Teen Beat Thursday: Sophia

I am fascinated by teenagers and what makes them tick. I especially love the awkwardness of the age group– the in-between stage bridging childhood and teen-dom. Is it any wonder that these two top my favorite teenagers list?

In honor of these enigmatic creatures, I decided to introduce a series of posts called Teen Beat Thursdays. My requirements are simple: fill out a brief questionnaire and chose something to review (book, movie, tv show, restaurant, etc).

First to return the questionnaire and review was Sophia, a 16 year old from California, about to enter her junior year of high school. A little about Sophia:

• Plays tennis on the Varsity team for her high school
• Auditioned for and made Advanced Drama for the upcoming school year
• Studies French
• Last Book read: Fallen, by Lauren Kate
• Last movie watched in the theaters: Lucy
• Favorite Restaurant: King’s Fish House
• Favorite Place to Shop: Free People

Sophia chose to review Fallen, By Lauren Kate. Here is her review, in her own words, lightly edited:

What attracted me to this book: I picked this up at Barnes and Noble because I thought the cover looked interesting and I wanted to know more about the story. After I read the description on the back I was all in.

Summary:

Modern day seventeen-year-old Lucinda (Luce) Price is suspected of the murder of her prom date her junior year and is sent to a boarding reform school in Savannah, Georgia. She doesn’t remember committing any of the crimes people are accusing her of doing. Her new evil, Sword and Cross reform school built during the civil war era is dull and ancient until she sees Daniel Grigory. Even after his rude introduction, she’s drawn to him like a “moth to a flame.” Even though there is Cam, the super handsome and reliable bad boy craving her attention, she still can’t get Daniel out of her head. Little does she know Daniel is hiding a huge secret, and they’ve met many times before. How will Luce get the answers she wants from someone as stubborn and uninterested as Daniel?

What I liked about the book:

I loved an abundance of things about this book. I’ve always found myself a little attracted to the darkness and unusual ideas (for me at least) about religion or concepts on life. This novel is the perfect dark romance for this generation. Yes, it may have your typical forbidden romance with two adolescent males fighting for the same pretentious, timid, helpless girl, but who doesn’t love a good love triangle? What girl wouldn’t want to be fought for over two hot fallen angels like Daniel Grigory and Cam Briel? I’m a huge history freak myself, (it’s my favorite subject) so two lovers meeting again and again throughout the ages is a complete page-turner for me.

What I didn’t like about the book:

There’s not much to dislike about the book unless you’re a complete stubborn skeptic. However, there are a few things about the novel I wasn’t a huge fan of.

Don’t get me wrong, I always love a good villain. But, my name is Sophia and the main villain in the story is their trusted teacher, Miss Sophia. Also, I didn’t like how Daniel would take Luce away from whatever she was doing and leave her within a short amount of time all by herself. Leaving her in random places like the woods to just figure out the way back.

I also don’t really like how strong Cam comes on to Luce. I’ve never known a guy that acted that way, so it’s a little unbelievable. It can also be quite irritating at some parts because it completely interrupts the plot.

Final Thoughts:

This book is definitely one of my favorites. With a wicked imagination, you will get swept up in a thrilling fantasy world you could only dream of. To me, this book is 4 out of 5 stars.