Review: Needs a Ton of Suspension of Disbelief
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2013
I would like to say up front.  I will be recommending this book with a few reservations.The first time I saw this book I thought the premise was intriguing until I realized it was YA.  I am afraid I have been unhappy with many of the ways YA authors have been treating romance and had decided not to read anymore.  For some reason this book kept catching my eye so I gave in and started to read. For the most part it was an enjoyable universe and the story telling is what saves this book.Now for the nit picking.  As other reviewers have stated there are a lot of spelling and grammatical errors.  Normally I don't see or mention these but they were so pervasive that I felt I could not in good conscience not mention them.  If you are a grammar ghoul, I would encourage you to give this a miss.My first real knock back to reality was when the author says the Societies have been around for millennia yet door knobs were invented in the 1800s, before door knobs most people used latches.  Granted Keys and Locks are at least 4000 years old, but the title of the book is Door Knob Society and just found it jarring. The author said that the Societies weren't allowed to interfere with human development, I just kept wondering how they traveled when there weren't even doors let alone knobs.My second issue is where did all of the adults go?  I still don't understand why Chloe's grandparents and Uncle were unable to be contacted.  What adults are in this story seem to fit a variety of cookie cut outs, i.e. self involved, absent, loving yet withholding all pertinent information.  Even when she was with her father he seemed like an after thought a shade perhaps, he did not act like a single parent of a teenager.My next question is why are there are so many feuds between the societies and why was Chloe kept in the dark about so many important things that greatly impacted her life.  Her family actually put her in danger by not telling her what she was and what would happen.The last issue I had was with the romance portions of this book.  Granted she did have the summer to develop a relationship, however, when Chloe first meets the potentials it was fairly clear how the romance was going to go.  In my opinion the attractions and jealousies just came on too hard and too fast.  I personally find the jealousies unsettling.Once I decided to just go with the flow of the story I did enjoy it.  There was mystery, action, adventure, magic and of course a hint of romance.  Perhaps a younger audience would not be hindered by my view of the world and would enjoy the concept of the lack of adults and consequences.So while I think the story telling is great the universe building and technical aspects are lacking.If you can ignore the above issues and suspend your belief long enough it is an enjoyable tale.