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Heck

August 13th, 2010, @ 9:46 am Did Not Finish | Middle Grade

Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go
by Dale Basye

When Milton and Marlo Fauster die in a marshmallow-bear explosion, they get sent straight to Heck, an otherworldly reform school. Milton can understand why his kleptomaniac sister is here, but Milton is—or was—a model citizen. Has a mistake been made? Not according to Bea “Elsa” Bubb, the Principal of Darkness. She doesn’t make mistakes. She personally sees to it that Heck—whether it be home ec class with Lizzie Borden, ethics with Richard Nixon, or gym with Blackbeard the pirate—is especially, well, heckish for the Fausters. Will Milton and Marlo find a way to escape? Or are they stuck here for all eternity, or until they turn eighteen, whichever comes first? (goodreads.com)

Some Middle Grade books translate well between middle graders and adults. Some don’t quite make it over that line. This was one of those books for me. I tried to give it the “100 page” rule but I just couldn’t make it past 70.

The humour fell flat, it was a little too gross in parts for my liking (I have never understood why young reader books have to be gross. Why do people always think kids always like gross things?) and I just didn’t like any of the characters.

I think I am too old for this book, which is sad because I have been lusting after it since it first came out in hard cover years ago and was thrilled when my crappy library had both this and the second book in the series.

Sadly, this book is not for me. Perhaps I am just too jaded to appreciate the corny puns and obvious plot paths. I am trying to think if I would have liked it when I was 10 or 12. I don’t think I would have, mainly because of the random gross things also I don’t like Marol’s personality and how she always gets her brother in trouble. Maybe if I read on this would change, but I just did not like the writing or attempts at humour.

I think many kids would like this book though, so don’t put too much stock in this review. I am not setting out to write a negative one, just one to remind me when I see this book in the bargain bin to not pick it up like I know I would do otherwise. Heh.

Heck series

  1. Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go
  2. Heck: Rapacia
  3. Heck: Blimpo
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The Iron King

June 25th, 2010, @ 7:13 am Did Not Finish | Paranormal | Young Adult

The Iron King (Iron Fey Book #1)
Julie Kagawa

I think I am the only person in existence that did not like this book. All I see are rave reviews everywhere for it. I didn’t even finish it. I know some people said I only had about 100 pages left to go and I should stick it through, but I honestly could NOT.

I started this book ages ago and forced myself to go past the 100 page mark thinking I could at least read this and add it to my Debut Author Challenge list. But I had to put it down at page 176 (even though goodreads said I was up to 207 when I did. I must have mistyped). It sad, collecting dust, for a good 3  4 months on my cedar chest in the living room. I picked it up this week thinking I would try to finish it because it will go in a pile of books I am donating to my University’s Education library next week. I thought, why not finish it and I will find closure and can give it away with no guilt.

No dice. I can’t stomach the characters in this book one bit. One of the first status updates I wrote on Goodreads when I first started the book was “I swear if Robbie calls Meghan ‘Princess’ one more time I’m throwing this book out the window!” I think of all the characters Puck was the worst. I thought both “love interests” were complete morons and so unlikeable I have no clue why Meghan was so torn. Move on with your life, girl! Find someone who isn’t an irritating idiot! Meghan herself wasn’t all that bad, but she didn’t POP! for me, she was just flat.

I wanted to like Grimalkin the cat, I did. But he was way too Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland for me. There was nothing that screamed different or original about him.

The dialogue drove me crazy and the plot was completely unoriginal. I am tired of characters finding out they are the children of the most powerful whatever or the king or queen and blah, blah, blah. I have read way too many stories with this plot line and quite frankly I am over it. Sadly there was nothing else in this book to distract me enough from that part. At least if I could have liked the characters or something I could have probably finished the book.

As it was, the more I read the more angry I got at the story, the characters and when Puck returned to the pages I knew I couldn’t go on. Down went the book for the final time.

I am trying to think of what has made everyone but me love this book and I can’t think of a thing. I have read much better written books with stupid love triangles and paranormal aspects, but this one just wasn’t my cup of tea. I wanted to try and write a well-thought out review to explain why I didn’t like it but I’m not doing very well on that front. I don’t think the book was all that poorly written but nothing in the story clicked for me in a positive way. Nothing. I’m kind of bummed about that because I had been looking forward to the book since I first heard of it.

Oh, well. You can’t love everything you read, right?

What I did love about this book? The cover! I think the cover is beautiful and I have seen the cover for the second book as well and love it just as much. I wish what was after the cover was as stunning in my mind.

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