hpstrangelove's review against another edition
5.0
The end was a surprise - I like when an author can do that.
Since I went through the USA's education system, I initially had some trouble working out where this story took place.
I liked that the different chapters were from the three main character's POV. It was easy to establish an emotional connection with them, which made the end that much more tragic.
The story deals with suicide, so might not be for all readers.
Since I went through the USA's education system, I initially had some trouble working out where this story took place.
I liked that the different chapters were from the three main character's POV. It was easy to establish an emotional connection with them, which made the end that much more tragic.
The story deals with suicide, so might not be for all readers.
kblincoln's review against another edition
5.0
Karen Healy impressed me mightily with her YA contemporary fantasy Guardian of the Dead, but ultimately I found the second half uneven in plot and pacing.
The Shattering shows none of these issues. It is a tightly woven story of three, broken friends: Janna who uses boys to make herself feel good but hopes for music to make her famous, Sione who lives in his popular, dead brother's shadow and isn't quite islander enough for other islanders, and Keri, whose abrasive personality and obsessive planning hide fear and loneliness.
These three all have something in common; their brothers committed suicide after spending New Year's Eve at the small, West Coast town of Summerton.
Into the compelling mystery of the brothers' deaths Healy weaves issues of "outsider-ness" for each character. They are all non-mainstream in various ways, including race, sexuality, and religion. Each of them looks for relief from loneliness in various ways, but it isn't until each one uses their "weaknesses" as a weapon do they find a way to stop the darkness that took their brothers.
I gulped this story down almost in one night. From the moment Janna tells Keri "come with me to find out who murdered your brother" until the exciting conclusion, the ever-tightening circle around the villains of this story kept me turning pages. We get each of the main characters' POV, and unlike so many other shared-POV stories I've read recently, I get a saturated sense of each of them. They were all separate and finely drawn.
Finally, the ending isn't easy. There is no happily ever after. And that is what gets this book the fifth star. So few authors deal with the aftermath, and Healey shows us the toil of post-trauma while still giving us hope.
Bravo.
This Book's Snack Rating: Garlic Parmesan Kettle chips for the unable-to-stop-reading flavorful plot on crunchy, satisfying characters.
The Shattering shows none of these issues. It is a tightly woven story of three, broken friends: Janna who uses boys to make herself feel good but hopes for music to make her famous, Sione who lives in his popular, dead brother's shadow and isn't quite islander enough for other islanders, and Keri, whose abrasive personality and obsessive planning hide fear and loneliness.
These three all have something in common; their brothers committed suicide after spending New Year's Eve at the small, West Coast town of Summerton.
Into the compelling mystery of the brothers' deaths Healy weaves issues of "outsider-ness" for each character. They are all non-mainstream in various ways, including race, sexuality, and religion. Each of them looks for relief from loneliness in various ways, but it isn't until each one uses their "weaknesses" as a weapon do they find a way to stop the darkness that took their brothers.
I gulped this story down almost in one night. From the moment Janna tells Keri "come with me to find out who murdered your brother" until the exciting conclusion, the ever-tightening circle around the villains of this story kept me turning pages. We get each of the main characters' POV, and unlike so many other shared-POV stories I've read recently, I get a saturated sense of each of them. They were all separate and finely drawn.
Finally, the ending isn't easy. There is no happily ever after. And that is what gets this book the fifth star. So few authors deal with the aftermath, and Healey shows us the toil of post-trauma while still giving us hope.
Bravo.
This Book's Snack Rating: Garlic Parmesan Kettle chips for the unable-to-stop-reading flavorful plot on crunchy, satisfying characters.
daniellesalwaysreading's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book and am looking forward to reading more Karen Healey. The only thing I didn't like was that they figured out the mystery pretty easily even though the answer was very unbelievable.
kkayastha929's review
3.0
This started off as a good mystery, but once it turned witchy, it was a complete turn off for me. Why must everything go off in that sort of directions in young adult literature??
waterfairy's review
3.0
3 1/2 stars
Healey writes very good characters. They were not stereotypical nor did they start behaving out-of-character during the climax. Even the secondary characters have the authentic reactions to the things happening. Suicide and the LGTB theme was handled deftly. I really liked Keri - she tried to handle the stuff life threw at her properly and more importantly, relied on the help that was given to her. The few negative stuff was the ending - it was too good and somewhat fantasy-ish. Again, 3 kids running and solving this kind of issue was little unbelievable but I was able to suspend disbelief enough to finish it.
Healey writes very good characters. They were not stereotypical nor did they start behaving out-of-character during the climax. Even the secondary characters have the authentic reactions to the things happening. Suicide and the LGTB theme was handled deftly. I really liked Keri - she tried to handle the stuff life threw at her properly and more importantly, relied on the help that was given to her. The few negative stuff was the ending - it was too good and somewhat fantasy-ish. Again, 3 kids running and solving this kind of issue was little unbelievable but I was able to suspend disbelief enough to finish it.
