Young Adult Fiction for Adults discussion

Have you ever greatly anticipated getting your hands on a new book only to be less than thrilled when you actually read it? I'm sure we all have. Here's the place to discuss any experiences we've had of getting our extremely high hopes dashed by a book that everyone else seems to be crazy about.

I was inspired to start this topic by my latest read: Beautiful Creatures. Before it came out, this thing got positively glowing reviews on Amazon. I barely ever see such high praise. I think it was the #5 Amazon Best Book of the Year. Well, I got the book as soon as it came out and found it extremely slow. The book might be more appropriate for a high school-aged reader, because I was bored out of my mind by the parts of the story involving the petty high school drama. Plus, the narrator was a bit of a wet blanket and the love story just didn't do it for me. I give it props for good writing and an interesting concept, but it could have been so much better.

So, has anyone else recently been let down by a promising book? Here's a place to vent and to warn others!

that's funny because when I saw the title of this thread the first thing I thought of was Beautiful Creatures. I was so excited about that book and went out and bought it the day it was released. I had to force myself to finish it. I also felt that way about Iron King and Deadly Little Secret.

Laura - I am 100% on board with you about Beautiful Creatures, what a let down. Other let downs for me include City of Bones and Thirteen Reasons Why.

Now I liked 13 Reasons Why myself. Certainly not a light read or one that just barrelled along. I had to start and stop a few times in order to absorb what had been written.

But in the end, it made me remember things from my time in that age group and how harmful words especially can be. When I was that age or a little younger I considered killing myself more than once, but thankfully lacked the means. I would not call it life changing, but it certainly was a "made you think" to me.

I just could not stand the girl that killed herself. I know that sounds harsh, but it is the truth. I felt no sympathy for her.

Jaimie--Unfortunately, the most recent book I bought was The Iron King! I was very excited about it from a few comments I read in another group, and after reading the first few chapters, I strongly dislike it. The main character was getting on my nerves. I'm just bummed out that I bought it instead of getting it from the library. What was it about it that you didn't like?

Heidi--Have you tried reading the other two books in the Mortal Instruments trilogy? I definitely wasn't a huge fan of City of Bones, either, but I continued with the series out of curiosity about what would happen next. (I have the unfortunate tendency to do that, which means I end up reading some very mediocre books sometimes, lol.) City of Ashes was about on par with the first book, but City of Glass was surprisingly good. The setting and the story were pretty darn cool. I'm glad that I stuck with this series.

Yeah I bought it too after all the glowing reviews. I guess it wasn't so much I disliked it but after the hype I was just ... disappointed. It took forever to get into and now looking back I can't say that I ever really got there. The main character just didn't do it for me. I have had a hard time figuring out what about her bothers me, maybe I just didn't think the author sold her, if that makes sense. I like characters that you get to know and when things happen in the story you know how they are going to react because of the person they are. I guess I felt I never really got her.

Which book are you talking about Jaimie? City of Bones or Thirteen Reasons Why?

no, Iron King.

Ohhh Iron King. I am really glad I skipped that one now!

I have to agree with Heidi that City of Bones was very disappointing. I actually read the whole series but I couldn't really get into it. I was put off by that twist (if you guys have read the series, you know what I mean) and I felt bad because the series was highly recommended and I was happy enough with the worldbuilding.

For me, other books in this category are Wicked Lovely, Tithe and Valiant (I haven't read Ironside because I was disappointed in the first two). I don't know, maybe the books just weren't for me.

Heidi

I didn't have a lot of sympathy for the suicidal girl, but it's a shame all the same that someone so young had to knock herself off. What I mean is, it's unfortunate that someone, anyone could not have noticed her distress and misery and gotten her some help.

But, hey, differences of opinion are what make GR interesting.

I couldn't stand Uglies. Anyone else?

I hated City of Bones.

I'm so sad. I just bought City of Bones and everyone hates it!!!

I didn't mind City of Bones... it was a little slow, but enjoyable.

I was disappointed by Wake.

Hey Miss - you aren't the only one that liked Thirteen Reasons Why, I think I am in the minority (again!) :)

While it wasn't a bad book, I was also disappointed with .

Heidi wrote: "Hey Miss - you aren't the only one that liked Thirteen Reasons Why, I think I am in the minority (again!) :)"

Heidi, I liked Thirteen Reasons Why as well.

Tara, I didn't like City of Bones, but I know some people really did, so maybe you will enjoy it. Don't get discouraged by our reviews:-)

Roshini wrote: "Heidi wrote: "Hey Miss - you aren't the only one that liked Thirteen Reasons Why, I think I am in the minority (again!) :)"

Heidi, I liked Thirteen Reasons Why as well.

