haia_929's review
2.0
This is a trimmed down version of my review, to view the full review visit The Book Ramble.
This book was provided by HarperCollins on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Esme is sent to her grandmother's house after she starts to cause trouble for her sister. The trouble is no one can see her, and the people she can see can't be seen by anyone else. Everyone she knows seems to be dead, and maybe Esme is dead too. Esme has to figure out how to let everyone know she's there and help the ghosts in town cross over before the man that killed them all kills her too.
I didn't really enjoy this book. I found the plot confusing and poorly explained, the tone was boring and uninteresting, and the characters were hard to connect with. It was a fairly easy read once I actually got into the book, but that took an extremely long time to do. I think this was a fun enough read but I didn't really enjoy it at all and was kind of disappointed with the ending.
The story follows Esme as she lives with ghosts in her grandmother's house. Honestly it's all a little unclear. You're never really made to understand what is going on with Esme, which has the power to speak to ghosts. Then there are several lines of action about her grandmother's career, parent's death, sister's dancing past, the ghosts' individual lives, the man who killed them all, and there's a romance plot. It's a lot and it doesn't tie together all that clearly to be honest. I think it was easy enough to follow but if you thought about it at all it stopped making much sense and got just kind of confusing. Nothing is explained, in fact the idea of "not worrying about it" is sort of written into the book, which just felt lazy.
I didn't really care about any of the characters particularly much. I didn't feel that things were developed well character-wise. I was never sure what age anyone was supposed to be or the type of character they were meant to be. Things just sort of swayed back and forth randomly in terms of personality. This also meant the tone was hard to follow and it just didn't connect for me. I was not a fan of the characters or story telling.
Overall, I was not a fan. It was an easy enough read but it wasn't something I would recommend to others.
This book was provided by HarperCollins on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Esme is sent to her grandmother's house after she starts to cause trouble for her sister. The trouble is no one can see her, and the people she can see can't be seen by anyone else. Everyone she knows seems to be dead, and maybe Esme is dead too. Esme has to figure out how to let everyone know she's there and help the ghosts in town cross over before the man that killed them all kills her too.
I didn't really enjoy this book. I found the plot confusing and poorly explained, the tone was boring and uninteresting, and the characters were hard to connect with. It was a fairly easy read once I actually got into the book, but that took an extremely long time to do. I think this was a fun enough read but I didn't really enjoy it at all and was kind of disappointed with the ending.
The story follows Esme as she lives with ghosts in her grandmother's house. Honestly it's all a little unclear. You're never really made to understand what is going on with Esme, which has the power to speak to ghosts. Then there are several lines of action about her grandmother's career, parent's death, sister's dancing past, the ghosts' individual lives, the man who killed them all, and there's a romance plot. It's a lot and it doesn't tie together all that clearly to be honest. I think it was easy enough to follow but if you thought about it at all it stopped making much sense and got just kind of confusing. Nothing is explained, in fact the idea of "not worrying about it" is sort of written into the book, which just felt lazy.
I didn't really care about any of the characters particularly much. I didn't feel that things were developed well character-wise. I was never sure what age anyone was supposed to be or the type of character they were meant to be. Things just sort of swayed back and forth randomly in terms of personality. This also meant the tone was hard to follow and it just didn't connect for me. I was not a fan of the characters or story telling.
Overall, I was not a fan. It was an easy enough read but it wasn't something I would recommend to others.
thedaydreamreader's review
4.0
Actual rating is 3.5
I really had a hard time reading this book at night. I tried it twice but in both those instances, I had to stop and continue reading in the morning. Something about creeping yourself out right before you go to sleep is seriously something that I had to stop or else I wouldn't be able to sleep at all. The setting of the story also adds to its creepy factor. The train tunnels of New York to the sleepy town a train ride away right down to Esme's very own home with staircases that lead to nowhere and beds that unmake themselves and bathrooms that go back to being unclean. It was downright creepy.
