This was a really good, kind of lighthearted book. Riley is just as fun as she was in The Immortals, with the added geeky charm of new friend Bodi. It was a very quick read for me, but it still kept me very interested and was fun to read. I highly recommend it to anyone, though more so to the 10-15 age group.
This book was very, very short. Very quick read. In fact I wish it was a bit longer so that we could have had a few more answers to some questions or a few more interesting events happen as well. It seemed as though you turned the page and it was gone. Also I was disappointed that Buttercup, the yellow lab, did not play more of a role in this story. From what I had read when I ordered this book, it seemed like this book should have been more about a girl and her dog going out looking for lost souls, and it was somewhat close to that but not really.
Still an interesting story, just wish it was a bit longer.
Still an interesting story, just wish it was a bit longer.
This review is going to be short and sweet, kinda like this book. Radiance, was a super quick read. I was able to fly through it in no time at all. The plot started out slow and took a little over half the book to get to the good stuff, but since the book was so short that really didn't matter much. Radiance had a sweet storyline about young Riley and her life after she moves on to the Here and Now, and how's she's trying to accept that and deal with her early death.
I liked Riley's character most of the time, although she was pretty whiny. I really liked the idea of the Here and Now. Where are we? "here", what time is it? "now". You can be anywhere you want, dressed anyway you want, with just a thought. The ending of the book was a sweet conclusion. Overall this book was just so-so for me. It may have just been a little too much for the younger age group than I prefer, but it was still enjoyable.
I liked Riley's character most of the time, although she was pretty whiny. I really liked the idea of the Here and Now. Where are we? "here", what time is it? "now". You can be anywhere you want, dressed anyway you want, with just a thought. The ending of the book was a sweet conclusion. Overall this book was just so-so for me. It may have just been a little too much for the younger age group than I prefer, but it was still enjoyable.
This book is a fun MG read. It is told completely from a first person POV. Even though she has no contact with Ever, it is Riley's own story learning her place and purpose in this after-life. She is spunky, a bit bratty, and finds herself in the end a bit wiser than she thought she could become. Buttercup is adorable and although Bodhi is a bit one dimensional (probably due to seeing him through only on POV) he is interesting enough to see where the story takes him.
The beginning of the story is a big slow, but really picks up in the middle of the book. At the end, you are met with Riley's epiphanies and the book feels complete with only being 178 pages. You do get a teaser with the next book, but I warn you... you will be left wondering or demanding what happens next if you read the excerpt.
I give this book 4 stars. Remember this is a MG read and those that are expecting YA would be disappointed.
The beginning of the story is a big slow, but really picks up in the middle of the book. At the end, you are met with Riley's epiphanies and the book feels complete with only being 178 pages. You do get a teaser with the next book, but I warn you... you will be left wondering or demanding what happens next if you read the excerpt.
I give this book 4 stars. Remember this is a MG read and those that are expecting YA would be disappointed.
I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did. Id heard good things about this author, and even though this is a book for the younger set, I didnt think it could be too bad. Unfortunately, Im in my late 20s, so it really was just not my kind of book, written for a much younger age group and very obviously so.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
http://www.dorolerium.com/?p=1680
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
http://www.dorolerium.com/?p=1680
I have been curious about Alyson Noel's The Immortals series, but because of mediocre reviews haven't wanted to commit to such a long series. When I saw that Noel had released a short novel that was a spin-off of the series I thought it would be a great way to get a feel for her writing and see if I wanted to read more by her. This book was okay, but the character's were a bit flat and immature for me.
Riley is dead and is living in the Hear and Now. Her parents are there and her house is there. Everything is kind of the same as it was when she was alive. Then on her first day of school things go wrong, she can't find her place...her job... in the Here and Now. When she is called before the Council they decide she should be a Soul Catcher and assign super-geek Bodhi to be her guide. Now Riley has to try and travel back to the land of the living to complete her assignment.
As far as ghost stories go, this one didn't really add anything to the genre that hadn't been done before. Riley is basically somewhere in between the land of the living and Heaven and is having trouble accepting that. I think this book is written at a lower age level than The Immortals because it is being told from Riley's perspective (she is thirteen years old).
The writing style for this book is okay, if a bit juvenile. It is readable and engaging. My biggest problem with this book are the characters. None of them are all that likable and they are also stereotypical. Riley is shallow, obnoxious, and whiny. Right away she starts giving Bodhi a hard time because he looks geeky; then later when he has his geeky glasses off she is all like "Oh, swoon he is so hot." I mean really how shallow can you be? Bodhi as a character isn't much better, although the fact that he even tolerates Riley says he's got more going on than she does. I think Riley is supposed to come off as snarky; but in reality she is irritating and obnoxious...even she realizes this at points...but she makes no effort to change.
Overall not a book I enjoyed much. The biggest thing this book had going for it is that the dialogue was natural sounding and readable (if obnoxious) and it was a really short book. Personally I wouldn't waste my time on this book unless you are a serious die-hard fan of the Immortals series. There wasn't much story here, not much creativity, and the characters were obnoxious. This book convinced me to give credence to the mediocre reviews I have been seeing for The Immortals; I don't think this author is for me. It does look like Noel is planning to write additional novels with Riley and Bodhi; so if you do enjoy this book you should have more of the same to look forward to in the future.
Riley is dead and is living in the Hear and Now. Her parents are there and her house is there. Everything is kind of the same as it was when she was alive. Then on her first day of school things go wrong, she can't find her place...her job... in the Here and Now. When she is called before the Council they decide she should be a Soul Catcher and assign super-geek Bodhi to be her guide. Now Riley has to try and travel back to the land of the living to complete her assignment.
As far as ghost stories go, this one didn't really add anything to the genre that hadn't been done before. Riley is basically somewhere in between the land of the living and Heaven and is having trouble accepting that. I think this book is written at a lower age level than The Immortals because it is being told from Riley's perspective (she is thirteen years old).
The writing style for this book is okay, if a bit juvenile. It is readable and engaging. My biggest problem with this book are the characters. None of them are all that likable and they are also stereotypical. Riley is shallow, obnoxious, and whiny. Right away she starts giving Bodhi a hard time because he looks geeky; then later when he has his geeky glasses off she is all like "Oh, swoon he is so hot." I mean really how shallow can you be? Bodhi as a character isn't much better, although the fact that he even tolerates Riley says he's got more going on than she does. I think Riley is supposed to come off as snarky; but in reality she is irritating and obnoxious...even she realizes this at points...but she makes no effort to change.
Overall not a book I enjoyed much. The biggest thing this book had going for it is that the dialogue was natural sounding and readable (if obnoxious) and it was a really short book. Personally I wouldn't waste my time on this book unless you are a serious die-hard fan of the Immortals series. There wasn't much story here, not much creativity, and the characters were obnoxious. This book convinced me to give credence to the mediocre reviews I have been seeing for The Immortals; I don't think this author is for me. It does look like Noel is planning to write additional novels with Riley and Bodhi; so if you do enjoy this book you should have more of the same to look forward to in the future.
This books reads so quickly! I was amazed by this. Interesting plot and how one thing leads to another. At one time I thought if this goes how it's going, the book will be lost, in my opinion, but the author handled the problem with great skill.
Like it. Found it an easy read and enjoyed the sequence of events.
