where I stash my literary playthings. (a book blog)

Tags

introduction

Welcome to A Novel Toybox, where I will post anything I wish, because I can. However, I do aim to keep most posts about the books I’ve read in an effort to promote reading.

If you are feeling particularly curious about my identity, read the About Me. page. If you have a secret crush on me and want to buy me flowers, please visit my Wishlist and buy me a book instead. If you would like me to review a book, host/participate in a blog tour/interview/giveaway, please don’t hesitate to Contact Me.

P.S. I will not litter this blog with superfluous buttons, banners, those things are make websites look like a unicorn threw up rainbows and also make pages load super slowly.

Your self-proclaimed hilarious webmistress,
Lilian

[review] The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012)

Tags

book, book review, cancer, romance, young adult, young adult fiction

The Fault in Our Stars (2012)
by John Green
Hardcover Edition
Publication Date: February 10th, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Books (Imprint of Penguin Books)
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten./em>

My Thoughts:
I…don’t know. The Fault in Our Stars is my first John Green book, and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to love it. And I didn’t. It was very well-written, the prose is just beautiful, but not something I was eager to pick up again after I put it down. I blame in partly to my expectations. When you pick up the TIME magazine, #1 BEST book, you expect it to me the best book you’ve EVER read. This is the YA Bible of 2012 here! It MUST be jaw-droppingly AMAZING. And I liked the guy, I subscribe to ALL his youtube channels. I eat up his Crash Course episodes like candy. He has a great personality, witty and “funny without ever being mean” (of course he could be a Van Houten behind the scenes, but I would never know that.) I expected myself to run around shoving this book into everyone’s faces and bawling my eyes out (not that me crying is a sign of whether the book is good or not.) But I didn’t.

Spring 2013 Mini-Reviews: Because Sometimes I Forget Too Much To Write A Full Review

Tags

adult, book, books, literature, young adult

All these books I read during the the 2013 Spring semester in the midst of midterms, finals, exams, presentations, and a deluge of art projects. These books don’t have their own post, not because they’re so bland (though a few do fall under that category) that they don’t warrant one, but mostly because I felt all has been said already. Or I was too lazy. Never mind, it’s the laziness.

How Literature Saved My Life by David Shields (2013)
Edition Read: Hardcover
My Thoughts: It’s been awhile since I picked up a non-fiction title not for academic purposes–and with a title like that, how can any book lover resist? With that said, David Shield’s How Literature Saved My Life by David Shields was a miss for me mostly due to the way the book is structured like a list of disparate thoughts and anecdotes (he describes his sex-life pretty often.) I have to applaud Shield’s unflinching candor. There are also A LOT of references to movies and books (there’s a part of the book where he lists fifty of his favorite books, which sufficed in making me yawn once or twice.) Although there are some insightful moments, this book makes me feel my brain isn’t smart enough to comprehend Shield’s thought process. Or maybe it really doesn’t make sense. I don’t know.
Rating: C-

This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers (2012)
Edition Read: Hardcover
My Thoughts: I’m not sure how to “review” children’s books at all. But this book made me a fan of Oliver Jeffers–not only for his fun, quirky stories–but also his art style. I WANT TO DO THAT KIND OF COLLAGING. After receiving This Moose Belongs to Me in the mail because of a giveaway, I was set on giving it away for Christmas (probably to someone under 10.) But after I read it, I totally had to keep it for myself. Largely due to the art style. Very beautiful and inspirational. I currently have a print and poster of Jeffers on my bedroom wall.
Rating: B

The Last Dragonslayer (The Last Dragonslayer, #1) by Jasper Fforde (2012)
Edition Read: Hardcover
My Thoughts: A story about a world where magic is now commonplace–but only used for trivial tasks like pest-control and plumbing. As my first Jasper Fforde book, I really wanted to like this one. I heard he was supposed to be hilarious. Maybe it’s because this is more of a middle-grade, but I didn’t find The Last Dragonslayer as funny as I hoped. There were an abundance of quirky, fun, satirical moments fir for a middle-grade story though. Overall, an enjoyable read. I still probably would continue the series if the opportunity arises. Probably.

