Welcome back to The Real World According To Sam!
I am Sam and you have entered my world. Today I bring another HONEST review from an author who asked me to read her book. This is her first ever novel and I'm very honored to have been able to read it.
Waybrooke
Waybrooke is a YA book by teen author Julia Barkey. The story follows Carrie, a young teen with a mysterious power whose aunt needs her help to aid other teens with various powers. Carrie has a past with a guy who makes an appearance a few chapters in and plays a large role in the overall plot. Carrie soon finds out that not is all as it seems at first. She ends up on the run with the group of teens she was sent to help, in order to avoid getting caught by a mysterious organization known only as E.Y.E.
PLOT
I am Sam and you have entered my world. Today I bring another HONEST review from an author who asked me to read her book. This is her first ever novel and I'm very honored to have been able to read it.
Waybrooke
Author: Julia Barkey
Genre: YA Action/Paranormal/Romance
Year of Publication: 2013
Waybrooke is a YA book by teen author Julia Barkey. The story follows Carrie, a young teen with a mysterious power whose aunt needs her help to aid other teens with various powers. Carrie has a past with a guy who makes an appearance a few chapters in and plays a large role in the overall plot. Carrie soon finds out that not is all as it seems at first. She ends up on the run with the group of teens she was sent to help, in order to avoid getting caught by a mysterious organization known only as E.Y.E.
CHARACTERS
There are a few main characters, but Carrie is the main one. She is the one the story is focused on and the key to pretty much everything. She's pretty well developed, but I definitely want to see more of her. There are a handful of teens at the beginning and a few of those stick together throughout the whole book. This involves a mind reader and 2 guys whose powers come into play later in the book. All are interesting and I want more of them. They don't feel fully fleshed out yet, but they are well on their way. They are relatable, fun and different from one another.
PLOT
The plot isn't very original overall, but the way everything comes together is. There aren't many books I've read that feature teens with powers. This is what I would consider a crossover of fun, light, adventurous YA and X-Men. However, this is way less technical and adult oriented than X-Men. I think this is a good start. The characters all have powers, but they aren't revealed immediately which is cool and builds up the reader's curiosity. Their powers are shown only when its really necessary and most useful. Also, at the beginning, they're all ready to get their powers removed. So instead of embracing their gifts, they feel like their burdens and want to just be normal. This makes it an especially good story because the characters have to adjust to who they are and what they can do.
PACING and OTHER STUFF
PACING and OTHER STUFF
The book has a good pace, but there are several things that need work. First off, there are a lot of loose ends that need to be taken care of in the next book (yes, there's a sequel in the making). For one, I never really got a feel for what E.Y.E. really is. All you know is that they're the bad guys and should be avoided. I couldn't even say what E.Y.E. stands for, and I think that's a bit of a problem. We need to hear a lot more about them soon. I need to know what they want and what they're doing to get that. Is it really evil intention or just a misunderstanding?? Team Rocket wants world domination, Team Magma wants to expand the land, Team Aqua wants to expand the ocean,...so what does Team E.Y.E. want?
Romantic Aspect: Yeah, this kind of thing exists in this book. I liked it. It isn't in your face, but it isn't super underplayed. I was cheering for one option the whole way. There's one side and then there's the other. One could be fixed, the other could start fresh. To be honest, I wanted the fresh one. You can decide for yourself which angle you prefer. It was interesting and I enjoyed this aspect, but I want it to be developed a little more.
SETTING
So I have been getting pretty fond of settings lately. I wrote a paper on the setting of a 17th century work for my last English class and the more I think about different books, movies, and games, the more I get fascinated by settings. This setting is okay. Its pretty standard, nothing exceptional, but nothing to majorly dock off points from the story. I'm still trying to figure out what the final setting really looks like. I have an idea of what I'd like for the place E.Y.E. is at to look like, but I'd also like for the author to explore the setting a little bit more when it comes to her writing.
OVERALL
This book is fun and light. It is entertaining and a good read when you just want to read something straightforward. It's YA and is geared towards a teenage audience. It is far from perfect, but its still good and I enjoyed it. It doesn't take very long to read, but it is a wholesomely good story. There are areas that need improvement to be sure. I'd definitely buy this book and I'm very much looking forward to the second book and whatever else the author decides to write and publish. I give this book a Lone Star rating of ✯✯✯✯.
This concludes my review for today, thanks for reading!!!!!
Romantic Aspect: Yeah, this kind of thing exists in this book. I liked it. It isn't in your face, but it isn't super underplayed. I was cheering for one option the whole way. There's one side and then there's the other. One could be fixed, the other could start fresh. To be honest, I wanted the fresh one. You can decide for yourself which angle you prefer. It was interesting and I enjoyed this aspect, but I want it to be developed a little more.
SETTING
So I have been getting pretty fond of settings lately. I wrote a paper on the setting of a 17th century work for my last English class and the more I think about different books, movies, and games, the more I get fascinated by settings. This setting is okay. Its pretty standard, nothing exceptional, but nothing to majorly dock off points from the story. I'm still trying to figure out what the final setting really looks like. I have an idea of what I'd like for the place E.Y.E. is at to look like, but I'd also like for the author to explore the setting a little bit more when it comes to her writing.
OVERALL
This book is fun and light. It is entertaining and a good read when you just want to read something straightforward. It's YA and is geared towards a teenage audience. It is far from perfect, but its still good and I enjoyed it. It doesn't take very long to read, but it is a wholesomely good story. There are areas that need improvement to be sure. I'd definitely buy this book and I'm very much looking forward to the second book and whatever else the author decides to write and publish. I give this book a Lone Star rating of ✯✯✯✯.
This concludes my review for today, thanks for reading!!!!!
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