Reviews

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

tennisleo's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I found myself becoming very involved in the storyline very early on in the book. The author didn't waste pages front-loading the book with a lot of background; instead, she wove the background in as the story progressed which worked well to give me just enough details to know what was going on without becoming bored. I like the characters and a lot of interesting relationships were introduced, but I wanted more! I was disappointed when the book was over and found myself wondering what would happen next. I will be keeping my eyes open for the next books in the series. The characters were all interesting - there wasn't one character that seemed superfluous. All the characters had a role to play in the story. I really liked this book and was disappointed to reach the end!

erinarkin20's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Review to come - leaning toward a 2.5

sunnydee's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

3,6 von 5 Sternen
Inhalt:
Dana lebt mit ihrer Mutter in den USA. Ihre Mutter ist Alkoholikerin und ist ständig mit ihr auf der Flucht vor ihrem Feenvater. Eines Tages beschließt Dana, dass sie es leid hat auf ihre Mutter aufzupassen. Sie will selbst herausfinden ob es wirklich nötig war vor ihrem Vater zu fliehen. Sie macht sich auf den Weg nach Avalon(in England), der Stadt, die den Übergang der menschlichen Welt zu Faerie bildet.

Wie kam das Buch zu mir
Ich bin ein riesiger Fan von Jenna Blacks Exorzistin-Reihe und wollte daher ihre Jugendserie ausprobieren. Für 5,99 Euro habe ich es bei ReBuy gebraucht erstanden.

Aufmachung/Qualität
Das Buch hat eine stabile Klappenbroschur und ist schön aufgemacht. Die Kapitel sind angenehm lang, etwas 15-20 Seiten.

Meinung:
Die Grundidee ist recht einfach, aber hatte trotzdem Potenzial eine geniale Geschichte zu werden. Ein Mädchen, das sich nichts sehnlicher wünscht als ein Elternteil, das sich um sie kümmert, machte sich auf den Weg zu ihrem Feen-Vater. Dieser ist ein hohes politisches Tier in Avalon, der Stadt die den Übergang der Menschenwelt und der Feenwelt bildet. Dort angekommen, stellt Dana fest, dass ihre Mutter vielleicht doch nicht so unrecht hatte, als sie sie vor Avalon gewarnt hat. Doch jetzt gibt es kein zurück mehr. Wie gesagt die Idee mit dieser ganz besonderen Stadt hat mir sehr gefallen und auch alles was Dana dort so passiert war interessant, aber leider mangelte es an Tiefe.

Der Schreibstil war sehr einfach, aber einem Jugendbuch entsprechend. Es wird aus der Ich-Perspektive geschildert und aus der Vergangenheit. Leider fehlt es dem Schreibstil im Gegensatz zu Jenna Blacks Büchern für Erwachsene an Tiefe. Alles wirkt schrecklich oberflächlich, vor allem in der ersten Hälfte. Die Personen im Buch reagieren oft übertrieben und emotionale Stellen werden einfach zu schnell abgehandelt. Lediglich im letzten Drittel wurde es besser.

Die Spannung war durchschnittlich, aber okay für das Genre. Es gab einige überraschende Momente und einige Personen waren schwer einzuschätzen und gaben dem ganzen dadurch Pepp.

Die Emotionen kamen bei mir erst am Ende des Buches richtig an. Es gab Momente in denen ich wirklich begeistert war, aber dann gab es auch schnell wieder Szenen, die schrecklich oberflächlich wirkten.

Die Charaktere waren sehr unterschiedlich. Am besten ausgearbeitet fand ich Danas Vater und Keane, der Rest war interessant aber eben nicht wirklich überzeugend. Vor allem Ethans Reaktionen wirkten am Anfang nicht nur undurchschaubar sondern auch überstürzt. Die Bösewichte wirkten zwar überzeugend, aber auch sie waren ein wenig oberflächlich.

Die Liebesgeschichte (oder besser gesagt Liebelei) im Buch spielt zwar eine große Rolle, aber es passiert nicht viel. Am Anfang des Buches war ich überrascht wie verbal sexualisiert das Buch anfing. Also Dana ist 16 Jahre und Ethan 18 Jahre und bereits die ersten Worte, die die beiden mit einander wechselten, waren sehr deutlich. Ich dachte schon, dass dieses Jugendbuch doch nicht ganz so jugendfrei sein würde, aber es entwickelte sich dann doch anders. Das Buch ist lediglich mit Anspielungen gespickt, die für mich nicht ganz so in das Genre passten und vielleicht damit zusammenhing, dass die Autorin vorher nur Bücher für Erwachsene geschrieben hat, in denen es eindeutig zur Sache ging. Es ist keine direkte Dreiecksgeschichte, aber auch Dana fühlt sich zwischen zwei Jungen hin und hergerissen. Ich fand am Ende beide sehr interessant.