Rating: C+

Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff (2007)
Edition Read: Paperback
My Thoughts: As other’s have said, this book starts off very strong–but falls apart by the end as if the author had no idea where to take the story, so he just threw something that sounded cool (but is actually a convoluted mess) together. I think the ending was SUPPOSED to be mind-blowing. But it wasn’t. It is still a fun plot: Jane the protagonist is arrested and sent to a psychiatric ward, where she claims to be part of a government secret organization that fights crime, but yet is capable of going undetected. There’s a little bit of unreliable narrator going on, but it’s just A LOT OF FUN. At least until the last fifty pages.
Rating: C+

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers (2007)
Edition Read: Hardcover
My Thoughts: If only I could “read” books, or at least absorb their knowledge by simply eating them like this boy can, then maybe I wouldn’t take so long writing reviews. And maybe then I’d finally understand the great philosophical works of of Nietzsche and Kant.  Except that would be very expensive and I would rack up a lot of library fines. I loved this book, about a boy who discovers the love of reading because he ate too many books–and I’m becoming quite the Jeffers fan. Darn it, I love his collages and painting style.
Rating: A

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers (2011)
Edition Read: Hardcover
My Thoughts: As you might have noticed, I’m having a Oliver Jeffers obsession lately. It all started when I won a Penguin giveaway. So Penguin sent me a poster of this book. And because I love Jeffers’ illustrations, I just had to put it on my bedroom wall. And because I put it on my bedroom wall, I felt the need to read the book, because what would I do if someone asked me about it? (nobody asked, but still!) So I read the book, and it did not disappoint. It’s about a boy who keeps throwing stuff into a tree, causing a LOT of stuff to get stuck in the tree (like an elephant and a firetruck.) I enjoyed this book, though not quite as much as The Incredible Book Eating Boy.
Rating: B+

Ask The Passengers by A. S. King (2012)
Edition Read: Hardback
My Thoughts: The first book I’ve read for 2013 because I wanted to try more YA contemporary novels. I have mixed feelings about this book. It’s about LGBT, family relationships, a little bit of philosophy, and sending love to people on airplanes. I find these moments where Astrid confides in these strangers to be the heartwarming, especially because she’s still in the closet about her sexuality. I admittedly haven’t read much LGBT, and I’m trying to remedy that–though I’m not sure if this book did the trick. I didn’t care about this couple, they just seemed like they were together because of teenage horomones. This was one of those books that were just “okay,” for me. I didn’t dislike anything, but I can’t sing praises either.
Rating: C++

Left Behind by Tim Lahaye & Jerry B. Jenkins (2000)
Edition Read: Paperback
My Thoughts: You have not read “preachy” until you’ve read Left Behind. Basically The Raptures comes, and all true believers of God disappear, along with babies. Along the way, it’s accepted that the ones taken away are in Heaven (if Heaven is filled with babies, I might have to reconsider.) I’m not Christian or Catholic, which made the book a even harder pill to swallow. At first I enjoyed the book due to its plot. I love a good, intriguing thriller any day, but gradually the book became more of an annoying salesman trying to convert you by scaring you. The religion is so heavy-handed that it took away all the entertaining elements that kept me reading in the first place.
Rating: D+

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (1963)
Edition Read: Paperback
My Thoughts: It’s about time I’ve read some Kurt Vonnegut (because I managed the get through high school without reading Slaughterhouse-Five.) I was assigned to read Cat’s Cradle for my Post Apocalyptic class, and enjoyed it, though it’s apocalyptic elements are often in the backdrop (what a disappointment.) I had trouble comprehended Vonnegut’s made-up religion, Bokonism, but as I began to ponder it more after I was done with the story, the more it made sense, and the more I appreciated Vonnegut’s writing. I still think there were way too many characters, many that you think are minor–until they reappear later on and play a pivotal role. I don’t know if Vonnegut is for me. Although I like his satirical, absurd humor and his wacky imagination, but Cat’s Cradle just didn’t hold my interest.
Rating: C+

