Publication: May 14th 2015 by MuseItYA
Source: Received a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review from ebooksforreview.com. Thank you!
Goodreads Summary: Thirteen-year-old Suzie Sarnio always believed the Grim Reaper was a fairy tale image of a skeleton with a scythe. Now, forced to enter the College of Deaths, she finds herself training to bring souls from the Living World to the Hereafter. The task is demanding enough, but as the only female in the all-male College, she quickly becomes a target. Attacked by both classmates and strangers, Suzie is alone in a world where even her teachers want her to fail.
Caught in the middle of a plot to overthrow the World of Deaths, Suzie must uncover the reason she’s been brought there: the first female Death in a million years.
Goodreads Page
My Thoughts:
This was a very interesting mix. It's between a middle grade and young adult, in my opinion. The age range is more of a middle grade yet the writing is slightly more complex than typical MG. And the storyline itself is between a fantasy and a paranormal with its alternate universe/world and slight magic elements yet it has a darker undertone with the world being literally the World of Deaths and filled with grim reapers which gives it that paranormal element.
Perhaps if I had read this when I was much younger, I would've enjoyed the story more. However with most of its characters being between 13-15 years old, their actions and mindset were very simplistic to what I'm used to reading. I did like all of the characters and enjoyed reading about them, especially Suzie. I've always been fond of stronger female characters and, although she isn't overtly strong, she definitely doesn't let people push her around and learns to fight back in her extremely male-dominated world. Billy and Frank were fun counterparts to read about and I definitely enjoyed them in their roles and watching their friendships deepen with Suzie.
The world building was pretty good. I didn't find myself confused about anything which is always a bonus in my book. I hadn't read any paranormal books with grim reapers being a main element which is what prompted me to want to read this. I found their world and how the power of the scythes is explained to be fascinating. The different races in this world were also interesting to read and learn about. It definitely took some imagination to make this world work and I enjoyed reading about it.
For me, I think the simplicity of the events is what left me wanting something more from the story, yet I also feel there was just something missing overall. Like I said, it could be because of the writing level of the story yet some events I found to be too simplistic for the way the story had been built up. You'd expect there to be a terrible climax or conclusion to an event yet it would end up puttering out with no real conflict. Of course, this is only the first in a series so circumstances may change, but overall this book just left me wanting more.
Likes: Characters. World building.
Dislikes: Events wouldn't have a true climax. Multiple spelling/grammar errors.
Overall:
Recommend? Yes if you love middle grade. For those fond of more complex YA writing, you wouldn't love this.
No comments :
Post a Comment