Tara, I didn't like C..."

See, we can agree on not liking at least one book :)

Heidi, me too! I was disappointed with that book too! I read the sequel but I haven't read the third one because I don't know if it's any better.

I liked City of Bones trilogy- not as much as others, but I enjoyed it, so give it a try Tara!

Fade-the sequel to Wake-was a disappointment to me. I kept thinking that it couldn't get anymore weird...odd thing about that series is that teenage boys love it!

This is a great topic. I have to admit I wasn't as enthralled by The Chronicles of Narnia as I thought I'd be. I understand why so many people adore it, but I just think I got to it when I was a little too old. I only made it through the first couple and wasn't exactly seeing the kind of character complexity and depth I look for most. Maybe there's more of that in the later books.

Bluemoon wrote: "I was very disappointed in Incarceron. I was really excited when I finally got it, since I waited for my bookstore to have it since I found out about the book. When I started reading it, it wasn't ..."

So sorry this one disappointed you, BlueMoon!
:(

MZ

I too was disapointed by Beautiful Creatures. I felt they gave you all the clues to figure out the ending, so by the time the climax rolled around there were no surprises.

I was also bummed about Deadly Little Lies (the sequel to Deadly Little Secrets). I really enjoyed the first book but the second book was basically the same story with the character making the same mistakes. I figured she would've have learned after the first time!

I enjoyed City of Bones - but was disappointed in Shiver.

Tara wrote: "I'm so sad. I just bought City of Bones and everyone hates it!!!"

I really liked City of Bones and all that followed but it is about 50/50 in this group.

Fade and Gone of the Wake series were disappointing as well as Blue Moon and especially Shadowland of the Immortals books, at least in my opinion.

Chachic - If you did not enjoy the first two Great and Terrible Beauty books, I strongly recommend NOT reading the third. It's significantly longer than the first two and the middle drags. I personally enjoyed it in the end, but I also liked the first two. For someone who didn't like those, I doubt it'll get any better.

Jason - I agree that The Chronicles of Narnia is a series that you can appreciate more when you're young. For me, when I was a kid, I absolutely fell in love with the Redwall books. I devoured that series, and even now I still love them. However, if I read them for the first time now, I doubt they would hold my interest. They're special because of how much they meant back then. I bet, for many people, the same is true with Narnia.

Jaimie - I hear you about The Immortals. But why can't I stop reading them?? That's one series I really need to give up on!

For me it's because the first book was good, I was suprised and thought that the idea was pretty original. The other two sucked. I don't even feel like there is any chemistry between Ever and Damon anymore and I almost chucked Shadowland out my window but it was a library copy - thank god I didn't buy it.

Lani wrote: "I too was disapointed by Beautiful Creatures. I felt they gave you all the clues to figure out the ending, so by the time the climax rolled around there were no surprises.

I was also bummed abou..."

I was disappointed too. It wasn't very good or original at all and left we feeling, I know this sounds weird, wet.

I also was disappointed by the Great and Terrible Beauty series. It was a good concept, but it didn't make sense at parts and the author needed to explain more. Libba Bray's other novel, Going Bovine, is amazing though.

Laura wrote: "I enjoyed City of Bones - but was disappointed in Shiver."

Yes, Shiver wasn't very good, now was it? It was a little boring and kind of had an anticlimax.

Wow, I feel like a pessimist, I've made so many comments.

Now I know where to get recommendations for books...this thread! I loved Shiver and really liked Beautiful Creatures. ;) Beautiful Creatures was definitely simpler, if that makes sense.

The Narnia series is by far one of my favorites, but I too can see how someone picking it up now wouldn't be as interested in it. I think I can still enjoy it now because of the amazing links to the Bible in it (which is another book I really like). All of C.S. Lewis's writings are completely religion based no matter how much you just want it to be a story, and I love his philosophy, so the version of it that I find in the Narnia series is astoundingly simple compared to his other works that I can't help liking it even more now than when I was younger.

The only book I've read that REALLY didn't live up to my expectations was the Hitchhiker's Guide books. I heard so much about how they were so good and so funny, yet when I read them I was overwhelmingly bored and thought the humor was stupid.

Becca wrote: "The Narnia series is by far one of my favorites, but I too can see how someone picking it up now wouldn't be as interested in it. I think I can still enjoy it now because of the amazing links to th..."


Becca, First an amazingly detailed Hunger Games analysis and now THIS!! I swear I'm intellectually in love with you! You always say what I'm thinking and much more articulately than I could ever hope to be!

