The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
mrose21's review
4.0
Actually really enjoyed the twist to this book. It was pretty imaginative and even though there are hints to what is going on you don't get the hints until its pretty much too late which is OK.
The book is too young for me but I am glad to have read this eventually!!
The book is too young for me but I am glad to have read this eventually!!
erin_oriordan_is_reading_again's review
4.0
I bought this from Better World Books because it combines two things I love: Cara Lockwood's writing and what's probably my all-time favorite book, [b:Wuthering Heights|6185|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388212715s/6185.jpg|1565818]. I've previously enjoyed Lockwood's [b:Every Demon Has His Day|2917251|Every Demon Has His Day (Demon, #1)|Cara Lockwood|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386922975s/2917251.jpg|2944476] and [b:Can't Teach an Old Demon New Tricks|6357508|Can't Teach an Old Demon New Tricks (Demon, #2)|Cara Lockwood|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347453218s/6357508.jpg|6544247], both of which were silly, fun chick lit and fairly quick, easy reads. This was similar, except the protagonist is 15 years old, placing it more in the young adult than chick lit categories (not that the two are mutually exclusive).
Teenage Miranda has made some bad choices, including one that resulted in her father's BMW colliding with a tree. As a result, Miranda's dad sends her off to a mysterious island. No, the plot doesn't exactly mirror Shakespeare's [b:The Tempest|12985|The Tempest|William Shakespeare|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327793692s/12985.jpg|1359590], nor is it a modern retelling of 'Wuthering Heights' like [b:The Heights|6022139|The Heights|Brian James|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1316737852s/6022139.jpg|6197595].
Instead, what this book has is some startling appearances of long-dead novelists, Heathcliff emerging from the pages of the novel from whence he came, a missing girl who may or may not be a modern incarnation of Catherine Earnshaw, a serial arsonist who seems strangely like Bertha Mason from [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327867269s/10210.jpg|2977639], a Satan-worshiping roommate, and possibly a vampire.
This book reminded me a little of [b:Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children|9460487|Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, # 1)|Ransom Riggs|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1391229642s/9460487.jpg|14345371], a little of Eileen Favorite's [b:The Heroines|1883481|The Heroines|Eileen Favorite|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1266918191s/1883481.jpg|3102341] (another book in which Heathcliff comes out of the novel and into reality), and a little of [a:Marlene Perez|270479|Marlene Perez|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1392392567p2/270479.jpg]'s "Dead Is" series. I like all those things. When I read the first few pages, I wasn't sure I was going to like Miranda (she seems a little spoiled at first, but she's really misunderstood), but she quickly grew on me. I wasn't sure I would like a young adult book that had the MTV logo on the front cover, but it was better than expected. In fact, I think I liked this even better than Lockwood's chick lit series.
Teenage Miranda has made some bad choices, including one that resulted in her father's BMW colliding with a tree. As a result, Miranda's dad sends her off to a mysterious island. No, the plot doesn't exactly mirror Shakespeare's [b:The Tempest|12985|The Tempest|William Shakespeare|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327793692s/12985.jpg|1359590], nor is it a modern retelling of 'Wuthering Heights' like [b:The Heights|6022139|The Heights|Brian James|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1316737852s/6022139.jpg|6197595].
Instead, what this book has is some startling appearances of long-dead novelists, Heathcliff emerging from the pages of the novel from whence he came, a missing girl who may or may not be a modern incarnation of Catherine Earnshaw, a serial arsonist who seems strangely like Bertha Mason from [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327867269s/10210.jpg|2977639], a Satan-worshiping roommate, and possibly a vampire.
This book reminded me a little of [b:Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children|9460487|Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, # 1)|Ransom Riggs|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1391229642s/9460487.jpg|14345371], a little of Eileen Favorite's [b:The Heroines|1883481|The Heroines|Eileen Favorite|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1266918191s/1883481.jpg|3102341] (another book in which Heathcliff comes out of the novel and into reality), and a little of [a:Marlene Perez|270479|Marlene Perez|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1392392567p2/270479.jpg]'s "Dead Is" series. I like all those things. When I read the first few pages, I wasn't sure I was going to like Miranda (she seems a little spoiled at first, but she's really misunderstood), but she quickly grew on me. I wasn't sure I would like a young adult book that had the MTV logo on the front cover, but it was better than expected. In fact, I think I liked this even better than Lockwood's chick lit series.
marissacelina's review
5.0
A lot of people seem to dislike this book, I don't understand why though. It was surprisingly a well written book. I frankly, L O V E D it!! Our main character, Miranda, started off as a spoiled little brat and I will admit that bugged me a little. But lets face it, they're 4 books in this series and I knew that Cara Lockwod would make her "change" into a young heroine that all main characters end up changing into. I still felt bad for her though. I felt strong hatred towards her family because they were so blind and unfair. You see, Miranda's little sister, Lindsey is your stereotypical bratty little annoying nuisance. She blames EVERYTHING on Miranda! You would think a little sister would be sad to see her big sister shipped off to a school far away, but Lindsey? Nope. All she can think of is stealing Miranda's shoes from her closet. Thats just the sister though, the mother, yes she cares, but not enough give her the #1 Mother of the Year award. Lockwood makes the mother come out as some Botox addict. Now for the father, at first I hated him more than anything. He was so unfair and no words could express how badly I felt for Miranda. He is the 100% reason she is being shipped off to Bard Academy. Not her sister, not her mother, her FATHER and Miranda thinks it's just to get rid of her.
