MariReads: April Book Group: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

April Book Group: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

It has been a year since I last posted about our Book group meetings! We are still going strong, thankfully. Yay! Here is the list of the books we have read so far:
2011 August- Austenland by Shannon Hale September- The Happiness Project by Gretchin rubin October- The Shining by Stephen King November/December- The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein 2012 January- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sloot February- The Last Letter to Your Lover by JoJo Moyles March/April- Are You Somebody? by Nuala O'Faolain May- A Million Nightengales by Susan Straight June- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern July/August- Friday Mornings at Nine by Marilyn Brant September/October- Steve Jobs: A Biography by Walter Isaacson November/December- The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett 2013 January- The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh February/March- Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner April- Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl ______________________________ It was my turn to host again and choose our book. This months book was chosen because I really wanted something lighter than the previous month's book (Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner). I also really wanted to read a YA book with our group. I came to our March meeting with two choices: Beautiful Creatures and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Two very different style of YA books. We went with Beautiful Creatures.

Thoughts about the book:
Everyone seemed a bit torn about this one. They didn't think it was all that great, but they were all still going to get the next book in the series. Guess that is the good thing about not finishing your story in one book. Even those who aren't totally invested will get the next book so as not to be left with questions unanswered.
We all thought it was okay. It was a fast, light read-exactly what we wanted. There were just a bunch of little nit-picky things that kept everyone from truly enjoying it. The use of "casters" instead of witches, the ending or non-ending, Lena wanting to go to a party thrown by her evil cousin and the guests are all the kids that have been mean to her.
Popular Question: The character of Ethan is a bit feminine. How would the book and the relationship between him and Lena be different had he behaved more like a teenage boy?
This was one of the nit-picky things. Ethan didn't act like a teenage boy. Perhaps due to a female writer, but I have read believable teenage boys written by female authors before. We all got confused when we started reading, thinking the narrator was female. Perhaps it is on purpose; Another reason why he is different than the other boys in town. I don't know.
Next Months book: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn