Wednesday, June 18, 2014

We Are the Goldens - Review

We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

Rating: 3.5

Description:  Nell and her older sister Layla have always been really close and Nell is thrilled when she finally moves up to high school so that they'll be in the same school.  Suddenly even though they're going to the same school and on the same soccer team the sisters aren't just as close.  And suddenly Nell discovers that her perfect older sister Layla just may have a secret.

Genre: YA

Why I Picked This Book: This was an invite from the publisher through NetGalley and I was intrigued by the summary.  I wanted to find out Layla's secret.

My Impression:
Pro: : I really enjoyed how the book was written.  It was from Nell, the younger sister’s perspective and was written as a letter to her older sister Layla.  While it did give the reader a limited view of what was going on we really got a good look at what Nell was thinking.  The story takes place in the past as Nell is explaining the events that led up to her calling a family conference.  I liked Nell’s friend, Felix, he was just on this side of over-exuberant and so was a welcome bit of comic relief.  I also liked Parker and Duncan who are two boys that both Nell and Layla knew who died a few years before.  They appear as both Nell’s conscience and kind of imaginary friends.

Cons: I really would've loved to hear Layla's side of the story.  While I enjoyed seeing it all through Nell's eyes it did feel a little one dimensional.  Also, I wasn't quite satisfied by the ending.

Overall: This was an interesting YA read.  It wasn't overly heavy or fluffy and silly.  It was a short interesting read and I found Nell to be very sympathetic.



Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Yes, I don't read much YA and I enjoyed this one.

4 comments:

  1. Now I want to know what Layla's secret is too! Books written in this style definitely can have a limited view of an overall story. It works well if done right, but, even then, like you said, sometimes you really want to know the other side of the story too.

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    1. This is a super quick read and really interesting. The POV was one of the things that made it so engaging but at the same time I wanted more. Weird how that happens!

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  2. I'm not much of a contemporary YA fan either but I like books written like this seems to be. Plus I'm always on the look out for a quick and easy read.
    -Kimberly @ Turning the Pages

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    1. I enjoyed this one more than I expected too and I did find the POV interesting. This is definitely a quick easy read. I liked that it wasn't romance driven like a lot of YA tends to be. Definitely worth considering if you want to read something fast but that isn't too fluffy.

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