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A review by briarsreviews
Teardrop by Lauren Kate
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
If you can believe this, I bought Teardrop when it came out... And it's been sitting on my shelf ever since. I kept looking at the book and I wanted to pick it up, but I just never did. It kind of breaks my heart, since this is totally the book I would have loved way back when... But I did finally manage to grab in when I decided it was nostalgia time! And, thankfully, I wasn't disappointed!
Was this my favourite book in the world? No. It was kind of whiny at times, and I know I was supposed to feel bad for the main character... but at times, Eureka was unbearable. A fair amount of the characters frustrated me, but I let that slide since this is a YA fantasy where everything doesn't have to make perfect sense. She acts like how I expect a teenager to act - they are all self centred and their world DOES revolve around them. She was depressed and needed help, and honestly her family could be a bit of a nightmare. Her friends were also very stereotypical, and not in a good way. An African-American friend who was just into sex and a good time? Eh... Felt like a bad stereotype, but high school girls can act like that... A best friend who's into her but also kind of seeing another girl and totally leading them both on? What a jerk! Typical? Totally was at my house school. Boys sucked! So, I'll give it to Lauren Kate... Sadly, it the drama was fairly realistic (sadly, meaning my high school was stereotypical like this one... and I wish that wasn't the sad part).
The plot itself? Eureka being "the chosen one" that will somehow help (or hinder) finding Atlantis? Super cool plot wise! It's a different mythology that I'm pumped to see brought forward in the YA world. Getting to the plot? TOOK FOREVER. It was painful how long it took to getting to the lore, which is why it took many attempts to jump back into this book. I seriously wanted to love it, and at times I did... but at other times, it was too slow (and the unbearable characters made that so much worse).
The book leaves off on a horrible cliffhanger that frustrates me. The book didn't end with some sort of fulfilling statement, it just left lots of unanswered questions. I don't want to come to the end of the book and feel forced to read the sequels. I should have some sort of conclusion that allows me to continue if I want to. Sure, at book two keep the cliffhangers, but not at the intro book. That annoyed me and I just... don't want to keep reading? If I stumble upon the book, sure, but I won't go out of my way.
Overall, this book was not my favourite. There is a lot of positives - the cover is GORGEOUS, the lore is super cool, and I think Lauren Kate's writing is very addicting. The slow pace, annoying characters, and slow to start lore is what is steering me away from these books.
Two out of five stars.
Was this my favourite book in the world? No. It was kind of whiny at times, and I know I was supposed to feel bad for the main character... but at times, Eureka was unbearable. A fair amount of the characters frustrated me, but I let that slide since this is a YA fantasy where everything doesn't have to make perfect sense. She acts like how I expect a teenager to act - they are all self centred and their world DOES revolve around them. She was depressed and needed help, and honestly her family could be a bit of a nightmare. Her friends were also very stereotypical, and not in a good way. An African-American friend who was just into sex and a good time? Eh... Felt like a bad stereotype, but high school girls can act like that... A best friend who's into her but also kind of seeing another girl and totally leading them both on? What a jerk! Typical? Totally was at my house school. Boys sucked! So, I'll give it to Lauren Kate... Sadly, it the drama was fairly realistic (sadly, meaning my high school was stereotypical like this one... and I wish that wasn't the sad part).
The plot itself? Eureka being "the chosen one" that will somehow help (or hinder) finding Atlantis? Super cool plot wise! It's a different mythology that I'm pumped to see brought forward in the YA world. Getting to the plot? TOOK FOREVER. It was painful how long it took to getting to the lore, which is why it took many attempts to jump back into this book. I seriously wanted to love it, and at times I did... but at other times, it was too slow (and the unbearable characters made that so much worse).
The book leaves off on a horrible cliffhanger that frustrates me. The book didn't end with some sort of fulfilling statement, it just left lots of unanswered questions. I don't want to come to the end of the book and feel forced to read the sequels. I should have some sort of conclusion that allows me to continue if I want to. Sure, at book two keep the cliffhangers, but not at the intro book. That annoyed me and I just... don't want to keep reading? If I stumble upon the book, sure, but I won't go out of my way.
Overall, this book was not my favourite. There is a lot of positives - the cover is GORGEOUS, the lore is super cool, and I think Lauren Kate's writing is very addicting. The slow pace, annoying characters, and slow to start lore is what is steering me away from these books.
Two out of five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail