What do you think?
Rate this book
Blaze
Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She's desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark's feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now...
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2013
29 people are currently reading
3489 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 253 reviews
February 7, 2013
Blaze was a fairly okay book.
There were some really great elements to it and some that entirely let the whole book down.
There were superheroes , comic strips , pink kool-aid hair and pent up girl rant.
This is Blaze's story. An eighteen year old , almost outsider lover of the comic book world.
Blaze has always liked Mark. Mark is the typical popular jock who coincidentally coaches her thirteen year old brother's soccer team. After she finally catches Mark's attention , she thinks that this is definitely the best thing that could ever happen to her. What happens next involves a picture of her in some sexy lingerie being sent to the jock , a hot date in the back of her van and obviously...a pitiful dumping. And that's when Blaze decides to take revenge and makes a whole new comic strip featuring Mark as the evil man which only instigates that asshat of a jock to put her sexy-undy-picture on the internet. Well bloody poop.
All of the above is something we know right from the beginning. We know that there is going to be a girl obsessively infatuated with a guy and we also know that after a lovely date she is to be dumped. We also know that she takes her revenge and we also know that the guy retaliates. What we don't know is what follows after that and let me tell you, it doesn't appear until the last 70 pages.
Blaze could have been a really badass female protagonist but failed to deliver herself. I only saw her as a girl with some serious issues regarding her self respect and self confidence. Many would say that this book is about her finally growing up and reaching the heights of maturity but I'm not sure I see how I'm going to understand her so called 'growth' if I don't get the whole point of it. What I'm trying to say is that Blaze went through situations many teens go through as well, but it's really hard to empathize with her because she's so damn stupid.
No way in hell could a person so independent (as described in the book) could fail to see how stupid her whole thought process actually is.
Also I don't think I like how everything finally panned out. I have to say , the concept was pretty great and did hold lots of potential but the final product did fail on many standards.
But like I said, there were great elements to it too.
For one, there were characters I totally adored. I loved Blaze's thirteen year old brother Josh and his group of friends who Blaze lovingly called the 'soccer cretins'. I loved how considerate and amazing he was. The idea of incorporating comic panels was seriously awesome but I would have liked it more if there were more of those. I feel the last 70 pages really redeemed the whole book and helped the book not become a total epic fail.
Laurie Boyle Crompton's writing has a lot of potential and I can actually see myself reading several other books by her.
There were some really great elements to it and some that entirely let the whole book down.
There were superheroes , comic strips , pink kool-aid hair and pent up girl rant.
This is Blaze's story. An eighteen year old , almost outsider lover of the comic book world.
Blaze has always liked Mark. Mark is the typical popular jock who coincidentally coaches her thirteen year old brother's soccer team. After she finally catches Mark's attention , she thinks that this is definitely the best thing that could ever happen to her. What happens next involves a picture of her in some sexy lingerie being sent to the jock , a hot date in the back of her van and obviously...a pitiful dumping. And that's when Blaze decides to take revenge and makes a whole new comic strip featuring Mark as the evil man which only instigates that asshat of a jock to put her sexy-undy-picture on the internet. Well bloody poop.
All of the above is something we know right from the beginning. We know that there is going to be a girl obsessively infatuated with a guy and we also know that after a lovely date she is to be dumped. We also know that she takes her revenge and we also know that the guy retaliates. What we don't know is what follows after that and let me tell you, it doesn't appear until the last 70 pages.
Blaze could have been a really badass female protagonist but failed to deliver herself. I only saw her as a girl with some serious issues regarding her self respect and self confidence. Many would say that this book is about her finally growing up and reaching the heights of maturity but I'm not sure I see how I'm going to understand her so called 'growth' if I don't get the whole point of it. What I'm trying to say is that Blaze went through situations many teens go through as well, but it's really hard to empathize with her because she's so damn stupid.
No way in hell could a person so independent (as described in the book) could fail to see how stupid her whole thought process actually is.
Also I don't think I like how everything finally panned out. I have to say , the concept was pretty great and did hold lots of potential but the final product did fail on many standards.
But like I said, there were great elements to it too.
For one, there were characters I totally adored. I loved Blaze's thirteen year old brother Josh and his group of friends who Blaze lovingly called the 'soccer cretins'. I loved how considerate and amazing he was. The idea of incorporating comic panels was seriously awesome but I would have liked it more if there were more of those. I feel the last 70 pages really redeemed the whole book and helped the book not become a total epic fail.
Laurie Boyle Crompton's writing has a lot of potential and I can actually see myself reading several other books by her.
August 4, 2013
Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) PJV Quickie: I was super-excited about reading Blaze - I thought I was getting a geek-girl's revenge story. What I got instead was a book full of bad teen decisions and self-centered characters. By the end, the only thing blaze-ing was my temper.
Review
17-year-old Blaze inherited her love of comic books from her father. He was so into comics that he named her after Ghost Rider's Johnny Blaze. Unfortunately for Blaze, her dad isn't around any more: he left Blaze, her brother Josh, and their mother so that he could pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Blaze's mom works odd hours at a local hospital, so Blaze is in effect a teenaged soccer mom, ferrying her brother and his friends to school and soccer games. She's got no social life to speak of, and refers to herself as "Super Virgin Girl".
Blaze is crushing on Josh's soccer coach, Mark. Mark goes to Blaze's high school but he's never paid any attention to her before. While Mark's car is in the shop, Blaze ends up giving him rides to and from the games, and she's thrilled he's noticing her! He asks her out and a steamy make-out session ensues. Later, Blaze is at the mall with friends trying on sexy underwear and a risque' a photo of her makes its way to Mark's phone.
So now Mark has the wrong idea and Blaze doesn't know what to do...
When Mark starts distancing himself, Blaze gets sad, then she gets even. Problem is, two can play that game, and what was supposed to be a harmless prank goes viral.
_____________________
Based on the 'blurb', I really thought I was going to love this book; I'm sorry to say I did not. Instead of a cute read about a geek-girl who loves comics, Blaze features a passive-aggressive heroine with no backbone and a cast of incredibly selfish (and at times vicious) characters.
Mark is only looking out for himself and uses girls like tissues. When he convinces Blaze to have sex with him THEY DON'T USE A CONDOM!!!! (It was less that he convinced her and more that she didn't know how to say no.) He asks when her last period was but the subject of STDs doesn't come up AT ALL. I find this very irresponsible in a book targeted to a YA audience.
When Mark pulls a 'wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am', instead of talking to him, Blaze passive-aggressively creates a comic about "Mark the Shark" and plasters it all over the school and the web. When he retaliates by posting her sexy photo online, it goes viral. My first thought was - isn't it illegal to post nude (or close enough) photos of a 17-year-old girl on the internet? Especially at a site that is supposed to be like FaceBook? Shouldn't there be criminal charges?
As for Blaze's two best friends...with friends like these you don't need enemies! Her 'friend' Amanda is responsible for Blaze's problems when she snaps an almost-naked picture of Blaze and texts it to Mark on Blaze's phone. Why did Amanda do this you ask? Because she was mad Mark's friend wasn't in to her, and she blamed Blaze for getting her hopes up about him.
Then, there's the constant slut-shaming of one female character, whose only crime was to grow boobs earlier than everyone else. Blaze and her friends actively participate in berating her without any proof of her 'sexploits'. Even after Blaze is subject to the same horrible bullying, she is still not convinced this girl isn't the slut everyone says she is.
I did like Blaze's brother Josh; he seemed more aware of social nuances than Blaze was, and I liked his buddies too - they seemed like the most down-to-earth characters in the book and were pretty sweet kids. The scenes were Blaze was interacting with them were probably my favorites.
Parts of the book felt awkward, such as this sentence when Mark brought his African-American friend Stu to a party: “Stuart is one of only three black students in our school, which makes him a semi-celebrity. I feel somewhat hip and urban having him here at my house.” ~page 47<--What was that? I also think the author was trying to give the reader the impression Blaze is more mature than other girls her age by having Blaze act like a "teenage soccer mom" and some text exchanges where Blaze corrects her friends' vocabulary, but then she proceeds to make one bad decision after another through the rest of the book.I am happy to say the cover is appropriate for the book (I love the pink hair), but the back blurb (at least on the ARC I received for review) gives the impression of a much lighter story that it actually is. Blaze touches on such hot-button subjects as sexting, bullying, slut shaming, and kids whose parents can't or won't act like parents. I understand the points the author was trying to make by writing this story, I just think the execution came up short.I would not recommend this for teens under the age of 17 (or maybe really mature 16-year-olds).
Review
17-year-old Blaze inherited her love of comic books from her father. He was so into comics that he named her after Ghost Rider's Johnny Blaze. Unfortunately for Blaze, her dad isn't around any more: he left Blaze, her brother Josh, and their mother so that he could pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Blaze's mom works odd hours at a local hospital, so Blaze is in effect a teenaged soccer mom, ferrying her brother and his friends to school and soccer games. She's got no social life to speak of, and refers to herself as "Super Virgin Girl".
Blaze is crushing on Josh's soccer coach, Mark. Mark goes to Blaze's high school but he's never paid any attention to her before. While Mark's car is in the shop, Blaze ends up giving him rides to and from the games, and she's thrilled he's noticing her! He asks her out and a steamy make-out session ensues. Later, Blaze is at the mall with friends trying on sexy underwear and a risque' a photo of her makes its way to Mark's phone.
So now Mark has the wrong idea and Blaze doesn't know what to do...
When Mark starts distancing himself, Blaze gets sad, then she gets even. Problem is, two can play that game, and what was supposed to be a harmless prank goes viral.
_____________________
Based on the 'blurb', I really thought I was going to love this book; I'm sorry to say I did not. Instead of a cute read about a geek-girl who loves comics, Blaze features a passive-aggressive heroine with no backbone and a cast of incredibly selfish (and at times vicious) characters.
Mark is only looking out for himself and uses girls like tissues. When he convinces Blaze to have sex with him THEY DON'T USE A CONDOM!!!! (It was less that he convinced her and more that she didn't know how to say no.) He asks when her last period was but the subject of STDs doesn't come up AT ALL. I find this very irresponsible in a book targeted to a YA audience.
When Mark pulls a 'wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am', instead of talking to him, Blaze passive-aggressively creates a comic about "Mark the Shark" and plasters it all over the school and the web. When he retaliates by posting her sexy photo online, it goes viral. My first thought was - isn't it illegal to post nude (or close enough) photos of a 17-year-old girl on the internet? Especially at a site that is supposed to be like FaceBook? Shouldn't there be criminal charges?
As for Blaze's two best friends...with friends like these you don't need enemies! Her 'friend' Amanda is responsible for Blaze's problems when she snaps an almost-naked picture of Blaze and texts it to Mark on Blaze's phone. Why did Amanda do this you ask? Because she was mad Mark's friend wasn't in to her, and she blamed Blaze for getting her hopes up about him.
Then, there's the constant slut-shaming of one female character, whose only crime was to grow boobs earlier than everyone else. Blaze and her friends actively participate in berating her without any proof of her 'sexploits'. Even after Blaze is subject to the same horrible bullying, she is still not convinced this girl isn't the slut everyone says she is.
I did like Blaze's brother Josh; he seemed more aware of social nuances than Blaze was, and I liked his buddies too - they seemed like the most down-to-earth characters in the book and were pretty sweet kids. The scenes were Blaze was interacting with them were probably my favorites.
Parts of the book felt awkward, such as this sentence when Mark brought his African-American friend Stu to a party: “Stuart is one of only three black students in our school, which makes him a semi-celebrity. I feel somewhat hip and urban having him here at my house.” ~page 47<--What was that? I also think the author was trying to give the reader the impression Blaze is more mature than other girls her age by having Blaze act like a "teenage soccer mom" and some text exchanges where Blaze corrects her friends' vocabulary, but then she proceeds to make one bad decision after another through the rest of the book.I am happy to say the cover is appropriate for the book (I love the pink hair), but the back blurb (at least on the ARC I received for review) gives the impression of a much lighter story that it actually is. Blaze touches on such hot-button subjects as sexting, bullying, slut shaming, and kids whose parents can't or won't act like parents. I understand the points the author was trying to make by writing this story, I just think the execution came up short.I would not recommend this for teens under the age of 17 (or maybe really mature 16-year-olds).