Read the full review in The Bookwhore Diaries
I really had a hard time reading this book at night. I tried it twice but in both those instances, I had to stop and continue reading in the morning. Something about creeping yourself out right before you go to sleep is seriously something that I had to stop or else I wouldn't be able to sleep at all. The setting of the story also adds to its creepy factor. The train tunnels of New York to the sleepy town a train ride away right down to Esme's very own home with staircases that lead to nowhere and beds that unmake themselves and bathrooms that go back to being unclean. It was downright creepy.
Read the full review in The Bookwhore Diaries
withherheadinabook's review
1.0
Originally posted on my blog, With Her Head in a Book.
Thank you Netgalley for this e-ARC copy of Supervision.
Supervision is a paranormal mystery through and through. Ghosts galore. Spooky happenings. A murder mystery (or ten). What more could you ask for? Well, there’s also some romance just in case and a few history lessons (though they’re not totally accurate).
Esmé has had a rough childhood and has been sent to live with her estranged grandmother. Turns out her house is just as weird as she is and maybe Esmé is, too, when she starts to see ghosts. Lots of ghosts. She sets out to figure out her own mystery as she tries to uncover why they died and what do they want.
Generally, the characters have little consistency in their personality or actions. I would blame that on their ghosty existences, but even the living face the same issues. On the plus side, each character has a few certain distinct traits that have carried over into the afterlife, setting them apart from one another. Esmé and her family are also Chinese descendants. Unfortunately, her ethnicity is more of a plot device than anything else.
Supervision isn’t necessarily a bad book, it’s just no where near good or even worth reading. The book is loosely held together by weak story building with plenty of plot holes. Dialogue is the main tactic used to spur on the storyline, lacking variety and balance in writing style and story elements. To be honest, it reads very much something a new writer would post on a writing site (much like fanfictions that have every character you ever liked bend to your every whim).
I didn’t violently dislike the novel, so I feel a bit weird giving it a one star, but it doesn’t deserve anything higher. If I hadn’t received a copy of the novel through Netgalley, I would have stopped reading very early on. I would not recommend this book for anyone.
Plot: 1/5
Characters: 2/5
Writing Style: 1/5
All Around Idea: 2/5
Total: 1/5
Thank you Netgalley for this e-ARC copy of Supervision.
Supervision is a paranormal mystery through and through. Ghosts galore. Spooky happenings. A murder mystery (or ten). What more could you ask for? Well, there’s also some romance just in case and a few history lessons (though they’re not totally accurate).
Esmé has had a rough childhood and has been sent to live with her estranged grandmother. Turns out her house is just as weird as she is and maybe Esmé is, too, when she starts to see ghosts. Lots of ghosts. She sets out to figure out her own mystery as she tries to uncover why they died and what do they want.
Generally, the characters have little consistency in their personality or actions. I would blame that on their ghosty existences, but even the living face the same issues. On the plus side, each character has a few certain distinct traits that have carried over into the afterlife, setting them apart from one another. Esmé and her family are also Chinese descendants. Unfortunately, her ethnicity is more of a plot device than anything else.
Supervision isn’t necessarily a bad book, it’s just no where near good or even worth reading. The book is loosely held together by weak story building with plenty of plot holes. Dialogue is the main tactic used to spur on the storyline, lacking variety and balance in writing style and story elements. To be honest, it reads very much something a new writer would post on a writing site (much like fanfictions that have every character you ever liked bend to your every whim).
I didn’t violently dislike the novel, so I feel a bit weird giving it a one star, but it doesn’t deserve anything higher. If I hadn’t received a copy of the novel through Netgalley, I would have stopped reading very early on. I would not recommend this book for anyone.
Plot: 1/5
Characters: 2/5
Writing Style: 1/5
All Around Idea: 2/5
Total: 1/5
hannahsophialin's review
3.0
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Supervision was an interesting read – a very interesting read, and I'm not entirely too sure how I feel about this particular novel. The book definitely promotes diversity – the main character is apparently an Asian American character that doesn't actually follow the typical Asian stereotype (about time!).
