Elisa

Stereotypical Sappy Southern Y/A Romance

Revisado: 04-29-19

The first quarter or so of the story was intriguing, as we learn about the protagonist's traumatic early childhood and the marshland setting is described in poetic detail. The descriptions of nature are lovely throughout. However the story devolves into a sappy, romantic, thinly plotted melodrama rife with cardboard-cutout characters. The protagonist was sort of an unbelievable Mary Sue – an abandoned, dangerously malnourished child who grows up in abject poverty with no access to healthcare, and yet still manages to become a stunningly conventionally beautiful – albeit misunderstood – science genius? Of course it's not uncommon to be economically disenfranchised, attractive, and smart, but I felt that the author relied too much on characterizing the protagonist as extremely beautiful in order to propel the melodrama forward. Characters don't have to be insanely gorgeous to be interesting and worthwhile, you know?

The characters overall were stereotyped and one-dimensional. The "good ole' mammy and pappy" portrayal of the only two Black characters was especially offensive. There is a part where the protagonist, who is white, compares the prejudice she experiences to the racism Black people in this small, remote Southern town experience, which is ridiculous.

The performance was rather cartoonish, and the main character's baby voice throughout the entire book was pretty annoying.

You might like this book if you like Y/A romance, I guess. Two stars for the lovely natural setting and descriptions.

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esto le resultó útil a 22 personas

Disappointing.

Revisado: 10-05-13

What would have made The Bone Season better?

The Bone Season started out decently - Shannon introduces an interesting world and potentially interesting protagonist, with a generally dreary, dark atmosphere enveloping everything that adds an intriguing tone to the whole thing.

But then, just as things are supposed to get interesting, it just all falls apart. After our initial introduction, the rest of the book reads like angsty teen fan fiction - characters are two dimensional, the meandering plot falls into the usual "dystopian world" tropes, key relationships are developed in a rushed, unbelievable way, plot holes pop up left and right, the romantic relationship feels SO forced, and so on. I was especially disappointed in the development of the main character, who started out kind of layered and promising, and then just withered away into a boring Mary Sue who faces "terrible obstacles" without real consequences and "doesn't believe in herself" until the very end of course when she all of a sudden does a 180 and turns into Sergeant Leader and is all "I'm the only one who can save everyone ARRRGH!!11"

Also, toward the last third of the book, Shannon heavy handedly employs the most embarrassingly trite plot device in order to forcibly move the romantic relationship along...I honestly felt like I had skipped an entire section because it just came straight outta nowhere. But no, it was just juvenile fan fiction writing at its best (worst?)

Anyway, if you are WAY into "dark" YA fantasy stuff and don't care about, I don't know, how well it's written, then you'll probably like this. Because it certainly feels like it was written by a 21 year old.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Bone Season?

The last two thirds

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Mary Sue and Friends Go Amok

Revisado: 09-11-13

Would you try another book from Caitlin Kittredge and/or Katie MacNichol?

Not from Kittredge. It was like listening to a 14 year old's fan fiction. The narrator was good.

What could Caitlin Kittredge have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

She could have learned how to write a cohesive story with relatable, believable, rounded characters. The world-building ideas were interesting, but there was WAYYYY too much going on - Kittredge went buck wild and invested in far too many themes - steam punk, faery, magic, zombies, dystopian world, etc.

The main character was a total Mary Sue, and utterly unlikeable. For example, she is the only female character in the story who the author presents as intelligent/worthwhile/talented (though her actions throughout the story say otherwise - she makes some dumb ass decisions for a supposed amazing genius superwoman), while all other female characters are described as vapid idiots.

What does Katie MacNichol bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She was a good narrator. No problems with her narration, just the drivel she had to narrate.

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