YA Writers and Readers discussion

Name some books that you've read and absolutely didn't like. Or something everybody thinks is the best book ever, but in your opinion it could've been way better

I'll start I know a lot of people love the Hunger Games, but I'm not gonna lie it was not my cup if tea. I just felt that there was to much 'let's prepare for the games!' same for the movie. I did like Catching Fire, but I couldn't even finIsh Mockingjay it's on my shelf my friend read it, but I really don't know I'd I'll pick it up again I skimmed through it anyways and know what happens.

The Hunger Games was great and so was Catching Fire, but Mockingjay was just plain disappointing. It could've been way better.

Mine would have to be Confessions of an Angry Girl. Everyone says it's so good, and I disagree I had lots of problems with this book.

Ohh, I had a few books I really didn't enjoy and the entire world just adores. Like .
I'm sorry, but for me the book was horrible. Pagan (who the heck calls their main character Pagan!?) was annoying, selfish and weak. She used Leif (again, what with the names?!) and I could not feel any development in the romance. It just came out of nowhere, that crazy, obsessive, I-can't-live-without-you kind of love, and she doesn't even know a single thing about Dank (I'm getting tired of pointing out the name choices are ridiculous...). Then the whole everyone saying she is special, and strong and all that... Have the characters in this book read the same story I have? Because none of it was true!!!
And the worst thing? The whole world LOVEs this book. ~Depressed~.

Nitzan wrote: "Ohh, I had a few books I really didn't enjoy and the entire world just adores. Like .
I'm sorry, but for me the book was horrible. Pagan (who the heck calls their mai..."

Oh no I was so looking forward to it and judging on what you said about insta-love it won't be so great. I'll just read books that i need to and then if I have time I'll read this one.

Wow when I first saw that cover I thought it might be Obsidian (Maybe with a new cover) which I've had on my TBR list.

But I see now it isn't.

The book I always hated the most was something I read in high school called Johnathon Livingston Seagull. I thought it was awful, and pointless! I know a lot of people like the Immortals series by Alyson Noel but I couldn't finish the first one. Just could not get into it when others seem to love it.

I agree with the Mockingjay disappointment. I loved Catching Fire and anticipated so much more, a grand finale or something, and it was so glum and Katniss seemed asleep or something through most of it. I tried to read Jellico Road and expected to like it because so many people raved about it, but I could not into it.

I tried reading Catching Jordan and HATED it. It was really disappointing.

Sunny wrote: "I tried reading Catching Jordan and HATED it. It was really disappointing."

Aw that's to bad I haven't read the book yet but I might soon.

Chime I just didn't like it. I even made my dad get it from Maine in a bookstore because I thought it would be amazing…it wasn't.

Breaking Dawn. DEFINITELY could have been better. Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey was awful in my opinion, as was Vanish by Sophie Jordan, Nightshade, Wolfsbane, and Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr was just awful. Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien. I didn't like Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin, or Underworld by Meg Cabot, though MANY people liked both. I loved Abandon by Meg Cabot though. Please remember that these are my opinions of the books. For every one-star or two-star book I've read, there are more three-star or four-star books for me! But not many five-star ones lol :D

I agree with Chime by Franny Billingsley. I didn't like it at all.

Alyssa wrote: "Breaking Dawn. DEFINITELY could have been better. Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey was awful in my opinion, as was Vanish by Sophie Jordan, Nightshade, Wolfsbane, and Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer. Wic..."

I totally agree with you i loved Firelight by Sophie Jordan, but I just could my get into vanish. I love Nightshade by Andrea cremer but I've heard from lots of people that the rest of the trilogy isn't so good. Same with birth marked I felt a lot of it was just planning and waiting there should've been way more action involved

Nitzan wrote: "Ohh, I had a few books I really didn't enjoy and the entire world just adores. Like .
I'm sorry, but for me the book was horrible. Pagan (who the heck calls their mai..."

I sooo agree.This book was just horrible. I ended up skipping half the book. I have no idea why people like it.

Fallen by Lauren Kate. infuriating protagonist. And the fifth Sisterhood of the traveling pants book.

