Review: Slipping Reality

 Title: Slipping Reality
 Author: Emily Beaver
 Pages: 272
 Published: July 2011
 Source: NetGalley

Summary: In a time of hardship and heartbreak, sometimes, reality just isn't enough. Slipping Reality is the story of fourteen-year-old Katelyn Emerson, who, when faced with the glaring reality of her brother's illness, rebels against the truth by slipping away into the depths of her own imagination. There, she finds the kind of support and comfort she feels she deserves. There, she does not have to feel so alone. And yet, as Katelyn's grasp on reality begins to unravel, so too does the story of a girl who grew up too fast and fell apart too soon. Emily Beaver's debut novel is a coming of age story that deals with the trials of young grief, insight, and growth where it's least expected.

Review: I tried. I really did.

When I started reading Slipping Reality, it was probably a few weeks ago, closer to the end of February, but I had to set it aside because after reading only fifteen pages, I was bored to the point that I wasn’t sure how to continue on. It wasn’t that there was a flawed plot, because I still think that the plot could create an amazing book if it were given more time and attention. It really had to do with a flawed character and amateur writing.

Before I say anything else, I want to say that it’s amazing that Emily Beaver write this novel at the age of fourteen and got it published. Having just graduated that awkward phase known as teenagerdom, I’m slightly jealous and definitely in awe that she’s managed to write, complete and publish a novel while entering high school. Kudos!

That being said, it was a bad decision to take on such an intense project and release it at such a young age. Maybe she’s experienced this exact feeling and somehow has managed to write it down in an almost diary-like fashion, but this novel needed time to mature in both writing styles and character developments. There’s only so many times that I can read about the Katelyn listening to her iPod, taking a shower and complaining about the fact that she’s given easy books to read in her English class before I start to go crazy.

The actual plot concept is really intriguing, and with editing, could make an amazing novel, but at the level of writing and characterization that it’s at, this is not something that I could put myself through, which is disappointing. I was really looking forward to reading this novel, and I’m really sad to say that it’s something that I couldn’t finish, let alone get over the halfway point. There was just too much showing, not enough telling. Too much of the same thing over and over. It wasn’t until about a fifth of the way into the plot that anything actually started to happen, and when it did, the uneventful, repetitive daily motions were introduced and the character went on internal monologues that were pages long and ended in resolving nothing.

It’s impressive that someone so young managed to publish their novel, but it’s unfortunate to say that it was a disappointment and could not be finished because of poor construction. I always hate to give novels bad reviews, and I hate it even more when I give a novel that I couldn’t manage to finish a bad review, but that’s just how it has to be, and hopefully the next attempt will succeed far better than Slipping Reality did.

Rating: ★★ 2/5 Stars

Review: Enchantment

Title: Enchantment
Author: Charlotte Abel
Pages: 373
Published: 2011

Summary: When Channie falls in love with Josh Abrim, a BMX racer with dangerous secrets of his own, she rebels against her parents and turns to dark and forbidden magic to break the chastity spell ... with disastrous results.

Review: In my honest opinion, this book doesn't even deserve the one star that it has received, but there is no lower rating on goodreads so one star it shall be. The narration was horrible, first off, and I hate to say this but this was a book that really, really needed to be in first person and was not.

The narrative, also, was written in southern twang, or at least it was attempted. It did get a little bit better once moving past the first chapter but when something is written in third person and is also written in southern twang and refers to characters in the way that one would refer to them if the novel were written in first person clearly proves that the author didn't know what she was doing when she was writing this.

I hate bashing authors and novels, because I know just how long it takes to get these words down into a story and how much editing and writing and revising goes into it, but in my honest opinion, this is a book that should have stayed on the laptop or typewriter or paper, depending on whatever it was that was being used to write this. I couldn't finish Enchantment or even come close. The novel was poorly written and was constructed with an unbelievable plot line, and unbelievable plot lines can be worked with when reasonably explained, but this novel didn't even have that.

I was sorely disappointed with this novel, which is saying something seeing as it was a novel that I requested to read because the plot sounded interesting and it has such good reviews. I just honestly cannot comprehend that I managed to get as far in the book that I did, and I don't believe that this will be a book that I will ever be picking up again, even to give it a second chance. It has scarred me for life.

Rating: ★ 1/5 Stars (Being Generous)

Review: Meeting Destiny

Title: Meeting Destiny
Author: Nancy Straight
Series: Destiny
Pages: Unknown
Published: 2010

Summary: Lauren is visited in her dreams for years by a stranger claiming to be her destiny. Destiny becomes reality when paths cross during a failed robbery attempt. Lauren and the stranger experience chemistry like no other and now her doubt over her long time relationship with her high school sweetheart is not her only secret…someone else knows about her keen intuition and sixth sense.A mysterious clairvoyant seeks Lauren out and tells her not only of her life now but what the future may hold. Soon Lauren is in the middle of a murder investigation and a questionable friendship with the key suspect. Law enforcement, friends and family are concerned for Lauren but unfortunately they are unaware of the true danger…Sinister forces are at work and will stop at nothing to destroy Lauren’s abilities.

Review: I honestly want to know if everyone else was reading the same book that I was, because that was horrible. I don't even have words for how bad this was other than the fact that I could actually manage to get over halfway in reading it, and that only was because I couldn't manage to find it in me to stop before I gave it more of a chance than I had.

First off, the only thing that was good was the opening scene because I honestly wanted to know what was happening. It's not often that a book starts off with something downright intriguing like a robbery, so I was sucked in at the opening scene, but after that I wanted to kill someone.

Love at first sight is something that people believe in and others don't, so it's not that's a topic that's never been heard of before, but this book had absolutely nothing to do with love at first sight. No, this was all about destiny and the author completely and utterly failed on multiple levels to manage to keep this from being a somewhat-entertaining novel.

Lauren was the most annoying character I've ever had the displeasure to meet, and everything was irrational and frustrating in her world. Her mom and her 'boyfriend', Seth, were just so irrational when it came to everything, and don't get me started on Max.

Oh, and the fact that Lauren's 'power' allowed her to irrationally stop a robber and a 'murderer' and get a ton of money from people and showered in thanks, that was really so irrational that it's not even funny. The author could have removed the first forty percent of the book, excluding the opening scene, and you wouldn't have missed anything. That's how long it took her to barely even explain what was so special about Lauren, and even then it was impossible and irrational.

Maybe on a rainy day, when there's absolutely nothing else to do and I'm stuck with just this book I'll finish it, but there is no way that I can even attempt to finish reading this novel. It's horrid.

Rating: ★ 1/5 Stars