Bel:
Cover
The book I borrowed from the Library is split into three horizontal strips. The middle strip has a partial profile of a girl we imagine would be Becca and the bottom strip is the silhouette of forestry. The title and author’s name are in hues of purple and before you read the book, it really doesn’t seem to refer too much to the story within.
Characters
Elizabeth George is quite skilled at creating characters you can relate to. You can even feel some sympathy for the queen of nastiness.
Favourite
Hayley. Yes I know this one is from left field. She’s dealing with stuff in the best way she knows how, and I love a girls who isn’t all ‘poor me’.
Least Favourite
Jeff Corrie. Scum of the earth is above him.
Beginning
Jeff Corrie is using Hannah for his own devices and his greed comes to a head, which would be fine except Hannah can hear whispers (read minds), and what she reads from Jeff’s mind is enough to have her mother and her on the run lickety-split.
Storyline
Hannah, now known as Becca, is sent to Whidbey Island to wait out her mother finding a safe place to hide. She finds the most popular kid in school close to death at the bottom of an incline in the forest and staying off the radar becomes her number one priority.
Ending
This series continues on, so I guess there technically isn’t one here.
Thoughts
I munched through this book in about 24 hours. Talk about hooked. I felt off kilter almost the whole way through, and it didn’t matter how many guesses I made throughout the book, I didn’t guess the outcome. The characters evolve and their relationships are cemented, which is excellent, because I will certainly be searching for the rest of this series.
Quote
“People usually hate because of a despair they can’t let themselves feel.” ~Dianna, giving words of wisdom to Becca.
Krista:
Cover
My cover was the same as Bel’s The island the book takes place on does have a lot of forest landscape, but the main character Becca is explained to have heavy makeup on. I would have liked to see that on the cover.
Characters
The story takes place on a somewhat small island, a place where everyone knows each other. So there are a lot of characters that are coming in and out of the story. We get different point of views throughout the story, which I always enjoy. Becca is the main character and she is abandoned, scared, and lonely but seems to make friends easily.
Favourite
Diana: it seemed that everything this woman said was insightful, and she always has this caring air about her that was comforting.
Least Favourite
Jenn. It seemed like she always had to say something negative. She obviously didn’t believe in the saying “if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Beginning
Running for their lives, Becca’s mother drops her off at Whidbey Island to be taken care of by a friend (to hide her from her step father). But when Becca gets to the friend’s house, circumstances have changed. Now she is stranded not knowing anybody who can help her and out of contact with her mother.
Storyline
Hiding from her step-father in fear for her life, Hannah is left in the care of her mother’s friend on Whidbey Island. As soon as she arrives everything falls apart, and now she has nowhere to go and doesn’t know anybody to help. After meeting a few people, she finds a place to live and she starts school. When a boy is hurt in the forest, things take a turn for the worse.
Ending
This is another first book in a series, so the ending leaves some unanswered questions and intrigue for the next book.
Thoughts
Even with a mixture of characters, I felt that the author did a great job in having each one rounded and their emotions jumped off the page. Their reactions were very real and raw. This made me really hate and really love different characters as the story progressed. I also loved the scenic mountainous setting of Whidbey Island; very much a place I would love to live in.
Quote
“Sometimes, we can’t see a reason for what happens, so we try to find one because it’s easier to do that than to go through the pain of recovering.” -Diana
The series has, to this point, been fast-paced and filled with questions about what constitutes good and evil, as well as heart-stopping moments that made me cry. Dreams of Gods and Monsters concludes this trilogy and, whoa baby, does it play with your emotions and leave you wanting to give Laini a standing ovation for a job well done.
Bel:
Maya starts out below the bottom rung on the popularity ladder at the beginning of eighth grade.