Maddie wrote: "Fallen by Lauren Kate. infuriating protagonist. And the fifth Sisterhood of the traveling pants book."

I've heard a lot of negative things about Fallen, so I don't think I'm going to bother reading it. I have enough books already.

Morgan wrote: "Maddie wrote: "Fallen by Lauren Kate. infuriating protagonist. And the fifth Sisterhood of the traveling pants book."

I've heard a lot of negative things about Fallen, so I don't think I'm going t..."

I had been planning on readying Fallen... I think now maybe I'll skip it too.

Fallen Crest High! A book full of chauvinistic and empty faced characters, No respect for women and just awful linguistically. Series dropped after page 60, which is a shame, I usually don't stop reading a book even if it's not my cupa tea, but I just couldn't with it one, it just infuriated me!

Courtney wrote: "I agree with the Mockingjay disappointment. I loved Catching Fire and anticipated so much more, a grand finale or something, and it was so glum and Katniss seemed asleep or something through most o..."

I felt the same way about Mockingjay, I was so annoyed with Katniss by the end of it it may have spoiled the whole series for me. I was with her in the first one, drifting away in the second and she sealed it in the last one. I loved The Hunger Games but did not like Mockingjay

Totally agree with you... Although I didn't like the first one much either.

Nitzan wrote: "Ohh, I had a few books I really didn't enjoy and the entire world just adores. Like .
I'm sorry, but for me the book was horrible. Pagan (who the heck calls their mai..."

I totally agree with you here. Usually, I try to ignore little things in the works of indie writers and try to move past technical things to be able to enjoy the story but sometimes in cases like these, the details have really prevented me to appreciate the book.

Yes, one of the reasons would be the names Glines chose for her characters, I cannot connect with names such as Dank, Pagan and Leif. I'm all for unique and creative, but in this case, the unusual names simply distract us too much from the story.

The development towards the end was quite not as clear-cut or as defining as I would have liked it to be and after reading the first book, I was not tempted to pick up the succeeding books.

Alejandra wrote: "The Hunger Games was great and so was Catching Fire, but Mockingjay was just plain disappointing. It could've been way better."

I felt the third book was very muted. I think it was an intentional style choice, but it didn't click with me the way I wanted it to.

I really didn't like Carrier of the Mark or Starcrossed.

I really did not like I think it was called the daughter of smoke& bone and the second the days of blood&starlight. I also didn't like the matched, crossed, & reached, they were all boring and long.

I'm disappointed with Mockingjay.

Leslie wrote: "I'm disappointed with Mockingjay."

Sounds like a lot of people felt the same way. What did you think about Catching Fire?

Kathy wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I'm disappointed with Mockingjay."

Sounds like a lot of people felt the same way. What did you think about Catching Fire?"

Among the three, I like Catching Fire the most :)

I hated taking chances. Its the one book i've read this year that i've hated so much i couldn't even finish it.

Leslie wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I'm disappointed with Mockingjay."

Sounds like a lot of people felt the same way. What did you think about Catching Fire?"

Among the three, I like Catching Fire the m..."

Me too!

Huh. The cover is sadly so attractive for those books. Was the first one (matched) just as bad?

I think the worst YA read for me would have to be the Immortal series by Gillian Shields, it tried to be very captivating but failed miserably.

I had a real problem with Divergent. I felt like there wasn't any world-building or explanations for the factions and the training the initiates had to do. Also the characters weren't developed at all and I absolutely HATED Tris because she was very arrogant and thought she was all that. And as for Four, he could have been a block of wood bc they would have the same personality

Evermore ageny too try reading it too the end!!

Stephanie wrote: "I hated taking chances. Its the one book i've read this year that i've hated so much i couldn't even finish it."

I've read bad reviews about that book, so I'm not going to take chances reading it :)

I read Evermore when I was a little younger, it wasn't too bad. Although I recently tried to reread it, but it wasn't that good and I couldn't get through it entirely.

Carrier of the Mark was really bad in my opinion. I couldn't even finish it!

