leonas_library's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
illusie's review against another edition
2.0
Such a strange story. I really don't know what to think of it.
bolynne's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars.
****I received a copy of this ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review!****
This book did a lot of things really well even with it's fairly minor cast and limited setting, which obviously meant that the character development was key here. I think the author accomplished exactly what she was looking to do. It read like a Disney movie really, and I honestly think Anda would make an AWESOME Disney Princess. This story also made me really wonder about the world it exists in. Is she the only one with this kind of origin story and powers or are there others for different elements/seasons? Pretty cool.
The only thing I didn't enjoy as much was that it just didn't seem like there were any real stakes. I never got the vibe that either character was really in danger at any point, because of how quickly the rescue seemed to come and it was so built up.
I think I would have liked this book more if I was younger, but it was still memorable.
****I received a copy of this ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review!****
This book did a lot of things really well even with it's fairly minor cast and limited setting, which obviously meant that the character development was key here. I think the author accomplished exactly what she was looking to do. It read like a Disney movie really, and I honestly think Anda would make an AWESOME Disney Princess. This story also made me really wonder about the world it exists in. Is she the only one with this kind of origin story and powers or are there others for different elements/seasons? Pretty cool.
The only thing I didn't enjoy as much was that it just didn't seem like there were any real stakes. I never got the vibe that either character was really in danger at any point, because of how quickly the rescue seemed to come and it was so built up.
I think I would have liked this book more if I was younger, but it was still memorable.
step_into_a_book_world's review against another edition
4.0
www.stepintoabookworld.wordpress.com
GIVEWAY FOR NOVEMBER GIRL ON MY BLOG CLICK LINK ABOVE
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Entangled Publishers for review for a upcoming blog tour. This review is written based on my own thoughts and opinions on this book*
November Girl by Lydia Kang was a breathtaking novel to read. It was truly a unique, dark, and creepy story for those who are like myself who are always game for a little darkness in their books. Lydia Kang’s writing will draw you into this story and it will run rampant through your mind like a summer storm even after you set the book down.
November Girl is told from two POV’s by the main characters Hector and Anda. These characters came alive off of the page thanks to Kang’s wonderful style of writing. They were captivating and realistic. I wanted to know everything about them.
The first character is Hector a 17-year-old who runs to Isle Royale, a deserted island in the middle of Lake Superior, to hide out until he turns 18. When he turns 18 he won’t be required to return to his family home. He doesn’t expect to see anyone on the island when the last boat leaves because there are terrible storms rumored to plaque the island around that time of year, but then he sees Anda and everything changes.
The next character Anda is a weather witch and half-human. She is described as the November storm that shuts down her island Isle Royale every winter. She can control the lake, and the legends surrounding her states, the majority of ships that sink in November are all because of her. The deaths of sailors is what helps keep Isle Royale alive. Each and every year the island evacuates in October leaving Anda completely alone on the island with no one else to interact with.
All in all this was a riveting book that I would recommend for those seeking magic, compelling characters, and an a chilling adventure. The only negative I found was how the love between Anda and Hector felt forced in some part and I didn’t really feel the connection between them so, I couldn’t connect to it. The characters on their own were developed wonderfully but I wanting to see more passion in the love between them.
www.stepintoabookworld.wordpress.com
GIVEWAY FOR NOVEMBER GIRL ON MY BLOG CLICK LINK ABOVE
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Entangled Publishers for review for a upcoming blog tour. This review is written based on my own thoughts and opinions on this book*
November Girl by Lydia Kang was a breathtaking novel to read. It was truly a unique, dark, and creepy story for those who are like myself who are always game for a little darkness in their books. Lydia Kang’s writing will draw you into this story and it will run rampant through your mind like a summer storm even after you set the book down.
November Girl is told from two POV’s by the main characters Hector and Anda. These characters came alive off of the page thanks to Kang’s wonderful style of writing. They were captivating and realistic. I wanted to know everything about them.
The first character is Hector a 17-year-old who runs to Isle Royale, a deserted island in the middle of Lake Superior, to hide out until he turns 18. When he turns 18 he won’t be required to return to his family home. He doesn’t expect to see anyone on the island when the last boat leaves because there are terrible storms rumored to plaque the island around that time of year, but then he sees Anda and everything changes.
The next character Anda is a weather witch and half-human. She is described as the November storm that shuts down her island Isle Royale every winter. She can control the lake, and the legends surrounding her states, the majority of ships that sink in November are all because of her. The deaths of sailors is what helps keep Isle Royale alive. Each and every year the island evacuates in October leaving Anda completely alone on the island with no one else to interact with.
All in all this was a riveting book that I would recommend for those seeking magic, compelling characters, and an a chilling adventure. The only negative I found was how the love between Anda and Hector felt forced in some part and I didn’t really feel the connection between them so, I couldn’t connect to it. The characters on their own were developed wonderfully but I wanting to see more passion in the love between them.
www.stepintoabookworld.wordpress.com
book_nut's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like, as a Michigander, I should have liked this one more.
leahkarge's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this novel a lot! While it was often slow at times, the writing was neat and easy to read. The pacing was generally smooth, and I liked that it wasn’t a single, first person point of view but showed both of them and clearly indicated when we were switching, without head hopping.
Additionally, both characters were incredibly dynamic. Read the full review on my blog!
Additionally, both characters were incredibly dynamic. Read the full review on my blog!
theprintedgirl's review against another edition
4.0
*ARC in exchange for an honest review*
This book perfectly sums up everything I love about magical realism. It's a really eery story and sometimes it gets a bit creepy, but it's never horror so don't expect that.
