Insatiable

Insatiable

written by Meg Cabot

Since every other YA author has made their opinion heard on the trend in YA vampire novels...Meg Cabot decided to join the trend, responding not with a line or two on the subject, but with a whole new book series. I don't want to bore you all with the never ending T-word comparisons, but yes, they exist, and no, Meg, the ending of the book doesn't really make up for it. This is a really difficult review to write, to be honest. I would rather have written it after reading Overbite, but that hasn't come out yet. I'm really not sure what the set-up in this book is going to be leading up to, so it's hard to make any sort of judgments. Half of this book seemed to be passive aggressive jabs at Twilight, though, with the other half emulating the very novel it appeared to mock. Although, I haven't read Dracula, so I'm not as educated as I should be about the background behind this book. It does appear to fall into many of the typical vampire tropes. I do give Meg props for the short, action packed chapters. Unlike many of the recent authors I've been complaining about, the woman really knows how to fill out a story and keep it interesting. I just wish the stories she wrote could go back to what she does best--adorable fluffy YA goodness.

Rating: 3/5

I got this book from...: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Abandon

Abandon

written by Meg Cabot

I never thought this day would come. The day I got tired of Meg Cabot's writing tropes. Maybe it says more about me than anything else, which is a scary thought, since she's the one who really launched my love of YA, but it's a scary day, no doubt. Ordinarily, there's some kind of extra spark, something beyond the typical Cabot love story, but I just wasn't feeling it this time. Part of it can be attributed to the same complaint I've addressed towards other books recently--dragging a book out to fit a series, rather than fitting the story into however many books it needs. I felt like this book moved along much slower than the typical Cabot book. The other thing I felt was similarities here and there between this adaptation of the myth of Persephone...and Cabot's other mythical adaption--found in Avalon High. Avalon High is one of my favorite books by Meg Cabot, and that would probably be due to the fact that it is extraordinarily fast paced, revelations flying in from every direction. This could have been a good book if the story hadn't been stretched out. The idea that I'm supposed to imagine John as a main character when he's barely even present in the story? Difficult to do! The book was much more interesting when he and Pierce were directly interacting. I think this was a novel idea, an idea that held a lot of potential, but the story was disorganized, convoluted, and stretched out beyond necessity.

Rating: 3/5

I got this book from...: Amazon Vine

Runaway

Runaway
written by YA writing goddess Meg Cabot



Man, I missed Meg! I was so excited to see what would happen in the final installment of this series, especially with the semi-cliffhangery ending of the 2nd book. It wasn't one of my favorite series by Cabot, not by far, but it held my interest, and I did keep reading, and I'm glad I did so. Right off the bat, my first thoughts before reading were a hope and a prayer that Meg would include Christopher through the whole book, instead of just bringing him in for a satisfying romantic conclusion, and I was very glad to see this hope come true, as he is my favorite character of the series. I did feel that he acted strangely out of character at random times, but it was still nice to see more of him, and I liked how his and Em's relationship evolved and grew through the duration of the novel. Overall, it was a good novel, I was glad to see it be very high-paced. I wasn't really a fan of everyone randomly pairing up at the end of the book and I felt like it may have cheapened Em and Chris's relationship a little bit, but hey, it's Meg Cabot, can't read her books without expecting amazing mindless fluff in massive amounts, right? I think the whole big scandal and resolution with Stark could have had more...epicness, for lack of a better word, to it, but was still happy with the way the story was resolved.

Rating: 4/5

Also in the series:
Being Nikki

I got this book from...:Barnes & Noble

Allie Finkle!

I'm featuring two Meg Cabot books today, part of the charming middle grade Allie Finkle series!

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Stage Fright



Stage Fright comes out strong, setting a very powerful and perfect tone to a great story. This series really is great for fans of Barbara Park's snarky Junie B. Jones. It's the same brand of humor, and fans who may have outgrown Junie and are looking for something new to read will definitely find the same type of honest outlook on the world from Allie. Cabot is really good at keeping up with current pop culture and putting in age appropriate references, which would make the books all the more appealing with her target audience. This book is not only adorable and kid-friendly, it also contains simple environmentally-friendly facts for them to learn and hopefully adapt in their own lives. We need more books telling our children how to be environmentally friendly in this day and age, so kudos to Cabot for blending it in with the plot so well! This book, like its predecessors and sequel, carries out fantastic characterization and is just as humorous, too! The ending's a little anticlimactic and predictable, and I do not think the title fits even slightly, but it's a cute read and I'm sure kids would really enjoy it.