March 5, 2013
Review posted at Bewitched Bookworms
Blaze – Geeky, Nerdy and so cute!
When I meet Blaze I knew I was going to like her! She was quirky, funny, snarky totally geeky and a true Nerd! She loves Comic – the old ones, the original ones and she LOVED to talk about them. And that, even though her friends sometimes roll their eyes at her. But, that’s her passion and that’s her world. I love her for this! Blaze never had a real boyfriend so she falls head over heels when the cute Soccer Trainer of her brother shows interest in her. In that sense, she was a little naive, but totally understandable and genuine.
Blaze and the Boys!
And.. I don’t mean the boyfriend boys, but her kid brother and his friends. Blaze drives them constantly around and to Soccer practice and seeing them interact was the cutest and most heart warming ever. Blaze loves and adores her brother and of course also the other way around. Even the other boys love Blaze fiercely. They would go through fire for each other. This was one aspect of the book I loved the most, the relationship between Blaze and the boys!
Blaze , Love, Bullying and bad choices..
Sadly for Blaze the whole first boyfriend situation goes totally wrong and Blaze finds herself being a target from the whole school. I found the story to be filled with great topics and issues Teens these days most definitely have to face. There is a lot of bullying and social media danger that was delivered in a hurtful, but genuine way. We feel with Blaze when everything goes downhill and we desperately hope for everything to be better… Of course, Blaze makes some bad choices along the way, but I totally think Teens in her situation might have done the same..
But, fear not.. the ending was just as amazing as the whole story and I can wholeheartedly give this book 5 stars of awesome!
Bottom Line
Blaze by Laurie Boyle Crompton was a surprisingly refreshing story about bad choices a hurtful first love story and how bullying can destroy people. Blaze is a cute geeky girl who easily got a place in my heart and her story touched me, made me laugh and just made me happy. I’m excited I got to meet Blaze and I would love to meet her again
Blaze – Geeky, Nerdy and so cute!
When I meet Blaze I knew I was going to like her! She was quirky, funny, snarky totally geeky and a true Nerd! She loves Comic – the old ones, the original ones and she LOVED to talk about them. And that, even though her friends sometimes roll their eyes at her. But, that’s her passion and that’s her world. I love her for this! Blaze never had a real boyfriend so she falls head over heels when the cute Soccer Trainer of her brother shows interest in her. In that sense, she was a little naive, but totally understandable and genuine.
Blaze and the Boys!
And.. I don’t mean the boyfriend boys, but her kid brother and his friends. Blaze drives them constantly around and to Soccer practice and seeing them interact was the cutest and most heart warming ever. Blaze loves and adores her brother and of course also the other way around. Even the other boys love Blaze fiercely. They would go through fire for each other. This was one aspect of the book I loved the most, the relationship between Blaze and the boys!
Blaze , Love, Bullying and bad choices..
Sadly for Blaze the whole first boyfriend situation goes totally wrong and Blaze finds herself being a target from the whole school. I found the story to be filled with great topics and issues Teens these days most definitely have to face. There is a lot of bullying and social media danger that was delivered in a hurtful, but genuine way. We feel with Blaze when everything goes downhill and we desperately hope for everything to be better… Of course, Blaze makes some bad choices along the way, but I totally think Teens in her situation might have done the same..
But, fear not.. the ending was just as amazing as the whole story and I can wholeheartedly give this book 5 stars of awesome!
Bottom Line
Blaze by Laurie Boyle Crompton was a surprisingly refreshing story about bad choices a hurtful first love story and how bullying can destroy people. Blaze is a cute geeky girl who easily got a place in my heart and her story touched me, made me laugh and just made me happy. I’m excited I got to meet Blaze and I would love to meet her again
March 6, 2013
Find more reviews at I Have Lived a Thousand Lives
I really wanted to like this book. I wanted to love it. Nerdy girl + good moral + light, fun writing = Fantastic read. Right? Maybe, but not with Blaze.
The biggest problem I had was with characters, mainly the title character herself, Blaze. I was so frustrated with her. Blaze's narrative is annoying and I wasn't a big fan of the fact that half of her stream of consciousness was about Mark, how she can be his girlfriend (for the first half) and how much she hates him (second half). The decisions she's made are one of the stupidest and most immature I've ever encountered in YA. I might've felt bad for her but her head was just shoved so far up her ass that there was no way she would've been able to see the light.
Her friends weren't any better either, both felt very one-dimensional. Terri was the awesome best friend that stuck with her until the very end and Amanda was the jealous, petty bitch that started Blaze's problems. Blaze kept blaming Amanda for sending Mark the sext, and sure she was horrible for doing that, but Blaze was the one who made the decision to sleep with Mark. Her brother already told her that Mark was a womanizer. She knew what she was doing. Do not put the blame on anyone else but yourself, Blaze.
There was so much slut shaming in the book as well. I understand the purpose of it considering the issues tackled but I felt like this wasn't quite clear during some scenes. Blaze, Amanda and Terri participated a lot in shaming Catherine Wiggles, the school's slut, especially towards the beginning of the novel. You know how the rumour mill works, wild stories are accepted as truth and no one questions them. This was addressed later on in the novel when Blaze herself receives the same animosity she handed to Catherine. Blaze has a talk with Catherine and I thought this would improve her character. She now knows what it feels like to be hated for making one mistake. I thought she would change her perception for Catherine. Here's the one person who knew exactly what she was going through and vice versa, yet Blaze choose to continue being a bitch to Catherine and call her the exact names others have been calling her. I guess she does get better but I thought it should've happened sooner.
Blaze also had problems with her dad. He left her and her mom and brother to pursue his dream of being an actor. They hated him for it. Which I can understand but I thought the animosity was a bit too much. I'm sure if they had parted on better terms, the dad would've been more able to have a good relationship with Blaze and brother, and they could've been more supportive of his dreams. I would feel like crap knowing my dad does a job he hates because I'm standing in the way of him fulfilling his dream. Parents had dreams once, too, and circumstances that, lets be honest, most likely involves you just put a stop on them getting a real go at it. I didn't like how it was finally resolved between all parties. This is a serious matter and I felt like it was made fun of so easily.
For what it's worth, I did enjoy the comic book references. Sure, I'm not a big expert on it but I knew enough to understand what she was talking about. I liked Comic Book Guy, Quentin, as well. He is Blaze's true love interest. Their romance progressed nice and slowly. They didn't even have anything concrete by the end of the book. They were comfortable with each other, making each other laugh, having inside jokes. It was super cute when they geeked out about the characters, plots and different editions. It was refreshing compared to the other relationships featured in the book.
I would say this had a lot of potential to be something really enjoyable and fun, while delivering some serious morals. But it just didn't quite cut it for me. I still would recommend it, though. I think others might enjoy it a lot more than I did.
An ARC was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to like this book. I wanted to love it. Nerdy girl + good moral + light, fun writing = Fantastic read. Right? Maybe, but not with Blaze.
The biggest problem I had was with characters, mainly the title character herself, Blaze. I was so frustrated with her. Blaze's narrative is annoying and I wasn't a big fan of the fact that half of her stream of consciousness was about Mark, how she can be his girlfriend (for the first half) and how much she hates him (second half). The decisions she's made are one of the stupidest and most immature I've ever encountered in YA. I might've felt bad for her but her head was just shoved so far up her ass that there was no way she would've been able to see the light.
Her friends weren't any better either, both felt very one-dimensional. Terri was the awesome best friend that stuck with her until the very end and Amanda was the jealous, petty bitch that started Blaze's problems. Blaze kept blaming Amanda for sending Mark the sext, and sure she was horrible for doing that, but Blaze was the one who made the decision to sleep with Mark. Her brother already told her that Mark was a womanizer. She knew what she was doing. Do not put the blame on anyone else but yourself, Blaze.
There was so much slut shaming in the book as well. I understand the purpose of it considering the issues tackled but I felt like this wasn't quite clear during some scenes. Blaze, Amanda and Terri participated a lot in shaming Catherine Wiggles, the school's slut, especially towards the beginning of the novel. You know how the rumour mill works, wild stories are accepted as truth and no one questions them. This was addressed later on in the novel when Blaze herself receives the same animosity she handed to Catherine. Blaze has a talk with Catherine and I thought this would improve her character. She now knows what it feels like to be hated for making one mistake. I thought she would change her perception for Catherine. Here's the one person who knew exactly what she was going through and vice versa, yet Blaze choose to continue being a bitch to Catherine and call her the exact names others have been calling her. I guess she does get better but I thought it should've happened sooner.
Blaze also had problems with her dad. He left her and her mom and brother to pursue his dream of being an actor. They hated him for it. Which I can understand but I thought the animosity was a bit too much. I'm sure if they had parted on better terms, the dad would've been more able to have a good relationship with Blaze and brother, and they could've been more supportive of his dreams. I would feel like crap knowing my dad does a job he hates because I'm standing in the way of him fulfilling his dream. Parents had dreams once, too, and circumstances that, lets be honest, most likely involves you just put a stop on them getting a real go at it. I didn't like how it was finally resolved between all parties. This is a serious matter and I felt like it was made fun of so easily.
For what it's worth, I did enjoy the comic book references. Sure, I'm not a big expert on it but I knew enough to understand what she was talking about. I liked Comic Book Guy, Quentin, as well. He is Blaze's true love interest. Their romance progressed nice and slowly. They didn't even have anything concrete by the end of the book. They were comfortable with each other, making each other laugh, having inside jokes. It was super cute when they geeked out about the characters, plots and different editions. It was refreshing compared to the other relationships featured in the book.
I would say this had a lot of potential to be something really enjoyable and fun, while delivering some serious morals. But it just didn't quite cut it for me. I still would recommend it, though. I think others might enjoy it a lot more than I did.
An ARC was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
dnf
January 7, 2019Initially, I was liking the voice of Blaze, but there's just so much slut-shaming in this book that I couldn't make it through.
Charming, right? But it gets even worse.
That's the MC chatting with her two best friends.
I feel so bad for Catherine Wiggan who is apparently gleefully bullied by the entire school.
This one's actually not about Catherine but friend Amanda.
It's just this constant barrage, and I really can't handle this happening when the point of the book isn't that slut-shaming is wrong. To make things more frustrating, the heroine also complains about being a virgin, so you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Catherine Wiggan, aka Wiggles, is the school's resident large-breasted slut
Charming, right? But it gets even worse.
AmandaSweetie68: 4 boys in the back is Wiggles style—lol did u c the latest? http://catherinewigglesisaslut.com
TerriAngel445: that girl has zero shame
AmandaSweetie68: slut
Blazefire22:I saw the link. Nice and skanky.
That's the MC chatting with her two best friends.
I glance from the road back to him, trying to gauge whether he's really use our party to hook up with some slut. Like for instance 'Wiggles' of catherinewigglesisaslut.com fame—the diseased girl at our school with a whole website devoted to her slutty exploits.
I feel so bad for Catherine Wiggan who is apparently gleefully bullied by the entire school.
Her figure is more female superhero than anorexic supermodel
This one's actually not about Catherine but friend Amanda.
I'm relieved he doesn't have a slutty date on his arm.
It's just this constant barrage, and I really can't handle this happening when the point of the book isn't that slut-shaming is wrong. To make things more frustrating, the heroine also complains about being a virgin, so you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
August 30, 2017
I really enjoyed this book! i have never read a fiction book which features superheros and comics! i will definatley picking up more books like this. Blaze was such a fun and lovable character. she was a nerd which allows us all to relate to her easier and is very care caring for her family. she has also never had a real relationship before which allowed me to relate to her more which was a bonus. she has a very close relationship with her brother and will do anything to help him out. i love seeing their bond throughout the book and how it was tested but still stayed strong.
This book dealt with alot of issues that teens go through nowadays and i feel that this book handled them ok but could have handled them a little bit better because of the outcomes.
I gave this book a 4 stars because of some of the issues and how they were dealt and also there was one character who by the end of the book i wanted to kill myself as i got so annoyed and angry with them!
This book dealt with alot of issues that teens go through nowadays and i feel that this book handled them ok but could have handled them a little bit better because of the outcomes.
I gave this book a 4 stars because of some of the issues and how they were dealt and also there was one character who by the end of the book i wanted to kill myself as i got so annoyed and angry with them!
February 24, 2013
I hadn’t read any reviews of Laurie Boyle Crompton’s Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) before I dove into it, and so had no idea of what to expect from it. Usually, I’ve had good luck with these types of books because I’ve ended up liking them way more than I thought I would in hindsight, but that wasn’t the case with Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains). And to think it started off so well!
At first, I found Blaze to be an endearing character. She was responsible, made me smile with her thoughts, and had a great relationship with her brother and his friends. It was also pretty easy to relate to her crush on a guy above her social ranking. At some point prior to the halfway mark though, Blaze became more annoying than endearing; and eventually, became one of the stupidest main characters I’ve ever encountered. Here’s why:
1) Her infatuation with Mark – we never really get to know much about him other than the fact that he loves soccer and likes blondes – started to feel obsessive.
2) She and her friends continually talk about what a slut one of their classmates is and thereby continue to perpetuate that rumour.
3) After Blaze suggests that her friend, Amanda, flirt with a buddy of Mark and he ignores her, Amanda sexts a picture of Blaze in a fit of anger. Instead of dumping her frenemy, Blaze remains best friends with her.
4) Even before Mark takes an interest in Blaze, Blaze’s younger brother hints that his coach might be a player. Blaze chooses to ignore Josh’s warnings and promptly proceeds to lose her virginity to Mark – after one movie date where she lets him get to second base! – in the back of her van … without using a condom! Blaze then assumes Mark is her boyfriend for some reason. WTF?!
5) Although it’s clear that her dad doesn’t give a damn about his family after leaving them to pursue his acting dreams, Blaze thinks her dad can help solve her problems and decides to drive to New York from Pennsylvania (without letting him know she’s coming).
Though Blaze essentially ruined the book for me, the big positive about Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) was that Crompton showed the serious ramifications of sexting.
Note: Unlike my ARC, the finished copy has illustrations that resemble those of a comic book.
At first, I found Blaze to be an endearing character. She was responsible, made me smile with her thoughts, and had a great relationship with her brother and his friends. It was also pretty easy to relate to her crush on a guy above her social ranking. At some point prior to the halfway mark though, Blaze became more annoying than endearing; and eventually, became one of the stupidest main characters I’ve ever encountered. Here’s why:
1) Her infatuation with Mark – we never really get to know much about him other than the fact that he loves soccer and likes blondes – started to feel obsessive.
2) She and her friends continually talk about what a slut one of their classmates is and thereby continue to perpetuate that rumour.
3) After Blaze suggests that her friend, Amanda, flirt with a buddy of Mark and he ignores her, Amanda sexts a picture of Blaze in a fit of anger. Instead of dumping her frenemy, Blaze remains best friends with her.
4) Even before Mark takes an interest in Blaze, Blaze’s younger brother hints that his coach might be a player. Blaze chooses to ignore Josh’s warnings and promptly proceeds to lose her virginity to Mark – after one movie date where she lets him get to second base! – in the back of her van … without using a condom! Blaze then assumes Mark is her boyfriend for some reason. WTF?!
5) Although it’s clear that her dad doesn’t give a damn about his family after leaving them to pursue his acting dreams, Blaze thinks her dad can help solve her problems and decides to drive to New York from Pennsylvania (without letting him know she’s coming).
Though Blaze essentially ruined the book for me, the big positive about Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains) was that Crompton showed the serious ramifications of sexting.
Note: Unlike my ARC, the finished copy has illustrations that resemble those of a comic book.
May 9, 2023
This might be the most hateable book i've read all year. I'm calling it now.
SPOILERS ALERT
Blaze is the worst possible protagonist ever - she's sexist, racist, creepy and constantly slutshamming women. She keeps this attitude consistently throughout the book and barely has any redeeming moments. To name a few of her worst moments :
1. Had sex with a guy once and immediately assumed they were dating without consulting or communicating with him. Stalks him, calls him a man whore and decided to write a lame comic as revenge
2. horrible horrible treatment of Catherine. When this poor woman tries to comfort her for being mercilessly bullied, she calls her a slut and whore and shames her for wearing an exposing top.
3. obsessively clings to her dad who treats her and ESPECIALLY her brother horribly.
4. When she gets MAD at her younger brother for standing up to Mark for her sake.
....among a lot of other things.
There is a moment where she understands what its like to be in Catherine's position, but honestly that's even worst. It shows the author's blatant hatred for female sexuality because it pretty much blasts the message " If people call you a slut, and you aren't that's fine. But if you actually DO sleep around then you deserved to be mercilessly shamed and bullied". And if you think i'm overreacting, they literally relay this message a SECOND time when blaze is talking to the bikers.
Also the people in this world are incredibly hostile for no reason. The entire school chants and calls her a slut and EVERY single person bullies and shames her for it not giving a F that Mark essentially leaked revenge porn. This is INCLUDING her mother who when she finds out her daughter is getting bullied everyday BLAMES HER for it. Her friends are awful too - Amanda who flirts with any guy Blaze is interested in and Terri who is a self proclaimed "feminist" but turns around and slut shames a girl she doesn't even know.
This is just one of the most infuriating books ever. Made me so angry and nothing got resolved at the end. Blaze learnt NOTHING and never gets humbled for her horrible opnions and personality.
Have you ever thought that nobody likes you cause you're a genuinely bad person?
SPOILERS ALERT
Blaze is the worst possible protagonist ever - she's sexist, racist, creepy and constantly slutshamming women. She keeps this attitude consistently throughout the book and barely has any redeeming moments. To name a few of her worst moments :
1. Had sex with a guy once and immediately assumed they were dating without consulting or communicating with him. Stalks him, calls him a man whore and decided to write a lame comic as revenge
2. horrible horrible treatment of Catherine. When this poor woman tries to comfort her for being mercilessly bullied, she calls her a slut and whore and shames her for wearing an exposing top.
3. obsessively clings to her dad who treats her and ESPECIALLY her brother horribly.
4. When she gets MAD at her younger brother for standing up to Mark for her sake.
....among a lot of other things.
There is a moment where she understands what its like to be in Catherine's position, but honestly that's even worst. It shows the author's blatant hatred for female sexuality because it pretty much blasts the message " If people call you a slut, and you aren't that's fine. But if you actually DO sleep around then you deserved to be mercilessly shamed and bullied". And if you think i'm overreacting, they literally relay this message a SECOND time when blaze is talking to the bikers.
Also the people in this world are incredibly hostile for no reason. The entire school chants and calls her a slut and EVERY single person bullies and shames her for it not giving a F that Mark essentially leaked revenge porn. This is INCLUDING her mother who when she finds out her daughter is getting bullied everyday BLAMES HER for it. Her friends are awful too - Amanda who flirts with any guy Blaze is interested in and Terri who is a self proclaimed "feminist" but turns around and slut shames a girl she doesn't even know.
This is just one of the most infuriating books ever. Made me so angry and nothing got resolved at the end. Blaze learnt NOTHING and never gets humbled for her horrible opnions and personality.
Have you ever thought that nobody likes you cause you're a genuinely bad person?
June 25, 2013
Originally posted on www.yareads.com, reviewed by Kiona.
Blaze has a crush on soccer superstar Mark and she’s finally decided to make him notice her. Blaze ignores continual warnings about Mark’s dating past and welcomes his attention. But when that attention starts to fade, Blaze’s friend jokingly sends Mark a picture of Blaze in nothing but lingerie. Not surprisingly, Mark is a huge fan, but after their next date, Mark is done with Blaze. Feeling betrayed, Blaze writes and publishes a comic starring Mark the Shark as the villain. Embarrassed and angry, Mark retaliates by going public with Blaze’s sexy picture. Now, everyone is judging Blaze, calling her names behind her back and to her face. And Blaze would give anything to travel back in time.
Blaze is not at all what I expected. I expected a more comic book-driven/hero vs villain style story. My favorite parts in the story are, without a doubt, the specific references to comics and the world of comic books that Blaze throws herself into. I appreciate her talent and creativity when it comes to writing her own comics. These are the strongest parts of the book, for me.
My problem with Blaze, though, is that I find most of it entirely unrealistic. The first few chapters are fun, promising, and engaging. The game of “Cows” is a cute quirk that I want to play myself. I’m on-board all the way up until Blaze dates Mark. But afterward…first, I can’t see a guy like Mark getting that upset and embarrassed over Blaze’s comic. He’s an asshole and he knows it, so I think he’d be willing to cut Blaze a little slack. Plus, the comic means he gets attention. I can’t imagine that a egotist like Mark doesn’t appreciate attention, even if it’s negative.
Second, there’s the whole issue of the “sext.” Racy pics like these constitute as child pornography. End of story. Our generation is well aware of this and I can’t see Mark justifying seriously breaking the law in order to exact a bit of revenge. But even if he did–consequences be damned!–Blaze (or, you know, anyone in the entire school) could immediately go to the police and have the picture taken down. Ok, fine, maybe she’s too afraid to bring it up to her mom and doesn’t want to involve the police. But the school finds out. Including the principal. At this point, this “sext” would be a major issue. And yet everyone’s fine with treating the incident as a minor case of bullying. No. Just, no.
Third, the way the student body suddenly turns on Blaze rings as completely unbelievable to me. Whispers behind backs, judgments, some catty behavior. All that, I’d believe. But the random students coming up to Blaze just to insult/threaten/shame her? Students that don’t know Blaze or Mark? I’m sorry, but I find that very hard to swallow. Perhaps I just got lucky in high school and this is the way students at every other high school in the world act. But at my school, a group of people would never so openly haze and bully a person they don’t know. And if something like this were to occur, someone would definitely get involved, be it another student, a teacher, or an administrative official.
Last, I had a problem with the secondary characters; they lack depth and development. Blaze’s best friends are catty, shallow, and disloyal. It’s hard to understand the intense attraction to Mark. What are his good qualities, again? Comic Book Guy is woefully, abysmally underdeveloped. As one of the only positive characters in the novel, I feel like he deserves way more attention and a solid conclusion. Blaze’s relationship with her father feels unfulfilled. The only well-developed secondary characters are Blaze’s little brother and his friends. They deliver laughs and a warm, fuzzy feeling.
I’m not a huge fan of the ending. Again, I find the logistics unrealistic. It is near-impossible to get into Comic-Con at the last minute. I mean, I love the idea of Blaze going to Comic-Con. I think it’s a great, fun setting to play around with. But I don’t believe that Blaze (or her brother and co.) could get in so easily. However, I do love Josh’s heroism. He steals the show and gives the ending a bit of a boost. The very end lacks resolution for Blaze and her life from here-on-out, unfortunately. I am left feeling dissatisfied with the book. That being said, it is a light, quick read with a lot of fun elements. The first half of the book is definitely enjoyable and the comic allusions aren’t hardcore enough to go over anyone’s head.
Pages: 320
Publication Date: April 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: NetGalley
Rating : 2.5
Blaze has a crush on soccer superstar Mark and she’s finally decided to make him notice her. Blaze ignores continual warnings about Mark’s dating past and welcomes his attention. But when that attention starts to fade, Blaze’s friend jokingly sends Mark a picture of Blaze in nothing but lingerie. Not surprisingly, Mark is a huge fan, but after their next date, Mark is done with Blaze. Feeling betrayed, Blaze writes and publishes a comic starring Mark the Shark as the villain. Embarrassed and angry, Mark retaliates by going public with Blaze’s sexy picture. Now, everyone is judging Blaze, calling her names behind her back and to her face. And Blaze would give anything to travel back in time.
Blaze is not at all what I expected. I expected a more comic book-driven/hero vs villain style story. My favorite parts in the story are, without a doubt, the specific references to comics and the world of comic books that Blaze throws herself into. I appreciate her talent and creativity when it comes to writing her own comics. These are the strongest parts of the book, for me.
My problem with Blaze, though, is that I find most of it entirely unrealistic. The first few chapters are fun, promising, and engaging. The game of “Cows” is a cute quirk that I want to play myself. I’m on-board all the way up until Blaze dates Mark. But afterward…first, I can’t see a guy like Mark getting that upset and embarrassed over Blaze’s comic. He’s an asshole and he knows it, so I think he’d be willing to cut Blaze a little slack. Plus, the comic means he gets attention. I can’t imagine that a egotist like Mark doesn’t appreciate attention, even if it’s negative.
