This is Part Two of a collab post series with Sarah from Sarah’s Fantastical Bookshelves. Part One was books we both liked, sometimes for the same reasons and sometimes for different ones. Looking through our ‘read’ lists on Goodreads, it was a little bit shocking to see how similar our tastes in literature are, but there were still a few books we disagreed on. In Part Two, you get to read about the books we disliked and disagreed on.

The Selection

Sarah’s rating: 2 stars

Sarah’s opinion: I actually didn’t prefer the premise of this book. It was honestly just a bunch of ladies sabotaging each other and trying to get the attention of a prince. If I’m going to read a book in the romance genre, I want it to be about true love, and in this book, it seemed too fake and the dialogue was forced. Of course there was a love triangle (like any generic YA book), and the main character COULD NOT decide who she wanted to be with, which resulted in her confusion as to whom she truly loved (which is not true love folks). I will say that I loved the main character’s family. All of the scenes with her family made me feel warm and fuzzy. Part of me wishes the whole book could have just been about them.

Grace’s rating: 2 stars

Grace’s opinion: I can see why people would like it. It has an interesting dystopian setting, and the premise is fascinating- it reminds me of the Book of Esther, actually. It’s really dramatic.  

Because so many people were raving about it, and it didn’t sound bad, I picked it up and forced my way through it, then wished I hadn’t.

It’s a formulaic love triangle romance. The dialogue sounded stilted and unnatural to me. I felt lost while I read it because I didn’t know where or when I was exactly. I found the characters annoying, and the main character, America Singer, came of as sort of whiny and overdramatic. I give this book 2 stars.

Black Beauty

Sarah’s rating: 3 stars (it would have been two but I’m feeling generous

Sarah’s opinion: I really liked that this book was written from the perspective of a horse as it went through its life. Honestly, he was a really lovable character, and there were some especially sad parts that made me want to hug him and buy him and UGH I need a horse now. I had a few issues with Black Beauty, like the fact that it was SO SAD. It was too sad for me to handle. I’m okay with sad books every once in a while, but just don’t do it through the poor innocent eyes of an animal. I couldn’t handle it. However, I can see why this book has been loved and appreciated for so long. It’s a lovely little story with an amazing main character.

Grace’s rating: 4 stars

Grace’s opinion: I thought this book was really cute. It was the story of a horse’s life, from birth to old age. It’s really a sort of old-fashioned book, but I was able to enjoy the story and the characters. This is one book where watching the movie before or after really brought the story to life, and didn’t just ruin your idea of the story.

Cinder

Sarah’s rating: DNF

Sarah’s opinion: I love science fiction, fantasy, and ADORE Cinderella. So obviously, I thought I was going to love this book with my whole heart. Sadly, I found it to be sort of bland. I usually prefer books that are fast-paced, and a lot of people agree that this one starts out sort of slow. One thing I did like about the book was the characters. I thought they had good backgrounds and they were well-thought-out and creative. Unfortunately, I just didn’t have the patience to get through this one, but maybe I’ll come back to it sometime in the future.

Grace’s rating: 4 stars

Grace’s opinion: I actually really liked this book. I didn’t expect to, after my experience with The Selection, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The setting is fascinating. It’s set in a dystopian New Asia, where technology is everywhere, there’s a sort of Cold War going on with the people on the moon, there’s spaceships, and a prince is about to have a big ball.

I loved the characters. Iko the android was so cute, and I didn’t find Cinder to be a cliched YA fairy tale heroine. The plot was fast-paced and interesting, although it started slowly, and the stakes were high.

Am I the only one who thinks the cover’s a little bit creepy?

Fahrenheit 451

Sarah’s rating: 4 stars

Sarah’s opinion: As a reader, the description of this book truly scared me. Burning books?! This was a very scary glimpse into the future, with people constantly using technology, books not allowed, and super long billboards (read it to find out what I’m talking about). I think the ending was also a bit abrupt? I expected this book to be longer, or maybe get a bit more closure at the end? Possibly the author wanted to end it this way, to make his point. Hopefully this is not what the future holds in store for us, but I’m glad we have this book to prevent it from happening.

Grace’s rating: 3 stars

Grace’s opinion: The writing in this book was amazing. The tone perfectly matched the subject matter, and the structure of the book awed me. The author portrayed the characters as flawed, struggling people. The messages are relevant and chillingly reflect the world we live in today.

That said, I’m torn about this book. For me, it’s a hard book to read. Characters are an important element of a book for me as a reader, and I didn’t really like the characters in Fahrenheit 451, nor do I think I was supposed  to. Reading about characters so hopeless and self-centered is difficult.

Take, for example, Captain Beatty. He, at one point, loved books- and arguably, people. He studied them, cared about them, got to know them really well. He knows books and people well, and uses his knowledge of books and his knowledge of people to confuse and manipulate Guy Montag. And Mildred Montag is completely hopeless, and doesn’t even seem to remember her life. Guy himself has times of compassion, and times of reckless confusion and rage.

For those reasons, this was a hard book to read, but I still liked it. I thought the writing showed definite mastery and talent, for certain.

Let’s Chat!

What did you think of this collab? What are some books that disappointed you?