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (2003)
Edition Read: Hardcover/E-book
My Thoughts: Another author I should’ve read long ago, but instead had to use the excuse of school to finally do so. I enjoyed Oryx and Crake largely due to it’s dystopic, sci-fi elements. It’s also a very twisted story with pedophilia and genetic engineering. This post-apocalyptic story is about a guy who lives in a post-apocalypstic would with Crakers. These Crakers are the new-generation of humans, humans who are genetically modified to better survive. The creator of them, Crake, decided to manufacture an apocalypse to cleanse Earth and to hand over the world to his Crakers. I loved Oryx and Crake’s characters–especially Crake, who is given the tropes of being a mad scientist deeply affected by his troubled family life and media, yet has sympathetic intentions–except the apocalypse part of his plans.
Rating: B-

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006)
Edition Read: Mass Paperback
My Thoughts: I really thought I would’ve liked this one a lot more (it’s a Pultzer Prize winner.) During class, everyone was commenting on how depressed The Road made them feel with its grey, hopeless milieu. On Goodreads, people kept saying how The Road made them burst into tears and be emo for the rest of the week. And then I was there in the corner feeling heartless. Yet, I still didn’t enjoy it. Not because of the lack of punctuation, I surprising didn’t mind that at all–but because NOTHING happened. I have no idea what the climax of the story is, and maybe for such a story, it doesn’t need one. I mean they saw some corpses and met some people–but it more or less an endless cycle of starving, finding food, then eating the last of it only to starve again (you have to wonder why they don’t carry more food with them, or at least ration what they have.) I found the gore to be a cheap cop-out into eliciting emotion. And the stilted, minmalistic dialogue made me feeling disengaged with the characters (even though I also acknowledge there may be reasons why it done approached this way.)
Rating: C+

Watchmen by Alan Moore (1986)
Edition Read: Paperback
My Thoughts: I enjoyed The Watchmen for its intriguing, and morally complex characters. It was a thought-provoking contrast to the righteous tropes in superhero lore. Even though characters were not “likable,” I still rooted for them. I also appreciate the use of its format (the way each panel is planned is–cinematic.) But I wasn’t intrigued with the plot (though I understand its cultural significance) and the romance which moves WAY TOO fast to be believable. Perhaps it’s because this is my first experience with graphic novels that made The Watchmen a slow read for me (I thought that since it was filled with pictures , that reading would go faster, but the opposite was true.) I am still not a fan of the very muscular and BLOODY art style that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t think I’ll be reading more graphic novels in the near future.
Rating: B+

In Defense of Physical Textbooks (Even if They Make Me Eat Cup Noodles While I Weep at My Depleted Wallet))

Tags

college, textbooks

Today, let’s talk about other stuff I read: textbooks! I hate them.

They are ridiculously heavy. My mom jokingly attributes my short height to the six hundred paged textbook I had to carry daily in second grade (she also attributes my shortness to not drinking enough milk.) I prefer to think of it as body-building. They are also very expensive, because publishers know you NEED them–so you don’t have a choice but to fork over the money. Many textbooks now come with their own unique access codes for their online content, which makes it difficult to re-sell a used copy.

You might consider an alternative: e-textbooks! They are cheaper and are better for the environment–what a wonderful invention! Well, not really. I’m a graphic design major, which requires me to be glued to the computer at least ten hours a day, not including research and essay writing. The last thing I want to do is have to stare at another screen. I rather pay extra to give my eyes a rest.

And e-textbooks aren’t REALLY that cheap, because you can’t re-sell them (legally.) From past experience, buying the e-textbook meant I would have to read the textbook at the publisher’s website by buying an access code. The access code will only last about one semester, so you won’t be able to refer to the textbook after a certain date. I understand the reluctance to allow downloading, for fear of mass-distribution, but it means I need to be connected to the Internet to read the textbook.  This means that if my Internet connection happened to be horrible, each page would take at least five minutes to “turn.” And it’s just plain unreliable, as the website might go down right before your exam (it happened, and it wasn’t pretty.)

