Meh.

[checkers65477]

It has taken me forever to finish Undine by Penni Russon.  I kept putting it down for a day or two before I'd remember, "Oh, yeah, I'm reading a book.  I should finish it, I suppose."  It just didn't hold my interest, and although I liked aspects of it, on the whole I was disappointed.

The magic/fantasy part of the story was weak and I kept wondering when something was going to happen.  I had heard that it was the first in a series of books, and it seemed as if the author used the entirety of the first book to set up the story at the expense of the plot.  Trout was more likable than Undine and he had a spark of something I really liked.  I hope the author doesn't torture him with his unrequited love for Undine throughout the other books.  He deserves better than that.  A reviewer on Amazon called Undine a Mary Sue character and I think there is some validity in that.  The book had a small bit about a creepy online character thrown in for a few pages, but nothing ever came of it.  Undine's mother was not very well developed and struck me as cold and strange, but her father was interesting--mysterious and more complex.  I think a big part of my dissatisfaction was from so many unexplained story lines--Undine's parents' relationship, how the magic works, what happened to the bay, etc.   Some random kittens were thrown in at the end.  

What the author did well, though, was describe the feelings of the teen characters in a way that was real and brought back similar feelings from when I was that age.  At times her writing reminded me of Deb Caletti's Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, and I wonder if she could write a great realistic fiction book.  The Australian setting was well-described, and made me want to visit there even more.

Comments

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Hee hee. Yes, from a site of Band Legos.

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=93340

I do realize that Australia is BIG, but if when I come there I'll have plenty of time to see what I want to see. I will take you up on the yummy food and wine. :)

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

There appears to be lego everything! We only had little bricks and flowers and stuff when we were kids. And we never thought to paint our lego people.

See, you're all set once you know it's big. And presumably are used to driving two hours without a tea break (unlike some other visitors).

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that reminds me of something I wondered when I read Undine. She said they went to have tea, then described a meal I would call dinner. What do you call your evening meal, and where does this whole tea-as-meal fit into the Australian day? When I say I'm going to have tea, I mean that I'm going to brew a cup of tea and just drink it, maybe with a cookie, if I'm lucky.

Or do I mean a biscuit? :)

Have you ever been to the US?

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

The evening meal is interchangeably called tea or dinner. Some old people call lunch dinner (from when the midday meal was the main meal) so maybe that's where the tea/dinner confusion came from!

A cup of tea (with a possible biscuit or cookie...they're both used a bit now) is generally called that, or a cuppa.

I've only been to LA for one and half days in a stopover so I don't really think I've been to the US. I did go to Hollywood, Santa Monica and a drive up the coast though so it was still fun. And a supermarket! Even more fun - all the food from books!

I'd love to go for a proper holiday to the States but there's so much to see I think I'd just like to live there sometime in the future. After the whole UK move and then living back here thing, which means it's likely to be a long time away!

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

You should sign up for a chapter of the readaloud. We'd all love to hear your accent.

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

Accent? What accent? It's everyone else who has one! :)

I was going to sign up but then realised all my MWT books are out on loan at the moment, sucking in new fans. But I will get a copy from the library and decide if I am brave enough to do it!