Grundidee 4/5
Schreibstil 3,5/5
Spannung 4/5
Emotionen 4/5
Charaktere 4/5
Liebesgeschichte 3,5/5

Fazit:
3,6 von 5 Sternen
Dies ist eine wirklich unterhaltende Urbanfantasy-Geschichte mit interessanten Charakteren, der es aber über weite Teile des Buches an Tiefe fehlt. Das Ende hingegen war spannend und machte Lust auf mehr. Leider wurde bis jetzt noch kein weiterer Teil der Reihe übersetzt. Im Englischem sind bereits zwei weitere Teile herausgegeben worden.

Reihe:
Glimmerglass (Rosendorn) 2010
Shadowspell 2011
Sirensong 2011

adularia25's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

There were so many parts of this book that struck a wrong note with me. As they say, the devil is in the details, and this book had a lot of little details that were flat out wrong. Did the author ever ask someone what it was like to grow up with a drunk parent? Did she do any research in that regard? I'm guessing no, because she got so many small details wrong. Such as Dana regularly drinking hot toddies. Dana, being offered an alcoholic drink early on in the book, has only a slight quibble about it the first time, and then the book kept mentioning every time she drank another hot toddy. Each time I winced. I don't care how much alcohol is actually in the drink - if you grow up with a drunk parent, you do NOT DRINK. Not as a teen. It takes years - if not decades - to get over the emotional scarring of what alcohol can do to a person. And there were a lot of other questionable choices Dana made throughout the book. But really, the drinking after having an alcoholic parent pretty much did the book in for me. After that, there was nothing Dana did that could make her a real character, and not some fake personality. I really do want to know more about her powers, I even like Avalon and the Fae world. But I don't trust Dana and can't see myself ever reading another book with her as the main character.

aknas22's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

This book was ok, not sure why I didn't really like it. Guess it was a combination of factors, the main character and the story-seemed like nothing really happened- included. not sure if I will read the next book. I do like Ms. Black's Morgan Kingsley series so I might try this one again.

argintina11's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I loved this book. I just can't wait for the followup.

wessannaaa's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

novelheartbeat's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

From my blog Auntie Spinelli Reads

The hardest reviews to write are for books that didn't inspire much of anything in me either way - love or hate. This was one of those. It was good, but not great. It was a quick and light read and I don't regret reading it, but I don't think I would read it again.

I had mixed feelings about Dana. She was an alright lead, but she annoyed me at times. First of all, she was selfish. She ran away from her mother because she was a raging alcoholic. A mother that could barely even function: Dana always did everything for her. I know it's hard, but if she has to do everything, how is her mother going to fend for herself when she's not there? That irked me.
She wasn't overly weak, thankfully. She did cry a few times, but not enough to annoy me. She got in a good crotch kick and dumped her mocha over some dirtbag's face, so that earned some respectful brownie points from me. But, when it came to guys was when she really irritated me. The fact that being TOTALLY HAWT can excuse any guy of being a total asshat really lowered my opinion of her. While Ethan did grow on me by the end, in the beginning he was an arrogant prick that wasn't even the least bit charming - but hey, he's hawt. 'Cause that's all that matters, right? Same for Keane. He was even worse than Ethan. But he was so totally dreamy, so that's perfectly fine!

I did kinda feel sorry for Dana, though - she kept getting pushed and pulled around in every direction by people wanting to use her, and none of it was even her fault. She was almost a prisoner and didn't have much free will to make her own choices.

I felt like the sexual content was a little high for YA. I don't mind it in the least bit, but I definitely don't suggest this for a younger teen. There were quite a few innuendos, such as a guy being 'eager' (in the pants), and the back of a wagon is more comfortable than the backseat of a car - if you know what I mean. Even the make-out scene got really in depth to the point where I felt it was almost too steamy for YA. And why was Dana thinking that a first kiss automatically meant it was going to lead to sex? This bothered me for some reason.

Oh, by the way, did I mention that Ethan was hot?

All in all, a decent read. The idea of Faeriewalkers was pretty cool, and so was the Glimmerglass. There was plenty of action and danger. It was a fast paced read and easy to understand, but not very deep. Will I be reading the second book? Maybe down the road, but not right now.


Favorite character: Kimber. She was a little bitchy in the beginning, but I ended up really liking her. She reminded me a bit of myself!


ASSESSMENT
Plot: 3/5
Writing style: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
World-building: 3.5/5
Pace: 4/5
Cover: 4/5

lrusaw's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

this is an amazing book and one u wont want to put down

sc104906's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Dana's mother is a drunk and she refuses to take anymore of it. She packs up and runs away to her father's, whom she has never met (and he is also the person who Dana's mother has kept the two on the run from). Dana's father is big in politics and as it turns out, because she is his daughter (and some other spoiler reasons) Dana is a great pawn to use in this arena. When arriving in Avalon the place between England and the Faerie world, Dana is kidnapped by many people and doesn't know who to trust. All of the boys are uber hot, but there is no decent romance plot. The characters are flat and the story is boring. I didn't like this book. Jeez, Dana gets embarrassed way too quickly, even for a pure teen. *bleck*