Second, there’s the whole issue of the “sext.” Racy pics like these constitute as child pornography. End of story. Our generation is well aware of this and I can’t see Mark justifying seriously breaking the law in order to exact a bit of revenge. But even if he did–consequences be damned!–Blaze (or, you know, anyone in the entire school) could immediately go to the police and have the picture taken down. Ok, fine, maybe she’s too afraid to bring it up to her mom and doesn’t want to involve the police. But the school finds out. Including the principal. At this point, this “sext” would be a major issue. And yet everyone’s fine with treating the incident as a minor case of bullying. No. Just, no.
Third, the way the student body suddenly turns on Blaze rings as completely unbelievable to me. Whispers behind backs, judgments, some catty behavior. All that, I’d believe. But the random students coming up to Blaze just to insult/threaten/shame her? Students that don’t know Blaze or Mark? I’m sorry, but I find that very hard to swallow. Perhaps I just got lucky in high school and this is the way students at every other high school in the world act. But at my school, a group of people would never so openly haze and bully a person they don’t know. And if something like this were to occur, someone would definitely get involved, be it another student, a teacher, or an administrative official.
Last, I had a problem with the secondary characters; they lack depth and development. Blaze’s best friends are catty, shallow, and disloyal. It’s hard to understand the intense attraction to Mark. What are his good qualities, again? Comic Book Guy is woefully, abysmally underdeveloped. As one of the only positive characters in the novel, I feel like he deserves way more attention and a solid conclusion. Blaze’s relationship with her father feels unfulfilled. The only well-developed secondary characters are Blaze’s little brother and his friends. They deliver laughs and a warm, fuzzy feeling.
I’m not a huge fan of the ending. Again, I find the logistics unrealistic. It is near-impossible to get into Comic-Con at the last minute. I mean, I love the idea of Blaze going to Comic-Con. I think it’s a great, fun setting to play around with. But I don’t believe that Blaze (or her brother and co.) could get in so easily. However, I do love Josh’s heroism. He steals the show and gives the ending a bit of a boost. The very end lacks resolution for Blaze and her life from here-on-out, unfortunately. I am left feeling dissatisfied with the book. That being said, it is a light, quick read with a lot of fun elements. The first half of the book is definitely enjoyable and the comic allusions aren’t hardcore enough to go over anyone’s head.
Pages: 320
Publication Date: April 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: NetGalley
Rating : 2.5
January 27, 2013
Originally posted on www.yareads.com
Blaze has a crush on soccer superstar Mark and she’s finally decided to make him notice her. Blaze ignores continual warnings about Mark’s dating past and welcomes his attention. But when that attention starts to fade, Blaze’s friend jokingly sends Mark a picture of Blaze in nothing but lingerie. Not surprisingly, Mark is a huge fan, but after their next date, Mark is done with Blaze. Feeling betrayed, Blaze writes and publishes a comic starring Mark the Shark as the villain. Embarrassed and angry, Mark retaliates by going public with Blaze’s sexy picture. Now, everyone is judging Blaze, calling her names behind her back and to her face. And Blaze would give anything to travel back in time.
Blaze is not at all what I expected. I expected a more comic book-driven/hero vs villain style story. My favorite parts in the story are, without a doubt, the specific references to comics and the world of comic books that Blaze throws herself into. I appreciate her talent and creativity when it comes to writing her own comics. These are the strongest parts of the book, for me.
My problem with Blaze, though, is that I find most of it entirely unrealistic. The first few chapters are fun, promising, and engaging. The game of “Cows” is a cute quirk that I want to play myself. I’m on-board all the way up until Blaze dates Mark. But afterward…first, I can’t see a guy like Mark getting that upset and embarrassed over Blaze’s comic. He’s an asshole and he knows it, so I think he’d be willing to cut Blaze a little slack. Plus, the comic means he gets attention. I can’t imagine that a egotist like Mark doesn’t appreciate attention, even if it’s negative.
Second, there’s the whole issue of the “sext.” Racy pics like these constitute as child pornography. End of story. Our generation is well aware of this and I can’t see Mark justifying seriously breaking the law in order to exact a bit of revenge. But even if he did–consequences be damned!–Blaze (or, you know, anyone in the entire school) could immediately go to the police and have the picture taken down. Ok, fine, maybe she’s too afraid to bring it up to her mom and doesn’t want to involve the police. But the school finds out. Including the principal. At this point, this “sext” would be a major issue. And yet everyone’s fine with treating the incident as a minor case of bullying. No. Just, no.
Third, the way the student body suddenly turns on Blaze rings as completely unbelievable to me. Whispers behind backs, judgments, some catty behavior. All that, I’d believe. But the random students coming up to Blaze just to insult/threaten/shame her? Students that don’t know Blaze or Mark? I’m sorry, but I find that very hard to swallow. Perhaps I just got lucky in high school and this is the way students at every other high school in the world act. But at my school, a group of people would never so openly haze and bully a person they don’t know. And if something like this were to occur, someone would definitely get involved, be it another student, a teacher, or an administrative official.
Last, I had a problem with the secondary characters; they lack depth and development. Blaze’s best friends are catty, shallow, and disloyal. It’s hard to understand the intense attraction to Mark. What are his good qualities, again? Comic Book Guy is woefully, abysmally underdeveloped. As one of the only positive characters in the novel, I feel like he deserves way more attention and a solid conclusion. Blaze’s relationship with her father feels unfulfilled. The only well-developed secondary characters are Blaze’s little brother and his friends. They deliver laughs and a warm, fuzzy feeling.
I’m not a huge fan of the ending. Again, I find the logistics unrealistic. It is near-impossible to get into Comic-Con at the last minute. I mean, I love the idea of Blaze going to Comic-Con. I think it’s a great, fun setting to play around with. But I don’t believe that Blaze (or her brother and co.) could get in so easily. However, I do love Josh’s heroism. He steals the show and gives the ending a bit of a boost. The very end lacks resolution for Blaze and her life from here-on-out, unfortunately. I am left feeling dissatisfied with the book. That being said, it is a light, quick read with a lot of fun elements. The first half of the book is definitely enjoyable and the comic allusions aren’t hardcore enough to go over anyone’s head.
Blaze has a crush on soccer superstar Mark and she’s finally decided to make him notice her. Blaze ignores continual warnings about Mark’s dating past and welcomes his attention. But when that attention starts to fade, Blaze’s friend jokingly sends Mark a picture of Blaze in nothing but lingerie. Not surprisingly, Mark is a huge fan, but after their next date, Mark is done with Blaze. Feeling betrayed, Blaze writes and publishes a comic starring Mark the Shark as the villain. Embarrassed and angry, Mark retaliates by going public with Blaze’s sexy picture. Now, everyone is judging Blaze, calling her names behind her back and to her face. And Blaze would give anything to travel back in time.
Blaze is not at all what I expected. I expected a more comic book-driven/hero vs villain style story. My favorite parts in the story are, without a doubt, the specific references to comics and the world of comic books that Blaze throws herself into. I appreciate her talent and creativity when it comes to writing her own comics. These are the strongest parts of the book, for me.
My problem with Blaze, though, is that I find most of it entirely unrealistic. The first few chapters are fun, promising, and engaging. The game of “Cows” is a cute quirk that I want to play myself. I’m on-board all the way up until Blaze dates Mark. But afterward…first, I can’t see a guy like Mark getting that upset and embarrassed over Blaze’s comic. He’s an asshole and he knows it, so I think he’d be willing to cut Blaze a little slack. Plus, the comic means he gets attention. I can’t imagine that a egotist like Mark doesn’t appreciate attention, even if it’s negative.
Second, there’s the whole issue of the “sext.” Racy pics like these constitute as child pornography. End of story. Our generation is well aware of this and I can’t see Mark justifying seriously breaking the law in order to exact a bit of revenge. But even if he did–consequences be damned!–Blaze (or, you know, anyone in the entire school) could immediately go to the police and have the picture taken down. Ok, fine, maybe she’s too afraid to bring it up to her mom and doesn’t want to involve the police. But the school finds out. Including the principal. At this point, this “sext” would be a major issue. And yet everyone’s fine with treating the incident as a minor case of bullying. No. Just, no.
Third, the way the student body suddenly turns on Blaze rings as completely unbelievable to me. Whispers behind backs, judgments, some catty behavior. All that, I’d believe. But the random students coming up to Blaze just to insult/threaten/shame her? Students that don’t know Blaze or Mark? I’m sorry, but I find that very hard to swallow. Perhaps I just got lucky in high school and this is the way students at every other high school in the world act. But at my school, a group of people would never so openly haze and bully a person they don’t know. And if something like this were to occur, someone would definitely get involved, be it another student, a teacher, or an administrative official.
Last, I had a problem with the secondary characters; they lack depth and development. Blaze’s best friends are catty, shallow, and disloyal. It’s hard to understand the intense attraction to Mark. What are his good qualities, again? Comic Book Guy is woefully, abysmally underdeveloped. As one of the only positive characters in the novel, I feel like he deserves way more attention and a solid conclusion. Blaze’s relationship with her father feels unfulfilled. The only well-developed secondary characters are Blaze’s little brother and his friends. They deliver laughs and a warm, fuzzy feeling.
I’m not a huge fan of the ending. Again, I find the logistics unrealistic. It is near-impossible to get into Comic-Con at the last minute. I mean, I love the idea of Blaze going to Comic-Con. I think it’s a great, fun setting to play around with. But I don’t believe that Blaze (or her brother and co.) could get in so easily. However, I do love Josh’s heroism. He steals the show and gives the ending a bit of a boost. The very end lacks resolution for Blaze and her life from here-on-out, unfortunately. I am left feeling dissatisfied with the book. That being said, it is a light, quick read with a lot of fun elements. The first half of the book is definitely enjoyable and the comic allusions aren’t hardcore enough to go over anyone’s head.
May 16, 2013
Blaze won me over from the very beginning with its front page quote taken from an X-Men comic. Being the X-Men geek (okay, comic geek--but X-Men are my fave) that I am, I admit to maybe squee-ing out loud a bit on that. Blaze is a relatable character to me, though I did have my questionable moments toward some of her actions. Most particularly, regarding her and her “friends”. I didn’t like her friends. To be honest, the only characters I did like were Blaze and the boys she drove around for soccer. One other character I semi-liked, and probably would’ve liked much more if I’d had more time to get to know him better. But the book ended.
I think I’m going to have a lot to say on this title. I really enjoyed it and it’s going to be a memorable one. Not just the characters, but the storyline because I liked the style. And hell, by the end I found myself leafing through my own comics to read through again like Blaze would’ve done probably.
This wasn’t perfect--and while it won’t be for everyone, I really adored it. I had some issues though mostly regarding some situations that left a sour taste in my mouth. I saw where the author was trying to make a point where it’s easy to be a quick judge/spread rumors(and believe them without learning), slut shame, etc.. But I would’ve liked a bit more touched on the topic. As well as a more developed look between Blaze and Catherine at the end. I felt that area was too open and wanted to know more. Way to go for a great teen voice, though. That was fantastically done for sure. I have to note that there is quite a bit of foul-talk, shaming, toward another character brought on by Blaze and her friends. It’s cruel. And Blaze gets the turn-around on her later through the story where she learns a lesson about it. Though like I said, I wish that’d been a bigger point for the friends as well--not just Blaze. And I would have liked to know more about Catherine.
But the biggest issue of all I had was when she sleeps with Mark. There’s no condom available and that’s part of the plot. What happens? She has a pregnancy scare. Understandable. I get it. I think this has happened to a lot of young women who are sexually active--even when birth control is used. Ya get paranoid. So what’s my issue? The no condom bit. After the pregnancy scare (of course she isn’t), she goes about her daily biz, back to normal, and not once during all of this does she even worry about STDs or the possibility of. Authors. Please. They happen too! This is a big issue. Especially seeing as how Blaze and Mark didn’t use protection. And I'm sorry if that's considered a spoiler for those of you, but it's an important topic I had to discuss. I rarely ever put spoilers in my reviews, but this once I needed to put this in. You can tell from the blurb above that they sleep together--so it's not like I'm giving that away.
