Water - Geoff Havel

This was a book that had sat on my shelf for years before I finally picked it up to read it, and when I finally did I wish I had have read it earlier.
Not because it was a good book, but because it might not have been such a chore to read in the days before I had read much more than Twilight and Roald Dahl.

Tully had always lived my her father's strict rules: 'stay away from strangers', 'don't stay home alone' and 'never, ever go in the water' until a mysterious stranger arrives at her door and Tully discovers the secrets her father has been keeping from her. The novel promises to be a "gripping, heart-stopping thriller".

Geoff Havel's writing, in short is simplistic and dull. Particularly during the first few chapters (though it was scattered throughout) there was an overload of cliché imagery, which didn't flow with the rest of the work. Tully's mental voice was very repetitive, she only ever seemed to think the same things from chapter to chapter: "where is dad?" "why did he say that?" "what does bill want?" "it's not fair?" or some variation, also phrasing stupid questions "What did dad mean when he said I wouldn't drown?" She also frequently refreshed the readers memory about past events that happened as few as a few pages ago. She was not a particularly enjoyable character to read through.

The novel was very predictable and flat, lacking any plot twists or startling moments, which are generally required of "thrilling novels". The only part of the novel that even slightly resembled suspense was not until near the very end of the book (excluding Tully's 'great reveal', which was blatantly obvious, given the title and her father's 'rules') when Jack stifled "a gasp of horror" *end scene*.

Overall this was not a particularly enjoyable novel and the only reason I reached that last page was because I wanted to judge it fairly in this review. Premise wise it is not a horrible idea, but in this case it simply did not work. It's only saving grace is that it is targeted at a much younger age group than I (10-12), who may be more appreciative of the novel. It only get's 1/5, and probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone over the age of, say, eight (though I have heard that it is required reading for some ESL students - I'm sorry).

My copy is going to the local book drive (for disadvantaged children) in hopes that someone will find joy within it's pages.

City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

I first read this book when I was fourteen and was not particularly keen on reading. Up until that point my shelf consisted of 'The Twilight Saga', and Roald Dahl (not that there is anything wrong with that) and I ADORED it. Jace was exactly the kind of boy my younger self wanted and I was happy to live vicariously through the characters.

Fifteen year old Clary Fray stumbles onto the shadow world, when during one of her trips to the Pandemonium Club when she bears witness to the murder of a young boy. Then the boy disappears. Clary hurdles head first into her otherworldly destiny in her home of Brooklyn. Shadowhunters, Demons, Downworlders and the secrets her mother had been hiding from her all her live, revealed. And then there is Jace the darkly, sexy shadowhunter boy determined to sink Clary further into his world. Clary is a headstrong young woman (when she is not weak in the knees for Jace) hell-bent on a mission to save her mother from what she, herself had been protected from her whole life.

Eighteen year old me is still not quite willing to part with it. I love the fast paced plot, the variation of personalities within the novel (even though Clare seems to share Clary's infatuation with Jace), I love the way the character's grew over the first three books, although secondary characters are almost ignored in the first novel. One of the things I love most about this series, which a lot of young adult books get wrong is the depth of reasoning behind the villain's actions. Valentine is not simply evil for the sake of being so, but he has a purpose and genuinely thinks he is doing what is right for his world.

While Clary is not my favourite female lead, she is far from terrible. The actions of most of the characters are realistic and believable. City of Bones is an enjoyable read and belongs on the shelf of newbies and avid readers alike of the teen romance persuasion.

3* (Because I save higher scores for the books I really, really like)\

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