Extra Normal is Extra-Ordinary
Hi everyone, thanks for visiting our blog for the tour! Get comfy, take a good look around, and stay for a while. We have actually been up and running for a grand total of four weeks now, so if our blog looks a little empty, just stay tuned, there is so much more to come!
Reviewing books on the blog is only one of the things that make our blog fabulous. But I do just want to set something straight now; if you've come to the blog looking for a review of a book that was bad, you won't find it. Look at our reviews more as recommendations as to what we love. If we read a book we didn't like, we stopped, put it up on www.paperbackbookswap.com and moved on. Maybe one day we'll make a list of the books that we couldn't stand, but what's the point in writing a big review about it? We'd rather focus our energy on what we LOVE, like this book!
I love it when I find a book that is the total package. Fun, smart, and original with just enough romance to make you remember what it's like to fall in love for the first time (or wish you had).
The number one thing I loved about this book is that it is a dystopian society book without actually being in the dystopian society. Basically, the term dystopian has cropped up lately in literary circles to describe books that have a society that it trying to be utopian but in that pursuit fails and has major societal flaws. Uglies, Matched, and Hunger Games all qualify as dystopian society books (and are all fabulous) but Extra Normal is unique in that it takes place on Earth in our time, but the main character, Mira, comes from a society that we slowly get to see painted as dystopian. It is interesting to see Mira's perspective on a very flawed American society having come from a world that is supposed to be so far advanced in ever way. But don't worry, it's not geeky, there's just enough explanation to make it compelling. Rumor has it there will be a sequel. Can't wait to get more info about Mira's world.
The characters are interesting and mysterious without being frustrating or vague. It is an absolute joy to read the story from the main character's point of view. She is witty and smart. Any part of the book explaining her experience eating food made me laugh out loud. I had to keep chocolate on hand just to make it through! Jesse is also well done. He is a mysterious bad boy with a heart of solid gold. It is so fun to watch their relationship unfold. Everett, well, what can I say. You love to hate him...that's a great antagonist in my opinion.
On top of all of that, the plot is spellbinding. I could not put the book down. One connection leads to another and you just have to find out what it all means! It has a great flow and builds to a very exciting and climactic ending. The pace of the book is perfect. I love the moment in a book when you are so stunned by what happened that you actually have to stop reading and absorb for a moment before you go on. There were at lease three of those moments in this book.
One of my favorite things to do is bully my friends into reading books that I loved, and I think I may just buy 10 copies to keep on hand just for that purpose!
I know Suze has done a few author interviews, and they have all been great. I think we can all easily see that she is an incredibly gifted writer, as well as an amazing woman, mother, grandmother, and wife. So, I thought it might be fun to do a different kind of interview, one with the main character, Mira...So here she is;
1. So, Mira, besides Geery, what do you miss the most about Earth?
12 comments:
What a fabulous interview and I loved your well thought out review. I have to agree with you, whenever Mira tries a new food I can't help but laugh. I think we've all eaten something so wonderful before that it has made us oblivious to everything around us. My friend calls them food-gasms. :)
Ha! Food-gasms! Accurate. Thanks for the compliments! Go glad to have you on board!
Thank you for the character interview!
Hmm, I think I might have to check the book out since I am still on my YA dystopian roll (though I admit, it's getting a bit tedious)
Love the character review. Interesting answers to the questions.
Lilian, I highly recommend taking a break from the dystopian list for this book. I really thing it will be a breath of fresh air for you. And thanks for stopping by the blog! I'm so glad you liked the character interview. Suze is so cleaver. :)
Lisa, I agree. I have been so excited about the character interview. It cracked me up, and gave an added bit of insight to the character. Thanks for joining us!
Thanks for taking part in the tour you Fabulous babes - I enjoyed Geery's interview myself! =)
Great review! I love the character interview. I don't know what I would do if I rarely went outside.
Great interview! I've missed Mira, so it was nice to hear from her again. =)
I know, isn't Mira a gem?! Thanks for visiting the blog. :)
Very fun and enjoyable interview.
Lovely review! The character interview got me bemused but made me all the more curiouser!
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