This book makes me scratch my head. I mean, this is being touted as a sequel to The Shining right? But we get middle aged Danny who is helping old peoThis book makes me scratch my head. I mean, this is being touted as a sequel to The Shining right? But we get middle aged Danny who is helping old people kill themselves. I mean...what the fuck? You can't call it a Shining sequel while never mentioning the hotel. Course, Stephen King has been phoning it in for at least a decade. But we'll see....more
Why do I do these things to myself? Or in this case think about doing these things to myself. I just named Immortal City one of my worst books of 2012Why do I do these things to myself? Or in this case think about doing these things to myself. I just named Immortal City one of my worst books of 2012, it killed brain cells, there's no possible way it could get any worse! And therein lies the problem, I have to know...is it possible that it could get worse? Maybe it doesn't help that the author is kind of hot, I don't want him to be such a crappy writer! Yet, it is so. It's killing me!...more
Haven't I learned my lesson yet? I said after Flirt, never again would I read this woman's porn books. But then I see it in the bargain bin for $3 andHaven't I learned my lesson yet? I said after Flirt, never again would I read this woman's porn books. But then I see it in the bargain bin for $3 and my morbid curiosity got the best of me. I never learn....more
This was one of the most pointless, asinine, and ridiculous books I’ve ever read in my life. Luckily for all of us that means that this review will liThis was one of the most pointless, asinine, and ridiculous books I’ve ever read in my life. Luckily for all of us that means that this review will likely be short. Most of the time in erotica, you get a story about why the main characters like each other enough that they want to have sex. Not in this one. Here, these two despise each other, yet still have sex at least once every ten pages. This is just porn, pure and simple written porn. It was a Twilight porn, and it is not suddenly better once the names have been changed. There was no plot, there was no characterization. Just two people who insult each other, screw each other, fight some more, insult some more, have more sex….and repeat for 300 of the most boring pages in all of fiction.
These two characters were the most narcissistic human beings ever and all that happens is they have sex. Then they fight and get pissy for absolutely no reason and then make up and have sex. Oh, and the panties hoarding thing is on the level of a rapist from Law & Order: SVU. I shuddered every time he indulged that particular whim. And then shuddered in greater horror when I realized we had to endure another sex scene. Horrid book with no redeeming qualities.
No wait, it has one redeeming quality. It announces right off the bat exactly what it is, a rewritten fan fiction. At least it doesn’t try to hide it.
Alright, I didn't want to do it....I am dreading it, but I have to do it. I have read so many scathing reviews of 50 Shades that my side muscles are gAlright, I didn't want to do it....I am dreading it, but I have to do it. I have read so many scathing reviews of 50 Shades that my side muscles are getting a lot of exercise from laughing hysterically. And I can't take it anymore. I have to know if it's really THAT bad. This is going on my morbidly curious shelf and I am picking it up from my library. Or maybe Walmart, or Toys R Us...you can get it both places I checked (which is kinda weird, Toys R Us really?). ...more
This one is closer to a 1.5 than a 2, and I agonized over that a LOT. I didn’t enjoy the book or like any aspect of it. But it was not as bad as otherThis one is closer to a 1.5 than a 2, and I agonized over that a LOT. I didn’t enjoy the book or like any aspect of it. But it was not as bad as others I have read and rated 1 star before. So a 1.5 seems the most logical choice. This initially was a book that I fell for the cover for and bought it and took it home. It was only after that I learned about all the drama and issues surrounding the author and her agent. This disappointed me and I put the book away. But I figured that since I have it already, I might as well read it with no prejudice about the earlier events. To be quite frank, if I hadn’t already bought a copy, the author’s behavior would have been enough for me to never read it…but that ship had already sailed.
I had several huge problems with this book. First was the writing itself. I was under the impression that these were characters in their late teens, but the dialogue sounded like I’d run across a group of 12 year old girls gossiping in the school hallway. The writing and dialogue was very immature, even for a YA book. Of course I probably should have feared this when the dedication was “Hi Dad! *waves*” No, I did not make that up, a grown adult actually wrote that in a published book. It got worse when she uses “for reals” and “realzies” in the acknowledgements at the end. The writing started to make a bit more sense after that.