This article is written for US Bundle’s 2013 College Scholarship contest because being a college student is expensive. *keeps eating cup noodles*

[review] Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (2013)

Tags

asia, asian culture, book, book review, eighties, pop culture, romance, young adult, young adult fiction

Eleanor and Park (2013)
by Rainbow Rowell
Hardcover Edition
Publication Date: February 26th, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under

My Thoughts:
I very much enjoyed Eleanor And Park. It was a warm and charming love story that started on a school bus. I loved watching their story unfold through comic books and music. Although at times the love story felt a bit too angsty and saccharine at parts, it also felt realistic. It felt like teenage love, where you everything seems infinitely more important. And it was okay to be unsure of yourself. I am usually not one for romances filled with endless love proclamations, but Eleanor and Park is so much more than that. Although I had gripes with character development, I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this novel. Definitely one of the best I’ve read so far this year.

Misfits? Who?
The blurb calls Eleanor and Park, “two star-crossed misfits.” But I have to disagree with that. I didn’t feel either of them were “misfits,” other than their physical appearances. They were not exactly misfits because everyone shunned them, but because they were so enamored with each other, everyone else was an annoyance to them. Or they never try to make friends in the first place, especially Eleanor. And then she blames it on her appearance. All of the “friend” characters had to approach them. Eleanor and Park were supposed to be these funny, “cool” people–but I didn’t want to be their friend.

[review] You by Austin Grossman (2013)

Tags

book, book review, nineties, video games

You (2013)
by Austin Grossman
Electronic Book
Publication Date: April 16th, 2013
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

When Russell joins Black Arts games, brainchild of two visionary designers who were once his closest friends, he reunites with an eccentric crew of nerds hacking the frontiers of both technology and entertainment. In part, he’s finally given up chasing the conventional path that has always seemed just out of reach. But mostly, he needs to know what happened to Simon, the strangest and most gifted friend he ever lost, who died under mysterious circumstances soon after Black Arts’ breakout hit.

My Thoughts:
After five pages, I already had a bad feeling about You (this title makes anything taken out of context sound rude or ungrammatical.) But because I thought it was impossible to make video games boring and unfinished books haunt me, so I decided to keep reading, hoping for some miracle to make this novel bearable. That didn’t happen.

You was SO BORING (thanks to the title, I now sound like a toddler). Not even in a rage inducing way so that I can at least laugh about it, but in an incredibly uneventful and bland way. The writing was long-winded, as if the author was trying to reach a word count. Pacing was gut-wrenchingly slow and fast in all the wrong places. The switches between first, second, and third person was confusing. The unannounced flashbacks and spontaneous jumps between Russell’s imagination, the video game, and reality didn’t help things. It was even worse than taking a philosophy class–there was no point in time while reading this novel that I knew what was going on. There was also no moment that I felt engaged. Everything felt disjointed and lacked direction. The characters were paper cut-outs. Worse of all, the protagonist is a condescending loser I wanted to throw off a cliff.

[review] Shards & Ashes, Short Story Collection Editted by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr (2013)

Tags

android, apocalypse, apocalyptic, asia, asian culture, book, book review, china, dystopian, romance, sci-fi, technology, young adult, young adult fiction

Shards and Ashes (2013)
by Melissa Marr (Editor), Kelley Armstrong (Editor), Veronica Roth, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Rachel Caine, Nancy Holder, Beth Revis, Carrie Ryan
Paperback ARC
Publication Date: February 19th, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

The world is gone, destroyed by human, ecological, or supernatural causes. Survivors dodge chemical warfare and cruel gods; they travel the reaches of space and inhabit underground caverns. Their enemies are disease, corrupt corporations, and one another; their resources are few, and their courage is tested.

Powerful original dystopian tales from nine bestselling authors offer bleak insight, prophetic visions, and precious glimmers of light among the shards and ashes of a ruined world.

