I just finished reading The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall this weekend. Books should come with warning labels:
"WARNING: This book may cause your pulse to rise"
"WARNING: This book is the first in a series- don't get too attached. The next one doesn't come out for YEAR"
Yep. You read that right. This is the first book in a series and the second one doesn't get published till 2016. I guess I should be prepared for things like this to happen- especially in YA but it doesn't make it any less frustrating. Getting to the end of the book and realizing that there are sooo many unanswered questions is the worst. WHYY do authors do this to us- torturing the poor reader?!
Anyway. Onto the review (contains spoilers).
The premise of this novel is a teenage girl (Avery) who moves around constantly (think military-brat) finds out that her long lost family is part of a powerful and dangerous secret society searching for "The One"- a person who will lead them to great treasure and invincibility. Avery must search for and locate clues that will lead her to "The One" in order to save her life and the lives of her family. There are, of course, two "bad, mysterious, secretive" boys assisting her in the search for lost power. It could be said that this is a Da Vinci Code for teens- traveling across Europe to locate clues in order to prevent world wide disaster.
I enjoyed this book (I am a big fan of transcontinental plots), The love triangle is over done in all YA but once you overlook that aspect, the story and characters are engaging and exciting. The plot is fast paced and leaves you anxious for the next one. There are times when the reader realizes things before the narrator (Avery's moms' kidnapping or her father NOT being dead like she was previously told), that make it an occasionally frustrating read. Avery, as a narrator, seems a tad whiny- always complaining about never having any friends or people to count on- but I guess being uprooted every few months can be frustrating when it comes to making friends (even so, its a tad annoying every time she mentions "The Plan" or not allowing herself to form personal attachments). This novel doesn't fit into one genre (but does any book, really?) Mystery, suspense, romance, thriller- The Conspiracy of Us falls into each category.
Overall: 4/5
"WARNING: This book may cause your pulse to rise"
"WARNING: This book is the first in a series- don't get too attached. The next one doesn't come out for YEAR"
Yep. You read that right. This is the first book in a series and the second one doesn't get published till 2016. I guess I should be prepared for things like this to happen- especially in YA but it doesn't make it any less frustrating. Getting to the end of the book and realizing that there are sooo many unanswered questions is the worst. WHYY do authors do this to us- torturing the poor reader?!
Anyway. Onto the review (contains spoilers).
The premise of this novel is a teenage girl (Avery) who moves around constantly (think military-brat) finds out that her long lost family is part of a powerful and dangerous secret society searching for "The One"- a person who will lead them to great treasure and invincibility. Avery must search for and locate clues that will lead her to "The One" in order to save her life and the lives of her family. There are, of course, two "bad, mysterious, secretive" boys assisting her in the search for lost power. It could be said that this is a Da Vinci Code for teens- traveling across Europe to locate clues in order to prevent world wide disaster.
I enjoyed this book (I am a big fan of transcontinental plots), The love triangle is over done in all YA but once you overlook that aspect, the story and characters are engaging and exciting. The plot is fast paced and leaves you anxious for the next one. There are times when the reader realizes things before the narrator (Avery's moms' kidnapping or her father NOT being dead like she was previously told), that make it an occasionally frustrating read. Avery, as a narrator, seems a tad whiny- always complaining about never having any friends or people to count on- but I guess being uprooted every few months can be frustrating when it comes to making friends (even so, its a tad annoying every time she mentions "The Plan" or not allowing herself to form personal attachments). This novel doesn't fit into one genre (but does any book, really?) Mystery, suspense, romance, thriller- The Conspiracy of Us falls into each category.
Overall: 4/5