In fact, this particular Asian American (her name is Esme) sometimes got to the point of making another Asian American (moi) wonder if she was just plain dumb. Not to be racist (not that I CAN be racist with my own race), but a chick who was smart enough to go to a private school in New York City with a scholarship has got to have come across the word "malicious" sometime throughout her scholarly career. Either that, or Esme was just extremely mind blown after being told she's dead, her brain cells stopped working for a second.
But that doesn't mean I'm saying I want an Asian sprouting textbook language.
There were, however, at times where too much was going on – my mind was running around and backtracking, rereading certain points of the book to attempt to get a better understanding and making connections from point A to point B. We have Esme sort of having a normal life in New York before some sort of subway tunnel scene that results in a flash of white light, which made me wonder if Esme is actually dead or dreaming. It finally results in Esme getting sent straight to a small town that is far from the spectrum of New York with her eccentric grandmother.
In all honesty, that particular scene that seems to be the ultimatum of sending Esme to Wellstone wasn't entirely confusing at first. But then we have a cast of ghosts that try to figure out why Esme can see, hear, and touch ghosts yet still experiences what the living experiences: two say Esme is dead, another says Esme isn't living or dead – she's in between. And between all of that, Esme tries to let her grandmother know she's okay (with fail), figure out why the Stationmaster is interested in her, uncovering the ghosts' pasts, and why at least one kid goes missing from Wellstone every year.
Half the time I feel as though Stine tries to build Wellstone in a supernatural way – it's obvious she seems to do a pretty good job in making the supernatural side of the town be as supernatural as possible. However, the other half of the time I feel as though Supervision would be a lot better explained if it were a movie with all the visual effects that Stine tries to apply at some points in the book.
In the long run though, Supervision was enjoyable and fun to read. While the concept was interesting, the book's movie version (should there ever be one) would probably be a lot more exciting and clearer than the book version.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
Supervision was an interesting read – a very interesting read, and I'm not entirely too sure how I feel about this particular novel. The book definitely promotes diversity – the main character is apparently an Asian American character that doesn't actually follow the typical Asian stereotype (about time!).
In fact, this particular Asian American (her name is Esme) sometimes got to the point of making another Asian American (moi) wonder if she was just plain dumb. Not to be racist (not that I CAN be racist with my own race), but a chick who was smart enough to go to a private school in New York City with a scholarship has got to have come across the word "malicious" sometime throughout her scholarly career. Either that, or Esme was just extremely mind blown after being told she's dead, her brain cells stopped working for a second.
But that doesn't mean I'm saying I want an Asian sprouting textbook language.
There were, however, at times where too much was going on – my mind was running around and backtracking, rereading certain points of the book to attempt to get a better understanding and making connections from point A to point B. We have Esme sort of having a normal life in New York before some sort of subway tunnel scene that results in a flash of white light, which made me wonder if Esme is actually dead or dreaming. It finally results in Esme getting sent straight to a small town that is far from the spectrum of New York with her eccentric grandmother.
In all honesty, that particular scene that seems to be the ultimatum of sending Esme to Wellstone wasn't entirely confusing at first. But then we have a cast of ghosts that try to figure out why Esme can see, hear, and touch ghosts yet still experiences what the living experiences: two say Esme is dead, another says Esme isn't living or dead – she's in between. And between all of that, Esme tries to let her grandmother know she's okay (with fail), figure out why the Stationmaster is interested in her, uncovering the ghosts' pasts, and why at least one kid goes missing from Wellstone every year.
Half the time I feel as though Stine tries to build Wellstone in a supernatural way – it's obvious she seems to do a pretty good job in making the supernatural side of the town be as supernatural as possible. However, the other half of the time I feel as though Supervision would be a lot better explained if it were a movie with all the visual effects that Stine tries to apply at some points in the book.
