Monday, May 13, 2013

ARC Review: Transparent


Transparent by Natalie Whipple
3/5 stars
HarperTeen, 2013
368 pages
YA Paranormal
Scheduled to release May 21

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this book billed as a cross between The Godfather and X-Men, which sounded pretty cool to me. I have enjoyed the books and films for both and was excited to see a teen twist on it. Some early reviews I'd seen were positive and I know that HarperTeen tends to publish very addictive novels so I was excited to find out more.

The basic premise is that some people were born with abilities and those abilities are exploited by powerful crime bosses. One of the most unique people is Fiona, who was born invisible and whose crime lord father has exploited this ability, raising her to be a tool in his criminal empire. One day she is pushed too far and she and her mother go on the run to escape. While in hiding, Fiona meets a group of other talented people and begins to build a new family to stand up to her evil father.

As I said, I tend to find the writing of HarperTeen novels to be very easy to read and difficult to put down. I didn't find the writing here quite as compelling, perhaps because I read it on the heels of some other books or maybe it just wasn't my taste. Either way that lack was probably the main reason I didn't really enjoy this title.

What about the characters? Well, they were okay. I can't say that I have very strong feelings about any of them other than loathing Fiona's father and having complicated feelings about her brutish older brother Graham. He is mostly presented in a negative light except for occasional flashes of goodness that left me in a confused state. There is almost a bit of a love triangle but I cannot expand further without spoiling some things; no matter as that aspect didn't interest me.

On the bright side, it looks like this book is a standalone, always exciting to see in paranormal YA. I also did really like the ending climax when Fiona and her motley crew assemble to face off against her cruel father. Everyone had their piece to play and they pulled off their scheme impeccably. However since I didn't really enjoy the preceding pages, this finale was not enough to leave this book in my good graces.

Overall: My general impression is just that this book is very average-nothing pushed it to stand out to me.

Cover: I thought it was okay-very flashy but then I saw the UK cover and I actually prefer that. You can check it out on goodreads here.

Other Opinions:
The Overflowing Library
Pure Imagination
Some Like It Paranormal

22 comments:

  1. I'm sorry to hear that this book didn't quite work for you. It sounded like it would be a really interesting story, maybe similar to Holly Black's White Cat.

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    1. It sounded so interesting but the execution just didn't work for me.

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  2. It doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy. I'll make sure not to pick it :-(

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    1. I thought this could have been very intriguing but alas it was not to be.

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  3. I agree with Christina that if you haven't read the Holly Black series, it's amazing! The audiobook is also good -- that's how much I love the series.

    I've seen a lot of "teens with special powers" books lately -- everyone seems to be writing X-Men based YA...

    You can find me here: Jen @ YA Romantics

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    1. I was a bit worried about the Holly Black series because I heard there was a lot of cursing, which tends to be something I don't like. I'll see if my library has it.

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  4. Aww sorry that you didn't enjoy as much as I did.

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    1. I wish it had been so enjoyable for me-I just found it very tired.

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  5. I've been really curious about this one, but haven't decided on whether or not I want to get it. Sorry the book wasn't that compelling and you didn't really connect with the characters. It sounds as though it could have had some potential! Awesome review though :)

    Janina @ Synchonized Reading

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    1. Others have found it to be very good but it wasn't for me.

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  6. I had really high hopes for this one, but literally ALL the reviews I've read for it have said about the same as yours - that it was just "meh," or downright bad. I'm hearing a lot about how poorly the execution was, which sucks because the premise was pretty neat!

    Hopefully you enjoy whatever you read next!

    Molli | Once Upon a Prologue

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    1. Thanks-I have read some pretty good books since then and I can only hope that streak continues!

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  7. I've seen so many ho-hum reviews on this one. I think that I'll read it IF the library picks it up, but I'm not going out of my way to get my hands on it.

    Great review!

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    1. I'm sure it will be a great read for someone-so I hope you can try it at your library!

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  8. This is one that I really looking forward to, but so far all the reviews for are so-so. :( Sorry you didn't enjoy it and not very memorable. I'll wait and see if my library is going to carry it.

    Jenea @ Books Live Forever

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    1. This is definitely more of a library than a buy book-if you really love it, then you can buy it!

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  9. I have a copy of this one but I set it aside for now due to the only so-so reviews. Once the reviews have faded from my mind a bit and it's not so focused on I may have more of an urge to give it a shot at least. I'm sorry you didn't like it more though!

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    1. Yeah, this is not a pressing, must-read book. I wish I had liked it more too but what can you do? Sadly you can't love every book you read!

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  10. Aw, we're sorry you didn't enjoy this one. We really really did, actually. And we thought the cast of characters was one of the best parts. Plus the explorations of identity and family. But yeah, not everything will speak to everyone in the same way. Oh well, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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    1. I'm glad this was a better read for you-I know it will be perfect for some readers!

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  11. I've heard kind of so-so things about this one, which sucks. =( I think I'll still give it a try at some point, though it's not super high on my list.

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    1. I feel very reassured to be in the majority in opinions about this book although I wish we all could have fallen head over heels for it.

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