I didn't love it, but I think maybe it had something to do with the narration (I listened to it via Audible.). I also didn't just love the MC. She seemed really whiny to me.
What YA book are you reading RIGHT NOW?, issue 2
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I didn't love it, but I think maybe it had something to do with the narration (I listened to it via Audible.). I also didn't just love the MC. She seemed really whiny to me.
I love, love, loved this series. I know a lot of people had problems with the modification of the Russian themes she used in her world, but it didn't bother me a bit. Granted, I'm no Russian expert, so I don't have much ground to stand on with that one, but I loved the story and the characters. Definitely suggest reading the other two.
I didn't think the third book fell flat in the way so many trilogies do, either.
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I've seen the series, and I'm eagerly anticipating the continued series one in April!. The premise is crazy, but never mind. Fascinating characters and dilemmas!
I've read almost all the books. They kind of go on and on and on... and they're looooong. Too long for my taste, but I can't stop now. I've taken many breaks reading, and I have no idea where in the series I am at the moment, because I bought a box set for the Kindle and lost track!
Just finished THE B0Y IN THE BL@CK SU1T (...) The voice was crazy good!
Liked it too! Loved how the focus was on his character and development. No easy solutions, and the romance was toned down but sweet.
I'm a few chapters into SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY, and it's a nice read so far.
I mostly liked it. I thought the MC was a little flat at times though, but the world was definitely interesting (I don't know that much about Russian folklore).
I also started reading Shadow and Bone. It would be okay, but I am Russian. Honestly, it is a perfect example how not to use other languages in your writing. Imagine reading a book where the magic society is called the Jimmy, coke makes you drunk, and a character on the first page is named Whyth Efuk. Anyway, other than stopping every so often to scrub my mind of the wrong images, like people wearing purple meatballs, I enjoy it.
I really, really enjoyed the book, but I heard about the whole confusion with the language of it. I don't know much about Russian culture, so this didn't affect the story for me, but I'm pretty sure the author did a post on her blog (or somewhere else online) to explain things to those who do know more about the topic.
You know, misused culture doesn't offend me much, it is fantasy after all. It is the language that bothers me. As I said, imagine a book with a name Whyth Efuk. Would you be able to read that without snickering even if you were explained that it is a legitimate name in culture X? I can't help thinking that someone pulled her leg when they offered Ana Kuya as a name. At least I hope the author didn't know how it would sound to a Russian-speaking person, because if she did... But I can see why people like the book. When I get past the misused words, the story is enjoyable. I just wish she used some made up words and names, then I would feel exactly as you do
You know, misused culture doesn't offend me much, it is fantasy after all. It is the language that bothers me. As I said, imagine a book with a name Whyth Efuk. Would you be able to read that without snickering even if you were explained that it is a legitimate name in culture X? I can't help thinking that someone pulled her leg when they offered Ana Kuya as a name. At least I hope the author didn't know how it would sound to a Russian-speaking person, because if she did... But I can see why people like the book. When I get past the misused words, the story is enjoyable. I just wish she used some made up words and names, then I would feel exactly as you do
That's completely understandable, I can see how that would affect your reading experience. That's really too bad! Is the language so off-putting that you won't be reading the next two in the trilogy?
Olga, loved your comments on that. I also don't know Russian, though I would really like to learn it (had many Russian major friends in college). That aside, the Grisha Trilogy is still not one of my all-time favorites, but I thought the ending was awesome, and clearly I enjoyed it enough to at least finish--even if I needed a long breather from the dark tone in between the last two books.
Recently, I read: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (which I loved); The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead (to be honest, I'm experiencing series fatigue, just like I did after book 3 in the VA series); Pushing the Limits and Dare You To by Katie McGarry (wish they'd had been subtler, but still a blast).
Now reading Atlantia by Ally Condie.
Recently, I read: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (which I loved); The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead (to be honest, I'm experiencing series fatigue, just like I did after book 3 in the VA series); Pushing the Limits and Dare You To by Katie McGarry (wish they'd had been subtler, but still a blast).
Now reading Atlantia by Ally Condie.
I recently finished OTHERBOUND and RED QUEEN. OTHERBOUND was awesome, and RED QUEEN was pretty good, too. (I'm seconding what everyone said about it being really visual and really trope-y, but it used the tropes well. I also like how it played with a lot of YA romance tropes.)
I just started reading POINTE.
Half the time I guess the twist correctly, but the other half of the time I predict a twist that turns out to be way more awesome than the actual twist.
I just started reading POINTE.
Half the time I guess the twist correctly, but the other half of the time I predict a twist that turns out to be way more awesome than the actual twist.
Not YA, but I'm reading Red Rising. Pretty good, and I'd say it's kind of a cross-over so far. It is an adult book, but one of those books I think YA readers would like to.
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I actually thought it was YA. I keep hearing about it and reading about it as if it was. Hm. It's very popular, I know that.
Red Rising is YA. Darrow is a teenager. The world he lives in has made him grow up quickly, though. So he doesn't come across like teenagers often do in YA books.
While it is YA, I also think it has broad appeal to anyone who likes fantasy and science fiction. It doesn't hit on many of the tired tropes of YA that a lot of readers of adult fiction don't care for so much.
While it is YA, I also think it has broad appeal to anyone who likes fantasy and science fiction. It doesn't hit on many of the tired tropes of YA that a lot of readers of adult fiction don't care for so much.