In the long run though, Supervision was enjoyable and fun to read. While the concept was interesting, the book's movie version (should there ever be one) would probably be a lot more exciting and clearer than the book version.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
veronika_wordy_and_whimsical's review
1.0
http://reading-is-dreaming-with-open-eyes.blogspot.hu/
I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
I went into Supervision expecting something unusual and amazing, instead it officially became the biggest disappointment of 2015 so far. *cheers* Everything about this book seemed so promising. I love books about ghosts but I've never read anything quite like the story that the blurb of Supervision suggests. And the cover looks magical, doesn't? Before starting this I'd decided that I'll purchase this as soon as it's out in paperback, this is how much I was looking forward to Supervision. You've probably guessed by now that this is not going to happen.
The writing was all over the place. Even if we excuse all the mistakes, that can be corrected for the real publication, we still have the rushed and confusing storyline. At least half part of the novel was a lot like a rough sketch of a book, instead of a nearly ready ARC. Sadly, I found the writing a lot more dramatic than I'd have preferred, though I got used to this later on, and it might not annoy others.
My biggest problem, though, was how disconnected I felt. Reading this book was a lot like watching something through a gray glass. On top of this I was emotionally detached from Esmé. She was a nice enough character, I guess, but I couldn't relate to her, nor did I ever feel for her. There were things I knew about her but I never had the chance to get to know her or to see her intentions and feelings.
Thankfully, most things got better as the story progressed. Not the plot holes, though, because those made the story nearly unbearable to read all through the book. All these ghosts were moving around things even when real people were there. I'm pretty sure by now the Ghostbusters would have appeared.
On top of this, all chapters ended with forced cliffhangers that instead of making the story exciting, made me angry. Moreover, at many parts I felt like the story jumped from one thing to the other. This would have been understandable if the MC had been on heavy drugs but she was not. The dialogues annoyed me to no end. It wasn't enough that the story was boring but Esmé had to go around telling people all about the things that we've just read about. This, and many other things made the story slow.
The romance was maybe the worst thing in the novel. For instance I don't get how can you make out with a ghost if you're not Suze from The Mediator. The chemistry was non-existant and I never even understood why they liked each other in the first place. I know, it's the strangest thing that I say this, but Supervision would have been better off without the romance.
I'm pretty sure there will be people who enjoy this book, but it was simply not for me.
The story idea: 2/5
The realisation of the story: 1/5
The characters: 1/5
Enjoy factor: 1/5
Final rating: 1/5
I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
I went into Supervision expecting something unusual and amazing, instead it officially became the biggest disappointment of 2015 so far. *cheers* Everything about this book seemed so promising. I love books about ghosts but I've never read anything quite like the story that the blurb of Supervision suggests. And the cover looks magical, doesn't? Before starting this I'd decided that I'll purchase this as soon as it's out in paperback, this is how much I was looking forward to Supervision. You've probably guessed by now that this is not going to happen.
The writing was all over the place. Even if we excuse all the mistakes, that can be corrected for the real publication, we still have the rushed and confusing storyline. At least half part of the novel was a lot like a rough sketch of a book, instead of a nearly ready ARC. Sadly, I found the writing a lot more dramatic than I'd have preferred, though I got used to this later on, and it might not annoy others.
My biggest problem, though, was how disconnected I felt. Reading this book was a lot like watching something through a gray glass. On top of this I was emotionally detached from Esmé. She was a nice enough character, I guess, but I couldn't relate to her, nor did I ever feel for her. There were things I knew about her but I never had the chance to get to know her or to see her intentions and feelings.
Thankfully, most things got better as the story progressed. Not the plot holes, though, because those made the story nearly unbearable to read all through the book. All these ghosts were moving around things even when real people were there. I'm pretty sure by now the Ghostbusters would have appeared.
On top of this, all chapters ended with forced cliffhangers that instead of making the story exciting, made me angry. Moreover, at many parts I felt like the story jumped from one thing to the other. This would have been understandable if the MC had been on heavy drugs but she was not. The dialogues annoyed me to no end. It wasn't enough that the story was boring but Esmé had to go around telling people all about the things that we've just read about. This, and many other things made the story slow.