Now, IN Bard Academy, all the teachers go by the first initial of their last name, to keep some privacy. In this book we have the three teachers that will be important, Headmaster B, Ms. W and Coach H. Just like the summary says, the teachers are dead writers who committed suicide or at least died before they were supposed to. If you know books like Dracula, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre then you will most likely understand the book better than most. If you don't, Lockwood takes time to explain the book and its connection to the story so don't worry. One thing in this book that I loved was the loyalty. Miranda and her friends are so loyal to each other and stick together no matter what. I will be honest with you guys, there were some parts were I found it a little boring and slow but then the action picks up again, so if you could handle one slow part then you're good :)
This book was fantastic!!! I loved it so much! Definitely a must read!
Now, IN Bard Academy, all the teachers go by the first initial of their last name, to keep some privacy. In this book we have the three teachers that will be important, Headmaster B, Ms. W and Coach H. Just like the summary says, the teachers are dead writers who committed suicide or at least died before they were supposed to. If you know books like Dracula, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre then you will most likely understand the book better than most. If you don't, Lockwood takes time to explain the book and its connection to the story so don't worry. One thing in this book that I loved was the loyalty. Miranda and her friends are so loyal to each other and stick together no matter what. I will be honest with you guys, there were some parts were I found it a little boring and slow but then the action picks up again, so if you could handle one slow part then you're good :)
This book was fantastic!!! I loved it so much! Definitely a must read!
dee_farbz's review
5.0
This book was so good. I loved it, it has such a good twist with the teachers being dead authors I love it!
carlylwbug's review
4.0
This book was entertaining and it made me want to read Wuthering Heights. It was a good thing I already knew the plot of Wuthering Heights or else I would've been a little confused and mad at the major spoilers in this book. So if you don't know the end to Wuthering Heights and don't want it to be given away don't read this book. I rooted for Heathcliff the entire time and the ending made me excited but not excited enough to want to continue the series.
catladyreba's review
2.0
I gave this a two...wish I could have given it a two and a half...but I guess there are no half ratings on good reads. The plot idea behind this series is clever and amusing, but I feel like it could be employed so much more strongly...
delaneybull's review
4.0
This book was surprisingly good--while being younger than my usual reading choices, the literary jokes were much more captivating now that I am almost done with my BA in English. And the plot wasn't nearly as contrived as teenage novels have a reputation of being.I am excited and hopeful that the later novels in the series exceed my expectations as well.
jennab113's review
3.0
This book was okay. The characters could have been a little less flat, but the idea was fun. Miranda annoyed me at first, but she grew on me after a while. Same with Blade - she was less annoying towards the end. I guess since this is a trilogy, it's okay that many things were left hanging, but it left me feeling a little underwhelmed. I wasn't a huge fan of Heathcliff or Ryan.
jacpn's review
i read a lot of fluffy books in high school. i liked the literary references, though.
goodthingsread's review
3.0
Cute, light and fun. Sadly, yes, a little bit dated already, but the story still holds up and the references are not integral to the plot. You don't have to be deeply invested in the plot of Veronica Mars to understand when one character is teasing another.
Despite the name, the plot takes elements from a few classics to form the backbone of the plot, which kept the story from becoming utterly predictable. Also despite the name and the cover, there's plenty of horror and supernatural flares to interest those who might dismiss the literary references or turn their nose up at an MTV publication insignia.
The main character, Miranda, is just the right mix of good and bad to be relatable. She definitely fashion fixated and a stereotypically girly type, but her struggles are legitimate and her growth is steady. She doesn't turn the non-shopaholic reader off. There's a sentence or two of description -- basically calling her the nicest girl in her former school who everyone at the very least likes -- that were a bit hard to swallow and smelled of Mary Sue, but they were also minimal and easy to dismiss. Additionally, I found the romance remarkably tame, tamer than what I thought an MTV spin on Wuthering Heights would be.
All in all, this is the type of book that proves the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover."
Despite the name, the plot takes elements from a few classics to form the backbone of the plot, which kept the story from becoming utterly predictable. Also despite the name and the cover, there's plenty of horror and supernatural flares to interest those who might dismiss the literary references or turn their nose up at an MTV publication insignia.
The main character, Miranda, is just the right mix of good and bad to be relatable. She definitely fashion fixated and a stereotypically girly type, but her struggles are legitimate and her growth is steady. She doesn't turn the non-shopaholic reader off. There's a sentence or two of description -- basically calling her the nicest girl in her former school who everyone at the very least likes -- that were a bit hard to swallow and smelled of Mary Sue, but they were also minimal and easy to dismiss. Additionally, I found the romance remarkably tame, tamer than what I thought an MTV spin on Wuthering Heights would be.
All in all, this is the type of book that proves the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover."