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Demon in My View, by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Jan. 8th, 2014 01:08 pmThis is a short novel and a very quick read, which is the main reason I finished it. It's young adult urban-supernatural, with vampires and witches. The main character is a teenage author who writes supernatural fiction. She feels very much like a stand-in for the author: I checked after finishing and discovered Ms. Atwater-Rhodes was a teenager at the time of publication.
The text is heavy on dialogue and descriptions of the characters' inner lives, thoughts, and feelings, and light on setting and description. I generally enjoy that sort of thing, but this book didn't grab me. If it had been longer, I'd probably have given up on it in the first twenty pages. It has YA supernatural standards, like a brooding ancient male vampire and a teenage human girl he is mysteriously attracted to and whom he stalks. If you're thinking "Twilight knockoff", I'll note that the book predates Twilight by several years, and the trope predates it by decades (at least). I remain fond of brooding ancient male protagonists but I am kind of meh about them falling for teenage girls at this point. The author's writing style is straightforward, with a use of language that neither adds to nor detracts from the narrative. The characters are largely humorless apart from uncreative use of sarcasm. This may be why the book didn't grab me: I like characters who are witty and entertaining even when the novel and situations they are in are serious.
That aside, it's a reasonable example of the genre and would probably be enjoyed more by its target market, who is keener on teen angst and less jaded than I am. I give it a 6 out of 10 on the "how much I liked it" scale.
The text is heavy on dialogue and descriptions of the characters' inner lives, thoughts, and feelings, and light on setting and description. I generally enjoy that sort of thing, but this book didn't grab me. If it had been longer, I'd probably have given up on it in the first twenty pages. It has YA supernatural standards, like a brooding ancient male vampire and a teenage human girl he is mysteriously attracted to and whom he stalks. If you're thinking "Twilight knockoff", I'll note that the book predates Twilight by several years, and the trope predates it by decades (at least). I remain fond of brooding ancient male protagonists but I am kind of meh about them falling for teenage girls at this point. The author's writing style is straightforward, with a use of language that neither adds to nor detracts from the narrative. The characters are largely humorless apart from uncreative use of sarcasm. This may be why the book didn't grab me: I like characters who are witty and entertaining even when the novel and situations they are in are serious.
That aside, it's a reasonable example of the genre and would probably be enjoyed more by its target market, who is keener on teen angst and less jaded than I am. I give it a 6 out of 10 on the "how much I liked it" scale.
