I didn't think it was possible to find a book worse than Twilight but this definitely is on almost every level. I have to admit, I went into the book having read some pretty negative non-spoiler reviews so I didn't have high hopes, but part of me wished that it would be better so I'd have something unique to say about it.The prologue is one of the most poorly written pieces of published literature I've ever read. I had to reread several sentences to understand what was being said. Not even Meyer's grammatically incorrect paragraph-long sentences were that bad. That said, the writing gets better once the author switches to first person. I was able to understand it, but it was still full of grammatical errors and awkward sentences.
The mythology behind the angels was poorly constructed and confusing. I still don't understand their purpose, their rules, or pretty much anything about them. For example, I don't understand what the difference is between a good angel and a fallen angel. I also question why these angels have the powers they do. They're just so random that there needed to be some explanation for me to buy it.
The characterization in this novel is awful. I nominate Vee as the worst, most annoying, and most unrealistic friend of a main heroine in all YA literature. What kind of friend, after being told that her best friend has been assaulted by a guy, defends him and then proceeds to try and make said friend go with him to a deserted area? Also, I ban the word "babe" from ever being used in any novel ever again. I honestly don't understand why Nora is friends with her. In addition to be a bad friend and extremely irritating, she and Nora have absolutely nothing in common.
There isn't much to say about Nora. Her father's death strangely has little impact on her life or the story. There was no reason for it. He could have run off and joined the circus and Nora's reaction probably would have been more believable, and it wouldn't have changed the story any. Speaking of parents, Nora's mother is another example in YA of literature of unbelievable parenting. Once again I'd like to point out that if a parent is going to be extremely neglectful, a reasonable explanation needs to be given such as they were raised by wolves or they have some sort of personality disorder. It also seems really odd that Nora would rather keep her house than have her mother around, especially having just lost her father.
I also feel compelled to point out that I absolutely hate how unrealistic college admissions are portrayed in YA literature. I laughed out loud when Nora says that the difference between an A and a B is the difference between getting a half scholarship or a full one to an Ivy League school. There is no way in hell Nora is going to get accepted to an Ivy League school, let alone receive a full scholarship, no matter what her grades or SAT scores are. Those schools turn down 4.0s and people who get 2400 on their SATs. A student needs to have something that makes them stand out whether that's good connections (e.g. legacy status), being famous for something (e.g. a concert pianist, a celebrity, an award winning writer), or the ability to walk on water. There is nothing outstanding about Nora.
Because there's nothing special or interesting about Nora, I don't understand why Patch is interested in her. The only thing he ever says he likes about her is her looks so I guess that's it, but that doesn't explain his deeper feelings for her. I also don't understand Nora's attraction to Patch. He's a jerk and he makes extremely derogatory comments to her throughout the entire book. He's also physically violent towards her and threatens her several times, and it turns out he was planning on killing her for half the book. I thought he was very poorly written. I got the feeling that by the end of the book I was supposed to feel sympathy for him but I didn't, partly because of how terribly written his backstory was.
The presentation of women in this book is beyond awful. I won't delve too deeply into it because other reviews have already done a better job than I ever could but I couldn't help mentioning it. It makes the Twilight Saga look like the feminist manifesto. All of the women Nora encounters aside from Vee and her mother (who both have their own terrible flaws) were raging bitches. There was Marcie, Dabria, the waitress from Portland, the homeless woman, and both girls she encounters in the movie theater. Also, several of the women in this book were attracted to men who treated them like crap (Nora, Vee, and Dabria).
I honestly can't think of a single positive thing to say about this novel.