My Thoughts:
I’m obsessed with dystopians, so coming across Shard and Ashes was like Christmas for me (despite the weird cover that made me think it was a paranormal anthology instead.) But I find that short stories can be hit or miss for me. On one hand they allow me to explore many different worlds, but on another hand sixty pages is sometimes not enough to develop a world or to make me invested in the characters (which explains why it took me a week to finish this one.) There were also moments were I felt some of these short stories were just leftover scraps, as if they were not fully fleshed out ideas. This made evident in the abrupt way some of these stories ended, as if the author had a host of great ideas, but ran out of steam halfway through. Of course, not ALL of the stories in this collection were like that. And despite the my disappointment in plot, all these different dystopian imaginings kept me turning pages.

[review] Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer (2013)

Tags

android, asia, asian culture, book, book review, china, cinderella, cyborg, droids, fairytale, fairytales, france, japan, prince, princess, re-telling, red riding hood, romance, salior moon, sci-fi, technology, travel, young adult, young adult fiction

Scarlet (2013)
by Marissa Meyer
Hardcover Edition
Publication Date: February 5th, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

My Thoughts:
This book has NO “negative” reviews! Now I have to be the weirdo. This review will have spoilers about Cinder, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know.
I hoped Scarlet would redeem the series for me since I was one of the few people who wasn’t a fan of Cinder. While I know why Marissa Meyer set Cinder in China (because the tale of Cinderella originated there,) the way she handled the culture was a complete mess, and greatly hindered my enjoyment throughout the novel. Thank goodness, I only had to bear Meyer’s misuse of Chinese honorifics in one scene in Scarlet. Scarlet, on the other hand, is largely set in France–a country I have no experience/associations with and therefore would not notice if there were cultural discrepancies. I was right, Scarlet annoyed me a lot less than Cinder did, but still a book I would hesitate to wholeheartedly recommend.

[Guest Post] Dualed Blog Tour, Interview with Elsie Chapman + GIVEAWAY!

Tags

2013, author, book, books, dystopian, fighting, giveaway, interview, sci-fi, writing, young adult, young adult fiction

Dualed (2013)
by Elsie Chapman
Publication Date: February 26, 2013
Goodreads.
Amazon.
Barnes and Noble.
IndieBound.

I’m very excited to be featuring Elsie Chapman today as part of the Dualed Blog Tour!

Two of you exist.
Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Q: Share with us some of the inspiration behind DUALED! How long did it take you to write and sell DUALED? And now that you are a 2013 debut author, how does that effect your writing schedule??

The first draft of DUALED took me five weeks, but revisions and took me much longer. In the end, almost everything evens out, it seems. And I think it took me about three months to sell DUALED.

I couldn’t be happier with how it all worked out! But I’m definitely feeling more of a time crunch now that there’s one book already in the works. Because with follow-up books that you might be drafting or editing, you’re still having to edit or promote your first book at the same time. I’m still struggling with better time management, and I’ve learned it is wholly possible to survive on four hours of sleep a night.

Q: You or your Alt? If you lived in Kersh, who do you think would win the dual? What would you use to fight your Alt (weapons, strategy, fighting skills)?

I hate to say it but I think my Alt would probably kick my butt. Not only do I know my own tendencies and weaknesses, I also couldn’t imagine she’d be any worse. But of course it would still have to come down to a battle, so I think if I stood any chance at all, I’d probably have to rely on doing something sneaky.

Don’t forget to check out the other blog tour stops and enter the tour-wide giveaway for a finished copy of Dualed (open internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.)

Click here to go to Rafflecopter giveaway!

[review] Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (2012)

Tags

android, asia, asian culture, book, book review, china, cinderella, cyborg, droids, japan, prince, princess, re-telling, romance, salior moon, sci-fi, technology, young adult, young adult fiction

Cinder (2012)
by Marissa Meyer
Hardcover Edition
Publication Date: January 3rd 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Buy a copy via Amazon.
Synopsis from Goodreads.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Thoughts:
I love sci-fi and fairytale re-telling. With all the praise surrounding Cinder, I was certain this would be my book. It wasn’t. I enjoyed Meyer’s futuristic interpretation of Cinderella, she had an interesting concept–unfortunately the execution was lacking, especially the clumsy world building. Perhaps I’m Chinese that I am particularly critical of how my culture is being portrayed, and Cinder irritated me on that front. It was also on the predictable side, where we all knew the plot-twist before page 100–yet I was still eager to keep exploring Cinder’s eccentric characters.

