In case you missed anything, here's a recap of what was posted Saturday, February 5th through Friday, February 11th.
Reviews
Blank Confession by Pete Hautman
Deadly by Julie Chibbaro
Guest post cover review: The Banned and the Banished series
(Click on the titles to go to my reviews)
Memes
Features
Finished
Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren
(Click on the title to go to Goodreads)
Currently Reading
Choker by Elizabeth Woods
Page134 of 233
Received: Library
Usually I’m the type of person who laughs five minutes after the punch line of a joke because it takes me a long time to figure it out. So what in the world is going on here? First I guess the Big Bad in Cryer’s Cross and now I’ve gone and figured out Choker’s big mystery in the first chapter! I need to stop being so perceptive. It’s ruining my books! (Update: Nope, I still suck at getting jokes quickly. Just had an embarrassingly delayed response...)
Even without that, I still don’t think Choker is the book for me. I had heard that it was creepy, but more than that it just makes my skin crawl, and not in a good way. I really just couldn’t like the main character at all, even knowing the Big Reveal. I much preferred the other students who didn’t like her very much, because I didn’t like her either.
Choker is also another one of those phenomenally unbelievable examples of absent parents in YA. I would almost rather an author ignore parents than have them present and oblivious or strangely uninvolved. I guess part of this is made a little better when you consider the fact that the book, while third person, is told from Cara’s perspective and she isn’t exactly a reliable narrator. Still, I found it irritating. (I also thought it was awkward written in the third person).
Warning to animal lovers: This book also bothered me because of the scenes of animal cruelty. I don’t just mean a character is sort of mean to an animal. I mean animals (plural) are killed and it is completely malicious. I personally have a line, and that kind of treatment of animals crosses my line.
I decided to put this book down because I realized I just wasn’t enjoying it at all. I already knew the surprise, so I really had no reason to continue.
News!
This coming week I'm going to switch things up a little here at Small Review. Some days will still be the same schedule you're used to, but:
Monday will be my second running of my new review comparison!
Tuesday will feature the cover reveal of a book I can't wait to read!
I'm very excited and I hope to see you here!
You have had a busy. Look forward to next week review comparison!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have been busy! I am jealous of you reading Dark Waters. Looking forward to that review.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Choker even though I figured out the twist after fifty pages! It does deserve to come with a warning for animal lovers though. I pointed that out in my review too.
ReplyDeleteBusy week! Too bad about Choker but hope you're enjoying Dark Mirror!
ReplyDeleteToo bad on Choker, it definitely seems like one that will either be hit or miss. Can't wait to see what you think of Dark Mirror though, I'm really excited to read that one!
ReplyDeleteChoker definitely made my skin crawl. I skimmed the book. I surprisingly didn't figure out the story. LOL. Maybe I was too creeped out by the whole thing and it went over my head. I rolled my eyes at the lack of parents...especially when you have a kid with problems.
ReplyDeleteShame about Choker! l am terrible at knowing what's happening so it helps me like books lol
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy Dark Mirror .. looks good!
Nic, I’m starting to feel busy :P Though I was disappointed I was only able to finish one book this week.
ReplyDeleteSavannah, Well, make sure you check back for the giveaway then ;)
Leanna, Oh, yes, I remember your review. I appreciated the warning.
Alyssa, Yup! I am enjoying Dark Mirror. :)
Jenny, Yes, I’ve seen reviews on both ends for Choker. I think it’s a book where people just really need to read it and decide for themselves rather than rely on reviews. I’m about 50 pages into Dark Mirror and I’m enjoying it so far. It’s different than what I expected, but not in a bad way.
Julie, Usually I don’t figure out anything, so I was extra disappointed when I got it so quickly. Yes, exactly, their daughter has known problems and they ignore her? Although I do think they were a little more aware than we’re led to believe since we are seeing things from the girl’s perspective which is…a little off.
Books for Company, Me too! Usually I don’t see anything coming, which is great! I am enjoying Dark Mirror so far :)
Love your recaps!! As you know.
