Review: A good story, but a little strange at times
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2013
I was a little nervous about starting this book. The description sounded really good, but I noticed that most of the Goodreads reviews seemed to be pretty polarizing. People either loved it or hated it, very few in between, and I was afraid of which category I would fall into.From the very beginning, I found Charity, the main character and first-person narrator, to be an interesting girl. She's tough and closed-off to members of the opposite sex. When she first meets the new transfer student, Levi, she thinks he's heart-stoppingly gorgeous but immediately distrusts him and tries to push him away.We very quickly see why Charity is the way she is when she gets home from school. She has a very tumultuous home life with her stepfather, and she is immediately rescued from an uncomfortable situation by some mysterious circumstances.I thought the first third of the book was the best. There was quite a bit of mystery, and I couldn't wait to find out what the deal is with Levi. There's something a bit strange about him, and I was actually surprised at how quickly we found out what it was. There were some aspects of the story that were very reminiscent of Twilight. However, I found that some other things were handled differently enough that it was okay.However, at about 37% (I obviously read this on my Kindle), the book got a little weird. This is about where the big reveal comes out, along with some other things that just had me cocking an eyebrow. I mean, WHAT? I was a little skeptical about some things and really hoping that they wouldn't come back to be a major plot line later in the story.There were a couple things that really bothered me in the story. First, there's a scene were Charity's measurements were taken, and I thought that they were a little too perfect, and they made me feel bad about myself. Maybe that's just me, but I didn't think that the inclusion of measurements that are next to impossible to obtain was necessary, especially in a book geared toward young women. As if we don't have enough reasons to feel self-conscious about our bodies in our society. Secondly, while I don't necessarily have a problem with Christian elements in a book, I tend to like to know they're there before starting the book. At first, it isn't even mentioned, but suddenly Charity's religious beliefs become a big deal within the story, and sometimes they felt a bit out of place. Also, they led to a big WTF moment at about 77%.At times, the book felt a little rushed. It felt like one thing after another just kept happening to Charity, like this girl just couldn't catch a break. However, it definitely made it more entertaining.I was left with a few questions at the end, so I will probably end up reading the sequel at some point.I'm having a really hard time coming up with a rating for this book. I liked it and definitely was reading it very fervently, I also had quite a few moments where I was confused, irritated, or rolling my eyes. I don't know how strongly I'd recommend this book, but I definitely enjoyed reading it. I guess for that reason, I'd give it 3.5 stars.