Uglies by Scott Westerfield. UGH!

I will back this up with the review from my blog:

Book Title: Uglies
Author: Scott Westerfield
Number of Pages: 425
Genre: Dystopian
Books like it: Pretties, Specials, Extras
My favorite quote:
“What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”
Brief Synopsis from Goodreads:
Tally Youngblood is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait for the operation that turns everyone from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to party. But new friend Shay would rather hoverboard to "the Smoke" and be free. Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The "Special Circumstances" authority Dr Cable offers Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.


My Summary:
Well, to all of the Uglies fans out there, I am sorry for this awful review, but I just did not connect with it, and in the next few paragraphs I will tell you why. This was such an awesome idea and it could've been awesome if the author had not totally ruined it.

This book is about a girl named Tally who lives in Uglyville. Her dream, {like ours nowdays is to be rescued by a dashing knight in shining armor} is to be pretty, like all those in Prettyville. In her dystopian world, their society has brainwashed everyone into thinking they are plain old ugly. So when everyone turns 16, they get this surgery that makes them breathtakingly beautiful, "Pretties," who then get to live in Prettyville, a village full of parties and fun and laughter, a dream come true to all the Uglies.

As Tally is reaching her sixteenth birthday, and excited to finally be a Pretty, she meets a new girl named Shay. Shay does not want to be Pretty, and insists that Tally is beautiful, and that the society {aka the Specials} has brainwashed her into thinking she is ugly. She teaches Tally that breaking the rules is fun, and also how to ride a hoverboard. Tally loves her new friend and is thrilled to know that Shay has the same birthday as her so they can turn Pretty on the same day.

However, Shay has different ideas. She tells Tally about the Smoke, a place where people can escape the operation and live by their own standards and rules. She tells Tally that she is running away to the Smoke and wants Tally to come with her. However, Tally can not bear the thought of being ugly forever, so she refuses. When Shay goes missing, the Specials confront her and tell her that if she does not agree to find Shay and betray her, they will never make her Pretty. Tally has a choice to make: Betray her best friend or stay ugly forever.

I know, this book sounds amazing, right? I wish it were so. And those of you who liked Uglies, hurrah for you, and I am glad that it worked for you, but I am a book reviewer, and not every book out there is perfect. Uglies had many , many problems.

First off, my biggest problem with it was the romance. In the middle of the book, these two characters meet and about twenty pages later they are kissing! I was like, dude! WHOA! How about taking it slow? I usually am okay with romance but this one was terrible! I did not even feel like they were in love. The boy told the girl the aforementioned quote, and it was really weird. I felt like we were thrust into this romance that there was no buildup to, and the boy drove me crazy! There was absolutely no development of his character, he was just like a whisper in the wind, so bland and monotone. I didn't understand him at all.

And Tally, the main character. She had a multiple personality disorder. I felt like she was changing people over and over and OVER! Do I want to be pretty, do I want to be ugly, do I want to do this blah blah blah blah. I think she was not that well developed either. Shay was the only character that I liked, or had any personality.

I really had to push through the first hundred or so pages of this book. It was like going to a play and watching the start where they have to explain everything, and it was SO BORING! There was no action in those first hundred pages, either. There were just so many things wrong with this book and I really did not like it. Sorry to all the Ugly fans and sorry to all readers.

This blog is for telling the truth. I praise the good books and tear down the bad ones.
Maybe this book will work for you.
I hope it does.

Review: 2 stars {Although there was no foul language in this book.}

Totally agree with you Smiles about Uglies! Had to put it down halfway.

