Review: It's a Hard Earned 4 Stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 19, 2012
This book has me SO conflicted. I just don't know exactly how to rate it. On one hand, I want to give it five dragons because, I think it's brilliant! On the other hand, I want to give it three dragons because, while it was a good idea and a frelling BRILLIANT take on a story I haven't read a million times, the author missed one very crucial piece of the story.It's actually a pretty complex story. It's about these kids who all needed organs. Each kid had their own POV sections so that the reader could get their story. Richardson has a really great feel for when whiney becomes a problem. As I was reading the first character's story, I was starting to get tired of the kid's whiney-ness, and then the character said what I was thinking. His story really tugged at my heartstrings. I felt really bad for him, and when he got his Call, I was so super psyched.I also knew that the guy driving the red Porche just had to be important. There was a lot of mystery about him, and then when we got into his POV, we found out he was a spy who'd just been burned. Then I said, "Hello, plot. How are you? You arrived riiiiiiight on time."Then the book took a jaunt into yet another teen's head and we got the story of a girl who needed an organ.And then, there was a scene with the spy.And then we had another teen's story.Typically, I don't read prologues or chapter titles. Yeah. I know. I'm a cocky reader. In this book, not paying attention the chapter titles kicked me in the butt. The chapter titles told me who was telling the story. By the time I figured that out, I was already confused. I was looking for clues in the narrative to tell me who was telling the story.The clues are there, but they're pretty buried until you get deeper into the story. The deeper you get into the story, the more invested you become with all of the teens. The plot is great.In short, this was a really great story idea, but a difficult one to write. Part of my problem was that I didn't read the whole book. I read the parts that I thought mattered, and because of that, I killed the enjoyment for myself. This is truly a unique story! The blurb sold it as such. The media kit did as well, and it really was...brilliantly unique.However, when I'm less stressed (dang you, NaNoWriMo. Why are you in November?), and when I'm smart enough to read the titles as well as the rest of the book, I'm going to read it again.I think that the premise and the style might scare a lot of readers off. I think that as soon as we get that first, first-person POV shift, a lot of readers are going to put the book down, but I'm telling you that you shouldn't. You should read the book. It really IS good!  So, with that decided, and with the fact that I shall be reading it again (because I'm...not always the brightest bulb on the string), I'm giving this book four dragons.