Rating: ★★★☆☆
Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Suspense, Paranormal
Recommend: Yes
SPOILERS
Summary:
In a town called Hell, Michigan, Ariel is coping with the loss of her best friend Jenna, whom she believes to be dead but everyone else is convinced she has run away. As a result of Jenna's disappearance, Ariel is given little freedom in an attempt to keep her safe.
Then enter the mysterious Henry Rhodes who chases after Ariel and soon befriends her. But meanwhile Ariel is being haunted by nightmares and disturbed by paranormal events and believes there is more to discover about Jenna's disappearance.
Then enter the mysterious Henry Rhodes who chases after Ariel and soon befriends her. But meanwhile Ariel is being haunted by nightmares and disturbed by paranormal events and believes there is more to discover about Jenna's disappearance.
Ariel befriends Theo, a girl who lives next door and the daughter of her art teacher, and together they investigate the haunted house and plan to delve into the supernatural world. Other girls are beginning to go missing and Ariel wonders if it's related to Jenna's incident.
All the while Henry has secrets of his own and Ariel gets swept up into his drama whilst trying to save herself from dangers she never knew even existed.
All the while Henry has secrets of his own and Ariel gets swept up into his drama whilst trying to save herself from dangers she never knew even existed.
My Thoughts:
I ultimately have mixed thoughts about this novel; I found it hard to even settle on a star rating between 3 or 4.
Positives;
I ultimately have mixed thoughts about this novel; I found it hard to even settle on a star rating between 3 or 4.
Positives;
- Ariel: I really loved her character. She was headstrong and didn't give up her investigations simply due to the adults around her believing she was imagining things or that Jenna's disappearance was not suspicious. She investigated the orphanage after dreaming about the abandoned building and proved herself as a great friend consistently throughout, both to Jenna and Theo.
- Theo: Theo was my favourite character in Gravity. She was so unique and didn't fall into a specific stereotype teenager. I loved reading about her friendship with Ariel and it was clear that they both needed and helped each other through everything. She believed in Ariel and stuck by her as she delved into her investigations which was extremely admirable.
- Supernatural: The paranormal element of the novel was quite subtly included. It wasn't full on supernatural but a gradual inclusion of unexplained noises and Ariel performing a seance so it was written and portrayed quite cleverly as it was believable and read as reality. I find writing about paranormal events can be the hardest thing to get across in a fashion that'll make the reader truly believe it but everything that occurred to Ariel was subtle and cleverly depicted. There was also the perfect level of suspense and mystery wrapped around the events, such as the noises that Ariel could hear in her room but them not be explained by the end of the first novel.
Negatives;
- Errors: I generally overlook the occasional spelling mistake or punctuation error, but when the novel is over-run with errors it really disrupts the read and flow of the whole story. The wrong written version of words were used where they didn't make sense and there were just too many typos that ruined the read.
- Henry: He definitely won't be going on the list of Book Boyfriends. He didn't seem to bad to begin with but the whole "Stay away from me if you want to live" thing that permeates YA novels really turned me off him. He wasn't presented in a great fashion that got you emotive about him or wanting him to notice Ariel or be friendly to her. His whole character and involvement with Ariel was just too cliché for a novel that seemed to be original.
- Ending: I did like the ending so far as Ariel's near death experience and discovering the dead bodies. However there were no subtle hints that Mr Warwick could not be trusted or was in any way involved. Ariel's initial suspicions occurred too late on for it to seem realistic. One thing that bothered me throughout the book was how drawn out the suspense was at times but then by the end the last few scenes were rushed as if there was a hurry to complete the novel- It just didn't sit right.
- Romance: The romance element of Gravity didn't fit. Ariel fell for Henry and he supposedly had interest too as he chased her to start with but it fell apart too quickly. In most YA novels the romance faces a few obstacles, but there is good reason. But yet it felt like Ariel and Henry didn't get anywhere together before it all ended between them and he ignored her. (Not going to start on the fact Ariel fell in love with him so quickly after so little even happened.)
Overall though, despite there being a few negative points, Gravity was an enjoyable read but it just felt a little unpolished. The pacing needed some more ironing out to not be so dragged out at certain times but then at pivotal points not be so rushed. As a paranormal read though it was so well executed and I am intrigued as to how the story continues in the next installments.
