A review by lilibetbombshell
I'm with the Banned by Marlene Perez
3.0
This book wasn’t as fun as its predecessor, “Afterlife of the Party”, but it did give us readers some answers we were looking for that the previous book was sorely lacking, and introduced more questions that will keep us interested enough to want to read the next book just to see who these people who are mentioned (but not seen) are, where certain other people disappeared to, and what is going to happen to certain interpersonal dynamics after the significant amount and severity of events that happened during this book.
And there was a lot that went on in this book. Whereas “Afterlife of the Party” pretty much centered on a singular plotline: follow the friend, try and save the friend, try to not die in the process, “I’m With the Banned” has quite a few balls up in the air, and it doesn’t juggle all of them easily. Some balls are hovering in the air and about the come down that were left over from the first book, some are tossed up at the beginning of this book and get tossed up and down throughout the book, and some get tossed up late in the game so they are left hovering in the air as the book closes out. That accounts for why this second book in the series is longer than the first, to be sure.
For the positive, I did like that the book was longer. It seemed the right length for a second book in a YA series. I liked that Ms. Perez actually paid attention to her plot threads and wound some of them up or at least tended to them and didn’t let them hang loose or just dangle there without being addressed in some way. The book was edited well, and I have no complaints about the pacing. It moved at exactly the speed it was supposed to, in my opinion.
For the negative, I could’ve gone without seeing vampires and werewolves going toe-to-toe yet again, even if they’re being as political and civil about it as possible. Also, the “turn” and the villain reveal were so predictable to me I called it before I was 30% of the way through the book. From that point, I was just reading to get to that point. I’m not saying that the reading from that point wasn’t wholly unenjoyable, but I just knew exactly where we were driving the car to. It was just a matter of getting there.
There were new creatures, new spells, and new characters. Some were good ideas and some weren’t. That’s just how it goes. Am I upset or disappointed with the book? No. It’s the second book in a YA series. Sometimes this happens. Just go along for the ride and relax.
And there was a lot that went on in this book. Whereas “Afterlife of the Party” pretty much centered on a singular plotline: follow the friend, try and save the friend, try to not die in the process, “I’m With the Banned” has quite a few balls up in the air, and it doesn’t juggle all of them easily. Some balls are hovering in the air and about the come down that were left over from the first book, some are tossed up at the beginning of this book and get tossed up and down throughout the book, and some get tossed up late in the game so they are left hovering in the air as the book closes out. That accounts for why this second book in the series is longer than the first, to be sure.
For the positive, I did like that the book was longer. It seemed the right length for a second book in a YA series. I liked that Ms. Perez actually paid attention to her plot threads and wound some of them up or at least tended to them and didn’t let them hang loose or just dangle there without being addressed in some way. The book was edited well, and I have no complaints about the pacing. It moved at exactly the speed it was supposed to, in my opinion.
For the negative, I could’ve gone without seeing vampires and werewolves going toe-to-toe yet again, even if they’re being as political and civil about it as possible. Also, the “turn” and the villain reveal were so predictable to me I called it before I was 30% of the way through the book. From that point, I was just reading to get to that point. I’m not saying that the reading from that point wasn’t wholly unenjoyable, but I just knew exactly where we were driving the car to. It was just a matter of getting there.
There were new creatures, new spells, and new characters. Some were good ideas and some weren’t. That’s just how it goes. Am I upset or disappointed with the book? No. It’s the second book in a YA series. Sometimes this happens. Just go along for the ride and relax.