Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Ravencliffe (Blythewood #2) by Carol Goodman –NO

Goodman, Carol Ravencliffe (Blythewood #2) 432 pages, Viking Books for Young Readers 2014. $17.99 Content: Language: G (1H swears ); Mature Content: PG Violence: G
Ava has already faced off with evil Judicus van Drood in the first book and was pretty sure he was dead, but he is making a reappearance. The secret that she is half darkling and has wings, is weighing on her as she tries to be a good student at Blythewood Academy, a place that is very much against darklings. She is in love with a darkling as well, Raven. When van Drood starts his evil plans it Ava must be brave and learn to trust those around her.
First off, I can’t stand books that hide the fact they are a series, its not fair to the reader. This story had a choppy read to it, just when you thought you were doing one thing, the characters would start talking as if something else had happened, forcing you to go back and re-read, only to discover the jump was completely without context. This happened a lot! I also had a beef with the main character, she is the prophesized hero of the world, that is a bit cheesy. Not to mention she was boring, surprised by the obvious, and sort of oblivious in general. The love story had some major cheese as well- even going so far as calling them mates, though the main character is barely acknowledging a crush. Sort had the overall feeling that the book was longer or should have been, but someone cut out parts and explanations willy-nilly, leaving the reader feeling sort of lost in the woods.
HS  –NOT RECOMMENDED Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

No comments: