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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated To Die For (Blair Mallory, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Hmm, I'm having a hard time describing how I feel about this book. I liked it enough, Blair was a decent character, but there was something (or things) missing. I'm not one of those who hate first person narratives (I really have no preference - both first and third person narratives are fine with me, as long as they work for the book), but for some reason it felt weird in this book and didn't quite work for me. Also, I don't know how I feel about Wyatt. His reason for leaving Blair two years ago was lame and I can't believe she let him off the hook so easily; not to mention he was rather one-dimensional. The mystery was hardly that and it seemed as if the author forgot all about someone trying to kill Blair until the end, deadline was near, and just added some cockamamie, loony-tune ending that was a total let down and came from left field. Not to mention, the whole someone-wants-to-kill-Blair thing was pushed aside for all the petty arguing and sex. Now I liked Blair giving Wyatt a hard time and all, but some of the stuff she said or did was overkill and the editor needed to trim a good fifty or so pages of it out of the book. It didn't help that going into the book, I thought it was a more serious romantic suspense, which is what I really wanted to read at the time.
Some of my petty annoyances with the book came fairly early on: I don't get why Blair (and/or the author) thought Jason Carson or Jenni Mallory rhymed. Now if his name was Jason Cayson, I'd understand, or Jenni Menni, but just because Jason and Carson both end with 'son,' it doesn't rhyme because it's the same thing. I don't know if I'm saying that right but oh well. My other thing was that Blair couldn't wear some underwear because the bra got ruined. Uh, okay. Now I like my undies to match but that wouldn't mean I'd never wear the underwear again because the bra that matched got ruined. That's just snobby and stupid. Yeah, I know, ridiculous things to find annoying in the book, but we all have something. LoL
After I finished the book and went to Amazon I saw that there's a sequel. I'm not sure if I'm up for another trip into Blair's mind or not, but if I come across it real cheap or someone gives it to me, I might read it. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, I did, but I liked Blair up to a point, but when it got to around page 250, she was just a bit too much for a 378 page book. Maybe if we weren't in her head the whole time, or the book was shorter, I would have liked the book better.
Here's part of an Amazon review I liked:
'Wyatt had stayed away from his soulmate for two years and only came running with an engagement ring when he thought she had been murdered. How long would he have stayed away if nothing had happened to Blair? Also, Blair was supposedly only a 'dumb blonde' when it suited her. But I question the intelligence of anyone who thinks someone who cuts her brake line is just stupid and someone who shoots her with intent to kill is just a nitwit. I wonder if these things bothered anyone else. Still, these problems did not take too much away from my enjoyment of the book.'
Some of my petty annoyances with the book came fairly early on: I don't get why Blair (and/or the author) thought Jason Carson or Jenni Mallory rhymed. Now if his name was Jason Cayson, I'd understand, or Jenni Menni, but just because Jason and Carson both end with 'son,' it doesn't rhyme because it's the same thing. I don't know if I'm saying that right but oh well. My other thing was that Blair couldn't wear some underwear because the bra got ruined. Uh, okay. Now I like my undies to match but that wouldn't mean I'd never wear the underwear again because the bra that matched got ruined. That's just snobby and stupid. Yeah, I know, ridiculous things to find annoying in the book, but we all have something. LoL
After I finished the book and went to Amazon I saw that there's a sequel. I'm not sure if I'm up for another trip into Blair's mind or not, but if I come across it real cheap or someone gives it to me, I might read it. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, I did, but I liked Blair up to a point, but when it got to around page 250, she was just a bit too much for a 378 page book. Maybe if we weren't in her head the whole time, or the book was shorter, I would have liked the book better.
Here's part of an Amazon review I liked:
'Wyatt had stayed away from his soulmate for two years and only came running with an engagement ring when he thought she had been murdered. How long would he have stayed away if nothing had happened to Blair? Also, Blair was supposedly only a 'dumb blonde' when it suited her. But I question the intelligence of anyone who thinks someone who cuts her brake line is just stupid and someone who shoots her with intent to kill is just a nitwit. I wonder if these things bothered anyone else. Still, these problems did not take too much away from my enjoyment of the book.'
Hazel (1853 KP) rated A Step Towards Falling in Books
Dec 14, 2018
Rating: 3.5
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
A Step Towards Falling</i> by Cammie McGovern is a book full of important messages. As with a couple of her previous novels, McGovern writes about characters with developmental disabilities, i.e. Autism, focusing on the ways in which they interact with the world around them and vice versa. This particular story is written with teenagers in mind, featuring topics such as dating and future prospects.
One of the narrators Emily, along with high school football player Lucas, are being punished for not helping a disabled student when they witnessed her being assaulted. In order to appease the school they are subjected to forty hours of community service – voluntarily helping to run the Boundaries and Relationships class at the Lifelong Learning Centre. Here they meet a handful of people with disabilities who need help to identify what is and what is not acceptable in potential romantic relationships. Although Emily and Lucas initially think members of the group are strange, they soon learn to see through their quirks and admire them for their positive personalities.
The second narrator, Belinda, is the assaulted girl. To begin with she is no longer attending school as her grandmother has deemed it an unsafe place. Belinda describes her life with childlike innocence, naively believing she is like everyone else and not understanding why she never receives the same privileges, e.g. joining after school clubs, getting a job. Whilst she slowly regains her confidence to return to school, Emily and Lucas begin to enjoy working at the LLC, however continue to feel guilty, as they are aware that although they are doing a great job, it is not doing anything to make Belinda’s life better. So, they aim to change that.
