Kate Mester

Listening to the audiobook narrated by Jim Dale (who recorded all of the Harry Potter series) is just so enjoyable. I think I'm liking the story so much more than I would if I had read it. I'm recommending the audio version to the kids

Incredibly dry and hard to follow, with more names than narrative. Even my kids who really love history or war stories didn't like this book. This one's going to be a hard sell.

First non-YA mystery I've read in a loooong while, and I'm happy I'm still able to predict the ending. It was a fun adult-snack read, though

Probably a 2 1/2. The description of the circus was fun to read but the characters felt flat while the pace of the book plodded and her writing was repetitive in spots

A solid middle-school level mystery/adventure tale with plenty of action and good character development. The kids that have read it so far have eagerly moved on to the sequel.

Interesting, weird, and at times annoying (especially Cullen's habit of starting most of his thoughts with, “when one is...”), this would have to be matched up with the right kind of high school/8th grade kid, most lkely a boy. I've matched it with one odd-duck (in the best way) 8th grade boy who liked it alright and one high school boy who really didn't connect with it at all. I can see why it won awards from adult reviewers, I just think it'll be a hard sell to the intended audience (actual teen readers), and the book trailer that was aiming for mysterious but landed on pointlessly absurd doesn't really help.

I think this is a 1 1/2. The whole story is pretty formulaic and poorly written, there is virtually no world building, and there was no sense of urgency or reader investment in the plot. I was recommendinig this as part of my dystopian list but I think I'll leave it off in favor of stronger stories like Maze Runner or Blood Red Road.

Rereading this for bookclub. Found my dog-eared high school copy on the shelf and am pretty interested in the experience of reading it as an adult without the heightened teenage angstiness. As suspected, was not as enthralled this time around...thankfully

I wanted to like this more than I did. It's got a lot going for it, especially with the really cool design, pictures, and interesting topic, but I thought his writing was over the top (so many hyperboles) but also a little too watered down. However,it's going in my to-recommend file because I've had middle and high school boys very interested in both of his books.

I was really surprised how corny and badly written the dialogue was and how dated the book seemed, overall. Yet the kids read this in 7th LA and BOB and seem to like it, confoundingly.

Clayton never met a simile she didn't want to use, and her writing made the book hard to get into. I still felt reading it was tedious by the ending, which wasn't very satisfying and was far too laborious in getting there.

A little mindcandy interspersed with the BOB reading.

I'm listening to this in the car to start preparing for BOB. Did I actually like this in grade school? Maybe it's because the woman who's reading it has a really annoying voice, but I can barely keep from zoning out. Not a great start to my BOB reading!

Ok, I finished listening, and now I remember why I liked it when I was in grade school. Speare provides such a nice closure to all the relationships, that you feel reassured when finished. I'm interested to see what the kids' reactions to it will be though, because it does feel dated.

Am listening to this in the car now. Really loving the voice actors. Now that I'm done, the only part I really enjoyed were the actors. I would certainly have stopped reading the book if I weren't listening to it.

I actually liked this second book better than the Maze Runner. I'm hoping the big reveal that will end the series will be worth the reader's investment.

Just as weird and witty and hilarious as Going Bovine, but sometimes it felt like she was trying too hard for the jokes and the obvious message (girl empowerment). Still, loved it and would happily recommend it to 8th grade and high school girls and the right boys

The winner of the 2011 Stonewall Award for LGBTQ YA fiction. Features a transgendered love interest for the male main character. Have heard some negative reactions to it, but I thought it was very realistically realized and well written. Will definitely recommend it.

It was ok, but I really didn't like her writing style and thought it was a bit boring and simplistic.

Greatly enjoyed this book. The writing was beautiful and the characters felt so real and genuine.

Greatly enjoyed this book. Funny,true, and empowering. Definitely one I would recommend to girls.

Good for her for getting a book written and published by 18, but it was just ok. The plot was pretty formulaic, and the sex scenes were really graphic for YA. Definitely for high school readers.

Actually pretty informative, all boring evidence to the contrary.

Eh. Felt a little too forced and overdramatic, but that's probably becaue I'm not a teenager myself (thankfully!). I do still think it was interesting and know quite a few kids I would recommend it to.

Probably found it more depressing as an adult than as a teen, but overall I liked it.

The book was certainly more violent and dark than I expected, but a really interesting concept overall. I'm debating whether I'm invested enough to read the next 3 books in the series. I think I'll at least give the second one a try.