Review: Life First - An in depth 10 point review
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 22, 2013
Please note: The `review' of this book (which was donated to The Magnolia Blossom Review for the sole purpose of a review) was completed by L. Avery Brown based on the Rubric she designed for her review site The Magnolia Blossom Review. If you would like to read the entire review which includes an in depth author interview - please visit The Magnolia Blossom Review's site online today!And Now for the Review...Reviewer L. Avery Brown, Owner The MBR1. Book Title 8 of 10For the Reviewer: Did it grab your attention right away? Was it ho hum? What do you think the author might consider for future book titles? (You should have plenty of space for each item on the form as I think I set it up for the boxes to 'grow'.Response: Honestly, the first thing I thought when I read the title was, 'Ok, this is probably an antiabortion story in some way.' I'm not a fan of reviewing such politically charged books because invariably I'll say something that'll alienate someone. So, when I read the title I was a bit apprehensive.2. Book Cover 7 of 10For the Reviewer: Did it grab your attention? Was it ho hum? What do you think the author might consider for future book covers? Did it help make the title more effectiveResponse: No. Looking at the strange 'block' thing did grab my attention - but in a negative sort of way because the cover is entirely too monochromatic aside from the author's name at the bottom. It's a rather boring cover. And when I saw it first - right off the bat I linked it with the title 'Life First' in that it looks like one of those little toys children play with. All in all, the cover doesn't draw me in and what's more, I don't get a single hint that the book is about a dystopian future.3. First 500 7 of 10For the Reviewer: Thinking of the first 500 (usually about 2 pages) words of the book, do you think the author provided enough incentive to urge the reader to continue? What stood out to you the most? Were you captivated after a couple of paragraphs? Did the 1st sentence grab you? Did you get to around the 500 word mark and didn't have a clue where the story was going?Response: In regards to providing enough incentive to urge me to keep reading I have to say - not really. The only thing that really stood out to me was that Kelsey (protagonist) is telling the story in first person present tense. There was a lot of discussion about the Persian rug she and her father were walking down. The ONLY inkling that something is truly amiss when you read in the LAST paragraph of the First 500 words, ...Tonight, he eyes me sympathetically. "Honey, I know you're worried about tomorrow," he says in the "I really care" tone perfected in his early career. I nod. It's true. I am worried, but not for the reasons he thinks. "You'll be fine," he assures me. "This is a very safe procedure."4. Age Recommendation/Genre Classification 8 of 10For the Reviewer: This one is pretty straight forward - if the book is supposed to be for young teens and 'tweens does it hit the mark? Or is it entirely TOO mature? Is it really a suspense story or is it more of a romance with a few suspenseful moments?Response: I believe RJ Crayton has targeted this book directly to the 'Young Adult' crowd because the book is written very much the way that Suzanne Collins wrote 'The Hunger Games' series. (First person, present tense - action forward) But as for it being a futuristic dystopian society it sort of hits the mark but honestly my eyes sort of glazed over because Crayton's use of FPPOV, while followed through well, the character describes every single little thing. For example there's a scene where Kelsey's talking with a Dr. Grant before a procedure and she points out how he takes off his gloves, then puts on another pair of gloves, then he leans over, then he looks over his instruments, then he finally picks up a scalpel. Very wordy. For young adult readers - I think their attention would be lost on the tedium of the story.5. Presentation/Format 10 of 10For the Reviewer: Did the 'innards' of the book follow a clear, concise, standard format throughout the book? Or did you have a hard time keeping up with paragraphs or dialogue? Were multiple fonts used? Were they distracting?Life First is very well put together. That is a fact that cannot be argued.6. Theme/Originality 8 of 10For the Reviewer: Was this book something you'd never read? Or was it formulaic and a 'rehash' of a popular tale/current 'pop' genre? If it was a retelling - did the author make it feel fresh and just different enough that it kept you involved?Response: Life First really isn't all that 'original' right off the top of my head I can think of a couple movies based on the concept of 'the commerce of body parts' (The Island, RepoMen, even Minority Report) and I'm sure if I took a little time, I could think of others. There are bits and pieces of the story that do have some originality to them - but for the most part, I sort of knew what was going to happen.7. Description/Enhancement 7 of 10For the Reviewer: Did the author use descriptive language and 'all those extra little things' to make it the best it could be? Did you feel it was too sparse in description? Did the author go OVER board with the description?Response: Too much. As in WAY too much description. As a reader I don't like to be told every single little thing the character is doing/seeing. It's really difficult to explain - the way I see it, there comes a point where the reader needs to be able to create the visual in their mind's eye but as I read, I felt like I was being told - look here...see this...smell that...turn right, turn left, etc... I hope that makes sense! And I must say there's this whole part of the story that hinges on what happened to another young woman during a procedure wherein an infection sets in after a bone marrow transplant. Not really sure HOW that could happen in the future because I seriously doubt the medical community is going to regress as time goes forward.I think RJ Crayton is under the belief that marrow transplants are still done by drilling directly into the spinal column. 9 times out of 10 they aren't - it's taken directly from the blood stream - drawing about a half liter of blood through a vein. And when a marrow donation is done through the bone - it's NOW taken through the flat edge of the pelvis and the ONLY thing that happens is a bit of bruising. Sometimes people do experience flu like symptoms with either procedure but it's not the flu - it's essentially the body working to replenish the body's supply of white and red blood cells. Perhaps because I do know the science behind marrow transplants (one of my relatives had to have a marrow transplant and a friend of mine actually donated her marrow via the hip procedure and that was only because her veins were difficult to get hold of) the whole premise that creates the basis of why Kelsey wants to run away is a moot point for me.8. Intrigue 7 of 10For the Reviewer: Did you want to turn the next page because it was SO good? (10) Was it interesting but you didn't quite have an urge to keep reading? (5) Did you think 'I wonder if we have Twinkies in the pantry? Mmmmm, Twinkies' while you read? (1)Response: No. Honestly I read it because I promised to read it for the review. The concept behind the story is interesting - but there's so much filler fluff that needn't be in it - I sort of glossed over parts.9. Grammar Mechanics 10 of 10For the Reviewer: Was the book pretty darn flawless? (10) Did you see more that 5 or 10 'jump out' at you mistakes in grammar or the actual mechanics (verb tense, noun/pronoun agreement, misued words) ? (5) Did you feel it was a chore to read because it was riddled with errors? (1)Response: Overall, the grammar and mechanics were pretty close to being spot on. It's apparent that this book has had a fine toothed comb taken over it. However, there were a few spots where a couple of things fell through the cracks. One that pops out in my head immediately is when the word 'hangar' (like where you'd store an airplane) was used for 'hanger' (something used to help hang clothes) It was one of those cases where the word didn't pop up as being spelled incorrectly with the little red squiggly lines beneath it so it simply got by the eyes of the editor.10. Overall Impression 8 of 10For the Reviewer: When all is said in done - did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it to others?Response: Life First by RJ Crayton is a fairly good story. If you're into the sort of futuristic tales where the government controls people using science where it's alright for one or two to suffer so that the masses will survive' you'll probably enjoy this book. At $2.99 via Kindle, it's a decent read.The Bestowing of the Blossoms...Looking at all the scores, RJ Crayton's Life First has received 80 out of 100 points (if my adding is correct!) which puts her just in the 4 blossom category! But hey - 4 blossoms is 4 blossoms no matter how you look at it. And when I see that a book is listed as 'above average' by a reviewer, I'm more apt to take a second look at it.  Here's hoping that readers at The Magnolia Blossom Review will grab a copy for their favorite eReader and let we at The MBR know how they liked it! (Seriously, we love getting comments about books we recommend)Cheers to RJ and a future filled with best-sellers!