Romantic Parvenu

Book Reviews

Book Review: Unforgotten by Jessica Brody

Unforgotten was a quick-moving, absorbing sci-fi sequel. Jessica Brody has a lot of talent in telling a story, and that obvious skill makes up for a lot. Sera’s adventures are neither unique nor spellbinding, but they’re told in a way that ...
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Book Review: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Eowyn Ivey’s debut is a haunting, ethereal fairytale set in the harsh Alaskan frontier. With prose that betrays natural talent, the author reveals the landscape of Alaskan winters and twists a story that hints constantly toward fables and ...
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Book Review: Ordinary Beauty by Laura Wiess

Some books hit you hard, impact you personally; others are just entertainment. Ordinary Beauty was a raw, personal experience for me. Laura Wiess has tapped into one disadvantaged teen’s life and laid it all bare with this book, and it hurts. I ...
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Book Review: Smoke by Ellen Hopkins

Though Hopkins’ free verse is always a quick read, her books are nevertheless long—in Smoke’s case, unnecessarily so. A lot of this story, to me, was repetitive and circular. Pattyn and Jackie were both extremely angsty/whiny (not without ...
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Book Review: The Given by Vicki Pettersson

I really enjoyed where Pettersson ended this series. All questions I had built up over time were answered, the established character development continued in the same vein, and the story was interesting from beginning to end. The Given as just ...
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Book Review: The Lost by Vicki Pettersson

Altogether, this was a worthy second book to the trilogy. I thought The Lost was well-written and engaging, with just enough fantasy elements to keep my interest, but not so much that a gritty urban-based mystery couldn’t be prominent. I’m ...
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