My second big problem was with the premise of this book. The government depicted here is a total monarchy, but if that were the case then there is no chance in hell that a common girl who was not of royal blood would EVER be married into that family. That is how total monarchies work. Now, if this was similar to the current British monarchy where the royal family is mostly a figurehead and has no political power then it would make sense. But it did not. The plot was also SO painfully predictable. (view spoiler)[Of course America was going to be one of the Selected, of course there was going to be a love triangle, of course the ex would show up again, of course she’d end up actually having feelings for Maxon. Naturally America would be the ONLY logical option for Maxon. (hide spoiler)] I could have guessed all that from the blurb on the cover, which is a bad sign for the book.
The history in the book also annoyed me. What was the point of telling me the history of the country’s birth if there was going to be zero other world building? Yes, there was a caste system but it was so vague that I’m still not sure I get the logistics of it. There is a monarchy and rebels, but its not explained what they are rebelling about so it’s hard to care.
One more point I want to address, what is wrong with some of the people in this book? America’s mother basically pimps out her daughter, urging her to enter herself in the Selection because if she’s chosen then the family will get money and a better social standing. Really? You’re pimping your daughter to the prince for money and social status? But it got worse. The girls in the book are required by law to remain virgins until they are married. They have to sign a form that they are, in fact, virgins and if proof is found otherwise they will be executed for treason. Then they make it a point that, even though that’s the law if the prince asks you for something, ANYTHING, you don’t tell him no. So, if he wants to have sex with you, even if you do not want to you are still required to tell him yes. Yes, that is exactly what it sounds like. Rape is perfectly cool as long as it’s the prince. And yes, I know, it turned out to be a misunderstanding and blah blah. I don’t care. It was still put out there and it made me sick to my stomach to see such a thing being touted in a book for teenagers.
Short ranty bit here, why am I supposed to care about any of these characters. America is a whiner. She whines about being poor when her family has chicken, pasta, tea with lemon, and popcorn for dessert while they watch tv. You ain’t poor honey, get over yourself. Aspen is an idiot who didn’t even belong in the book. All we know about him is that he has a machismo complex that’s out of control and he likes making out with America before he convinces her to pimp herself out to the prince too…for his peace of mind and all. We don’t get to know any of the girls in the Selection hardly at all. We are told to hate Celeste and told to like Marlynn (or whatever her name was), but no one else is discussed in any kind of detail that you give a damn about them at all. Maxon acts like a girl most of the time so I can’t really like him either. And ultimately I wish this book had been written more like an actual episode of The Bachelor, then it would at least have been interesting.
Lastly, I have no idea why this needed more than one book. Another few hundred pages and the story would be done, so what is the point? I don’t care enough about this story to like one book, I certainly am not going to like two or three books. And a final ranty bit, why the hell do we keep peddling weak assed women to teenagers?! All America cares about is that she’s with Aspen and gets married. That is just about her sole focus in the entire book. Though I will say she handles breakups better than most YA characters, meaning she doesn’t get suicidally depressed and stalk him. But instead she’s just weak and the first second the ass shows back up goes right back to sucking face with him as though nothing happened. Most normal people don’t have these co-dependent, unhealthy relationships! Why do we in YA!
First, I would like to make a few things clear. I did not just read other reviews and form my opinion. I did not just read a few paragraphs and form mFirst, I would like to make a few things clear. I did not just read other reviews and form my opinion. I did not just read a few paragraphs and form my opinion. Yes I am aware of the controversy surrounding this book and I decided that I was going to read it myself and see what the fuss was about. I read the book in its entirety, from beginning to end and this is what I discovered.
