YA Review- Ditched: A Love Story

(Picture from GoodReads)

"I don't know how I ended up on the side of Hollister Road, lying in this ditch."

-Opening Line

Book: Ditched: A Love Story
Author: Robin Mellom
Genre: Contemporary/Romance
Published: Hyperion 2012
Medium Read In: Hardcover
Pages: 275

Rating (Scaled 1-10): 4

Why I'm Reading It: I found it in my local library, and was mildly intrigued by the cover. Then, I read the blurb on the cover and was further drawn into the novel because of the whole "Bad Prom" theme, which I can relate to. It seemed like a fun read, so I read on.

Summary: Justina Griffith is ditched after Prom by her date and longtime friend, Ian Clark. She goes into a Seven Eleven and talks to the lady behind the counter about her horrible night. As she recounts the night, she slowly begins to figure out the reason things went wrong.

Review: I really wanted to like this book. I really, really, really wanted to like Justina. And believe me, I really tried to like her and sympathize with her and all those things I am meant to. But there was just something totally and completely off about this book. It may have been that I wasn't in too much of a prom-book reading mood, or that I had a stack of other books I was even more excited to read (see: The Pirate Captain's Daughter), but this just didn't work for me.

I felt no sympathy towards the main character, Justina. First off, I don't particularly like the name. Sorry to any Justinas out there, but it isn't one of my favorite names anyway. Besides that, the sort of punk-ish but-not-really POV character doesn't fit my idea of the name. Besides that, she just sort of managed to get on my nerves. I don't even know why. Its sort of like those kinds of people who you don't know why, but you just can't stand them.

And the rest of the characters didn't really fit what they should have been like, either. The most obvious example is the two girls who were best friends and got matching Jimmy Choos for prom. There is nothing wrong with matching shoes for a school dance. One of my best friends and I did it sophomore year (give it, they were both in different colors, mine a sparkly blue and hers purple, but its the same concept). However, the two girls with the matching shoes were hard core judgy, and Justina was just as judgy back.

The language used in those scenarios didn't particularly fit the bill for high schoolers and how they behave. The author obviously hasn't been to high school in a very long time. I'm in the place now, and I don't think anyone at my school would ever act in such a manner. With such out-of-character high schoolers, I just barely managed to trudge through this read.

When I picked up this book, I was promised a "best friends finally get together" romance. Justina and Ian have been friends for several months. And all of that happens before the novel starts. So it isn't really the kind of frame I was looking for. I was heavily disappointed with the set-up of their romance, and so this book sort of fell flat. The friendship didn't have much substance to it, either, so I couldn't even properly respect their friend zone status.

Furthermore, the ending came together a little too quickly- I didn't feel a buildup, no rise in action to make me sort of know where it could be going. It came out of left field. It was almost as if the author suddenly realized she should probably end the book, and decided to throw it all together randomly. The slightly random ending threw me off, and that was the end of that.

Don't get me wrong- I don't want to diss on the writer. It almost hurts to dislike a book this much. But I just didn't like the narrator, and when that kind of opinion happens, it all goes down from there. I really and truly wish I could have liked this book, but since I didn't, I do feel the need to let people know what they are getting into with Ditched. Hopefully someone else can enjoy it more than I.

-Moni

YA Review- The Pirate Captain's Daughter

(Cover found at GoodReads)

"I always knew my father was a pirate, and I always knew I wanted to be one, too."
-Opening Line

Book: The Pirate Captain's Daughter (Pirate Captain's Daughter #1)

Author: Eve Bunting

Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

Published: Sleeping Bear Press 2011

Medium Read In: Hardback

Pages: 201

Rating (Scaled 1-10): 5

Why I'm Reading It: I've spent forever looking for good books about pirates. Every time I see one, it's very likely to be a bodice ripper, when I'm more interested in finding fun, light reads along the lines of Treasure Island, or whatnot. I was ecstatic when I found The Pirate Captain's Daughter at my library. I liked the blurb for the book, and promptly brought it home with me for a read.

Summary: After the death of her mother, Catherine is determined to go to sea with her pirate captain father. Despite his reserve, he allows her to come aboard his ship, the Reprisal, disguised as his son 'Charlie.' Catherine has always believed in the romanticized version of pirates, and is disturbed by how dirty and vile their lifestyle is. As she struggles to find her place on the Reprisal, Catherine grows close with the cabin boy and makes enemies aboard the ship.

Review: This book had a lot of potential. I was super excited to read it, and despite the simplicity and slowness of the beginning, I continued to hope in vain for the book to gain more momentum. I liked William, the cabin boy, and I found the pirates we were introduced to to be fairly interesting. Ms. Bunting's writing was crisp and filled in just enough detail to not leave the reader wanting. She kept me engaged in the story, especially with her portrayal of Catherine's emotions. 

The emotional aspect was probably the best part of the novel. Catherine's sorrow at her mother's death, her relationship with her father, her original eagerness for sea, and then her disgust for the situation were all covered with fantastic language and accuracy. However, the relationship with William was under developed, in my opinion. The book was obviously geared toward the younger set of the YA readership, but that doesn't mean that the author needs to make it a magical-love-at-nearly-first-sight kind of romance.

There came a point about halfway through my read where I was about ready to put the novel down. Catherine makes quick enemies with two of the pirates, brothers Herc and Hopper. However, they sort of seem to ignore her. Sure, they bully her around a little, but her response to the two much senior pirates is a terribly stupid one. It almost seemed as if Catherine were the one going after the pirates, instead of them disliking her. Despite my reaction to this, I chose to continue on because of the short size of the novel and how quickly it took me to read the beginning.

Some reviews I have read have mentioned her father's willingness to take her aboard the ship as a dilemma. I feel the need to address this. I can see how that would be a problem in the actual setting of the novel,  but I also realize that without that small action on the father's part there would be no story. I personally allow my suspension of disbelief to accept that little falter for the author, especially with how realistically everything else is portrayed. These are not your gung-ho Disney-esque pirates: there are rats and rum and little-to-no water. The Pirate Captain's Daughter captures the essence of piracy, and so I will give it that.

Overall, The Pirate Captain's Daughter wasn't a horrible book, but it wasn't really a good one, either. I've heard there is a sequel(Voyage of the Sea Wolf), which I plan to read and review shortly because of the potential there was to the book. It captured my attention enough that I am willing to give the next one a chance, in hopes that the author decides to expand her characters a little bit and hopefully engage the bit of plot she had going. I will recommend this book for the younger set of YA, mostly because it is a well written story. Here's to hoping the next one is slightly better!

Happy Reading!

-Moni