The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

Expected publication: September 6th 2011 by HarperTeen
432 pages
Source: ARC from HarperCollins via NetGalley

Nothing. Happened.

Yes, you read it right: nothing happened in the entire 400+ novel. Oh, mundane events occurred, all right. Laurel went to school. She went to her therapist. She cried on her bed. She got a job at the animal shelter. But nothing of significance appeared on the horizon. The novel was a gigantic blob of nothingness. I don’t know about you, but when I pick up a piece of fiction, I expect to be dazzled or touched or experience some sort of change in the way I view the world. If I really wanted to bore myself with blobs of nothingness, I would pick up my Physics textbook instead.

I do realize that 1-star ratings are quite harsh since an entire team of people dedicated time and money on this piece of writing, only to have it hated on by a reviewer they kindly provided an ARC to. But hey, we have standards, and any book I think was a waste of time to read receives only 1 star.

OK, since Laurel’s parents and brother pass away in a car accident near the beginning, you would expect the novel to be about healing and dealing with grief. But no, Laurel basically mopes around for a while and then dives into an entire vat of boy drama. Would you be worrying about boys when your entire family has just passed away? Sending flirty emails to your next-door neighbor, whose mother also died in the same car accident? No. No, you wouldn’t.

While the characters themselves don’t get on my nerves, their interactions are quite infuriating, with Laurel and David being the prime example here. It is understandable that both would be unstable after the deaths of their families and that seeking solace with someone who knows what you’re going through helps with the pain. But the romance between these two; I mean, really. Laurel obviously pines after David for a good part of the novel, and David isn’t even around half the time. But then one day, the author decided to wave her magic wand and poof, they’re a happy couple. Not every single YA novel needs romance, you know?

I understand how others might have been moved by The Beginning of After, but this novel was not for me.

Rating: 1

I want to stab something

Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

Published September 14th 2010 by Tor Teen
365 pages
Series: Personal Demons #1
Source: ARC via Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews

June 2, 2011
Ugh, no. Did I really give this a 3.5 back in November? How naive I was...

November 5, 2010
Heaven and Hell are both vying for the same thing -- Frannie Cavanaugh, the one girl that can tip the scales and change the world forever. Luc is sent from Hell's Acquisitions, and Gabe is dispatched from Heaven. Their tasks are simple: to tag Frannie's soul for their own side before the other succeeds. A love triangle forms as the two boys gradually begin to understand the girl they were ordered to retrieve. But this girl has secrets of her own.

Told from the points of view of Frannie and Luc, this novel was an undeniably addicting read. This human and demon had completely different voices, and the author executed that well with the implementation of the two first person perspectives. The writing itself, while not exactly the most eloquent, was effective and managed to convey the meaning well. Although the relationship between Frannie and Luc could have used a bit more development to raise the authenticity level, it was acceptable. This applies to the interactions between Frannie and Gabe, too.

Fans of the Twilight saga would definitely enjoy this book, as I did notice a few similarities between the two character-wise. Overall, a solid debut by Lisa Desrochers.

Rating: 1

I want to stab something