So...the fourth book was sort of a bore. The fifth book! The fifth book-well...I read it in a day. Of course, I had nothing else to do that day-but yeah. I was sort of put out by the fourth one and thinking, "Oh gosh, I hope this one is more enveloping than the last." "If this one doesn't suck me in, I'll be so disappointed-a series of five books that end in suckage. Blow!" But! Alas! No! No suckage. The fifth makes perfect sense. It's one day and it's not written in Jessica Darling journal style. It has perspectives of both the main characters, Jessica and well...you'll just have to read it! Like I'd give it away. Get real!
This last installment gives closure to the series that all readers hope they get. It's satisfying and it doesn't feel like an awful break-up. You aren't left with questions and what ifs or any sort of wonderments. It comes full circle and is testimony that bad timing sometimes is good timing. And somethings are meant to be but not always when we think or work out the way we think they should work out. So yeah-you probably know what is going to happen but in my opinion, just read the book.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Book Review: Fourth Comings
FINALLY! I finished reading the fourth installment in what has become known as the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty. It was a tuff one for me to get through. It's a whole week in the life of Jessica Darling. A weeks worth of journal entries that document almost every single trivial thing that could happen to the girl. It's quite like reading what my own daily journal would be like if I had the time to write down every single thing that happened to me. So, I found that part to be a bit of a hurdle with barbs to get over. But throughout, just like all the other Jessica Darling books, it's flooded with ironic humor and her usual snarky, sarcastic comments.
It's a bit torturous, at least I found it to be, because something quite expected and also unexpected happens at the very beginning. THEN, you have six days of reading of mundane things that don't pertain to the outcome of what happens in the beginning. I cheated, I couldn't take the boring parts of the middle of the book-which happens to be almost all of it. Like all but ten pages or so...I sneaked peaks at the parts that I wanted to know, skimmed and scanned, and read the ending! I've never done that before, so I feel this is why it was so difficult for me to read it in a normal amount of time. So it's my own fault, but OH! It was dragging on and on and on.
In the end, while I'm sure I would have survived by not reading every page of the book, principle tells me the events in the middle that I had no interest in were very important to the overall outcome, giving not only Jessica Darling the tools to make her final decision but also an explanation for the reader. A way for the reader to identify with and understand Jessica's decision.
In my opinion, Megan McCafferty sent us on a tortuous trip of foreshadowing that could end only one way. The book, is irritatingly suspenseful including things that don't seem to pertain to the bigger picture and therefore, you might find yourself cheating, like me, or reading it that much faster to get to the end. I think it's the weakest book in the series but I didn't lose complete interest so fifth book here I come. If you're a loyal Jessica fan, you'll make it through the fourth book and also get your hands on the fifth book.
It's a bit torturous, at least I found it to be, because something quite expected and also unexpected happens at the very beginning. THEN, you have six days of reading of mundane things that don't pertain to the outcome of what happens in the beginning. I cheated, I couldn't take the boring parts of the middle of the book-which happens to be almost all of it. Like all but ten pages or so...I sneaked peaks at the parts that I wanted to know, skimmed and scanned, and read the ending! I've never done that before, so I feel this is why it was so difficult for me to read it in a normal amount of time. So it's my own fault, but OH! It was dragging on and on and on.
In the end, while I'm sure I would have survived by not reading every page of the book, principle tells me the events in the middle that I had no interest in were very important to the overall outcome, giving not only Jessica Darling the tools to make her final decision but also an explanation for the reader. A way for the reader to identify with and understand Jessica's decision.
In my opinion, Megan McCafferty sent us on a tortuous trip of foreshadowing that could end only one way. The book, is irritatingly suspenseful including things that don't seem to pertain to the bigger picture and therefore, you might find yourself cheating, like me, or reading it that much faster to get to the end. I think it's the weakest book in the series but I didn't lose complete interest so fifth book here I come. If you're a loyal Jessica fan, you'll make it through the fourth book and also get your hands on the fifth book.
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