I know. I know. Just fiction. But I do get sick of seeing it more and more in books recently and maybe I just snapped finally.
I also wanted to see so much more development of the relationship built between Blaze and a certain someone (afraid to mention due to slight spoilers). I’m sure they could be adorable. But no feels when there’s hardly anything there.
Her little brother, Josh, and his cast of friends added a lot of fun to the story. They are exactly what a group of boys that age would be like--trust me I know--and I found myself often laughing out loud at their antics, knowing that they could easily annoy me if it was real life too. The ending and what Josh did for his big sis though was adorable. It was a great way to show his appreciation and devotion to her, despite their differences.
To anyone who’s worried about picking it up because they don’t like comics: it’s not like that. Imagine it like a geeky character girl who loves comic books and drawing. She sometimes narrates in the form of a comic book. POW! ZOOM! But it’s easily understandable. Cute. Funny. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work in the future!
3.5 stars.
<3
Pixie
I think I’m going to have a lot to say on this title. I really enjoyed it and it’s going to be a memorable one. Not just the characters, but the storyline because I liked the style. And hell, by the end I found myself leafing through my own comics to read through again like Blaze would’ve done probably.
This wasn’t perfect--and while it won’t be for everyone, I really adored it. I had some issues though mostly regarding some situations that left a sour taste in my mouth. I saw where the author was trying to make a point where it’s easy to be a quick judge/spread rumors(and believe them without learning), slut shame, etc.. But I would’ve liked a bit more touched on the topic. As well as a more developed look between Blaze and Catherine at the end. I felt that area was too open and wanted to know more. Way to go for a great teen voice, though. That was fantastically done for sure. I have to note that there is quite a bit of foul-talk, shaming, toward another character brought on by Blaze and her friends. It’s cruel. And Blaze gets the turn-around on her later through the story where she learns a lesson about it. Though like I said, I wish that’d been a bigger point for the friends as well--not just Blaze. And I would have liked to know more about Catherine.
But the biggest issue of all I had was when she sleeps with Mark. There’s no condom available and that’s part of the plot. What happens? She has a pregnancy scare. Understandable. I get it. I think this has happened to a lot of young women who are sexually active--even when birth control is used. Ya get paranoid. So what’s my issue? The no condom bit. After the pregnancy scare (of course she isn’t), she goes about her daily biz, back to normal, and not once during all of this does she even worry about STDs or the possibility of. Authors. Please. They happen too! This is a big issue. Especially seeing as how Blaze and Mark didn’t use protection. And I'm sorry if that's considered a spoiler for those of you, but it's an important topic I had to discuss. I rarely ever put spoilers in my reviews, but this once I needed to put this in. You can tell from the blurb above that they sleep together--so it's not like I'm giving that away.
I know. I know. Just fiction. But I do get sick of seeing it more and more in books recently and maybe I just snapped finally.
I also wanted to see so much more development of the relationship built between Blaze and a certain someone (afraid to mention due to slight spoilers). I’m sure they could be adorable. But no feels when there’s hardly anything there.
Her little brother, Josh, and his cast of friends added a lot of fun to the story. They are exactly what a group of boys that age would be like--trust me I know--and I found myself often laughing out loud at their antics, knowing that they could easily annoy me if it was real life too. The ending and what Josh did for his big sis though was adorable. It was a great way to show his appreciation and devotion to her, despite their differences.
To anyone who’s worried about picking it up because they don’t like comics: it’s not like that. Imagine it like a geeky character girl who loves comic books and drawing. She sometimes narrates in the form of a comic book. POW! ZOOM! But it’s easily understandable. Cute. Funny. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work in the future!
3.5 stars.
<3
Pixie
October 2, 2013
Blaze is sick of being invisible. She's been playing pseudo-soccer mom to her little bro (and his band of friends) and generally sacrificing her social life to pick up the slack ever since her father took off to New York. She's a comic book geek, named after comic hero Johnny Blaze of Ghostrider, who dreams of publishing her own comic books someday. Until then, she's sidelined on the soccer field drooling over Josh's coach Mark, a hottie that goes to her school. When Mark finally takes notice, Blaze is stunned... and psyched!! This is her chance of shedding her invisibility and actually having a boyfriend.
When Super-Virgin Girl takes over and almost ruins things with Mark, her friend sends him a "sext" of Blaze to try to get his attention. Blaze is humiliated, but it indeed gets Mark to want to see Blaze. After hooking up in her soccer-mom van, Mark fails to call again. And Blaze, looking to warn other girls of Mark's player ways, writes a comic book featuring Mark as the villain. She's flying high for a while, but then Mark retaliates by releasing her "sext", and the invisible life Blaze lived before is suddenly so far away. As she tries to endure relentless bullying, she wonders if she'll ever get back to normal again.
My Thoughts:
The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the awesome main character. I loved that Blaze was this self-proclaimed comic-book geek, who secretly enjoyed hanging out with her little bro and his band of kooky friends. I appreciated reading about a girl being into comic books, as I don't think it's all that common, but it rocks! I liked Blaze's whole attitude about life and her vulnerabilities too. All she wanted was a boyfriend and unfortunately she looked in the wrong place. She made a ton of mistakes and embarrassed herself along the way, but she really was just a girl who wanted a boy to like her.
I must say that I loved the drawings sprinkled in throughout the book. It was like getting a glimpse into Blaze's head and really helped with the story. And being from Pittsburgh, PA, I was appreciative of the Butler setting (which is like 1/2 hour North of the Burgh). So we have a kick-ass heroine, a cool country setting, and pretty drawings thrown in. What's not to like?
Now we get to the issues this book delved into. I really felt bad for Blaze during the bullying phase. And the fact that she was basically all alone in dealing with it was a little heartbreaking. It reminded me a lot of Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown the way everyone reacted so harshly over a picture! I know high school is melodramatic, but those kids were ruthless. It made me glad I grew up in an era where cell phones were pretty much gigantic and not capable of taking pictures at all.
So yeah, a totally enjoyable, fun book that will make you think about all the dumb stuff you did for the sake of trying to woo a guy (at least it did for me, and yes I did just say woo!). I wouldn't say it's a book that changed me or even is one that's going to be super-memorable as time goes on, but as far as main characters and fun 12 year old boys go, this one rocked it!
OVERALL: The story of a comic-book girl's struggles with family problems and living with mistakes. I loved the quirky characters in this book and the strong, but vulnerable Blaze. I was expecting more of a revenge book, but I got more of a coming of age feeling out of it. It's worth reading, but it's not mind-blowing.
My Blog:
When Super-Virgin Girl takes over and almost ruins things with Mark, her friend sends him a "sext" of Blaze to try to get his attention. Blaze is humiliated, but it indeed gets Mark to want to see Blaze. After hooking up in her soccer-mom van, Mark fails to call again. And Blaze, looking to warn other girls of Mark's player ways, writes a comic book featuring Mark as the villain. She's flying high for a while, but then Mark retaliates by releasing her "sext", and the invisible life Blaze lived before is suddenly so far away. As she tries to endure relentless bullying, she wonders if she'll ever get back to normal again.
My Thoughts:
The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the awesome main character. I loved that Blaze was this self-proclaimed comic-book geek, who secretly enjoyed hanging out with her little bro and his band of kooky friends. I appreciated reading about a girl being into comic books, as I don't think it's all that common, but it rocks! I liked Blaze's whole attitude about life and her vulnerabilities too. All she wanted was a boyfriend and unfortunately she looked in the wrong place. She made a ton of mistakes and embarrassed herself along the way, but she really was just a girl who wanted a boy to like her.
I must say that I loved the drawings sprinkled in throughout the book. It was like getting a glimpse into Blaze's head and really helped with the story. And being from Pittsburgh, PA, I was appreciative of the Butler setting (which is like 1/2 hour North of the Burgh). So we have a kick-ass heroine, a cool country setting, and pretty drawings thrown in. What's not to like?
Now we get to the issues this book delved into. I really felt bad for Blaze during the bullying phase. And the fact that she was basically all alone in dealing with it was a little heartbreaking. It reminded me a lot of Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown the way everyone reacted so harshly over a picture! I know high school is melodramatic, but those kids were ruthless. It made me glad I grew up in an era where cell phones were pretty much gigantic and not capable of taking pictures at all.
So yeah, a totally enjoyable, fun book that will make you think about all the dumb stuff you did for the sake of trying to woo a guy (at least it did for me, and yes I did just say woo!). I wouldn't say it's a book that changed me or even is one that's going to be super-memorable as time goes on, but as far as main characters and fun 12 year old boys go, this one rocked it!
OVERALL: The story of a comic-book girl's struggles with family problems and living with mistakes. I loved the quirky characters in this book and the strong, but vulnerable Blaze. I was expecting more of a revenge book, but I got more of a coming of age feeling out of it. It's worth reading, but it's not mind-blowing.
My Blog:
February 26, 2013
I'm kind of iffy on the title change, but I'm still hoping this one meets my expectations!! Because it sounds SO cool <3
***
I'm kind of into superheroes (a bit - mostly Batman) although I never really became involved with comics, oddly enough. I've been saying for a little while that I'd really love to read some more superhero-inspired YA (I think there's a lot of untapped potential there - just saying!) and it was this aspect that initially drew my attention with Blaze.
Blaze isn't exactly a superhero book, but it plays a big part in the plot. This ends up making Blaze a truly fun and unique contemporary that I think is going to have plenty of widespread appeal with all kinds of readers!
Reasons to Read:
1. Laugh out loud, tongue-in-cheek humour:
I find funny books to be a rarity; but that may just be that I have an extremely particular sense of humour. I love really dry wit, and Blaze's sense of humour just fit so well with mine that I couldn't help but laugh along. Plus, I thought it was fantastic how she relied on humour in difficult times - I have friends like that, and I sometimes do the same thing and I think it was really neat to see a character who could crack a joke at any time.
2. Real perspective on gossip/reputation:
Laurie handles these prevalent teen issues with ease in Blaze but without becoming too "heavy" and without preaching. It becomes so obvious how dangerous and hurtful cruel, thoughtless comments about other people can be. I love that it isn't focused on figuring out who's the victim and who's the villain, but recognizes that all people need to be treated with dignity and respect. And all of this is accomplished in a way that readers will relate to.
3. A unique format for a YA book:
One of my favourite aspects of Blaze is that it really utilizes Blaze's love of comics (and her talent as an artist) as one of the ways to immerse the reader in the story. The included illustrations in the book are done by an incredible artist - and while my ARC didn't contain the illustrations, I was able to get an inside look at some of the art for the novel through the Sourcebooks blog tour. I LOVED the way that the illustrations are included with the story, to help bring it to life. It's a really fun way of presenting the story.
You can find a sneak peek of the artwork here. (Includes Mark the Shark and the Blazing Goddess)
I only wish that the consequences for some of the poor choices made had been highlighted a bit better; there are a number of events which take place that many teens will experience (such as sexting, relationships, and gossip) but I don't think the outcome was as convincing as it could have been. Everyone largely comes out unscathed, and I don't mind that overall but I wish that some of these problems weren't as easily to solve as they came across in the book.
But this is a fun book, that's going to appeal to a broad range of readers - those who enjoy contemporary, humour, illustrations and artwork, and even superheroes/comics will find something to appreciate in Blaze.
ARC received from publisher for blog tour & review; no other compensation was received.
***
I'm kind of into superheroes (a bit - mostly Batman) although I never really became involved with comics, oddly enough. I've been saying for a little while that I'd really love to read some more superhero-inspired YA (I think there's a lot of untapped potential there - just saying!) and it was this aspect that initially drew my attention with Blaze.
Blaze isn't exactly a superhero book, but it plays a big part in the plot. This ends up making Blaze a truly fun and unique contemporary that I think is going to have plenty of widespread appeal with all kinds of readers!
Reasons to Read:
1. Laugh out loud, tongue-in-cheek humour:
I find funny books to be a rarity; but that may just be that I have an extremely particular sense of humour. I love really dry wit, and Blaze's sense of humour just fit so well with mine that I couldn't help but laugh along. Plus, I thought it was fantastic how she relied on humour in difficult times - I have friends like that, and I sometimes do the same thing and I think it was really neat to see a character who could crack a joke at any time.
2. Real perspective on gossip/reputation:
Laurie handles these prevalent teen issues with ease in Blaze but without becoming too "heavy" and without preaching. It becomes so obvious how dangerous and hurtful cruel, thoughtless comments about other people can be. I love that it isn't focused on figuring out who's the victim and who's the villain, but recognizes that all people need to be treated with dignity and respect. And all of this is accomplished in a way that readers will relate to.
3. A unique format for a YA book:
One of my favourite aspects of Blaze is that it really utilizes Blaze's love of comics (and her talent as an artist) as one of the ways to immerse the reader in the story. The included illustrations in the book are done by an incredible artist - and while my ARC didn't contain the illustrations, I was able to get an inside look at some of the art for the novel through the Sourcebooks blog tour. I LOVED the way that the illustrations are included with the story, to help bring it to life. It's a really fun way of presenting the story.
You can find a sneak peek of the artwork here. (Includes Mark the Shark and the Blazing Goddess)
I only wish that the consequences for some of the poor choices made had been highlighted a bit better; there are a number of events which take place that many teens will experience (such as sexting, relationships, and gossip) but I don't think the outcome was as convincing as it could have been. Everyone largely comes out unscathed, and I don't mind that overall but I wish that some of these problems weren't as easily to solve as they came across in the book.
But this is a fun book, that's going to appeal to a broad range of readers - those who enjoy contemporary, humour, illustrations and artwork, and even superheroes/comics will find something to appreciate in Blaze.
ARC received from publisher for blog tour & review; no other compensation was received.
February 12, 2022
See the original review and more here: Story Envy
What do all of these have in common? They're all sound effects from comics!!!!!!
Confession time: I'm kind of a nerd.
*gasp* WHAT! Say it ain't so Roxy! Say it ain't so!!!!!
But alas, my fair readers, it is true. I love superheros, and I love villains, even more I like kick butt revenge schemes that combine the two! Most of all though, I like it when good conquers evil. That was what I though I'd get with Blaze. Unfortunately while Laurie incorporated wonderful comic references I feel that a lot of the characters were very two dimensional and the story, while entertaining, became doomed by some of the plot choices.
That's not to say that the story completely sucked, there were plenty of things to enjoy. There was a unique and defined voice was constant through all the highs and lows of Blaze. The comedy and dialogue that goes on through the course of the book is entertaining and realistic (even if actions aren't...). I especially enjoyed the family and friend dynamic that were shown and the character growth for Blaze, while way overdone, was executed nicely. also, I loved Blaze's brother and his group of soccer buddies.
Now on to the bad side, there were a lot of things that annoyed me over the course of this book. Blaze disappointed me more than once, I thought I'd get this lovable nerd that was wronged and decided to seek revenge but instead I got stuck with this hormone driven teenager with a love of comic books who only gets better during the second half of the book! Then when everything explodes in Blaze's face almost everyone's action become exaggerated and unbelievable. I just felt so let down by the complete ordinariness of the whole thing! It's like meeting superman in real only to discover that it's just some good-looking muscly guy in a superman suit who is some kind of walking promotional ad for superhero toothpaste (not sure why I chose toothpaste for that comparison).
This book was more than a little flawed but for some reason I liked it anyways, maybe all I need is some comic and superhero references and a recognizable voice to like cardboard characters and a been-there-read-that plot (that's a rather disturbing thought so I won't dwell on it). Now for those of you who are not like me and don't have my eclectic taste in books I would recommend putting this book off to the side or you tbr pile and read a story with more than a geeky personality. Just don't forget about it completely, it wasn't the best but as I said, it was entertaining.
What do all of these have in common? They're all sound effects from comics!!!!!!
Confession time: I'm kind of a nerd.
*gasp* WHAT! Say it ain't so Roxy! Say it ain't so!!!!!
But alas, my fair readers, it is true. I love superheros, and I love villains, even more I like kick butt revenge schemes that combine the two! Most of all though, I like it when good conquers evil. That was what I though I'd get with Blaze. Unfortunately while Laurie incorporated wonderful comic references I feel that a lot of the characters were very two dimensional and the story, while entertaining, became doomed by some of the plot choices.
That's not to say that the story completely sucked, there were plenty of things to enjoy. There was a unique and defined voice was constant through all the highs and lows of Blaze. The comedy and dialogue that goes on through the course of the book is entertaining and realistic (even if actions aren't...). I especially enjoyed the family and friend dynamic that were shown and the character growth for Blaze, while way overdone, was executed nicely. also, I loved Blaze's brother and his group of soccer buddies.
Now on to the bad side, there were a lot of things that annoyed me over the course of this book. Blaze disappointed me more than once, I thought I'd get this lovable nerd that was wronged and decided to seek revenge but instead I got stuck with this hormone driven teenager with a love of comic books who only gets better during the second half of the book! Then when everything explodes in Blaze's face almost everyone's action become exaggerated and unbelievable. I just felt so let down by the complete ordinariness of the whole thing! It's like meeting superman in real only to discover that it's just some good-looking muscly guy in a superman suit who is some kind of walking promotional ad for superhero toothpaste (not sure why I chose toothpaste for that comparison).
This book was more than a little flawed but for some reason I liked it anyways, maybe all I need is some comic and superhero references and a recognizable voice to like cardboard characters and a been-there-read-that plot (that's a rather disturbing thought so I won't dwell on it). Now for those of you who are not like me and don't have my eclectic taste in books I would recommend putting this book off to the side or you tbr pile and read a story with more than a geeky personality. Just don't forget about it completely, it wasn't the best but as I said, it was entertaining.
March 17, 2017
I have wanted to read Blaze, formally known as Fan girl, since I first found out about it. Ahh Okay so I used to have a little teensy comic obsession when I was in about 5th or 6th grade though I never looked at any superhero stuff. Reading this, makes me want to go make into that comic obsession. Seriously.
First, this book starts off kind of as a romance. As her budding romance with Mark, progresses it unfortunately shatters and Mark becomes... well a shark. Hence is name, Mark the Shark. At first, I kind of really liked Mark,being the hottie coach to her brother’s team and the flirting, but then I really started to dislike him. He became an argent high school boy trying to get with girls. He came off as nice until he got what he wanted and totally starting dissing her. P.s. I promise I’m not spoiling anything this is in the summary.
Blaze is the kind of girl who is nerdy and geeky, but doesn’t mind being invisible for the most part until she meets Mark. She really has to overcome her obstacles of finding herself once more. She tries to change and does things to try to get Mark’s attention, which quite honestly got aggravating at some point because she was being something she’s not and I was routing for her to succeed, but it wasn’t unbearable because I really liked Blaze.
Also, before I go any further I have to mention the guys. Josh, Blaze’s little brother, is the sweetest little brother. I loved him so much. He looked out for his sister and always knew how to cheer her up and looked out for her like an older brother would do instead of little brother. He always stood up for her and it made me so happy and awed. Dylan was so funny he was always doing something ridiculous and they were all just great aspect of the story because they really lightened the mood and made me smile throughout the story. As for Blaze’s friends, Ugh Amanda. I kind of still strongly dislike her. If it wasn’t for her things wouldn’t have played out the way they did and she is a dislikeable character in my opinion. At least her other friend,Terri, was a good friend and tried to help her and was always there for her. Quentine was also a pretty epic character because she opened up and could let out her inner geek with him ;)
Towards the end my heart lightened up and I was supper proud of Blaze. She morphed into a strong, protagonist and really found herself in a sense. I think this is an awesome sorry. The fact that it involves friendship, relationships, family, and comics, is amazing and makes it one interesting story you won’t want to miss. So, be sure to catch Blaze and her hectic life in this coming of age story as she battles her way through her intertwining worlds – reality and comics.
First, this book starts off kind of as a romance. As her budding romance with Mark, progresses it unfortunately shatters and Mark becomes... well a shark. Hence is name, Mark the Shark. At first, I kind of really liked Mark,being the hottie coach to her brother’s team and the flirting, but then I really started to dislike him. He became an argent high school boy trying to get with girls. He came off as nice until he got what he wanted and totally starting dissing her. P.s. I promise I’m not spoiling anything this is in the summary.
Blaze is the kind of girl who is nerdy and geeky, but doesn’t mind being invisible for the most part until she meets Mark. She really has to overcome her obstacles of finding herself once more. She tries to change and does things to try to get Mark’s attention, which quite honestly got aggravating at some point because she was being something she’s not and I was routing for her to succeed, but it wasn’t unbearable because I really liked Blaze.
Also, before I go any further I have to mention the guys. Josh, Blaze’s little brother, is the sweetest little brother. I loved him so much. He looked out for his sister and always knew how to cheer her up and looked out for her like an older brother would do instead of little brother. He always stood up for her and it made me so happy and awed. Dylan was so funny he was always doing something ridiculous and they were all just great aspect of the story because they really lightened the mood and made me smile throughout the story. As for Blaze’s friends, Ugh Amanda. I kind of still strongly dislike her. If it wasn’t for her things wouldn’t have played out the way they did and she is a dislikeable character in my opinion. At least her other friend,Terri, was a good friend and tried to help her and was always there for her. Quentine was also a pretty epic character because she opened up and could let out her inner geek with him ;)
Towards the end my heart lightened up and I was supper proud of Blaze. She morphed into a strong, protagonist and really found herself in a sense. I think this is an awesome sorry. The fact that it involves friendship, relationships, family, and comics, is amazing and makes it one interesting story you won’t want to miss. So, be sure to catch Blaze and her hectic life in this coming of age story as she battles her way through her intertwining worlds – reality and comics.
August 27, 2014
Originally reviewed at http://www.shaelit.com/2014/08/mini-r...
Ah, Blaze. You tried so hard and still managed to make me so grumpy. For much of the story, I had fun. I liked Blaze’s attitude and her talent at drawing comics and her determination to count the most cows. I especially loved the nerdery that permeated every page. All the chatter about comics and superheroes made me so happy.
However, all that had changed by the end precisely because nothing changed . My main issue was that (in my opinion) the characters experienced zero growth. None. Nada. By the end of the book, Mark is still a jerk, Dad is still a jerk, Mom is still overworked and acting jerky, Blaze’s friends are still a jerk, Comic Book Guy is still a jerk, and Catherine Wiggins is still being bullied. Blaze has a changed perspective, but what good will it do her when literally everyone around her is still the same and the only person she’s bothered to call out is Mark and Dad? GIRL, YOUR FRIENDS ARE STILL MAJOR JERKS AND NOW YOU WANT TO DATE A SNOBBY NERD BOY. LOOK AT YOUR LIFE. LOOK AT YOUR CHOICES.
For real, I cannot possibly consider Comic Book Boy as a valid romantic alternative. He falls victim to the classic nerd boy blunders by testing Blaze’s nerd cred by asking her a bunch of super-specific comic book questions. Listen, jerkface, even if she couldn’t answer a single one of those questions, that doesn’t make her a poser fan. IF SHE LIKES THE THINGS, SHE’S A FAN, CAPISCE? And Blaze, by joining in Comic Book Boy’s haughty mockery of customers, you are contributing to the elitist drivel perpetuated by the very fanboys that so angered you. Also, talk about bad customer service.
I also had a big problem with how this book treated Cathy Wiggins, the school’s resident “slut.” After Blaze herself is unfairly maligned, she finds a sympathetic soul in Wiggins, who confides that she is—despite the rumors—a virgin. Blaze is rocked by the injustice of Wiggins’ situation, and… does absolutely nothing about it. Absolutely. Nothing. Blaze goes on to have a Hollywood-worthy confrontation with her father and reclaim her own self-worth, and that’s fab. But there’s zero indication that anything changes for Wiggins, who has been suffering under the same pariah status as Blaze since middle school. MIDDLE SCHOOL. Say “it gets better” all you want, Blaze, but I won’t believe you until you actively work to make it better for other people rather than just worrying about yourself. So much for girl power and self-respect.
I purposely chose to make this a mini-review to limit the ranting that I could do, so I’m stopping here. It’s a pity that such a fun-looking book ended up being so rage-inducing.
Ah, Blaze. You tried so hard and still managed to make me so grumpy. For much of the story, I had fun. I liked Blaze’s attitude and her talent at drawing comics and her determination to count the most cows. I especially loved the nerdery that permeated every page. All the chatter about comics and superheroes made me so happy.
