Sunday, April 15, 2007

A Great and Terrible Beauty

Since I love young adult literature so much, it's usually one of the first things I check out when I go to the bookstore - and since the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series so much, I usually start my YA trip in the authors-who-start-with-B secion. I've been looking at the cover of A Great and Terrible Beauty (by Libba BRAY) for a couple years, and I never bought it because it was a hardback - and unless it's Harry Potter or SOTTP, I won't by YA lit in hardback. But good news! AGATB is out in paperback now! I bought it about two weeks ago and devoured it - not because it's the best book I've ever read (more on that) but because I haven't read anything new in a while, and just wanted to get into a new story.

But this book wasn't awesome. It was entertaining, and I always enjoy a story centered around strong female characters, but the ending was ultra lame. I wanted there to be a big battle instead of a fading away - but fading away is what I got. Plus, how many books about English girls in India do there really need to be? Or English girls whose parents die? (Trust me, I'm not spoiling it for you). It was fun, and I suppose if I were 13 or 14, it would have knocked my socks off, but I'm 29, and it was just alright.

A Great and Terrible Beauty - B-

3 comments:

Peach said...

I've been wanting to read the traveling pants books, for a while...
I love young adult literature, too.
Have you read any Anne Emery books?? They're out of print, but I have some old copies from libraries and such... the Dinny Gordon books were pretty good.

Frannie Farmer said...

I love YA too...probably because I am surrounded by girls that love to read it too. HeartBreakers enjoys the Traveling Pants books - but won't let me read them yet -- grrr. I guess I could check them out from the library -- but hey - I bought them!
Anywho...I would still read this, just because I like the cover :)

Beth said...

I like Harry Potter, but haven't read much other Young Adult. The Sisterhood of the Traveling pants did look good to me, though, so maybe I should check it out.