I actually think Red Rising was marketed as an adult book. Many people on Goodreads have classified it as a YA, probably for the same reason RWM says, because Darrow is 16. But a 16 yo protag doesn't necessarily mean YA. If you look at the Barnes and Noble info, it doesn't list an age range, and Related Subjects are Fiction and Science Fiction and Fantasy. If a book is marketed as YA, it will usually be listed with an age range and the Related Subjects are listed as Teen/Childrens Fiction. I think one of the reasons it isn't considered a "true" YA is because of its length and complexity. Maybe Brown wrote it as a YA, but publishers felt it would be better served to call it adult, as adults are more inclined to read lengthy SFF. Like I said, it has a definite cross over appeal for several reasons: MC's age, story line, and even though it is a longer book (than say the average YA), it' appeal will win over many YA readers. I think there is a large group of YA readers who wouldn't touch it, but there are also those who would. I found this in the adult section of my library, though as they are a small library in a small town, I wouldn't say they're the final say here.
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Thanks for that article. To me, his explanation makes it sound like a YA book, IMHO.
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That's me reading ST0RM DANCER. I loved the book and I'm not even Japanese, but even I know that an island named Island is a tiny bit repetitive, especially with titles that essentially read like "Lord of the Island isles".You know, misused culture doesn't offend me much, it is fantasy after all. It is the language that bothers me. As I said, imagine a book with a name Whyth Efuk. Would you be able to read that without snickering even if you were explained that it is a legitimate name in culture X? I can't help thinking that someone pulled her leg when they offered Ana Kuya as a name. At least I hope the author didn't know how it would sound to a Russian-speaking person, because if she did... But I can see why people like the book. When I get past the misused words, the story is enjoyable. I just wish she used some made up words and names, then I would feel exactly as you do
I don't have any grudges with using some elements of a culture to make a fantasy land look interesting, but when people misuse actual foreign words...
Though S&B certainly takes the cake. Every Russian speaking person I know laughed their butt off. I thought Ana Kuya was an Easter egg at first, an inside joke, but there are way too many misused words and mistaken things. The author claimed to have some experts helping, but I wonder why none of them bothered to tell her that otkazat'sya (which means The Abandoned in the book) is actually a verb.
Though on the other hand, some of the mistakes don't require an expert to get right. One can google kvas--it takes less than a minute to discover it's not exactly an alternative word for vodka. xD
I guess it all comes down to the fact that there are very few readers who might recognize it, and most of them won't really care.
One of the romantic tropes entertained me with its non-twist. It was like: hey let's make it look like we are going to do a deconstruction of that classic trope... nope we aren't.
spoiler in white
I'm talking about MC's love interests. The tall, dark and dangerous prince who is the older son--and the mild-mannered, soft-voiced, pale-skinned and physically smaller younger prince who turns out to be a Fake Love Interest and an evil traitor.
end of spoiler
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Finished Ruin and Rising tonight. I actually liked the series and it made all the mistakes even more painful. And she lives in Hollywood where there is a huge Russian-speaking community and there is kvas sold in every other store. Why even bother with another culture if you are not putting any effort into it? There is almost nothing Russian in the books anyway, except for mostly misused words and names. Oh well.
I seriously doubt the quality of her experts. Apparently, they also missed the fact that Russian has genders. A man cannot be named Morozova, a girl would be named Starkova, even if her father was Starkov. Razrushaya is a present participle, ruining, not the ruined. Razrushost is not a word at all. And even simple translations: Dva stolba is Two Poles or Pillars, not two mills. Korol Rezni is the King of massacre, not scars... If I ever touch these books again, I'll play a drinking game (probably with kvas, as I am afraid for my liver).
Maybe it is all built on the foundation of who cares, but why would a person publish a work with her name on it with mistakes that can be corrected with a minimal effort is still beyond me.
The sad thing is that even will all that it was one of the best YA fantasy books I've read in a long while. Need to look for more.
I seriously doubt the quality of her experts. Apparently, they also missed the fact that Russian has genders. A man cannot be named Morozova, a girl would be named Starkova, even if her father was Starkov. Razrushaya is a present participle, ruining, not the ruined. Razrushost is not a word at all. And even simple translations: Dva stolba is Two Poles or Pillars, not two mills. Korol Rezni is the King of massacre, not scars... If I ever touch these books again, I'll play a drinking game (probably with kvas, as I am afraid for my liver).
Maybe it is all built on the foundation of who cares, but why would a person publish a work with her name on it with mistakes that can be corrected with a minimal effort is still beyond me.
The sad thing is that even will all that it was one of the best YA fantasy books I've read in a long while. Need to look for more.
Olga,
Have you read The Queen of the Tearling? It's probably the best fantasy I've read all year. I loved it. Interesting world building, great characters, no trope-y love triangle, and on top of it being a great read, it's also a really beautifully made book. (I'm a sucker for a pretty book.)
Have you read The Queen of the Tearling? It's probably the best fantasy I've read all year. I loved it. Interesting world building, great characters, no trope-y love triangle, and on top of it being a great read, it's also a really beautifully made book. (I'm a sucker for a pretty book.)
I just finished Mosquitoland by David Arnold. I think I'm going to read Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver next.
Ohhh, I loved POINTE. Are you liking it? Her next book LITTLE AND LION, also sounds great. Can't wait for it come out!
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I see Red Rising classified as both YA and Adult. I love the book, the second even more, but I wouldn't classify them as YA.
I'm reading These Broken Stars right now. I was really excited for Space!, but they are already out of Space!, so I'm a little sad.