However, all that had changed by the end precisely because nothing changed . My main issue was that (in my opinion) the characters experienced zero growth. None. Nada. By the end of the book, Mark is still a jerk, Dad is still a jerk, Mom is still overworked and acting jerky, Blaze’s friends are still a jerk, Comic Book Guy is still a jerk, and Catherine Wiggins is still being bullied. Blaze has a changed perspective, but what good will it do her when literally everyone around her is still the same and the only person she’s bothered to call out is Mark and Dad? GIRL, YOUR FRIENDS ARE STILL MAJOR JERKS AND NOW YOU WANT TO DATE A SNOBBY NERD BOY. LOOK AT YOUR LIFE. LOOK AT YOUR CHOICES.
For real, I cannot possibly consider Comic Book Boy as a valid romantic alternative. He falls victim to the classic nerd boy blunders by testing Blaze’s nerd cred by asking her a bunch of super-specific comic book questions. Listen, jerkface, even if she couldn’t answer a single one of those questions, that doesn’t make her a poser fan. IF SHE LIKES THE THINGS, SHE’S A FAN, CAPISCE? And Blaze, by joining in Comic Book Boy’s haughty mockery of customers, you are contributing to the elitist drivel perpetuated by the very fanboys that so angered you. Also, talk about bad customer service.
I also had a big problem with how this book treated Cathy Wiggins, the school’s resident “slut.” After Blaze herself is unfairly maligned, she finds a sympathetic soul in Wiggins, who confides that she is—despite the rumors—a virgin. Blaze is rocked by the injustice of Wiggins’ situation, and… does absolutely nothing about it. Absolutely. Nothing. Blaze goes on to have a Hollywood-worthy confrontation with her father and reclaim her own self-worth, and that’s fab. But there’s zero indication that anything changes for Wiggins, who has been suffering under the same pariah status as Blaze since middle school. MIDDLE SCHOOL. Say “it gets better” all you want, Blaze, but I won’t believe you until you actively work to make it better for other people rather than just worrying about yourself. So much for girl power and self-respect.
I purposely chose to make this a mini-review to limit the ranting that I could do, so I’m stopping here. It’s a pity that such a fun-looking book ended up being so rage-inducing.
January 15, 2013
Blaze is a super unique book, I have never really read anything quite like it. I gather that there might be a few books out there somewhat similar, but I haven't read any of them. I just really loved the fun aspect of this book. I loved that it was unique and something fresh in YA but there was a lot more to it than that. Laurie takes such a fun idea, and really takes off with it. And the writing is fantastic, I found myself really engrossed in the writing throughout the entire book.
The story is fairly simple, but it does have some surprising depth. A lot of that depth comes from the comic book element of this book. Where you have things being described by Blaze about characters in the book in Comic form. You will see several little character profiles throughout the book that ties into all of that. I feel like the rest of the depth will come in the final version of the book when all of the comic book images are included into the book. There aren't many, so don't think this is a graphic novel or something. I just noticed that there seems to be places for a handful of images to be placed in the book. (They aren't shown in the ARC version)
Blaze, the character is just as unique as the book itself. I loved her quirky personality and all of the little things that made up who she was. And then you have characters such as Amanda who is Blaze's BFF that really gets the meat of the story going with the whole picture thing as you can see above. I really didn't find myself connecting as much with the side characters though. I just found myself hoping for a little something more with them. And you can't leave out Mark. Him and Blaze really make this book, not only because they are the main focal points but because their story is so much fun to read. All of the drama and everything was a lot more exciting than it was anything else which was really nice because it really helped to add to the overall fun and quirkiness feel of the book overall.
I really enjoyed pretty much everything about this book as you can see. Even with the minor character issue, I feel like this book will really do well once it is released. Don't be turned away from this book if you aren't into Comics, etc. I really think that there is something here for everyone. You will see Comic Book elements, sure. But there is a really incredible story here that I think a lot of readers will enjoy. So if you find yourself even slightly intrigued by this book, I would highly suggest checking it out. You might be surprised just how much you might end up enjoying it.
Also, make sure to check out my guest post with Laurie. It features a really awesome sketch done by Anne Cain: http://www.justinsbookblog.com/2013/0...
The story is fairly simple, but it does have some surprising depth. A lot of that depth comes from the comic book element of this book. Where you have things being described by Blaze about characters in the book in Comic form. You will see several little character profiles throughout the book that ties into all of that. I feel like the rest of the depth will come in the final version of the book when all of the comic book images are included into the book. There aren't many, so don't think this is a graphic novel or something. I just noticed that there seems to be places for a handful of images to be placed in the book. (They aren't shown in the ARC version)
Blaze, the character is just as unique as the book itself. I loved her quirky personality and all of the little things that made up who she was. And then you have characters such as Amanda who is Blaze's BFF that really gets the meat of the story going with the whole picture thing as you can see above. I really didn't find myself connecting as much with the side characters though. I just found myself hoping for a little something more with them. And you can't leave out Mark. Him and Blaze really make this book, not only because they are the main focal points but because their story is so much fun to read. All of the drama and everything was a lot more exciting than it was anything else which was really nice because it really helped to add to the overall fun and quirkiness feel of the book overall.
I really enjoyed pretty much everything about this book as you can see. Even with the minor character issue, I feel like this book will really do well once it is released. Don't be turned away from this book if you aren't into Comics, etc. I really think that there is something here for everyone. You will see Comic Book elements, sure. But there is a really incredible story here that I think a lot of readers will enjoy. So if you find yourself even slightly intrigued by this book, I would highly suggest checking it out. You might be surprised just how much you might end up enjoying it.
Also, make sure to check out my guest post with Laurie. It features a really awesome sketch done by Anne Cain: http://www.justinsbookblog.com/2013/0...
March 26, 2013
I’m really in a reading slump, there are so many meh books out there (and they all seem to to be in my to read pile). I pick a book that I think I’ll like and I don’t, so I went for one I wasn’t sure about (Blaze) and hoped for the best. Did it work? Well I’m still in the slump, so make of that what you will.
Blaze is a bit of a loner, a normal kid thats stuck ferrying her adolescent brother and his friends around, she’s a comic geek and spends her life with her head in the clouds dreaming about her alter ego ‘Blaze Goddess’ (which btw is a crap superhero name). She’s in love with her brothers soccer coach (Mark) and after an incredibly predictable and rather insulting to the reader, encounter with him, she goes on a voyage of self discovery and all that crap.
I know it may seem like I’m about to rip Compton and Blaze a new one, but I’m not. If the book had arrived for me to read outside of my book slump, i’d of though it a bit silly, but sweet in a pre-teen way. So I’m going with that.
Blaze is nothing we haven’t seen before, the superhero obsession is a result of her father leaving when she was young and her trying to reconnect with him (and failing), it gets rather annoying, every other sentence is related to superheros and its just a bit much. Her brother is sweet, and caring, and the relationship between the two is a saving grace for the book. The other winning aspect is that I’ve found out I’m not the only person in the world to play ‘cows’ (although I call it the farm animal game!) and have added the graveyard twist to my rules (but haven’t told my son yet - I’ll spring it on him when I’m next losing). Like I said, the book is predictable, and the whole Mark thing is an insult to the reader, at least provide us with something original to get mad about. What happens after mark is, whilst still predictable, a fun read, Blaze’s relationship with ‘comic book guy’ is sweet, but the whole post-mark scandal is a little far fetched. The final gripe I have is the trucker network, I have no idea if something like that really exists but what trucker is HONESTLY going to knock on the window of care where they know a teen girl is asleep (and alone), and if they do, then what sort of example is the book setting when Blaze just trots off to breakfast with them? Compton needs to remember her audience, and running off with truckers (male or female) or any individual you don’t know IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.
Over all an easy, light read, once again its nothing special, it hasn’t got me out of my slump and in all honesty I’m glad I didn’t pay for it. I expected more, it failed to deliver.
ARC/Egally kindly provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.
February 3, 2013
The girl has pink hair! That is all I really needed to see on the cover to make me want to read this book. Add in a hint of comic books (via the font and title) and an awesome cover concept- I was hooked! Blaze is an invisible girl. She isn't in the popular crowd but isn't a social pariah either. She is stuck in the middle, invisible to everyone. That all changes when Mark (the "it" boy) notices her.
Let's get the "what I didn't like" out of the way. Honestly there wasn't much I didn't like in the book. What I didn't like have little to do with writing, tone, voice, dialogue,but everything to do with the decisions that the characters make. Blaze made some really stupid decisions in this book. Her friends... well...they are terrible friends and Blaze really needs to find new ones. If any of my friends treated me the way hers did- well we wouldn't be friends for long. Mark- don't even get me started. Blaze's family. Man, there are a TON of messed up people in this book. I am pretty sure that the only person in this book that doesn't have problems is the comic book store employee. Yup, he is probably the only one.
There is a ton of profanity in this book. There is one sex scene and a ton of sexual innuendos and sex jokes. The bullying in this book is severe. Blaze is ridiculed, her property is vandaled, and she is told to "go kill herself." For those reasons, I would recommend this book to older teens rather than the tween set.
I loved all the comic book references in this book. I really wish the book could have been illustrated- I wanted to get my hands on that comic book Blaze made. The dialogue in this book was clever and entertaining. I found myself laughing at the soccer teams antics and reading slowly so I would catch every joke and detail. The entire concept of the book was engaging and so relevant. Bullying really has become as much of an online problem as in the schools. Sexting is rampant and people really do take their problems online to deal with them.
All in all this was an excellent contemporary about mistakes and bullying. The comic book references and dialogue were clever and the characters were memorable. I highly recommend this book.
Let's get the "what I didn't like" out of the way. Honestly there wasn't much I didn't like in the book. What I didn't like have little to do with writing, tone, voice, dialogue,but everything to do with the decisions that the characters make. Blaze made some really stupid decisions in this book. Her friends... well...they are terrible friends and Blaze really needs to find new ones. If any of my friends treated me the way hers did- well we wouldn't be friends for long. Mark- don't even get me started. Blaze's family. Man, there are a TON of messed up people in this book. I am pretty sure that the only person in this book that doesn't have problems is the comic book store employee. Yup, he is probably the only one.
There is a ton of profanity in this book. There is one sex scene and a ton of sexual innuendos and sex jokes. The bullying in this book is severe. Blaze is ridiculed, her property is vandaled, and she is told to "go kill herself." For those reasons, I would recommend this book to older teens rather than the tween set.
I loved all the comic book references in this book. I really wish the book could have been illustrated- I wanted to get my hands on that comic book Blaze made. The dialogue in this book was clever and entertaining. I found myself laughing at the soccer teams antics and reading slowly so I would catch every joke and detail. The entire concept of the book was engaging and so relevant. Bullying really has become as much of an online problem as in the schools. Sexting is rampant and people really do take their problems online to deal with them.
All in all this was an excellent contemporary about mistakes and bullying. The comic book references and dialogue were clever and the characters were memorable. I highly recommend this book.
March 17, 2013
Everything about this book was amazing. I loved it so much. This was my first non contemporary book, and I'm so happy I bought it! The reason I actually got it was because of the cover! It is so cool !!
So this book is about a girl named Blaze who likes drawing comics and reading them too! Meanwhile she has always had the hots for her younger brothers soccer coach mark, who asks her on a date(sorta). After her friend sending mark a photo of blaze in a see through bra half naked photo, blaze and mark go out again, and she basically has sex with him. After she realises what a man whore he is and just used her for sex, so she makes a comic of him and her kicking his ass in it and publishes it. Mark then sends the half naked photo of her and it goes viral. She is called the schools slut, whore, skank etc. trying to cope with even going out in public she has her own problems and realises after everything she won't let people get to her etc.
Is book made me laugh so hard and I laughed a lot !! My favourite character in this book is DEFFINATLEY josh(Blazes younger brother). He is so amazing and cares for blaze so much it is adorable. I loved reading about him because he was always there for her and defended and helped her through everything even though they were like 4 years apart. Josh and his 4 friends and blaze had such a good friendship , the love they had for all of them was adorable and they cared so much about eachother. They all looked out for blaze, and she looked out for them. And together the were hilarious to read about!!