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Car accident, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Hate crime, Kidnapping, Racism, Bullying, Medical content, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcohol, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
one for sure racial slur and another that I've never heard before but is described like one, plenty of homo/lesbophobic slurs thoughclaredragonfly's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.0
Finished reading: January 29th 2019
“The world shouldn't work like this; that was why I made plans, to be ready for every eventuality. Adding the impossible to the things I had t obe prepared for was really unfair.”
Spoiler
This one had been on my TBR for quite some time and it probably would have been even longer if it wouldn't have been for my TBR jar. It's not that I didn't like the sound of the story, especially with a New Zealand setting and the promise of a paranormal mystery, but older titles tend to get pushed into the background as other titles demand attention... Even though The Shattering didn't turn out to be a big hit for me, I'm still glad I finally picked it up. This probably has a lot to do with the setting, since I hardly ever seem to read books set in New Zealand. It also doubles as a negative though, because I would have loved to see more local culture and descriptions included. As it is, The Shattering feels more like a melting pot filled to the brim with different story elements and bits and pieces, making each feel superficial and underdeveloped. The story itself has a lot of potential, with the paranormal aspect, the secrets of Summerton and three different POVs to follow. But with so many different elements distracting you, the story didn't come out as strong as I thought it would be. The characters, while interesting and in general not that difficult to like, felt a bit underdeveloped and cliche at points. The plot, while entertaining and engaging, didn't feel all that original to me and I think this has a lot to do with those cliches popping up everywhere. It's an interesting mystery with a paranormal touch, the three different POVs bringing some dept to the story, but I wish the story would have focused on only a select few important topics instead of trying to squeeze in as many as possible... This way, for example the focus on teenage suicide is kind of lost and that is really a shame. All in all The Shattering isn't a bad read and quite entertaining, but sadly it failed to blow me away.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
lazygal's review
5.0
This is an author to watch out for - her first book, Guardians of the Dead, a retelling of what I think were Maori myths (certainly no myths/stories that I'd grown up with) was a great read, and this one shows she's getting better at her craft.
Again the setting is New Zealand, so while there is some familiarity there's just enough difference from other white/native-or-minority books (I'm thinking of all the Hispanic characters I've met in books set in the American SouthWest/West). She doesn't belabor the relationships between Pacific Islanders, Maori and whites in this book, as the characters mingle well and the main tension is between Summertown residents and tourists.
Keri (and it's probably only me that will link that name to that of Keriwen, the "heroine" of The Bone People, one of my favorite novels, also set in New Zealand) is still in shock from her older brother's suicide when her former bff Janna suggests that perhaps it wasn't suicide but murder. Sceptical but hopeful, Keri agrees to meet with her and Sione to talk about this possibility (apparently Janna's older brother Schulyer's suicide started a pattern of one male per year killing himself, the link being age and that they were in Summertown for New Year's Eve). The three start to investigate and discover something's Not Quite Right with the town, and some of the townspeople. This is Nancy Drew mixed with Witches of Eastwick (or worse) time, but not in a way that will make the reader roll their eyes. While some of the reveals were obvious, there were enough surprises to bump this up to a five.
It's great that the author has provided information about suicide hotlines and a glossary of Maori and Samoan terms, but I would also have liked links to some of the mythologyn and rituals referenced here. Perhaps on her website?
ARC provided by publisher.
Again the setting is New Zealand, so while there is some familiarity there's just enough difference from other white/native-or-minority books (I'm thinking of all the Hispanic characters I've met in books set in the American SouthWest/West). She doesn't belabor the relationships between Pacific Islanders, Maori and whites in this book, as the characters mingle well and the main tension is between Summertown residents and tourists.
Keri (and it's probably only me that will link that name to that of Keriwen, the "heroine" of The Bone People, one of my favorite novels, also set in New Zealand) is still in shock from her older brother's suicide when her former bff Janna suggests that perhaps it wasn't suicide but murder. Sceptical but hopeful, Keri agrees to meet with her and Sione to talk about this possibility (apparently Janna's older brother Schulyer's suicide started a pattern of one male per year killing himself, the link being age and that they were in Summertown for New Year's Eve). The three start to investigate and discover something's Not Quite Right with the town, and some of the townspeople. This is Nancy Drew mixed with Witches of Eastwick (or worse) time, but not in a way that will make the reader roll their eyes. While some of the reveals were obvious, there were enough surprises to bump this up to a five.
It's great that the author has provided information about suicide hotlines and a glossary of Maori and Samoan terms, but I would also have liked links to some of the mythologyn and rituals referenced here. Perhaps on her website?
ARC provided by publisher.
pnw_michelle's review
3.0
It was pretty good. An interesting story with good representation of racial diversity and a gay character, yay! I got tripped up a lot by turns of phrase and such that probably result from my never having lived in New Zealand, but that didn't stop me from be interested in where the story was going.