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wow! graphic violent cat abuse

Revisado: 10-21-24

chapter seven is full of descriptions of violent abuse against a lovely cat named Hobbes just because the author needed to convey that the bad guys were REALLY bad.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

It's pronounced "library"

Revisado: 06-08-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This review is based on an ALC audiobook received for free from Audiobook BOOM. I am not being paid to review this book and what I write here is my own opinion. Maya and Connor have always been friends, but when a single paid position becomes available at the library where they’ve both been volunteering forever that friendship suffers when they decide they want it. Maya needs it because she needs the income. It’s not clear why Connor wants it. Their relationship is further strained as it evolves from casual friendship to discussions of relationships with other people, and especially prom plans. The fact that everyone in their school seems oddly obsessed with their behavior doesn’t help at all. There are a lot of instances where Connor wants to reach out to touch Maya, or maybe kiss her, or otherwise touch her in a more-than-friends way. It starts so early in the book that it doesn’t really seem to add much dramatic or romantic tension to the story. And, similarly, she keeps baiting him by pretending to be interested in other guys, to the point where those moments lose their significance. They end up kissing about halfway through the approximately-a-month-ago period and it goes very, very badly because Maya gets suspicious of Connor’s motives. The novel’s first chapter takes place about a month after the bulk of the action begins. The narrative point of view is inconsistent in that it is either extended instances of limited third person (when the main characters are not occupying the same space) or bounces between the two of them (when they are in the same space). Because these perspective shifts are not signaled within chapters, it can be a little jarring, at least in audiobook form. Perhaps in print there are visual indicators. It’s nice to hear how much the two of them love the library, and it’s clear that Wolfe has spoken with librarians or has library experience, but Connor’s attitude toward shelf-reading is baffling. If he’d really rather scrub toilets than shelf-read, he has no business applying for a library job. It’s a really important task, and (speaking only for myself, but as a librarian) very relaxing. Ultimately it’s moot, though, given the way the book ends. Narrator Krystal Chiarolla was not a great choice for this book. For one thing, she keeps saying “lie-berry” and “lie-berry-in.” In a book about library volunteers, this is an excruciating mispronunciation to hear over and over. She also attempts to add interest by speaking louder and tends to make everything uncomfortably emotional sounding by adding too much emphasis to words that aren’t really that important, which makes it difficult to focus on information that actually is important. Additionally, she tends to over-enunciate her Ts. That said, I appreciate Chiarolla’s quick speech, since I often have to listen to audiobooks at 1.25x or 1.5x speed in order for them to sound normal, but the pace may be too fast for some listeners.

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