Dark Life - Kat Falls and Paper Towns - John Green

For the first 64 pages of this novel, I thought the main character was a girl. It's probably my fault ... Perhaps the author did mention it, but it was jarring when on page 64 "Ty" was referred to as "my brother." I thought his sister was making a joke. (Incidentally, it was mentioned in the dust jacket, but I don't read dust jackets.) The point of bringing that up is that if the author was successfully writing a character with a strong male voice, I think I would have picked up on it sooner. (There was a little bit of teen-grade sexual tension with Ty and this girl Gemma, and I did think it was odd that a middle-grade book would have girl on girl action, but I figured, hey -- who am I to question? LOL)

I've read a lot of teen and young adult novels, and I just didn't find this to be as successful as some of the others. I thought the world Falls creative was imaginative and fun. But a bit under-developed.

The story was totally predictable, and even though it was geared to 9-12 years old, I think even they would have figured everything out pretty quickly.

It was engaging, fast-paced, and ultimately fun. So for the age-group I think it is a good read, but I don't think adults will be clamoring for it.

3 sea creatures out of 5

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What a fun book! At first it reminded me of I Love You, Beth Cooper or Sixteen Candles, but it quickly grew into so much more for me.

It was smart, funny, current, relevant.

The audio was excellent. The reader really was able to capture youth in his voice.

If it hadn't been for the ending of this book, it would have made my top 10 of the year. Though it fit into the theme of the book, I found it a little diappointing and frankly, a bit over-explained.

I'm looking forward to checking out more of Green's work.

5 nerdy teens out of 5