Anda is the daughter of the lake, and she isn't used to being around other people than her dad. The writer makes this clear in very clever ways. The way Anda thinks about the most normal things is both funny and absurd, but I loved everything about her.
Hector is a runaway with a heavy background story. You get to know him more throughout the book, and the farther you get the more everything starts to make sense. He has a very morbid sense of humour and I liked that a lot about him. He never takes himself seriously. At times I felt really bad for him. He was such an interesting character, everything about him was special.
The combination of two very abstract characters made this a very interesting read. Although there are only two characters for the biggest part of this book, you actually never notice that and they make for such a cute pair!
It's hard to say if this book is a slow or a fast paced book, because the pace varies a lot. At times it went quite slowly but at sometimes, like the ending, there was quite some action going on! And, we need to talk about that ending!! The ending was so so so beautifully executed. It read like a real thriller and easily had me on the edge of my seat. I. Just. Had. To. Know. How. It. Would. End!!!
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This book perfectly sums up everything I love about magical realism. It's a really eery story and sometimes it gets a bit creepy, but it's never horror so don't expect that.
Anda is the daughter of the lake, and she isn't used to being around other people than her dad. The writer makes this clear in very clever ways. The way Anda thinks about the most normal things is both funny and absurd, but I loved everything about her.
Hector is a runaway with a heavy background story. You get to know him more throughout the book, and the farther you get the more everything starts to make sense. He has a very morbid sense of humour and I liked that a lot about him. He never takes himself seriously. At times I felt really bad for him. He was such an interesting character, everything about him was special.
The combination of two very abstract characters made this a very interesting read. Although there are only two characters for the biggest part of this book, you actually never notice that and they make for such a cute pair!
It's hard to say if this book is a slow or a fast paced book, because the pace varies a lot. At times it went quite slowly but at sometimes, like the ending, there was quite some action going on! And, we need to talk about that ending!! The ending was so so so beautifully executed. It read like a real thriller and easily had me on the edge of my seat. I. Just. Had. To. Know. How. It. Would. End!!!
Blog | Tumblr | Instagram | Twitter
div_hufflepuff's review against another edition
5.0
Who asked for a YA novel that is beautifully written and yet slightly creepy? I did!
Some of y'all may find this to be a typical YA story with some supernatural sprinkled in, I however found it to be hella refreshing. I loved that supernatural! You WONT find me saying "this book had potential" nope. It lived up to every one of my expectations and then some.
Let hop to it. Anda's dad is a bi-racial human (pay attention to bi-racial cause it plays a important role in the book) and her mother is a lake/goddess/entity (I really don't know how else to put it). If I had to describe her powers it would say picture X-Men's Storm crossed with Aang from The Last Air Bender. It's that awesome. And she also has some weird relationship with death.
Then we have Hector. Also mixed racially. He is human though and has a lot of stuff going on with him. Let's just say he has years of therapy ahead of him. I'm actually still trying to piece together his heritage and his issues because it really is kind of heavy.
Put these two together and you have one heart wrenching story that leaves you in awe. Well worth the read.
Some of y'all may find this to be a typical YA story with some supernatural sprinkled in, I however found it to be hella refreshing. I loved that supernatural! You WONT find me saying "this book had potential" nope. It lived up to every one of my expectations and then some.
Let hop to it. Anda's dad is a bi-racial human (pay attention to bi-racial cause it plays a important role in the book) and her mother is a lake/goddess/entity (I really don't know how else to put it). If I had to describe her powers it would say picture X-Men's Storm crossed with Aang from The Last Air Bender. It's that awesome. And she also has some weird relationship with death.
Then we have Hector. Also mixed racially. He is human though and has a lot of stuff going on with him. Let's just say he has years of therapy ahead of him. I'm actually still trying to piece together his heritage and his issues because it really is kind of heavy.
Put these two together and you have one heart wrenching story that leaves you in awe. Well worth the read.
endlessmidnight's review against another edition
2.0
Something about this book didn’t work with me. Although the focus of this is mostly Anda coming to terms with the fact that she is the November girl, leading to most of it being just pushing Anda.
Also, do I mention that this is narrated by two characters. And Hector, feels like an extra above everything else. He has nothing which makes me interested or even invested in him. Just that he is going to help Anda in some way. And that his character will fall in love with her, which is just plain strange in my view.
As for the writing, it just doesn’t work for me. It seriously didn’t work for me, the more I tried to read it just didn’t work for me. And really hampered my ability to enjoy this work. The writing just really failed me.
Although the release date fits the title, but little else makes sense for me there. I just couldn’t find something which made me able to read through all of this work. And hence, you can see why this just didn’t work for me. Not because it is terrible, but the writing was not to my taste and the characters if anything was weird to me.
Also, do I mention that this is narrated by two characters. And Hector, feels like an extra above everything else. He has nothing which makes me interested or even invested in him. Just that he is going to help Anda in some way. And that his character will fall in love with her, which is just plain strange in my view.
As for the writing, it just doesn’t work for me. It seriously didn’t work for me, the more I tried to read it just didn’t work for me. And really hampered my ability to enjoy this work. The writing just really failed me.
Although the release date fits the title, but little else makes sense for me there. I just couldn’t find something which made me able to read through all of this work. And hence, you can see why this just didn’t work for me. Not because it is terrible, but the writing was not to my taste and the characters if anything was weird to me.