be that book.

I have mixed feelings about this story. The cons: I found it unbelievable that a large basket would fit through the crack but a petite woman wouldn't; it was too convenient that the shaman only taught her two new spells, and one of them just happened to be the one that would save her; and the prince put off saving her to go get help (logical), then came back with only the one guard he'd had before. The pros: it was well-written, easy to read, had a non-medieval-Europe setting, had a better excuse for the Rapunzel elements than the original, and did NOT suffer from insta-love.

The Golden Sail–good point about forgiveness.
Biscuits of Glory–very lighthearted.
I, Earthling–my favorite in this book.
The Giant's Tooth–unexpected ending.
There's Nothing Under the Bed–this volume's story that I told my children not to read.
The Stinky Princess–fun, if a bit predictable.
The Japanese Mirror–shades of Dorian Gray.
Am I Blue?–strange, but interesting, in a way.
The Metamorphosis of Justin Jones–reminds me of learning about transitional characters.

The writing was smooth, the characters were varied & believable (although certain guys should decide whom they like and be faithful), & the setting was detailed. Some elements were a little predictable, but more in a “traditional” way than in a boring way.

I liked the minor characters a lot (or hated them when appropriate), including family members and friends. The author did a good job of making one minor character (sure to be a major character in the next book) a believable “enemy.” (High-school-grade enemy, but with hints of sheer genius and complicated motives.) The family interactions were great.

The fantasy elements were a little odd, but fit into the story. Most of the real science blended well with the fantasy.

I do have two complaints: I have read books with disasters, where the characters were over-panicking. In this book, I think they were under-panicking just a bit. As complaints go, it isn't very serious. #2: The Homecoming scene was less believable, although I understand why the author included it.

This series isn't likely to be one of my all-time favorites, but I still enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next book. Three stars from me is still a solid “like.”

I received the book as a Goodreads promotion, but got nothing for my review. My opinions, as always, are my own.