The romance was maybe the worst thing in the novel. For instance I don't get how can you make out with a ghost if you're not Suze from The Mediator. The chemistry was non-existant and I never even understood why they liked each other in the first place. I know, it's the strangest thing that I say this, but Supervision would have been better off without the romance.
I'm pretty sure there will be people who enjoy this book, but it was simply not for me.
The story idea: 2/5
The realisation of the story: 1/5
The characters: 1/5
Enjoy factor: 1/5
Final rating: 1/5
lindsayl's review
3.0
Esme is different than all the other kids at her prestigious school in New York City. She's on a scholarship, she looks different, she dresses different, and everyone thinks she lives in an imaginary world. Both of her parents died when she was five and now her older sister raises her and struggles to make ends meet so they can keep their apartment. As Esme's grades are slipping, her sister warns her that the next time she messes up, she's on a train to her grandmother's house in the Pennsylvania countryside. Esme ends up getting into trouble after investigating a graffiti sign in a train tunnel and her sister ships her off to her grandmother. Except, once Esme arrives, her grandma can't see her, and when she goes to school the next day, her teachers and classmates don't notice her. She finally meets Clara and Tom who take her under their wing, but they have a secret: they're dead and so is Esme. Esme is positive she is still alive since she can breathe, bleed, eat, drink, and sleep. Tom and Clara can't, but with no one being able to see her, Esme begins to second guess herself as she becomes involved with Tom, Clara, and the other ghosts as well as their past lives. What happened to Esme? And can she figure out a way to return to her old life or will she join the other ghosts haunting the town?
I loved the concept of this story, but the downside was the writing. The sentences were choppy and sporadic, and there was a lot of jumping around inside the chapters which didn't make the writing flow. There were spelling and grammatical errors that should be corrected before publication since this was an ARC. At times the plot grew boring but then an event would occur to draw me back in. Some scenes didn't make sense in the plot and I didn't connect to the main character. She was pretty flat with no significant traits or unique characteristics. With that being said, this was a nice read for those who are interested in light ghost stories.
I was provided an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for a review.
I loved the concept of this story, but the downside was the writing. The sentences were choppy and sporadic, and there was a lot of jumping around inside the chapters which didn't make the writing flow. There were spelling and grammatical errors that should be corrected before publication since this was an ARC. At times the plot grew boring but then an event would occur to draw me back in. Some scenes didn't make sense in the plot and I didn't connect to the main character. She was pretty flat with no significant traits or unique characteristics. With that being said, this was a nice read for those who are interested in light ghost stories.
I was provided an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for a review.
ruthsic's review
3.0
Something is wrong with Esmé.
Kicked out of school in New York, she's sent to live with her grandmother in a small Appalachian town. But something is wrong with the grandmother Ez hasn't seen for years; she leaves at midnight, carrying a big black bag. Something is wrong with her grandmother's house, a decrepit mansion full of stray cats, stairs that lead to nowhere, beds that unmake themselves. Something is wrong in the town where a kid disappears every year, where a whistle sounds at night but no train arrives.
And something is wrong with the friendly neighbor Ez's age with black curls and blue eyes: He's dead.
Conceptually, Supervision had a lot going for it. Ghosts living in limbo, cursed to relive their death simply because it draws them in, and a girl with a gift in her bloodline that causes her to be attuned to them. When Esme was shipped off to her grandmother’s house in the middle of nowhere, little did she know that her gift would awaken in the strangest way possible – she gets stuck in limbo, meaning she can see and hear ghosts and interact with them but the living can’t do so with her. For all purposes, she is like a ghost with the only distinction being she is actually living. So, stuck in a town she didn’t want to be, she tries to get through to her grandmother while also befriending the ghosts around the house. She, initially, comes off as a bratty teenager, someone who despises the world she lives in, but by the end, she evolves into a strong character when she takes down the villain.
