Quote

Be omnivorous, don't just read one kind of book, read everything. - Richard Wagamese

Monday, October 31, 2011

Review: The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur



Congratulations! You have been admitted to the most prestigious university in the world. Now what are you going to do?

Callie Andrews may not have money or connections or the right clothes, and she may have way too many complications in her love life, what with

Gregory
the guy she loves to hate ...

Evan
the guy she'd love to forget ...

Clint
the guy she'd love to love ...

and Matt
the guy she really should love ...

all vying for her attention.

But she has three fantastic roommates (best friends or her worst nightmare?) and a wholesome California-girl reputation (oops) and brains and beauty and big, big dreams.

Will it be enough to help her survive freshman year at Harvard?
Review:
Ultimately, this book fell flat for me. I was excited to see what a college setting would have to offer, they’re not many books with a setting that takes place in college. I felt like the book had a lot of potential, but there wasn’t enough development. The characters seemed stereotypical, and I really couldn’t like any of them. There was a lot going on and not enough depth to each character. In my opinion there was too much dialogue and not enough development, I never had enough time to really know any of the characters. I would like to have seen more focus on the university experience, and not just alcohol and relationships. The university experience is much more than just a social change. I felt like the story was a bit disorienting, and there wasn’t a clear cut point of view. I really think I just expecting something different, and was shocked by what I got. I was looking for a more mature read, and I was very disappointed. This one just really wasn't for me. You'll need to judge for yourself. 

12 comments:

  1. Too bad 0 it looked like it had great potential!

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  2. I've heard this one just doesn't quite live up to expectations. I had high hopes for it due to the college setting as well, like you said there aren't many set there, but I read several reviews where a similar opinion to yours was expressed so I passed on this one. Thanks for your thoughts!

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  3. buuu, I hope you enjoy your next read. It feels like a waste of time when we read somthing that disappoint us. Thanx for sharing my dear =)

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  4. Not much of a story without good character development. Too bad this didn't work.

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  5. I am sorry to hear that this one fell flat for you. It doesn't sound like something that I would be particularly interested in either. I hope your next read is better! Happy Halloween!

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  6. I'm sorry to hear that this novel didn't work for you as I really liked the summary blurb. Thanks for the candid review!

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  7. That's too bad. I do like a good school story (especially boarding school but college stories also draw my interest), so I was sorry to see that this one didn't wow you.

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  8. Aww, it's too bad this book fell flat for you! :( It does sound like it had so much potential, and it always sucks when the book doesn't meet them! I love the idea of it being about a whole bunch of kids trying to survive life at Harvard, but character depth is important to me too and I guess that, with that many characters, it'd be hard to add it.

    Awesome honest review, though, Mrs. Q! :) Hopefully your next book will WOW you!

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  9. Sorry that it fell flat for you :/ The world suckiest feeling for sure. But maybe the next book you read will be better

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  10. I've been pretty pick about YA since I don't read much of it. I was wondering about this one, but I think I'll skip it. I'd probably feel the same way you did about it!

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  11. It's too bad you were disappointed in this one. If you didn't like this one, I don't think you'll like Watch Me by Lauren Barnholdt (what I had reviewed today). The two books kind of are similar in that they don't have much depth to them (they are both just junk food reads).

    One really good book set in college that I'd really recommend is Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson. It doesn't get much attention (which is too bad), but I picked it up after I saw Meg Cabot rave about it on her blog a couple of years ago. It's really funny with a great love interest and was one of the books that made me realize how awesome YA books are. It's a favorite of mine!

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