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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Review: Out of This Place by Emma Cameron

Title: Out of This Place

Author: Emma Cameron

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: May 2013

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/ Realistic

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone


Synopsis can be found here.
NetGalley review.


Review:

Luke, Bongo and Casey. Three point of views. Three very different lives.
The story, told all in prose, follows the three teenagers as they struggle towards the future and leaving who they were behind.

I'll be honest. I was expecting a lot. I enjoy books in prose and have read quite a few of them. Sadly, these stories weren't for me.

Each character has one third of the book to tell their story. Luke is the good guy, struggling to find his career path and finally get the girl he loves, Casey, who doesn't seem to notice him at all. Casey has problems at home and wants to disappear, run away, start over. Bongo has been saddled with the worst family life and a potentially tragic path.

But for me, I found all of them to be removed, disjointed and lacking warmth and heart. In the middle of Casey's story, I realized I didn't really care about any of them. There are some secondary characters that weave in and out of the story but none of them feel solid or have much personality. In fact, all three of the main characters seem to have one voice. While their stories and situations are different, all three have the same voice, tone, reflection. I didn't get a clear sense of different POVs.

Sadly, this was not the book for me.

Rating 4 Not My Cup of Tea

2 comments:

  1. Ugh. That's too bad. I thought this one sounded interesting, although I do tend to shy away from books in verse, but I guess I'll give it a pass. One of the most important things of books that have multiple POV is that each voice be distinct. Oh, well, great review!
    -Natalie @Natflix&Books

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