While I loved the concept and the main character, the book was quite difficult to follow through. Things made no sense at the moment of reading, and the writing and pacing was a tad bit slow for me. At times, there was just a lull in the progression of the plotline, and I was a bit bored. The story picked up towards the end, with the exposition, and action, but by then I was already a bit frustrated with it. So, while I mostly got through the book and eventually it did seem good, I did not enjoy reading it.
Received an ARC from HarperCollins via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Kicked out of school in New York, she's sent to live with her grandmother in a small Appalachian town. But something is wrong with the grandmother Ez hasn't seen for years; she leaves at midnight, carrying a big black bag. Something is wrong with her grandmother's house, a decrepit mansion full of stray cats, stairs that lead to nowhere, beds that unmake themselves. Something is wrong in the town where a kid disappears every year, where a whistle sounds at night but no train arrives.
And something is wrong with the friendly neighbor Ez's age with black curls and blue eyes: He's dead.
Conceptually, Supervision had a lot going for it. Ghosts living in limbo, cursed to relive their death simply because it draws them in, and a girl with a gift in her bloodline that causes her to be attuned to them. When Esme was shipped off to her grandmother’s house in the middle of nowhere, little did she know that her gift would awaken in the strangest way possible – she gets stuck in limbo, meaning she can see and hear ghosts and interact with them but the living can’t do so with her. For all purposes, she is like a ghost with the only distinction being she is actually living. So, stuck in a town she didn’t want to be, she tries to get through to her grandmother while also befriending the ghosts around the house. She, initially, comes off as a bratty teenager, someone who despises the world she lives in, but by the end, she evolves into a strong character when she takes down the villain.
While I loved the concept and the main character, the book was quite difficult to follow through. Things made no sense at the moment of reading, and the writing and pacing was a tad bit slow for me. At times, there was just a lull in the progression of the plotline, and I was a bit bored. The story picked up towards the end, with the exposition, and action, but by then I was already a bit frustrated with it. So, while I mostly got through the book and eventually it did seem good, I did not enjoy reading it.
Received an ARC from HarperCollins via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
alyce6d980's review
1.0
First off I need to say a big thank you to HarperVoyager UK for accepting my request to view this book on NetGalley, and to NetGalley for the service that they provide.
If I had to choose one word to describe how I feel about 'Supervision', it would definitely be confused.
In 'Supervision' we follow Esmé, a teenage girl who has been kicked out of her private school in New York. Exasperated with her behaviour, her sister sends her off to Wellstone, a small town in the countryside, to live with her grandmother, but when Esmé gets to Wellstone her life goes from bad to worse. Why? Because she's now invisible. Oh, and she's surrounded by ghosts.
I really liked the premise of this book, so I was hoping I was going to love it, but something vital was lost in translation leaving me with unanswered questions occurring constantly throughout my reading of this book. Written like a bad 'American Horror Story' fan-fiction, ghosts were popping up all over the place, written into and out of the story without much rhyme or reason despite the insistence from the ghosts that if there were more of them around they would know about it... They quite obviously didn't, even if they had been hanging around for over 100 years.
Too much of this book relies on coincidences, meaning you constantly feel cheated at every twist and turn.
Read the rest of my review here!
If I had to choose one word to describe how I feel about 'Supervision', it would definitely be confused.
In 'Supervision' we follow Esmé, a teenage girl who has been kicked out of her private school in New York. Exasperated with her behaviour, her sister sends her off to Wellstone, a small town in the countryside, to live with her grandmother, but when Esmé gets to Wellstone her life goes from bad to worse. Why? Because she's now invisible. Oh, and she's surrounded by ghosts.
I really liked the premise of this book, so I was hoping I was going to love it, but something vital was lost in translation leaving me with unanswered questions occurring constantly throughout my reading of this book. Written like a bad 'American Horror Story' fan-fiction, ghosts were popping up all over the place, written into and out of the story without much rhyme or reason despite the insistence from the ghosts that if there were more of them around they would know about it... They quite obviously didn't, even if they had been hanging around for over 100 years.
Too much of this book relies on coincidences, meaning you constantly feel cheated at every twist and turn.
Read the rest of my review here!
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