Prophecy of the Stones--Flavia Bujor

Three young girls find out on their 14th birthdays that they are crucial to the battle between good and evil in the magical land of Fairytale. Although they are supposed to be enemies, traveling together and facing danger brings them closer and makes them friends. At the same time a young girl in present day Paris lies in a hospital bed withering away, dreaming of Fairytale and the three girls.

The writing is clunky. The dialogue is clunky. It's just not well-written. The author tells instead of shows. The character development happens too quickly. She would have been better off separating the story into a trilogy or at least 2 books, taking more time to show the development and the plot, instead of telling us "Now they are friends." And the parts with the girl in the hospital are just dumb. They don't relate to the story well at all.

I don't care if the author was only 13 when she wrote this. A book should stand on its own--either it's good or it's not and this one just isn't.

Reading: I'll probably start Messenger--Lois Lowry tonight.
On My Nightstand: Lots of Pregnancy and Yoga books, and Pregnancy and Working books that I haven't opened yet. And I still have that darn Sarah Dessen book.

Whale Talk--Chris Lynch

Our last teen book group discussed Whale Talk by Chris Lynch the other night. While I did like the book, we agreed that it seemed a little unrealistic. The way things all fit together seemed a bit contrived, and I just couldn't get past the fact that the social worker would place a little girl in a home knowing that the father had a history of violence with the people in that home. I know that the girl needed to see another mixed-race person, and it was good for TJ, but I just don't think that would happen in real life.

I enjoyed the sports part of the book, but like most of Lynch's work, the sports is just a backdrop to the bigger story. He is effective that way--keeping readers interested who may not be interested otherwise. I liked TJ as a character, and I liked his relationship with his parents. The ending was somewhat of a shock to me. I wasn't expecting or anticipating it. Which I suppose is good writing.

I have loads of pregnancy books to read and Top Shelf books as well, so that's what I'll be concentrating on next. I don't have another book group until January (!), so it looks like it's Top Shelf reading for me. I'm on hiatus from reviewing for VOYA until both Top Shelf and my pregnancy is over. I doubt I'll have much time for fun reading. Unless Coping with Pregnancy and Working is considered fun...

Just Finished Reading: Whale Talk--Chris Lynch
Reading:
On My Nightstand: Prophecy of the Stones--Flavia Bujor; Loads of pregnancy crap.