No Star for You!

As I always get a giggle out of Travis Jonker's One Star Review Guess Who posts, I figured I'd swipe the idea and post the occasional one-star Amazon review of a much-lauded YA title.

So, can you guess what book this disappointed reader is reviewing?:

This book is written in the first-person, present tense which I admit automatically put me off this book. The main character seems to alternate between being psychic and completely ignorant as sometimes she can tell what other characters are thinking, but the rest of the time is just so unbelievably ignorant of the world around her.

Writing in the first person is difficult and in my opinion the author is not up to the task. As a reader I know nothing of the world that [heroine] lives in and the author isn't helping me out.

Besides the, in my opinion, bad writing, I also have a problem with the way the main character is portrayed. All I can think is that the author must really hate fat people because it seems that all [heroine] thinks about is alternately how fat and weak she is, and about food. The author can't be bothered to explain the world around [heroine], but she sure can describe food.

Just a side note, the constant mention of god and religion in this story irked me. It may not bother other people, but for anyone who finds this annoying, I just thought I should mention it.

I would recommend that anyone looking for a strong female protagonist in a fantasy fantasy setting to skip this one.

Click on through for the answer!

Comments

[marjorie]

"I don't like books written in first person or present tense or with religion in them or with characters who are smart in some ways and clueless in others [aka MOST WELL-WRITTEN CHARACTERS IN THE UNIVERSE]." I kid...but why would you pick up a book with so many characteristics that you know irk you, before you even START READING?

That said -- I had some serious unexamined fatphobia issues with this book too. (Everything else in it, I loved.) Adored the sequel, can't wait for the third book.

[rockinlibrarian]

I would say it's all a matter of opinion until they get to the last sentence. OMG DON'T SAY SUCH A BLATANTLY WRONG THING!! WE NEED MORE CHARACTERS LIKE THESE, NOT LESS! Read this book if you're looking for a different KIND of strong heroine! THANK YOU!

[Bookworm1858]

I actually figured out which book he was talking about-yay me!

[Claire]

I know I'm all alone in my libraryverse when I say this, but I... kind of felt the same way. (Especially about the fat.)