This Week's Topic:
What was the best book you read in March?
Road Trip Song of the Week:
(because I'm pure evil and if this song got stuck in my head I shall make sure it's in yours too!)
"I Like it Like That" by Hot Chelle Rae
I'm going to have to go with a book I haven't technically finished - but I'm one train ride to and from work away from "the end", and tomorrow is still March, so I'm going to count it. I won it on Larissa's blog and actually just started reading it yesterday, but it's a really fast read :)
It's one of those books that isn't breaking any new territory, and doesn't make you think terribly hard to see where things are going, but it's still a great story and keeps me turning the pages. And it made me realize something - a book doesn't have to have a mind-boggling, never-been-seen-before concept or style or "something" to be a great book. I keep seeing really cool ideas get shot down because they aren't unique enough or they sound too familiar. But MATCHED proves that "uniqueness" isn't really as important as having a great story, one that people are drawn to and want to follow until the end.
And you know, sometimes it's nice to pick up a book that doesn't seem so concerned with doing something "new" or "different". MATCHED (so far - but I'm alllmoostt done) is a dystopian romance with a typical love triangle and a very familiar future "feel" to it. Nothing new there. But the story itself belongs to the characters, and even if they might be a bit stereotypical, they're still unique. It's like settling down to watch a romantic comedy - you pretty much know what you're signing up for and if you like romcoms, then chances are you're going to like this one.
What was the best book you read in March?
I loved this book too. I wasn't as excited about the second book, so I'm hoping the third makes up for it.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the second book, but I did love the first quite a bit. The arc of character development really stood out for me even though, as you say, they were a bit stereotypical.
ReplyDeleteHmm, maybe Ill wait a while to read the second book then.
ReplyDeleteI've heard a lot about Matched, both positive and negative, and I think this is the most logical and balanced critique I've read. Thanks for some good reasons to put it on my eventual-to-read-list.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely worth a read :) It would make an excellent summer vacation book!
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