ReplyDeleteI also love it when you give reasons for not finishing a book. After reading your reviews on the books that everyone goes crazy for, I tend to decide to take the 4 star givers of these same books with grain of salt. I have a feeling that you have standards & expectations from books no matter which genre they're in like I do!
Anyway, great post and you go girl on your first giveaway!! Looking forward to it :-]
I love hearing you love my recaps :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you like the non-review reviews for my DNF books. I don't feel comfortable giving a full review, but I think it can be helpful to read why. I'm debating putting them in a different post though because they're getting a little long. What do you think?
Haha, I do try to have standards and expectations, but sometimes my fangirling can overwhelm everything! So take me with a grain of salt too :P
Now all I have to do is figure out how to make one of those entry forms for the giveaway! :P
Haven't read Choker yet... I don't know though. I can be pretty daft at guessing the big reveal in stories so I think there's still a good chance that it will still be a big surprise for me. I hope. But definitely hate reading about animal cruelty in stories too :(
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recap! It's so hard to keep up with ya! lol. I tend to shun the computer after work...
ReplyDeleteThese recaps really help me stay updated needless to say :)
Aylee, usually I'm pretty dense too. I was so taken aback by the animal parts. I thought the scene in Delirium was worse though, so if you could read that then you'll probably be able to read Choker's scenes.
ReplyDeleteBook Geek, Oh I hear you about keeping up with bloggers! I'm so behind this week. I'm glad you find the recaps helpful :)
Ugh, that scene in Delirium! I can't believe I almost forgot about that... That was absolutely horrid.
ReplyDeleteYes, I hated that scene! It was so horrible to read. I almost put the book down right there. It seemed a little too over the top "They're EVIL!" to me too.
ReplyDeleteBummer that you didn't like Choker.. I haven't read it myself but I've read a lot of raving reviews for it.
ReplyDeleteAnimal cruelty totally puts me off in a book. For some reason that bothers me more than if someone kills a human being.
Thanks for the warning!
I absolutely HATE animal cruelty and can't stand reading it in books. There was an iffy scene in Shiver that bugged me, but what's strange is I can't remember the Delirium scene you and Aylee are talking about! I guess it either didn't bother me or I blocked it from my memory.
ReplyDeleteGuess that means I won't be reading Choker. :/
Celine, I agree with you. Animal cruelty bothers me more than killing humans. I think it's because they're so innocent and helpless. It would bother me just as much if a child were killed.
ReplyDeleteLogan, I don't really remember a scene in Shiver, but I also didn't finish that book so I might not have gotten to that part. I don't want to jog your memory about the Delirium scene. It was awful. :(
Okay, I admit that I totally googled "Lauren Oliver Delirium animal" and figured out what I was missing.
ReplyDeleteI believe I had chosen to block that one out. Truly awful to read, but sends a powerful message as well about what she's up against. Still...my heart is breaking just thinking about it, even though I know it's make believe.
Aw, I would have told you. Yes, even though I know it's not really and never actually happened I always get sad whenever I think about it. Poor puppy :( The scene was written with so much detail too.
ReplyDeleteBased in part on this discussion, I wrote my post for tomorrow about animal violence in books. I linked back to this post, too.
ReplyDeleteThe detail was what made it so hard to read. I couldn't help but picture it and imagine the poor thing in so much pain. Ugh.
Logan led me to this post. Sorry I missed it the first time.
ReplyDeleteYou are another trusted reviewer who has said as much about Choker and labeled it as a DNF. Yeah, gonna have to say that it's not for me. TYVM.
And LOL about the delayed joke thing. Happens to me all the time.
Logan, You're so sweet, thank you! I agree. That scene was probably one of the clearest to picture because of the amount of detail she used.
ReplyDeleteMissie, Did the other reviewer mention similar reasons for DNF? I'm glad to hear I'm not the only delayed joke-getter. I get laughed at all the time :P