The Whole Story of Half a Girl: Review

Title: The Whole Story of Half a Girl

Author: Veera Hiranandani

Release Date: January 2012

Published By: Delacorte Books

Pages: 224

Goodreads Rating: 4.00 stars

Review: When half-Indian Sonia's father loses his job, she's thrown from private school to the frightening world of public education. Away from her sheltered life, she has to choose between the popular girls who want her to try out for cheerleading and the uncool kids. As if things could get any worse, her father disappears, and she starts to question not only if she ever truly knew him, but if her two halves could ever make a whole.

THE WHOLE STORY OF HALF A GIRL features of a sixth grade protagonist and is targeted to a lower middle grade audience, but while it does have a rather "young" feel as suited for this type of novel, this is definitely a book with cross-over appeal. The moral situations Sonia struggles with as well as the resulting lessons rarely get to the preachy side of things and present a compelling enough plot to keep me turning pages.

One aspect of this book that I especially appreciated was the different way of dealing with the popularity chain. This is a common trope in MG and YA, and I was worried the author's approach would just be the same old typical one that I'm more than tired of. However, the situation instead felt very realistic without a straight-out dog-eat-dog hierarchy of kids but rather a more complex dilemma with dimensional characters.

I also liked that a variety of lessons were explored, ranging from the obvious heritage and popularity ones to deeper, more original themes of dealing with a changed parent. Sonia had conflicts within herself, her friends, and her family, and her journey to learning to deal with them, while predictable at points, is quick but gripping.

All in all, THE WHOLE STORY OF HALF A GIRL is a fast read but with plenty of content. The story explores many themes of interest both to younger and older readers, and though the plot borders on predictable quite a bit, it's original enough to somewhat set itself apart from the crowd. I had a hard time putting this one down, and I would recommend it to any fan of middle grade fiction.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This is no way affected my review.
 

October Books

Books Read

1. SHUT OUT by Kody Keplinger
2. WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard
3. RADIANCE by Alyson Noel
4. CLARITY by Kim Harrington
5. WUFTOOM by Mary G. Thompson
6. CARRIER OF THE MARK by Leigh Fallon
7. VIRALS by Kathy Reichs
8. THE IRON KING by Julie Kagawa
9. LIE by Caroline Block
10. THE IRON DAUGHTER by Julie Kagawa
11. THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson
12. THE IRON QUEEN by Julie Kagawa
13. THE IRON KNIGHT by Julie Kagawa
14. THE FOX INHERITANCE by Mary E. Pearson
15. UNDER THE MESQUITE by Garcia McCall
16. SOME GIRLS ARE by Courtney Summers
17. YOU ARE MY ONLY by Beth Kephart
18. THE BUTTERFLY CLUES by Kate Ellison
19. BOYS, GIRLS, AND OTHER HAZARDOUS MATERIALS by Rosalind Wiseman
20. BUNHEADS by Sophie Flack
21. A LITTLE WANTING SONG by Cath Crowley
22. THE FAERIE RING by Kiki Hamilton

Biggest Pleasant Surprises: Virals, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, The Fox Inheritance

Biggest Let Downs: Shut Out, Under the Mesquite, You Are My Only

Darkest: You Are My Only

Most Emotional: Some Girls Are

Overall Favorites: Virals, The Fox Inheritance, Some Girls Are, The Butterfly Clues

The Iron Knight: Review

Title: The Iron Knight

Author: Julie Kagawa

Release Date: October 2011

Published By: Harlequin

Pages: 361

Goodreads Rating: 4.54 stars

Review: [Note: this contains spoilers for the previous books of the series.] In the fourth book of the Iron Fey series, Ash tells his journey to reunite himself with his true love, Meghan Chase, the Queen of the Iron Kingdom. He would stop at nothing to be with her, even if it means enduring the horrific trials and becoming a mortal. But even if the will power is there, will he be able to do it?

When I first started THE IRON KNIGHT, I was worried about the change in narration from Meghan to Ash would, but after the first few jarring pages, the transition went smoothly and seamlessly. In fact, I found that I actually preferred Ash as a narrator. Something about his voice is more appealing and was able to keep me gripped in the story much more intensely and longer than the earlier books were able to.

As for the plot, although it didn't really deal with the ramifications of what happened in the third book, I found it to be even more enjoyable than the others. Ash's adventures to reclaim his future with his true love were breath-taking and impossible to put down, and my heart leaped with his every step of the way. Even when I was forced to stop reading, my head continued to swim with thoughts of what would happen next.

The emotion and romance are both amped to the highest levels I've seen them at, and reading the love story from the boy's perspective didn't sully the experience at all. Even though I am and always will be Team Puck, I was able to appreciate the romance between Ash and Meghan, and there were definitely some tear-jerker scenes.

Those who read the first three books in the series and didn't enjoy them that much should absolutely pick up the IRON KNIGHT, as I believe it is by far the best of the series. Brimming with emotion and romance, the novel carries a sharp narrator and fascinating plot, and although it feels more like a companion book, it brings a satisfying conclusion to the Iron Fey series. I would strongly recommend this to anyone who read any of the other books.

Power Troubles

I lost power on Saturday and I literally just got it back now. It's been a complete nightmare - I got frostbite in my own house - and I haven't been able to do homework or anything. Luckily, blogging content should continue normally from tomorrow on.