Critiques.
"It wasn’t great literature (the author seems determined to never use a word that would send even the shakiest reader to the dictionary)"
Even though I have only read the first section of this book I find this to be true. It’s not painfully obvious, I didn’t notice this when I was reading but when I was going back to see if this was true I did realize that she doesn’t use great literature. It’s not so much her sentence structure it just the vocabulary that makes seem like an easier read. I think this is why it’s less noticeable; because she has such fantastic writing that you don’t notice that it isn’t challenging literature. She has great writing skills but I think it loses something when elaborate words aren’t used for things like description. But then again sometimes when you don’t understand the literature it makes you pause and figure it out which pulls you out of the moment. This may be why the novel has so many reviews that say how you can’t put the book down and it’s so great. I agree with all of these reviews so far. I love the book so far. The detail and story are great and I can’t wait to continue reading this book and the rest of the series.
Interesting points about the conflict between being "literature" and being readable and fast and fun. I wonder if the vocab reflects the audience it's aimed at, which is slightly younger. Try to blend in some specific scenes or examples as you make your case.
ReplyDeleteAs you do these, consider adding a title like the ones in the example. Also, include the book title and page #s or chapters you are covering with each review.