BTW, I wasn't a fan of the Hitchhikes series either... I made it through 2 and a half books before giving up!

hahahaha! Oh you make me laugh Brittany. I'm obsessed with books, what can I say? Thank you for the compliment though, I appreciate it. I like to think I think critically about books even though I read them for the fun of it.

Laura wrote: "Chachic - If you did not enjoy the first two Great and Terrible Beauty books, I strongly recommend NOT reading the third. It's significantly longer than the first two and the middle drags. I person..."

Thanks for the feedback, Laura! I tried reading the first couple of pages of the third book but I really couldn't get into it so I think I probably won't read it. I wanted to like the series but it didn't work out that way.

Thank you Laura for starting this topic! There are many people recommending books and it's nice to know which ones you might want to skip.

For me it was definitely, Beautiful Creatures. Yes, I was also drawn in by raving reviews before the book even hit the shelves. Wow, was I disappointed and confused. I liked the whole Southern Gothic theme but the characters were boring, there was no connection with them and the plot was taking too long. This book could of been easily 200 pages shorter, IMO. I was surprised to find out a sequel is due out soon.

Some of you said Shiver was disappointing. I only agree that some of it was, like the first half. The second half was great.

Shiver was better than Beautiful Creatures in my opinion, but is it one of the best books ever? No. The make beleive world in Beautiful Creatures reminded me of the world in A Great and Terrible Beauty. I could get into neither fantasy world and felt like fast forwarding through those parts in the books, so I could get to the normal everyday parts -- that is not a good thing if you are reading a fantasy novel. You should feel enveloped into the world, be able to see and hear it. I could not see or hear either fantasy world.

Tara wrote: "I'm so sad. I just bought City of Bones and everyone hates it!!!"

I didn't hate it. I love it. I've read the whole series a couple of times. However, I think Cassandra Clare included a lot of unnecessary trash. I used a white out pen and cleaned it up. Afterward it was very enjoyable. As for that twist that's been mentioned, I didn't care for it either so I pretended it didn't exist. It worked for me.

Mandi wrote: "Tara wrote: "I'm so sad. I just bought City of Bones and everyone hates it!!!"

I didn't hate it. I love it. I've read the whole series a couple of times. However, I think Cassandra Clare incl..."

Ha!

Lani wrote: "I too was disapointed by Beautiful Creatures. I felt they gave you all the clues to figure out the ending, so by the time the climax rolled around there were no surprises.

I was also bummed abou..."

Did Beautiful Creatures actually have an ending? It seemed to me like someone left off the last few chapters of the book.

Mandi wrote: "Lani wrote: "I too was disapointed by Beautiful Creatures. I felt they gave you all the clues to figure out the ending, so by the time the climax rolled around there were no surprises.

I was als..."

They sure could have cut out several parts in the middle of the book to make a better ending!

Becca wrote: "hahahaha! Oh you make me laugh Brittany. I'm obsessed with books, what can I say? Thank you for the compliment though, I appreciate it. I like to think I think critically about books even though I ..."

I glad you enjoyed my comment! Maybe I should just stop talking and say "I agree with all things Becca says", but where's the fun in that?

Tara wrote: "I'm so sad. I just bought City of Bones and everyone hates it!!!"

I loved this whole series, and cant wait for the infernal devices being released to the fall.

Louise wrote: "Tara wrote: "I'm so sad. I just bought City of Bones and everyone hates it!!!"

I loved this whole series, and cant wait for the infernal devices being released to the fall."

I too loved the mortal instruments series. I too believe Clare added a lot of unneccesary details. As for the twist, I thought it was a bold choice and actually enjoyed how uncomfortable and conflicted it made me. Maybe that makes me weird, lol! I just had a feeling it would all work out in the end, so I didn't think about it too much.

Tara wrote: "I'm so sad. I just bought City of Bones and everyone hates it!!!"

I actually loved the series, especially City of Glass and City of Ashes. Enjoy:-)

Heidi wrote: "I just could not stand the girl that killed herself. I know that sounds harsh, but it is the truth. I felt no sympathy for her."

I'm so glad you said that! I thought it was just me! Truthfully 13 Reasons Why has been my biggest disappointment in recent reading. Though The Dead-Tossed Waves seems to be vying for top spot or runner up.

I know I read a Great and Terrible Beauty but it made such little impact on me that I can't even remember what happened in the book.

Mic - you are my new best friend. I agree whole heartedly about Great & Terrible Beauty and 13 Reasons Why. I work with really troubled teens. These are kids that have a reason to kill themselves (not that there ever is a reason), and I think that is why I disliked 13 Reasons so much. The girl did not seem like a real person, and her problems were minor compared to the kids I see everyday.