linakv

This series have always been a victim of various reviews, at best. I started this mostly because I got the whole box set for free, because of a cupon I had. So I will probably finish the rest, but I'm in no hurry to do it.

I have a lot to say on this first book, and I don't know where to start.

Okay, let's start with the plot. The plot was very simple, and I didn't care about it all that much. I realise that it is a love story, but that didn't have to be all it was about, did it? Give me some nuances, because this shit is just plain boring sometimes. It's not as bad as Twilight in describing every effing movement the other one makes, but it's still pretty annoying, seeing as it's just so unlikely. The girl, Grace, has been looking at a wolf for six years since he saved her from being eaten. And then whoopdido, the wolf turns in to a gorgeous boy her own age. Isn't that just a bit too convinient? Well, if it weren't, there wouldn't be a story, I do realise that. But then again, maybe this was a story that could have waited. If it had been done in a less sickening and clishé'd way, I would be okay with it, but right now, it was just a hot mess of convinience and clishés going all over the place, making me want to punch someone.

When it comes to a dramaturgical arch, I simply couldn't find one. It wasn't exactly flat, but it wasn't a very strong curve either. I could sort of see where the author wanted it to go, but she didn't get there. It just fell flat.

The Characters

Grace
First of all, she was very Bella Swan, there is absolutely no doubt about that. But I did like Grace a little bit better than Bella anyway, because at least Grace dodn't have a compulsion to say in every other sentence how gorgeous Sam is. The thing about Grace is that just like Bella, she can't properly function without her loved one, and that's what annoys me. I need more badass heroines in my life, who don't let the course of their lives be decided by a man. So bottom line is, she has a very boring personality, and is annoyingly dutiful, and she's the kind of person who never does anything wrong, ever.

What's the deal with tragic heriones being into books by the way? It happens way to often in litterature, and I'm starting to find it bloody boring. In Grace, it's not too evident though, so it's sort of okay, but I needed to get it out there. And why is it that there is never a young-adult girl who actually have had sexual encounters before? I realise that there's mostly teenagers reading YA-fiction, but there are still teenagers doing the do. It's like writers are trying to paint a rosy picture of how everything is supposed to be, and that you're not worth anything if you've already had sex. But I'm twenty, and technically, I'm an young adult. I need litterature I can recognize myself in. And I'm not going to get that from reading adult fiction where they are 35 and desperate to find a man.

Sam
First of all, no eighteen year old boy has ever acted that way. It's not humanly possible for an eighteen year old to be such a cliché. So, despite being the most annoying love interest I've seen in a long time, he was kind of okay, I guess. Except for some of the language "You went potty on yourself" I MEAN SERIOUSLY. How is it even possible for an adult writer to move her fingers so she can type that?
But yes, Sam. He has a very boring personality. Being the misunderstood emo-kid who writes music and plays the guitar and all. We've seen it before, we don't need it again. He's creepily obsessed with Grace, but seeing as Grace is creepily obsessed with him too, it's sort of okay.

Olivia and Rachel
Bland and boring. Both of them. I couldn't get anything out of them. It was simply utterly boring. When a character in a book series has best friends, I want to know why she is friends with them. Why are they so important to the main character? We never find out, except that they've been friends for a long time. She avoids them pretty much all the book, except in the end and at school, and that doesn't give me a reason to love them. As soon as the boy (Sam) shows up, Grace is completely engulfed in him, and can't seem to remember that she has any friends at all.

Isabel and Jack
Isabel was one of the few characters I actually enjoyed in this book. She was very strong and dependant on herself, and wouldn't deal with any bullshit. I would have liked the book if it had been from her point of view. She seems much more badass than Grace (not that that's saying a lot, but you know). Jack on the other hand, I didn't get much of a feel for. It was like he was the thing that was dragging the plot along, without really being there. He wasn't really exciting, he was just angry. And angry characters are more often than not, boring.

All in all, I didn't hate this book, but there's a lot of mistakes in it, and I would have liked it if Stiefvater had fixed them before they were published. Made a believable main character and a not-so-stupid love interest, and I would have greatly enjoyed it. Because the plot isn't bad, it's just a bit too much focus on the love story instead of the wolves and their lives. I would love to see more of the action, and not just the making out. Another year of editing and thinking through what the message should be, and I would have been a very happy reader. But right now I'm at the "meh" point.