3/5 stars
HarperTeen, 2013
336 pages
YA Urban Fantasy
Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.
This book has not gotten a lot of love from my blogging friends, which made me nervous to pick it up. But c'mon-it features a young ballet dancer transforming into a superhero working to clean up her city, along the lines of Batman. How could anyone resist???
Well maybe I should have as I found the writing utterly engaging but lacked that necessary connection to the plot. What do I mean about the writing? I don't have a great way of explaining it but apparently HarperTeen puts crack or something equally addicting in their writing talent as this is the imprint I consistently find to be the most compulsively readable even when frustrated with characters, plot, and world-building. This book is no exception with me easily breezing through it in just a few short hours despite neutral to hateful feelings toward the characters.
Most frustrating is our main character Anthem Fleet who starts off as the perfect child of rich parents, aspiring toward a career in ballet and safely ensconced as valedictorian. Until she meets a boy who is then kidnapped. When she is unable to ransom him, she falls apart, both literally and figuratively. The literal falling apart is more related to being shot, which causes her to be saved by having a hummingbird heart implanted that gives her supernatural powers. As she attempts to avenge her boyfriend's death, she also starts to clean up the city giving people hope for about the first time in seventeen years. I found this boyfriend so frustrating. He didn't seem interesting to me and it was appalling to me that Anthem fell so hard and so fast when I disliked him so strongly. Luckily he is not in it that much though it felt like it to me as she went on and on about the guy.
Other potential love interests are Will and Ford. Will is a very popular boy at school who becomes Anthem's ex and then blackmails her into getting back together before she plays him so well. That was actually a moment when I praised Anthem's brain and choices rather than cursing them. Ford is a poor boy who strengthens Anthem's physical talents by training her in boxing and other skills (he's kind of her mentor) that will prepare her for her burgeoning role as vigilante.
Speaking of which, I tend to feel very uncomfortable with vigilante stories. Who are they to decide to implement their brand of justice? However because this seemed to be a futuristic alternative take on history, I felt less stirred. I guess I don't mind it so much when it's not my society. Also logic/realism doesn't seem to be a huge priority so I was willing to give it a pass here.
Overall: A fast easy read if you don't want to think too much and you just can't resist the concept.
Lingering (SPOILER?) question, though I am not confident I will be returning to the series:
So Regina was definitely involved with The Hope right? I mean the initials "RF+TH" certainly gave me pause plus it's been seventeen years since The Hope was around, which coincidentally is how long Regina has been dead. Perhaps Regina actually even is The Hope and her boyfriend just got all the press. If you've read, please weigh in!
Other Opinions:
Bookistry
Books Live Forever
Love Is Not a Triangle
The Flyleaf Review
I think I will pass on this one. The story sounds confusing and the characters annoying. I am not a fan of vigilante justice either (Batman is not my favorite superhero).
ReplyDeleteI constantly find myself drawn to books that feature vigilante elements but whenever I start to think critically, I am disturbed because it goes so far against my own code of conduct. Probably better to skip for you!
DeleteI decided to take a pass on this - it just didn't sound like my kind of book….
ReplyDeleteJen @ YA Romantics
Since we usually tend to agree, I think you made the right call :)
DeleteI'm like you - this sounds so much like my thing, but so many people haven't liked it . . . I think I'm going to keep passing on it.
ReplyDelete(I, however, enjoy books with vigilante justice.)
I should have listened to the other reviewers but since I managed to score a copy, I gave it a try. C'est la vie!
DeleteI don't mind vigilante justice in books and movies. I think it can be very interesting. Unfortunately, this one is probably not something I'd enjoy as I don't want to be annoyed with the characters all the time.
ReplyDeleteI've read and watched a lot of media; it's just when I start thinking closely about it, that I find myself disturbed.
DeleteAh, I hate love triangles :( No fun. Anyway. I've seen many mixed feelings for this book. Sorry you didn't love it, but glad you kind of enjoyed it :) Thank you for sharing. <3
ReplyDeleteAs time has passed, I find myself less frustrated with that aspect but I remember really disliking the characters which is a bigger issue anyway.
DeleteI actually haven't heard very many good things about this one and am not a fan of love triangles, so I'll certainly be skipping this one.
ReplyDeleteYes this book did not get a lot of great early buzz that I saw; I am also not recommending it.
DeleteMy main problems with this book were 1) Gavin (possibly not his name, but the first love interest). I saw right through him and cringed during all his scenes. 2) Will's roll. Ugh. GO AWAY. But agree, that this was very readable and mostly kept me engaged. It also has some beautiful moments in it. I thought it picked up near the end though and I'd be interested in another book. <3 Ford. Also RE the spoiler…YES to what you said, though I'm not sure why the author teased that, and then pretty much let it drop. I don't think Anthem ever made the connection. Glad you mostly liked this one, though. I like seeing it get some positive feedback, and thanks for linking to me!
ReplyDeleteGavin was so awful; even now I'm cringing at him. I was disappointed with the author's treatment of the SPOILER-it seemed like she was building to something but then she didn't.
DeleteI haven't read any great reviews for this one so I don't plan on bothering to pick it up. I'm glad you still found it compulsively readable even if you weren't loving it though.
ReplyDeleteI really do think HarperTeen does something-I consistently feel this way about their books!
DeleteI totally get all your gripes--but I do think I fell into the category of "just can't resist the concept" because I totally dig vigilante/ out for justice reads most of the time. And I liked the superhero in a dark, dark city vibe. Gavin was rather awful, Will may have been worse, and Ford was just SO DREAMY:) I will definitely be reading more so iIll be sure to let you know about the Regina/ Hope thing:) It's a good theory you have, btw:)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it Heather and I look forward to what you'll say about the sequel (save me the time of reading it at least!)
DeleteThis is one that I was really excited for and I was disappointed in it. I'm not sure that Anthem caught on to the whole The Hope thing. I am glad that you enjoyed it for the most part. I am with ya on continuing any further with the series, I'll have to think about that. Thanks for linking me. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think Anthem caught on at all which was disappointing to me; I thought the author was playing it up and wanted some more answers (or even more teases) instead of feeling like it was just dropped.
Delete"This book is no exception with me easily breezing through it in just a few short hours despite neutral to hateful feelings toward the characters." This just cracked me up. I never thought about Harper Teen being that way, but now that I think about it I think you're right. I have read some books of their that sucked me in and I read easily and still enjoyed even though I really didn't like parts of it. Hmm. I'll have to see if that continues with their books. :)
ReplyDeleteTressa @ Tressa's Wishful Endings
I've been keeping track of publishers starting January 2013 and that is one trend I picked up on-I frequently am frustrated by characters and plot decisions but the writing keeps me glued to the page.
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