clairebau's reviews
46 reviews

The second-best in the series, following Twilight. This book is weird. It has a lot of (dare I say unnecessary) characters whose gifts and talents are presented as if they'll have any effect on the climax of the plot, which they don't. The entire concept of werewolf (shape-shifter?) imprinting on infants only to wait until they're adults to begin a romantic relationship with them is just. ... There are no words. Everyone in this book is a lot cooler about that than I would have been. But I did like that Bella showed some initiative and actually did things in this book, as opposed to the other three. Her character shines most strongly in this installment. 

Better then New Moon, significantly, in that there's less waffling around and waiting for stuff to happen, but there's still some. All 3 of the most important men in Bella's life (Edward, Jacob, Charlie) dismiss her autonomy and violate her consent in different ways, which was nasty, but the story was fun. Eager to continue.

This book exists because Stephanie wanted to prove that Bella wasn't simply a damsel in distress, and that the original saga didn't rely on antiquated gender roles as much as was critiqued. This is a futile task, because both of those things are true. Beau comes off as awkward and, at times, feminine (which is fine! Just not what Stephanie was going for!) 99% of this book is find-and-replaced with names and bodily descriptions. Almost no thought was given to changes in social gender norms across characters, so this was weird and unnecessary. Ending was fun, I guess, but not worth reading to the end for.

Didn't love it. I was frustrated by Bella's character. Even more than in the last book, she is not someone who does things; instead, things just happen to her. She's constantly collapsing from shock and overexertion, and one of the many more interesting characters has to take care of her and fix it. Obviously, this mirrors her character's frustration with being human and useless and whatever... but it was kind of a drag to read about.

Surprised by how... good this book was? I can't believe they nerfed movie Edward by making him less whimsical, joyful, and funny than he was in the book. 

I'm surprised by how much I disliked this. Sci-fi and generational epics are, like, my thing. But there was nothing that appealed to me here. It feels like story took a backseat to the pretentiously descriptive prose. The writing didn't feel smart, it felt like someone pretending at depth. There was no characterization, no worldbuilding, just scraps of random, bare minimum "exposition" that weren't interesting enough to keep my attention. Blue's letters read like parody of a Tumblr blorbo. I wanted to stop after the first few chapters, but I pushed through for a few more, hoping they would get better. They did not.

Reread, obviously!

Katniss's time in 13 and her mission in the Capitol are a bit clunky in ways the first two books aren't, but this is still a gorgeous, near-perfect story. The ending after Katniss

kills Coin

felt a bit rushed, but maybe that was just my wanting more. Excited for the next prequel installment! Fingers-crossed it's in third person.

Best book of all time. There's simply nothing else I can say

Reread (the first time was required in elementary school)

Near-perfect book. I wish only that it was longer. This was the first book that affected me... Well, I wasn't sure how to end that sentence, but that's what I mean. It's the first book I remember thinking about deeply, even after I'd finished it. I was so enamored with the way Lowry had managed to describe color from the perspective of someone seeing it for the first time. The description of the

release of the twin baby boy

was deeply emotional and surprising. Finishing this book felt like a milestone in my life, separating it into periods of before and after. I remember thinking to myself "this is what a book can be???" Yes. And this is everything a book should be.

Great thriller. Characterization and description were wonderful. I would've liked more obvious symbolism between the plights of Paul and Misery, if King was going to put her story in there anyway. This book does a pretty good job of staying fresh despite 99% of it taking place in one room, but it could have done a better one.