Although relationships feature heavily in this novel, <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is largely based on similar themes to Jane Austen’s <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> – incidentally Belinda’s favourite story. Each key character have their own prejudices towards other people and act as though they are better than everyone else. Emily instantly judges Lucas to be a popular, uneducated boy due to his position on the school football team. Likewise, Lucas judges Emily for hanging out with “nerdy” people who only care about grades and getting into good colleges. Belinda, despite being different due to her disability, believes she is better than other people in her class because she can read and use a computer, whereas many can barely string a sentence together.
What McGovern is stressing throughout this narrative is the importance of getting to know someone first instead of arrogantly assuming you know exactly what they are like based on appearance. As can be revealed in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, someone who appears rude and distant may actually have a lovely, kind and considerate personality. Emily and Lucas learn this quite quickly, and Belinda is not far behind them. It is a shame that not many other people are as swift to realize this.
Although <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is a work of fiction it deals with issues that many high school students, and even adults, face even if they do not realize it. Football players are often presumed to be unintelligent, likewise clever, “nerdy” people may come across as distant and uncaring. The worst thing that most, if not all, are guilty of is the presupposed belief that developmentally disabled people are weird and to be avoided. This is entirely false, as McGovern reveals; they have the right to the same life as anyone else, the only difference is they may take longer to learn what comes naturally to most people.
As a novel, <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is a fairly gentle read about completely realistic events. Although there are references to Belinda’s assault, there is nothing majorly distressing. On the other hand, it is a bit too plain sailing, with no climax to speak of. Through her attempt to create an accurate representation of disabled people, McGovern fails to grip the reader or create excitement. There is no suspense or anticipation, which unfortunately makes the book a little disappointing.
Overall the story line may not be the most thrilling however it has a powerful voice and a satisfying ending. All teenagers, and adults too, should read this book and become more mindful of their behaviour and prejudices. Naturally this is not something that will be easy to completely eradicate, but as this book reveals, once you are aware of your inaccurate impressions it become easier to accept people the way they are, and become confident in getting to know their true personality.
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
A Step Towards Falling</i> by Cammie McGovern is a book full of important messages. As with a couple of her previous novels, McGovern writes about characters with developmental disabilities, i.e. Autism, focusing on the ways in which they interact with the world around them and vice versa. This particular story is written with teenagers in mind, featuring topics such as dating and future prospects.
One of the narrators Emily, along with high school football player Lucas, are being punished for not helping a disabled student when they witnessed her being assaulted. In order to appease the school they are subjected to forty hours of community service – voluntarily helping to run the Boundaries and Relationships class at the Lifelong Learning Centre. Here they meet a handful of people with disabilities who need help to identify what is and what is not acceptable in potential romantic relationships. Although Emily and Lucas initially think members of the group are strange, they soon learn to see through their quirks and admire them for their positive personalities.
The second narrator, Belinda, is the assaulted girl. To begin with she is no longer attending school as her grandmother has deemed it an unsafe place. Belinda describes her life with childlike innocence, naively believing she is like everyone else and not understanding why she never receives the same privileges, e.g. joining after school clubs, getting a job. Whilst she slowly regains her confidence to return to school, Emily and Lucas begin to enjoy working at the LLC, however continue to feel guilty, as they are aware that although they are doing a great job, it is not doing anything to make Belinda’s life better. So, they aim to change that.
Although relationships feature heavily in this novel, <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is largely based on similar themes to Jane Austen’s <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> – incidentally Belinda’s favourite story. Each key character have their own prejudices towards other people and act as though they are better than everyone else. Emily instantly judges Lucas to be a popular, uneducated boy due to his position on the school football team. Likewise, Lucas judges Emily for hanging out with “nerdy” people who only care about grades and getting into good colleges. Belinda, despite being different due to her disability, believes she is better than other people in her class because she can read and use a computer, whereas many can barely string a sentence together.
What McGovern is stressing throughout this narrative is the importance of getting to know someone first instead of arrogantly assuming you know exactly what they are like based on appearance. As can be revealed in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, someone who appears rude and distant may actually have a lovely, kind and considerate personality. Emily and Lucas learn this quite quickly, and Belinda is not far behind them. It is a shame that not many other people are as swift to realize this.
Although <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is a work of fiction it deals with issues that many high school students, and even adults, face even if they do not realize it. Football players are often presumed to be unintelligent, likewise clever, “nerdy” people may come across as distant and uncaring. The worst thing that most, if not all, are guilty of is the presupposed belief that developmentally disabled people are weird and to be avoided. This is entirely false, as McGovern reveals; they have the right to the same life as anyone else, the only difference is they may take longer to learn what comes naturally to most people.
As a novel, <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is a fairly gentle read about completely realistic events. Although there are references to Belinda’s assault, there is nothing majorly distressing. On the other hand, it is a bit too plain sailing, with no climax to speak of. Through her attempt to create an accurate representation of disabled people, McGovern fails to grip the reader or create excitement. There is no suspense or anticipation, which unfortunately makes the book a little disappointing.
Overall the story line may not be the most thrilling however it has a powerful voice and a satisfying ending. All teenagers, and adults too, should read this book and become more mindful of their behaviour and prejudices. Naturally this is not something that will be easy to completely eradicate, but as this book reveals, once you are aware of your inaccurate impressions it become easier to accept people the way they are, and become confident in getting to know their true personality.