Glitter Girls and the Great Fake-Out



Allie Finkle may just be written for kids, but the humor will be appealing to readers of all ages. There's great characterization done by Cabot, including older characters such as Missy and Allie's parents, that is perfect for attracting both young and old audiences looking for a laugh. Cabot is amazing at capturing all these diverse personalities of these crazy little characters. She portrays Allie and her family together so well, and having siblings, she was able to write the best scenes including realistic interactions between Allie and her brothers. The cool thing about these books is that even though they're part of a series, they can totally be read as stand-alones and make sense at the end. Allie's "rules" provide a great base of solid repetition to keep the younger readers solidly interested. I'm hoping we do get to see Courtney again in future Allie Finkle books; she makes a great addition to an already wonderful cast of characters. Overall, a completely cute read--loved it!

I got these books from...:the author

Being Nikki

Being Nikki
written by Meg Cabot



I was not a fan of Airhead, let me say that straight out. I liked the characters just fine, but felt like nothing much really happened. Being Nikki changed all that. In this book, Meg Cabot manages to push the story along at the perfect pace, bringing all the different storylines and parts of Em's life together. What was really great about this was that while Nikki was a sequel, Cabot spent very little time going over what happened in Airhead, unlike other authors who feel the need to recap everything for a chapter or two before actually getting into the story. It all flows wonderfully with Airhead. Airhead also really ticked me off because most of the time, it just seemed like Emerson was making out with complete strangers. She's still got some of that in this book, but it's sparsely sprinkled throughout the book without being overwhelming. There's so much more time that went into plot-development, rather than exposition, which is an awesome thing for those of us who just want the story to move along. The ending could be a whole other review. Without saying too much, Christopher's story and the role he plays is greatly expanded, and readers will completely love and adore this fact. It's mindblowing how much Meg Cabot's storytelling style has changed. She ends Being Nikki in a way that will be a complete shock for Meg Cabot's longtime readers (and I'm sure newer fans will be enthralled as well). She's somehow found a way to completely captivate her readers with more plot twists than you could ever imagine, and a story that will leave you speechless and begging for more. Way to bring the A-game!

Rating: 5/5

Ransom My Heart

Ransom My Heart
written by Meg Cabot



I am neither a historical fiction reader, nor a romance reader. The sole reason I wanted to read this book was because of the fact that it was written by the great Meg Cabot. Cabot has written young adult historical romances (Nicola and the Viscount, Victoria and the Rogue) and I was not a fan of those. For the most part, I was completely enchanted by Finnula's story. It's great to see a romance novel that breaks romance novel stereotypes of weak, helpless women waiting for strong burly men to do everything for them. Things like this (and minor anachronisms) remind the reader that this is theoretically being written by a girl in her senior year of high school. It's a fun read, though not entirely suitable for young adults (but you just know Princess Diaries fans are going to ignore this fact and read it anyways). Everything's great until the end approaches. The wedding is skipped over, and then a weird storyline begins. I honestly believe the wedding should have been an ending with an elaborate wedding scene, and then anything after that could have served as either an epilogue or as a sequel. It felt as though it were two entirely different books, and read pretty awkwardly. There's no main idea throughout the entire book, it's two different ones (the first being 'falling in love', the second 'death threats, oh no!').

Rating: 4/5

How to Be Popular

currently reading: The Emerald City of Oz

How To Be Popular
written by Meg Cabot
(I promise, this is my last Cabot for a while...at least until I get my hands on Ransom my Heart!)



I feel like I really need to go back and read all the awesome Cabots. I've somehow managed to read the ones I like least recently. Shame. This book just irks me more than anything. I'm sure the writing is good and others can tolerate it, but the idea that someone would want to be popular is, just like Jason said, something I can't understand in the slightest. It makes relating to Steph Landry's character really difficult, hence making the book a bit of a bore. One of the main criticisms Meg Cabot often gets about her books are that they are very generic. I would never have defended that statement and would say the exact opposite--until reading this book. (On the other hand, it's really evident she had FUN writing this book, so why bother her? xD) There's plenty of originality in it, sure, I mean, a fish mascot? But the small, original details get overshadowed by the fact that this is a horribly overdone plot. Still, adorable conclusion, and it is a little relieving that Steph does learn her lesson when it comes to popularity. I just wish it hadn't taken so long, and it still feels like she has a ways to go. Yay for Jason, much luck to his fictional mind trying to de-blurrify Steph's clearly confused brain! One final note: Here's another Cabot that really would have done well with an alternate title. How to Be Popular? So overdone.

Rating: 3.75/5

The Bests and Worsts of Meg Cabot

(many thanks to this list)

I've been re-reading a lot of Cabots lately, and felt like doing a list. Yay, lists. So here goes...
The Bests and Worsts of Meg Cabot

Best Plot:
Avalon High
honorable mention:
Mediator series

Worst Plot:
She Went All the Way

Best Title:
Princess Mia (i'm a sap, it's so simple & so awesome)
honorable mention (or the best title that could have been):
Tommy Sullivan is a Freak

Worst Title:
Every Boy's Got One (I mean, seriously, awkward much?)
honorable mention:
She Went All the Way

Best Cover:

honorable mention:


Worst Cover:


Best Continuity:
Boy... series (which isn't actually a series, but the continuity/spin-offyness is adorable)
honorable mention:
Mediator series

Worst Continuity:
Queen of Babble series

Best Moment:
End of Princess in Love (you know, the part that set off a million cheering fangirls?)

