Book Review: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

This is a confusing book to rate, but I'll do my best to explain why.

The book itself has no real plot and reads kinda like a memoir. It's literally just a girl going through high school. I've nothing against this type of storytelling, if it’s well done, and this book does it well. The writing is the best part of this book, as well as fairly realistic portrayals of kids going through life in high school, (though I can't comment on the boarding school part as I've never been to one).

Prep

by Curtis Sittenfeld

A New York Times bestseller.

However, the main character Lee Fiora can be a bit insufferable at times. She doesn't really grow as a character. She's constantly judging other people and her depressive nature is a bit of a downer to read. She gets mad over petty things and seems to think she knows most everything better than everyone else. Not always, but that's the sense I got anyway. I would have LOVED to read the story from Martha's (her best friend and roommate) perspective. I love Martha as a character.

Yet, despite Lee's desputable persinatliy, I did enjoy the book. Mostly because of the writing. I loved the writign syle.

If you want action or character driven plot, or a plot in general, this isn't the book for you. But if you want a nice little read to pass the time with a book that was well written, give this a read.

Prep

by Curtis Sittenfeld

(Alternate cover)

Book Review: The Guardian by A.T. Duguay

A.T. Duguay

I have the pleasure of actually knowing the author personally. Duguay and I go way back to high school, and though we haven't really spoken to each other for nearly 15 years (wow that makes me feel old haha), we recently re-connected through our love of writing.

Now, onto his novel. For a first-time author, this book was very well written and the formatting was gorgeous. (He did the formatting and cover design himself and it turned out dope!) Duguay was able to do excellent world-building without making it a big info dump. I was constantly excited to learn more about Gauthak's world (and the world around him). It's obvious there is still plenty to learn, but knowing this is the first in the series definitely helps. As it stands, the story itself is a good stand-alone in terms of world-building and character development.

Before I gush about all the good things about this book, there were only a few "negative" things I should mention. I wouldn't even call them negatives. More like nitpicking based on my own personal preference.

For starters, I loved all the names of the main characters, Gauthak, Lauranna, and the names of the Northmen. But it seemed as though if the character didn't have a big role to play, their names were taken from our world and "made to look fantasy". Names like Samanda, Josiph, Sorcha, for example. Nothing wrong with that. Again, it's me being nitpicky.

Second, I found it odd that after each part, (the book is divided into three parts), the chapter titles would reset back to one. This may be a common fantasy practice that I'm unaware of, but from the books I've read that were divided into parts (my unpublished one included), the chapters never reset to one.

The story did drag--only a little!!--a bit at the start of part three, but did pick up again. But, can't have action all the time!

Last, sometimes the character's voices sounded more modern than I feel they should. (I just imaged in the setting they're in to sound all Game of Thrones like, and they totally don't have to, but yeah). Sometimes they sounded like they were in the fantasy setting they were in while other times a few modern sounded phrases seemed to pop through. At least, that's how it felt to me.

Anywho, as I said, nitpicky stuff. All very minor.

Now, onto the good stuff.

First off, LOVE Gauthak. He's a well-written character and has a great history (albeit sad) and a very interesting culture to learn about. I love how it isn't insta-love between him and Lauranna and it was sweet to Gauthak slowly get smitten with her.

I loved all the Northman, but I'm sad about how some of their stories had ended. They are a strong group of characters and the camaraderie between them and the rest of the cast felt very realistic.

Faron is easily one of my favourite characters aside from Guathak. He's the magic user in this world and I love his sarcastic yet hard truth-telling attitude. Plus the way Duguay wrote how Faron performed magic was pretty cool. Can't wait to learn more about him and the magic system of this series.

All in all, a solid good book. Great read. For a first-time author, Duguay should be proud of what he's accomplished. Here's hoping book two comes out soon!

The

Guardian by A.T. Duguay

New revised cover for the first book.