Review: It's good, but has issues...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 4, 2012
The book was good but it has some things that I have trouble getting over.First off, I agree with the other reviewer. The cover is gorgeous.Now let me speak about the meat of the book, the story.It was well written. It was easy to read. But there was that thing where I had to suspend my disbelief a bit in the way the characters talked. They spoke in a very modern way, so I often had to reason out that Zoe, the main, was simply processing all of the ancient talk in a way that her modern mind could comprehend. Maybe even magically doing so without even realizing it. The only problem with this idea is that occasionally she would slip up and say something completely anachronistic and the other characters would notice. I don't know if I skipped the paragraph where all of this was explained though.Still, because of this problem I would very often be taken out of the story. Yes, I know I should just roll with it and enjoy the ride, but that was the problem you see: the ride itself was bumpy.I really couldn't relate with Zoe. I'm not a teenage girl, I'll admit it, but that has nothing to do with it. She's just so whiny. Her inner monologue is one complaint after another. Occasionally something witty or clever character-wise pops up, then she goes back to being whiny. It does lessen as she grows but there is still her other character trait that bothers me greatly. Zoe is sexist.Okay, at around that age, some people still have trouble with who they are in relation to the people around them, that can lead to the whole the-opposite-gender-is-stupid thinking process. The problem lies in the fact that Zoe is supposed to be (at least in my personal interpretation of her character) a bit more perceptive than that. She observes people, according to the text, yet she doesn't see that the differences aren't all that different? I would have been more forgiving of this character flaw if by the end she rectifies it, or at least realizes and acknowledges that she has it, but she never does.Beyond that there are other stereotypes all around this book that are often addressed but never fixed. Things like: there are certain kinds of mean girls or alpha type guys who never quite get a characterization beyond that. Perhaps the author is saving that for the next book? If so why concentrate on them so much in this book? Why lay the groundwork for those things in such detail now and not have a turning point and conclusion by the end of THIS book?In the Harry Potter books (J.K. Rowling) the author would give hints of problems in one book and expound on them in subsequent books. If it was an important issue on that specific book then she writes paragraphs and paragraphs of text on it. But if there wasn't some definite or perceived conclusion in that book she just glances over it. She goes "Oh yes this thing is evil" in one book, as opposed to a later book when she goes "It's a Horcrux that does so and so..." because it is important to the book then.This book concentrates on so many things then drops them and you barely hear about them again in later chapters.I'm not asking for a happy ending, just one that adresses all the big multi paragraphed issues.Beyond all that though, the story itself was fun. It's imaginative in it's own way and gives a new twist to an old formula.3 stars I would recommend it if you like the premise but I would warn that the characters have issues.