Recently the worst book I've read is Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis. It was free on Kindle which probably should have been a warning sign but the premise seemed so promising and the average rating her was 4.14!!! But no it was awful,12 year old fanfiction writing level, horrible. But now for a list of other books/series I've either read and been disappointed by or am currently struggling to finish.
1.)Secret's of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita/Gossip Girl/Really any "teen trash" books.I refuse to read another book that deals with fame.
2.) Gucci Girls by Jasmine Oliver-Most of you probably haven't even heard of this so let's keep it that way :)and BTW why is it that a decent book can't be written about the fashion industry the way music or dance is in YA?
3.)House of Night-People actually like this enough to spawn 12 books and a series of graphic novels and novellas -____________-
4.)Strange Angels-This is probably the biggest disappointment I've ever had to face.
5.)Gone series -Just read Kat Kennedy's review and you'll understand my dilemma with a series I otherwise would've torn through
6.)Ruby Red-I barely remember this book besides that I thought it was boring
7.)Heist Society-I don't remember a word from this book.Not a good sign.
8.)The Drake Vampire Chronicles by Alyxandra Harvey-One of the only vampire series I've disliked
9.)The Maze Runner-This is so boring,I find myself making excuses to be put at the bottom of my to be read pile
10.)Immortal City-so far the only angel book I've disliked :/
11.)The following books are books I thought i'd like but ended up not. Crewel,Velveteen,Lost Voices,Tithe,Bumped.

Therealbadkitty wrote: "Recently the worst book I've read is Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis. It was free on Kindle which probably should have been a warning sign but the premise seemed so promising and the average rati..."

Wow that's a lot. I do agree with you though on the House of Night series. I got the first 8 books for a dollar each but after the first three books I couldn't continue.

Morgan wrote: "Therealbadkitty wrote: "Recently the worst book I've read is Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis. It was free on Kindle which probably should have been a warning sign but the premise seemed so promisi..."

It really puzzles me that it's become so popular.

Yeah I mean Zoe just can't choose one guy, and I felt the problem just kept going on and they were getting no where at all. And then there's people who desperately wait for the next one to come out, I just don't understand either.

Morgan wrote: "Yeah I mean Zoe just can't choose one guy, and I felt the problem just kept going on and they were getting no where at all. And then there's people who desperately wait for the next one to come out..."

The series could have ended much sooner than 12 books,I can't believe P.C Cast thinks she can't even fit Zoey's story in that many!!!! I also find the over the top portrayals of certain groups to be offensive and the painfully forced dialogue trying to sound like teenagers is incredibly annoying.

I also agree with you on Ruby Red, I couldn't find myself wanting to pick up the book and actually read it. And the chapters were huge and just absolutely dreadful. And I just hated how they wanted to keep the whole time travel thing a secret. And besides that I honestly don't remember most of the plot or any of the characters names.

Morgan wrote: "I also agree with you on Ruby Red, I couldn't find myself wanting to pick up the book and actually read it. And the chapters were huge and just absolutely dreadful. And I just hated how they wanted..."

Me neither, I read it last summer but only because my cousin bought it for me on a whim. I remember finding the secret world of time travelers to be poorly explained and I never understood the characters motives. I also can barely remember the plot and anything else really.

It doesn't get any better in Sapphire Blue either ladies. Just trust me, not worth moving forward.

Kathy wrote: "It doesn't get any better in Sapphire Blue either ladies. Just trust me, not worth moving forward."

Thank you :) One series I know now not to continue on with. I've pretty much stopped with the House of Night also(with Tempted).

Therealbadkitty wrote: "Kathy wrote: "It doesn't get any better in Sapphire Blue either ladies. Just trust me, not worth moving forward."

Thank you :) One series I know now not to continue on with. I've pretty much stop..."

I'm too far in to give up on The House of Night now lol. I think 10 books in I HAVE to finish. I really loved these at first but I feel like we don't get anywhere in the story anymore.

Kathy wrote: "Therealbadkitty wrote: "Kathy wrote: "It doesn't get any better in Sapphire Blue either ladies. Just trust me, not worth moving forward."

Thank you :) One series I know now not to continue on wit..."

I might read Dragon's Oath but if it's no better than HON, I think i'm done with the series.

Kayla wrote: "I know a lot of people love this book, but I didn't really care for Looking for Alaska by John Green. I thought it was very slow paced and boring."

I agree with you too.I just read this book for school,I have no idea what this book was supposed to be about. I don't feel like there was enough character development for me to care about the awful thing that happened later in the novel.