The first item on the agenda is the naming of the different races in this book. You have Coals for blacks, Pearls for whites, Amber for Asians, and Tiger Eye for Hispanics. Now, according to the author the names of semi-precious stones are racial slurs because in this post-apocalyptic world gems are worthless, but coals is not a racial slur because coal is of vital importance in this society. I can’t buy this for a few reasons. 1. The main character, Eden, refers to coal as a racial slur several times. 2. Another main character, Bramford, has a bracelet with a gemstone in it. So clearly they can’t be that useless. 3. This is a society that lives underground, can imbed sensors into everyone’s brain to connect them to the rest of society, and have doctors and scientists who are researching genetic manipulation. So, you expect me to believe this society only values simple things and has no use for things or wealth and privilege. I just can’t buy it. Not to mention that coal and cotton are racial slurs that have been used against the black community many times in the past, so to use them in this manner is offensive.
Now I want to talk about how racism is portrayed in this book. Be warned this might be long and get into ranting territory. The author supposedly wrote this book to flip racism on its head and help white people understand racism better. Okay, I’m a white person, I can never understand what it is like to be oppressed and subject to racist hate. But I can learn about its impacts and have sympathy and compassion for those that it happens to and disgust for those being hateful. So in this book, Eden is the oppressed minority. I fail to see how she is so badly oppressed and the subject of racist hate. She has a cushy job working in a laboratory, she has her own quarters, she has a dog, she gets paid for her job, and she seems to have the freedom to move about whenever she pleases and do what she pleases. At one point she even hurls an incendiary racial slur at someone of the majority race and nothing happens! In such a racist society, she would not have gotten off the hook. She also wouldn’t have a job, get paid, be allowed to move freely, or anything else either. Fact, during the slavery period of America, it was illegal to teach black slaves how to even read…do you think they let them go to a dance? But poor oppressed Eden can go dress shopping and go to the dance and yet be oppressed at the same time. Also, why are the Pearls allowed to breed at all? If they are such inferior human beings with inferior genetics, why let them breed? Stick em outside in the sun and let them die and then the problem of inferior genes is solved.
As I was trying to figure out exactly how Eden was being oppressed, I also noticed something else. The only person acting in a racist manner in this book…is Eden! She’s also something of a sexist too. I stopped counting after fifteen times of her calling another woman (no matter color) a bitch. Pretty much every sentence and thought that Eden had was race related. She walks down the street, convinced that everyone is thinking of attacking her because she’s white. It doesn’t matter that no one actually does, she still thinks it. She can’t describe a single person without mentioning their race or something derogatory regarding their race.
And please don’t make me relive how she insists on referring to Bramford (who is the majority race) as a “beast”, a “monster”, a “bastard”, and a “creature”. That, all by itself, was offensive to the extreme. And what were Bramford’s evil offenses that led to such animosity? Oh you know, giving her water, saving her from blowing up, saving her from drowning, giving her food, saving her from an anaconda, and repeatedly helping her survive her own stupidity. Oh the humanity! How dare he do such kind things for her! Seriously every time he was kind to her, her next thought would be “That selfish beast!” At one she even rides him around the jungle like a freaking pony at the fair! Seriously? I just can’t get over it.
But with how oppressed Eden is, you would think that she would have compassion and be understanding of other oppressed minorities right? Oh no. She references another pearl as a bitch, a liar, a conniving bitch, and various other lovely things without ever even meeting the woman. She sees a cotton (albino) boy, about 7 years old, and screams like she’s being hacked to death by a serial killer. Well gee, that’s compassionate and sure to make that little boy feel loved and accepted!
This book, in the end, is exactly what you should not be calling a book about race relations. It is racist, sexist, and wholly offensive. If you want to see a good portrayal of racism and how poisonous hatred can be, go watch American History X. That is a fantastic portrayal of just how toxic racism is on all sides, from the side of the perpetrators and the victims alike. It is a story about how people can see the error of their ways and change their lives. It is a story about how devastating this kind of hatred is to everyone involved. I cannot recommend that anyone buy or read this book, if you want to learn about racism go buy that movie instead. At the end of the day, perhaps it was misguided for a woman who’s only interaction with the African American community was that she had a black maid as a child should have avoided attempting a treatise on race relations.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review. No money or goods were exchanged.
