"Bad, bad, bad!"
This book sounded interesting, and maybe it would have been had it not been so drawn out. I actually had to take breaks from listening to this book because it just dragged on and on and on. The narration, on the other hand, was excellent - up until the end when two characters were speaking interchangeably. That just sounded cheesy. Furthermore, I somehow didn't feel any chemistry between Tengo and Aomame. Their relationship felt very forced. They loved the thought of one another but didn't really know each other. There was also a point where the story just became more and more absurd. Not wanting to spoil anything for anyone, I won't get into the details. Over all, I would not recommend this book unless you're very bored and have absolutely nothing better to do/listen to/read.
"I had a feeling this one was going to be great!!"
Highly recommend this book!! Well written, funny, and interesting! It will definitely change the way I behave in hotels! I love inside perspectives such as this, it really puts a human face on an industry and makes you appreciate the people working there.
"Excellent!!"
An eye-opening and amazing book. Jenna is obviously a very intelligent woman, and a great writer. I'm glad she was able to escape Scientology with enough time to live and appreciate the one life we all have.
"Would give it 2.5 stars"
Yes because I enjoyed 2/3 of it.
The last 1/3 of the book was ridiculous. I wanted to scream at the characters to stop with their stupid chattering and get to work! Also, I wasn't a fan of the big secret - it felt too .... weird.
Yes, I can see 14 being made into a movie. It's a very visual book.
"Horrible book"
A story about the child and the parents, not endless blathering about unrelated or uninteresting topics. The main characters were VERY one-dimensional - I didn't care for any of them. There were also characters in the book who should not have been - they were so boring!
No.
His performance was good.
Quite frankly, everyone. A new set of characters with actual personalities is needed!
Not recommended!
"Very interesting!"
This was a great book, though I was turned off by the religious portion (the last chapter), as I feel that many sociopaths use religion as a means to control other people. Other than that, I thought this book was quite fascinating, though a little scary.
"Hmmm ..."
I really think that Jaycee was brave to write about her experience, and I applaud her for doing it. Unfortunately I found this book to be quite bad. It was all over the place, first of all. On top of that, I really don't feel that she should have been reading the book herself. Perhaps her lack of emotion was a way to cope with telling the story, but it's an audiobook - I'm sorry but I don't want to hear a woman reading such a difficult story in a monotone voice ... sometimes it felt like she was listing random things. I got through the whole book, but it was not easy. My husband usually likes listening to audiobooks with me, but after hearing 15 minutes of the book he asked me to switch to another one, and I couldn't blame him. I think I would have preferred to read this book than to listen to it, and feel like I wasted a credit on it. Oh well, it happens ....
"Great!"
Definitely a great book - much better than I had expected. I had to buy the second book to see what would happen.
"Overrated"
The storyline was in no way unique, and the book as a whole was ultimately disappointing. In general, I love YA books, but this one was kind of ... boring. I couldn't wait until her seven days were over, and although there were a some touching parts, they were few and far between. Also, I didn't find the narrator to be that great, particularly when it came to Kent. He seemed very flat and emotionless to me. I really wanted to love this book just as many of the reviewers did, but I just couldn't. At the end, I felt that there was still something important missing.
"Sadly, not great"
After reading 'My Sister's Keeper' I was hooked on Jodi's books and have read most of them at this point. Unfortunately it became quite obvious that she was using the same "formula" for many of her books. They were often predictable and became rather boring.
After reading "Handle With Care" (which I absolutely LOVED), I hoped that she would start writing books that were less predictable. Sadly, she went back to her "formula" in 'House Rules'. Firstly, the crime was no mystery. I knew from the moment it occurred what had happened. The fact that no one allowed Jacob to explain what really happened frustrated me to no end ... it just seemed to drag on and on and on. Then there was the usual love story ... booooorrrrring.
I was also disappointed with how Jacob was portrayed. I know someone with Aspergers, and although I know that people with the disorder experience different symptoms, Jacob just didn't seem ... real. Sure, it's a fictional portrayal of a person with Autism, but perhaps Jodi should have met a couple of "Aspies" before writing about one.