Martha
Good points about freedom & free speech, as well as about boys & girls & obsession vs. love, but it had quite a bit of vulgarity in it.
I liked this book more than I thought I would (with the notable exception of one scene integral to the plot & mostly undetailed). I do, however, think it ranks as an adult book & not a juvenile/young adult one.
Poor beginning & poor ending, but good middle. Nonetheless, I won't let my children read it because it teaches some bad lessons along with the good ones.
Some of the stories rate only 1 star, but some are 3 or 4, so I averaged for two stars.
The characters were weak, the science was unbelievable, the conclusion was unrealistic. Honestly, how many reputable scientists do you know who spit on their work?
Interesting take on the nettle shirts. Overall, one of the more upbeat versions of this story (the swan brothers) that I've read. I consider that a good thing.
And this one, though it has the funny bits, is mostly cry-out-loud, which is even more embarrassing if not reading in private.
I don't usually care for books with cliffhangers, but Sarah does it so well... Actually, she does quite a few things so well. It's rather unfair, though delightful to read.
Now THIS is a proper YA romance! It has no insta-love (they don't even meet for several months), no sex (they do kiss a bit), no protestations of eternal love or marriage proposals (they'd like to keep dating to see where things go), no soulmates (they feel “comfortable” because of their prior email correspondence), and they still act like teenagers instead of wanna-be adults.
I know I gave it three stars, but I still have some problems with this book. Among other things,
1) No, someone being kind to you isn't enough for you to fall in love with them, but neither is someone understanding you. Have higher standards, already!
2) It deftly illustrates why people should not assume that their insta-love is true love (but then it forgets its own lesson).
3) When someone says “I love you,” it does not mean “rip off my clothes and let's have sex right this minute.”
I found this quite disturbing; so much so that I feel I must classify it as adult, not young adult, and will be forbidding my children from reading it despite their eagerness to do so.
One of the books that stuck in my head for decades. Unfortunately, it stuck without the title, so I couldn't place it until now.
Suspenseful, with well-handled ethical dilemmas and appealing characters. For those of us who notice technical aspects, the writing is smooth and typos are seldom. The story was enjoyable for adults, but should appeal even more to the younger age groups for which it was written.
