Booklog #5

This week I finished: 

Let me describe the book I finished this week and see if you think it sounds familiar:

Socially awkward teenage girl is forced by circumstances to start a new school in a dreary grey place where she feels trapped.  She meets an alluring boy who constantly blows hot and cold towards her, leaving her unclear where she stands with him.  She tries to find out more about him from other students and school records.  Along the way she ends up in hospital after a terrible incident.  Eventually she confronts the boy about his feelings for her only to find that he's a supernatural being and has been trying to put her off him in order to keep her safe.  Despite this eventual declaration of love (which she has yearned for) she continues to fret that she's not good enough for him and wonder how he could possibly be interested in her.  When they have to part she pines for him.  

Okay, so things do take a different path in the second half of the book, but up to that point you'd have been hard pushed to deny that I was describing Twilight wouldn't you?  It's actually Fallen, by Lauren Kate, but despite the fact it felt a tiny bit 'been there, read that' I still enjoyed it a lot and really got caught up in the action.  The supernatural beings aren't vampires, which makes a nice change - you can probably guess from the title what they actually are...plus I think I gave it away last week!  There's a good balance of action and dialogue, and the school and its colourful cast of pupils are described very well (though I wouldn't want to visit).  I like this because I find it really frustrating to finish a book and still have no real grasp of how any of it looked.  I think you enjoy a story so much more if your subconscious is able to use the words provided to paint a picture as if it's going on around you, making you feel involved as opposed to just a spectator.  Definitely something to aspire to with my own writing!  4/5

Other than that, it's been a quiet week in terms of reading.  I haven't had chance to start anything new, mainly because I've got such a backlog of magazines built up that I've had to try and clear some before they take over the house!  However, my book club should be starting a new book this week, hopefully a good ol' whodunit this time. 

I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (I've slogged my way through another chapter, now up to 22!)

Till Wednesday then - happy reading!  :o)
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