Best of 2012 - Aimee

Best of 2012!!

So for the month of December we have something special here on the blog. We will be featuring post from our members all about their best reads of 2012. They will each be writing a mini-post about the best YA book they have read this year. These books don't have to have been released this year, just read and enjoyed. 

The first one is by Aimee, who is 14, Here is what she has to say about her pick, Beautiful Creatures...

Beautiful Creatures

By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl.

Review by Aimée

This was probably the first book I read this year that I really really liked. It was set in the town of Gatlin County, in South Carolina (A fictional place, I assume. I’m not the best at Geography.) Ethan Wate is in high school when Lena Duchannes moves in… or back. She’s very unusual compared to the orange, skinny, high-heeled and blonde girls that usually own the school. She creates quite a spark among the town, as she is the niece of ‘old man Ravenwood’, basically the town weirdo. When Ethan begins to talk to Lena, he feels that he has already met Lena before. Ethan finds out Lena is a Caster, someone with magic. On her 16^th birthday, she has to choose between the light and dark sides. Come to the dark side!(No, don’t do that.)

I would say this is my favourite book of the year, because it is not your average love-triangle, high school teenage novel. It is written from the point of view of Ethan, which I like, because it is still very focused on Lena, but from his point of view. I loved the way they portrayed Lena as well, the description of her at the start really give a good idea of how she looks, and how it changes with her. A part of the beginning is the song ‘Sixteen Moons’ that is found later in the plot. In the next book (this may possibly count as spoilers, maybe?) they use the idea again, with the song ‘Seventeen Moons’. It’s only a small verse, a rhyme thingy, but I always try to imagine how it would sound, which is half the fun!

I thought that the pace was very good, there wasn’t too much crammed into a chapter, so it didn’t really get boring. I loved the magic element, and it wasn’t to stereotypical magic and witches idea, it was really interesting how it developed. It was really well set up for the rest of the series and still cleared some things up so it didn’t just feel like and introduction. This series started in I think 2009, but I only read this one earlier in the year. I’m slowly getting into the rest of the series but I haven’t finished those yet.

Someone said to me once (actually, I think it was my mum) that you only bring a character in so that they can die, or if they’re important to the plot. To me, this is really accurate to the book as all the characters Garcia and Stohl have added all play parts that help to make it a great book. Some of them don’t really seem important, but then you get towards the end and BAM! they’re major parts again.

So, basically, I really love this book, and what I have read of the other books, and that if you like magic, the kind of romance-y bits but without the Twilight ‘era’ of romance/stalkerish stuff, then give it a go. It’s not really dystopian though, but if I was you, I’d read it anyways.

Thank you Aimee!! :0) 

What did you guys think of Beautiful Creatures? Leave a comment below to let us know. :)

Make sure you keep an eye on the blog over the course of December, as we will have lots more from our members.

See you next post.

Kaylie :0)