Worst Moment:
Dancing in Party Princess
honorable mention:
The awkward moments in Ready or Not. You know which ones.

Best Minor Character:
Lilly Moscovitz
honorable mention:
Douglas Mastriani

Worst Minor Character(s):
I'm going to go with the entire team of Quahogs. Especially Katie's revolving loop of guys.

Best Antihero:
Marco Campbell (?)

Worst Antihero:
Jordan Cartwright

Best Ending:
Forever Princess

Worst Ending:
Airhead

Best Overall Book:
Forever Princess

Worst Overall Book:
Historical Fiction Novels (Nicola and the Viscount, Victoria and the Rogue)

and the big ones...

Worst Overall Pairing:
J.P. & Mia
honorable mentions:
Kenneth & Lilly
Suze & Paul

Best Overall Pairing:
Suze & Jesse

Worst Main Character (male):
Paul Slater

Best Main Character (male):
Tommy Sullivan
honorable mention:
Scott Bennett (?)

Worst Main Character (female):
Jinx
honorable mention:
Em Watts

Best Main Character (female):
...Princess Mia. (I struggled with this one, I really did)
honorable mention:
Suze Simon

:)
This was fun.
Feel free to do it yourself if you wish, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.

Pants on Fire (reread)

reading next: How To Be Popular

Pants on Fire
written by Meg Cabot



While Tommy Sullivan is, and will continue to be, my favorite Cabot boy, this book is nowhere near one of my favorites. The first thing that I disliked about the book occured before I even opened it--the cover. I originally had to have it shipped over without the jacket, just so I could have the book in the house without my parents' objections. It's a disgusting cover, and one that I'm sure had to turn some readers away, right? The other thing is the title. While Pants on Fire does describe the character well, the original intended title, Tommy Sullivan is a Freak would have worked so much better and been entirely more catchy. Reading through the book, it is more evident than most Cabot books (although I'm realizing more and more that this is true for most all of them...) that the main character is a spoiled, snobby, popular kid. I used to find these books so identifyable, until very recently. Yeah, the characters have their issues, but at the root of things, they are all ridiculously popular, even Mia, the one who most would probably easily identify with (if you object to this statement, you clearly haven't read the last two PD books). Kind of makes it hard to sympathize with them... Tommy Sullivan is the only thing that breathes life into this otherwise dead book about a flirty, slutty, teen. I do agree with the more rebellious aspects of it. (For heaven's sakes, I live in a football town. No truer statement has been uttered than Katie's rant, "I hate the way we worship the Quahogs, and for what? They don't save lives. They don't teach us anything. They just chase after a stupid ball. And for that, we treat them like gods." EXACTLY what I've been saying for years.) This is just going to have to be another one of those "It had potential, but..." books.

Rating: 3/5

Forever Princess

THIS ENTRY CONTAINS SPOILERS. (Well, they all do, but this is a particularly popular series, so I figured it deserved a particularly huge warning.)

Forever Princess
written by Meg Cabot


Pre-Review Warning: This review is not intended to be any sort of formal review. It is a reflection of my thoughts immediately after reading this book, and therefore, there will be caps-locking and excessive exclamation marks. Adjust your mood accordingly.

Oh, I went into reading this with cynicism. Grandmere or Louie were going to die. There was no WAY Mia would come out of this with a boyfriend (I was highly supporting the idea that she'd end up "self-actualized", realizing she didn't need a guy to be awesome). I...did not see this ending well. But, as has happened quite a bit lately, I fell in love. Maybe it's because of personal issues. I'm going through senior year, the same crazy college rush Mia's going through, with some similar personal problems as well. I really don't know. But this book reminded me once and for all why I read YA, and why I am proud to call myself a Princess Diaries fan--why I am proud to scoff at those who laugh and say it's all cliche. Screw them. They don't know a good book, obviously. They don't know a book that relates to the readers, that attracts millions of girls and tells them "hey, go out there and do your OWN thing". They'd rather be reading 'the classics', the ones that will have no immediate impact on their lives. Hm. Sucks to be them.
The book started out slow. Mia was with J.P. and the person she had become was not a very great one. Slowly but surely as Michael re-enters the picture, the book picks up the momentum found way back in the very first volume that launched this epic story, and Meg Cabot does not lose momentum. Everything ends...perfectly. It's not a "perfect" happily ever after (J.P. is probably not too happy at that moment), but...well, yeah, it really is. It's the most genuine, realistic happily ever after Meg Cabot could give her characters, and boy did she deliver. Did the woman channel Barack Obama on that last page or what?
Give her a hand. Good luck, Mia, we'll see you another day.

Rating: I only wish I could go higher than a 5/5.