[review] The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley (2013)

Tags

book, book review, book tour, family, fear, giveaway, love, mothers, novel, TLC Book Tour

The Promise of Stardust (2013)
by Priscille Sibley
Finished Paperback, Read for a TLC Book Tour
Publication Date: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
buy a copy from Amazon.
Goodreads.

A few people always know what they want to do when they grow up. Priscille Sibley knew early on she would become a nurse. And a poet. Later, her love of words developed into a passion for storytelling.

Born and raised in Maine, Priscille has paddled down a few wild rivers, done a little rock climbing, and jumped out of airplanes. She currently lives in New Jersey where she works as a neonatal intensive care nurse and shares her life with her wonderful husband, three tall teenaged sons, and a mischievous Wheaten terrier.

Filled with grace, sensitivity and compassion, The Promise of Stardust is an emotionally resonant and thought-provoking tale that raises profound questions about life and death, faith and medicine, and illuminates the power of love to divide and heal a family in the wake of unexpected tragedy.

Matt Beaulieu was two years old the first time he held Elle McClure in his arms, seventeen when he first kissed her under a sky filled with shooting stars, and thirty-three when he convinced her to marry him. Now in their late 30s, the deeply devoted couple has everything-except the baby they’ve always wanted.

When an accident leaves Elle brain dead, Matt is devastated. Though he cannot bear the thought of life without her, he knows Elle was afraid of only one thing-a slow death. And so, Matt resolves to take her off life support. But Matt changes his mind when they discover Elle’s pregnant. While there are no certainties, the baby might survive if Elle remains on life support. Matt’s mother, Linney, disagrees with his decision. She loves Elle, too, and insists that Elle would never want to be kept alive on machines. Linney is prepared to fight her son in court-armed with Elle’s living will.

My Thoughts:
Please note that this is a DNF(did not finish) review. I very. very rarely DNF books, but I will tell you why.

I’m the minority of people who The Promise of Stardust just didn’t connect with. Perhaps it is because for me, there was no ethical grayness on the issue of saving the baby if the mother (who would’ve REALLY wanted a baby anyway) is on life support: “Well, of COURSE they should try save the baby. It is ONLY a few months. If Elle is already “brain dead,” it’s not like she’ll be in pain and she would’ve wanted the baby if she was alive.” I realize that this might be a careless thing to say, especially since I have no experience with having a family member on life support, but the “right” thing to do seemed right in front of me the entire time.

However, even though I was on Matt’s side, I can’t say I cared for him.
The story is from his point of view, so I was hoping to feel sympathetic towards him. Unfortunately, it never happened. He spent most of his time trying to blatantly convince me how angry/depressed/frustrated he was with verbose, uncompelling metaphors that left me bored–and fake, as if he was trying too hard to make me pity him. I wish more of his characterization was left to the imagination. I can tell you are angry, dude. You really don’t have to tell me. He was a flat character. He wasn’t real to me and felt more like a dramatized character formed out of Hollywood’s perception of what a depressed widow should act like. Mope around. Refuse help. Break stuff. *yawn*
I wanted more from Matt’s mother, hoping she would convince me to take her side. But for a woman that was supposed to be a confident nurse, she felt like a weak, clueless old lady.

I was also not a fan of the lawsuit or medical scenes, for the jargon left me befuddled most of the time. I think my confusion made the book seem longer than it was. I need a glossary.

dump the minutiae and get to the point.-Matt (from The Promise of Stardust)

My thoughts exactly.

I did not enjoy The Promise of Stardust as much as I hoped I would, but I’ve read many glowing reviews for it. I suppose I hoped it would be an enlightening, philosophical story about ethics. Or a heartwarming story that would make me shed a few tears. Unfortunately, I was left disengaged and annoyed with the stubborn, flat characters that I couldn’t get past the first hundred pages. I do plan on finishing it up soon to give a well-considered, complete review.

Rating: C (DNF Rating)

Want to know what others thought of The Promise of Stardust? Check out the other TLC tour stops!