Thursday, February 2, 2012

The Candidates....a mediocre read

I finished The Candidates a few nights ago, but was too invested in my new book to get online and post!  This book definitely tries to have a Harry Potter or Twilight twist to it, however I don't think it nails it quite as well.  The book started off strong leaving you with a lot of questions, but I found the middle of the book to be quite meaty with a lot of round-about explainations.  It took a while for it to really get going.


Right from the beginning we know there is something a bit strange about the main character, Dancia, and the new school she will be attending, Delcroix Academy.  Not until the last few pages do you figure out what is really going on, and even then it felt like it was kind of thrown in there.

 The majority of the book is really about a love triangle with the main character and two "enemies" if you will. Who will get the girl, the good looking "Mr. Perfect," or the "bad boy" who is always getting in trouble? It talks A LOT about young crushes, and what you do about a boy you like and the conflict Dancia has internally about everything that is going on.

Although I didn't particularly care for the book, thinking about my middle school students, I know a lot of young girls who would probably be very interested seeing as the story has romance, covers a first kiss, has a fantasy element etc.  I think it is almost like a Twilight geared for a younger audience.

3 comments:

  1. I will be interested to see how this review of the book will compare to the one you write as a guest blogger for the Carly Reads for TBF. You might need to share with readers what they might find entertaining about the book even if you didn't find it to be a page turner.

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    1. By the way Katie, I forgot to mention that both Inara Scott and Jenny Han -- TWO of the authors you have read this semester -- are coming to TBF in May. Are you going to be able to volunteer at this year's Festival?

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    2. I am sure going to try to make it! Last year I offered extra credit to my students who could go, and since my mom works at the Fairport Public Library, I hear about TBF all the time! It is a great program, and I get just as excited to meet the authors as the kids do! I didn't realize that two of the authors I have read will be there! That just makes me more excited!

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