Review: Surprisingly Sweet (3.5, but round up)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2014
3.5 Stars.  I don't want to say too much, because with a story like this it is really, really easy to spoil and change you persepctive from the beginning.  You are meant to question William's intentions and actions, and I don't want to give any of that away.  I will say, after reading the synopsis I was expecting a dark read, and while this has all the potential and set-up to go that way, somehow it doesn't.  It actually winds up being really tender and innocent, and that transformation is interesting and unexpected.  Overall I really like how this story went- it has great potential.  It has a lot of heart, and a lot of good intentions.William took a bad situation forced upon himself as a child and reacted in a way atypical to what we normally see.  He calls himself a monster- but is he really?  While some of William's choices may seem harsh and uneccessary, and cruel, when you learn what is really going on, it makes more sense, thought not completely without really thinking about it.  Normally I would elaborate. . .am so tempted to elaborate!. . .but its so hard without revealing too much!  The things he does, its because he doesnt want to shock them out of the lives they have lived for so long, but rather ease them out of it, teach them to be better people. Given their pasts, i'm not really seeing how they were bad people. . .but maybe he wanted to make sure they didnt become corrupt from thier circumstances?  Give them order to make them feel safe, and ultimately stronger?  Show them that consequences come from their own choices and not for no reason, as they have learned to expect?  The whole break it down to build it up. They were ghosts of themselves, robotic, broken, lost, and he needed to wake them up so he could help them. . .even if his methods seem like they could be more hurtful, they turn out not to be.  I think its there, I just wish she had expressed his reasoning more clearly.  Does he make them dependent on him- yeah kind of, but I don't think they could have recovered any other way, not really.  Sometimes life changes you and you cant go back to fully 'normal', and that is where the psychological part comes in.  I'm a little confused by the sweet and harsh dichotomy, but still intrigued, and I think when I reflect on it, it works. . .Overall, I say just read it.  This is like dark- light, a great way to work yourself into the darker genre if you are not experienced but wanting a taste, and a surprising turn of events if you are accustomed to that type of book.  The ending. . .that was a bit different than what I expected, what Number Thirteen says about her identity, but when I think about it that makes sense too, because she has a completely different life, one she chooses, and by accepting her new identity she is embracing that life, and I think William comes to realize just how much his whole set-up has changed his life as well, and he fully accepts the choices he has made and the life he has created, for all of them. Because really, he is dependent on them as well.  Overall a fun read with great potential; the only thing I could want more of is character/story development.  The story doesn't really get into anything too too deep, doesn't really delve into the motivations behind the characters actions too much, which can leave the reader having to guess a bit too much, and in fact leaves a few things unanswered.  I wanted to know more, flesh it out a bit, and that is a good thing right?  Wanting to know more. . .Still enjoyable though!