I really liked Blaze as a character also, the way she deals with everything that happens in this book was funny/relatable.
This book is for sure in my favourites and will read this again. I liked how after every chapter you saw a comic she sketched and thought that was really cool! I think everyone should buy this book because I really had no negatives at all, just by reading this book I will buy other books from this author!
Amazing amazing amazing!!!!!! <3
So this book is about a girl named Blaze who likes drawing comics and reading them too! Meanwhile she has always had the hots for her younger brothers soccer coach mark, who asks her on a date(sorta). After her friend sending mark a photo of blaze in a see through bra half naked photo, blaze and mark go out again, and she basically has sex with him. After she realises what a man whore he is and just used her for sex, so she makes a comic of him and her kicking his ass in it and publishes it. Mark then sends the half naked photo of her and it goes viral. She is called the schools slut, whore, skank etc. trying to cope with even going out in public she has her own problems and realises after everything she won't let people get to her etc.
Is book made me laugh so hard and I laughed a lot !! My favourite character in this book is DEFFINATLEY josh(Blazes younger brother). He is so amazing and cares for blaze so much it is adorable. I loved reading about him because he was always there for her and defended and helped her through everything even though they were like 4 years apart. Josh and his 4 friends and blaze had such a good friendship , the love they had for all of them was adorable and they cared so much about eachother. They all looked out for blaze, and she looked out for them. And together the were hilarious to read about!!
I really liked Blaze as a character also, the way she deals with everything that happens in this book was funny/relatable.
This book is for sure in my favourites and will read this again. I liked how after every chapter you saw a comic she sketched and thought that was really cool! I think everyone should buy this book because I really had no negatives at all, just by reading this book I will buy other books from this author!
Amazing amazing amazing!!!!!! <3
July 16, 2017
RATING: 2.5-ish.
WARNING: some (minor) SPOILERS.
This book is NOT bad. That's the first thing I want to say. It's just so... underdeveloped that I was disappointed and couldn't really connect with the characters. The premise, however, was interesting.
Basically I had a problem with the length of the book (less than 200 pages) because it didn't allow for the story to be properly developed. There was so much the author could have done with the characters, so much depth she could have added to their... character. She could have explored Mark's past better; she could have explored Blaze's feelings about her parent's divorce better; she could have explored Blaze's and Quentin's relationship (she could actually have included it in the book). Blaze herself deserved more development. The entire issue(s) raised by this book deserved more development, to be better and more deeply explored (I'm not saying the book had to be bleak... but some serious moments among the predominantly humorous moments would have made this book so much more interesting) and more "closure" than they got.
As it was, I couldn't really connect with the characters. I felt like only Blaze and Josh (her younger brother) were really more then cardboard cutouts (which I felt the rest of the characters were; just there to fill the book with... characters), but even them lacked development.
I don't know. This could have been a really good book about double standards based on gender in our society, the dangers of social media, etc. But... it needed more development and a bit more depth. As it was, I thought it was a quick, fluffy read and Blaze's love of comics was awesome, but that's all this book was... and it could have been so much more.
Overall... a quick, fluffy read that could have been so much more.
WARNING: some (minor) SPOILERS.
This book is NOT bad. That's the first thing I want to say. It's just so... underdeveloped that I was disappointed and couldn't really connect with the characters. The premise, however, was interesting.
Basically I had a problem with the length of the book (less than 200 pages) because it didn't allow for the story to be properly developed. There was so much the author could have done with the characters, so much depth she could have added to their... character. She could have explored Mark's past better; she could have explored Blaze's feelings about her parent's divorce better; she could have explored Blaze's and Quentin's relationship (she could actually have included it in the book). Blaze herself deserved more development. The entire issue(s) raised by this book deserved more development, to be better and more deeply explored (I'm not saying the book had to be bleak... but some serious moments among the predominantly humorous moments would have made this book so much more interesting) and more "closure" than they got.
As it was, I couldn't really connect with the characters. I felt like only Blaze and Josh (her younger brother) were really more then cardboard cutouts (which I felt the rest of the characters were; just there to fill the book with... characters), but even them lacked development.
I don't know. This could have been a really good book about double standards based on gender in our society, the dangers of social media, etc. But... it needed more development and a bit more depth. As it was, I thought it was a quick, fluffy read and Blaze's love of comics was awesome, but that's all this book was... and it could have been so much more.
Overall... a quick, fluffy read that could have been so much more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2013
Blaze, a comic book aficionado, lives life just like a soccer mom, except she’s not a mom and she’s still in high school. She drives her little brother and his teammates around for their soccer games. Mark is their coach and her schoolmate. She’s been eying him for a while, but now she wants him to notice her.
She gets noticed alright. While trying on lingerie at a store, one of her friends takes a picture of her and sends it to Mark without Blaze’s permission. Blaze is horrified at first, but she lands a date with Mark. She doesn’t listen to her brother’s warnings, Mark uses her, she hurts him back by mocking him in a comic she distributes, and then he retaliates in the biggest way by posting the sexy picture of her online. The bullying she suffers is painful and relentless. Blaze needs to channel her inner comic book hero to fight what ails her.
The beginning didn’t grab me right away and didn’t seem to have any immediate conflict—Blaze desired Mark, and that’s all I really saw in the first few chapters. Also, I didn’t care for the comic book references at first. I’m glad I stuck with the book, because the author was setting up awesome characters and scenes. I came to appreciate the comic book heroes mentioned, and the things Blaze went through after her falling out with Mark…wow. The last half of the book was so good that I couldn’t put it down. I received the galley from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.
She gets noticed alright. While trying on lingerie at a store, one of her friends takes a picture of her and sends it to Mark without Blaze’s permission. Blaze is horrified at first, but she lands a date with Mark. She doesn’t listen to her brother’s warnings, Mark uses her, she hurts him back by mocking him in a comic she distributes, and then he retaliates in the biggest way by posting the sexy picture of her online. The bullying she suffers is painful and relentless. Blaze needs to channel her inner comic book hero to fight what ails her.
The beginning didn’t grab me right away and didn’t seem to have any immediate conflict—Blaze desired Mark, and that’s all I really saw in the first few chapters. Also, I didn’t care for the comic book references at first. I’m glad I stuck with the book, because the author was setting up awesome characters and scenes. I came to appreciate the comic book heroes mentioned, and the things Blaze went through after her falling out with Mark…wow. The last half of the book was so good that I couldn’t put it down. I received the galley from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.
February 12, 2013
BLAZE has its feminist heart in the right place: seventeen-year-old narrator Blaze, a comic book aficionado, plots revenge on a love 'em and leave 'em boy who slept with her one time by creating "The Blazing Goddess vs. Mark the Shark" and distributing it via the Internet. Alas, Mark isn't willing to accept his comeuppance, and proceeds to make Blaze anathema by posting a photo of half-naked Blaze in turn.
Blaze makes about a zillion bad decisions (such as ignoring the warnings of her younger brother about Mark and his womanizing; allowing Mark to have sex with her, without her really ever consenting; allowing Mark to have sex with her without using ANY birth control; publishing her revenge comic when she knows Mark the incriminating photo, etc. etc.). An accomplished writer might have been able to make readers feel sympathy for such a misguided character, despite the poor choices she makes (or perhaps even because of them). But new author Crompton isn't quite skilled enough to convince us that Blaze isn't simply TSTL (in romance novel parlance, too stupid to live).
ARC courtesy of Netgalley
Blaze makes about a zillion bad decisions (such as ignoring the warnings of her younger brother about Mark and his womanizing; allowing Mark to have sex with her, without her really ever consenting; allowing Mark to have sex with her without using ANY birth control; publishing her revenge comic when she knows Mark the incriminating photo, etc. etc.). An accomplished writer might have been able to make readers feel sympathy for such a misguided character, despite the poor choices she makes (or perhaps even because of them). But new author Crompton isn't quite skilled enough to convince us that Blaze isn't simply TSTL (in romance novel parlance, too stupid to live).
ARC courtesy of Netgalley
March 4, 2014
The book Blaze by Laurie Boyle Crompton is about mainly a young junior age girl who is described as a geeky, nerdy girl. The conflict starts when Blaze gives a ride to Josh's, Blaze's younger brother, soccor coach a ride home. Since the day she gives her brother's coach, Mark, a ride everything changes. Mark is a guy known as having really great looks and being with a nerdy geeky girl that's really into comics doesn't go quite well. After a few times Blaze brother warns her about Mark and a couple of times Mark and her go out something really bad happens that really is a hard situation for her in school. There was a day when Blaze and her two friends, Amanda and Terri went to the mall and tried on underwear. As they played around Amanda decided to take a picture of Blaze with a bra she tried on. That day, Blaze was desperatly waiting for a message from Mark. Amanda took her phone and sent Mark the picture of her to Mark. Since then everything change from her relationship with Mark and especially her relationship with everyone from school.
This book
This book
April 9, 2013
I received a copy of Blaze courtesy of the publisher in exchange for a review.
BAM! I LOVED Blaze! I'm not one for comics, aside from the Marvel and DC comic cartoons, but damn! Blaze was fun and sassy and unique! POW! I read this book in one sitting, and was laughing several times throughout. The idea of a chick doing comic books based on her experience with a boy, Mark the Shark, was genius! What better way to get back at a man whore? Had one of my friends done something to shame me the way Amanda had done to Blaze, I probably would've shanked the bitch, but I guess it all worked out in the end. Blaze was a true super hero, and some of the girls could learn a thing or two from her. I will definitely look forward to more from Laurie Boyle Crompton!
BAM! I LOVED Blaze! I'm not one for comics, aside from the Marvel and DC comic cartoons, but damn! Blaze was fun and sassy and unique! POW! I read this book in one sitting, and was laughing several times throughout. The idea of a chick doing comic books based on her experience with a boy, Mark the Shark, was genius! What better way to get back at a man whore? Had one of my friends done something to shame me the way Amanda had done to Blaze, I probably would've shanked the bitch, but I guess it all worked out in the end. Blaze was a true super hero, and some of the girls could learn a thing or two from her. I will definitely look forward to more from Laurie Boyle Crompton!
May 31, 2014
As a teenage fangirl I could really relate to Blaze, and although I'm not in the comics fandom I found their debates and comic references really cool and entertaining.
The way she is being treated after her mistakes and the way she feels about giving up and that everything is lost is also really good, thankfully I've never been (and hopefully never will be) involved in that kind of sex drama but I've suffered from bullying and the way the story develops and ends was really encouraging. Everything the characters say about don't pay attention to others opinions was nice, I felt touched. The Phoenix reference was also nice. as I said before, it was super encouraging.
I recommend this book to any girl who is going through a rough time.
The way she is being treated after her mistakes and the way she feels about giving up and that everything is lost is also really good, thankfully I've never been (and hopefully never will be) involved in that kind of sex drama but I've suffered from bullying and the way the story develops and ends was really encouraging. Everything the characters say about don't pay attention to others opinions was nice, I felt touched. The Phoenix reference was also nice. as I said before, it was super encouraging.
I recommend this book to any girl who is going through a rough time.
March 27, 2015
Currently, I am reading a classic play and science book for school and I thought I needed something light to balance everything out. This book is just what I needed right now. It features a relatable geeky main character going through the troubles of adolescence like relationships and family. Overall, this book doesn't have an outstanding story line and the characters can be quite stupid sometimes with their actions. However, the novel is very addicting and has its funny moments. I recommend this book to people who enjoy geeky elements like Marvel vs. DC and for anyone who wants light contemporary read.
November 25, 2014
The amount of slut shaming in this book is sickening. I did enjoy some parts, but over I was way to bother by the glossy over of issues.
No. This couldn't be a cute, sweet nerdy girl loving comics instead of this gross ass story.
No. This couldn't be a cute, sweet nerdy girl loving comics instead of this gross ass story.
April 6, 2022
1.5 stars tbh. horrible experience n the only reason i finished it was bc i was annotating it for a friend. i wanna say internalized misogyny but i honestly do not know at this point. 1 star for quentin and the half for the effort.
May 19, 2012
I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek of this book and readers should be sure to add it to their to-read shelf. Lots of laugh out loud moments, but also great honest emotion.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 253 reviews