Book Review - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Ok, so I'd probably actually give this a 3.5 but I though I'd be generous. Part I of the book is AGONY; pure, unbridled agony. If you are a financier or something, you might not be totally bored by it, but for me, it was awful.

By the time part II came along, though, the setup was FINALLY done and the actual story had started to move. While the first 150 pages took me WEEKS to wade through (I had to keep putting it down and read something more interested so my will to live wasn't completely sucked away), I cranked through the last 200 pages in one day.

It is worth reading, if you can take some time and work your way through the beginning. I don't recommend reading it without an actually interesting book in tow to read when you just can't take it anymore. Unfortunately, part I is enormously critical to understanding what happens in Part II, so you really do have to read it and pay attention.

Anyway, if you have the strength of will to get through part I, the book really ends up pretty interesting, and I'll probably read the sequels.

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Book Review - The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Well, it's no Hunger Games. The premise is interesting, and the story had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, a lot of it was left unfulfilled. I identified pretty heavily with the main character, BUT there was a real lack of depth to 99% of the other characters, which is disappointing. I was left with many unanswered questions that I hope are resolved in the sequel, which I do intend to read.

These people are living in a world where the only thing separating them from a forest of Zombies is a chain-link fence. And yet, while you read about their terror and desperation at times, you never FEEL it. Maybe I'm spoiled by the emotional roller coaster that was the Hunger Games series, but I like to be inside of my stories. While this one carried me through, I felt more like I was riding along a path in an electric jeep rather than being chased through the jungle by the dinosaurs.

The only thing I really felt in my bones was Mary's desire for MORE of life, and the sense of loss from those whose loved ones were taken by the Unconsecrated. And while her scenes of desire with her beloved were moving, the genre was painfully obvious to me as it usually isn't in good YA - I could tell the author was holding back because of the intended age of the audience, and the work was the worse for it.

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