Size 12 and Ready to Rock: Review

Title: Size 12 and Ready To Rock
Author: Meg Cabot
Release Date: July 2012
Published By: William Morrow
Pages: 361
Goodreads Rating: 3.74 stars

Review: Just because it's summer at New York College doesn't mean assistant residence hall director Heather Wells can relax. Fischer Hall is busier than ever, filled with squealing teenage attendants of the first ever Tania Trace Teen Rock Camp. But the real headache begins when the producer of a reality TV show starring Tania - who just happens to be newly married to Heather's ex-boyfriend Jordan Cartwright - winds up dead . . . and it's clear that the star was the intended victim.

I didn't realize until a bit into SIZE 12 AND READY TO ROCK that there are other books preceding this one, but luckily I found that it didn't seem to detract from my reading experience at all. It seems that regardless of which Heather Wells book you plunge head-first into, there's always plenty to love, especially, in my opinion, Heather's wonderfully snarky voice. I love a strong female protagonist who's not afraid to tone down the wit, and that's exactly the kind of voice leaking off every page.

In addition to Heather's great voice, the other characters all had wonderfully written personalities as well. By this I don't mean they were all necessarily likeable - a mystery with all likeable characters wouldn't be very fun at all - but they all came across as three-dimensional and realistic. They seemed almost like real people who could step off the page at any moment, and their relationships were filled with fun, naivety, and emotion.


Of course, you can't write a review of a mystery without actually addressing the mystery. Much of the background of this book felt like how you would set up a chick lit, with spunky characters and complicated relationships, but then Meg Cabot brought in the murder element and everything took on a different tone. The mystery was well-written, suspenseful enough to keep me turning pages and questioning who the killer is, and the final reveal was done very well.


This was the first Meg Cabot book for adults I've ever read, and I was not disappointed in the least. From the excellent cast of characters to the suspenseful mystery, this novel will keep you on your tones. It wasn't anything world-shattering, but it's the kind of book with a feel-good touch to it. If you're looking for a fun book to relax with that isn't trite, SIZE 12 AND READY TO ROCK is perfect.
 

Hurricane Sandy Update

As I'm sure all you Northeasters are aware, Hurricane Sandy has hit, and she has hit hard. My power's been out since Monday and I might not get it back until as late as next Saturday so... until then, not much in the way of posting is going to happen.

For everyone else affected by Sandy, stay safe. <3

Cover Changes, Good and Bad

I've come across two cover changes, one that I approve of and one that... not so much. First, for the bad!

Here's the original:

I normally am not the biggest fan of covers with people on the covers, but I actually really like this one. It gives a sense of motion, and the cool typography is certainly eye-catching. I especially like the neat colors twisting in the back.

Here's the new:

No no no no no. There's nothing hugely wrong with this cover, but the old one was so pretty! I just don't feel like the new one properly conveys the darkness and intrigue that the first one does.

What's your thought on the cover change?

Narc: Review

Title: Narc
Author: Crissa-Jean Chappell
Release Date: August 2012
Published By: Flux
Pages: 288
Goodreads Rating: 3.58 stars
 
Review: Seventeen-year-old stoner Aaron Foster was offered a choice: go to jail or turn undercover narc to find the dealer who's funneling drugs into Miami's Palm Hammock High School. To get close to the school's biggest players, Aaron lies to everyone--most of all, the cute but troubled Morgan Baskin. With the Everglades party on Halloween night--and a planned drug bust there--just days away, Aaron realizes that he's falling hard for Morgan... and trying to protect her could cost him everything.

NARC opened with an interesting premise and a fast-paced plot, but it ultimately left me disappointed. Even though the actual concept was certainly intriguing, a good book needs not only a great plot but great characters as well, and it was this latter category that failed for me. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with Aaron, Morgan, or Haylie, but they didn't stand out either.

More importantly, their motivations weren't that believable to me. For example, Aaron was purportedly struggling with this issue of whether or not it's ethical for him to be working with the police against the people at his high school. However, the few scenes that attempted to portray him having difficulty with this seemed too rushed to me and didn't really give as much insight into his character as they could have.

I also didn't think their interactions went as well as they could have. The various character relationships seemed forced rather than real, and I didn't always find them believable. I feel like if maybe some more time was spent on developing these relationships, they could have been fleshed out a lot more and provided a better sense of the characters to the reader.

All in all, NARC had a lot of promise but ultimately left me feeling disconnected. Even though the plot was interesting, I just couldn't feel anything about the characters. Their interactions and motivations were unreal to me and definitely could have been a lot better. I still look forward to reading other books by the author but I would not recommend this particular one.