Flightless Bird
A secret from the past...The summer of her seventeenth birthday, Livy Eckels was faced with something she wasn't ready for. In the midst of a crumbling family, devastated, she grabs her bicycle and heads out of town to escape the atmosphere at home. Livy unexpectedly crashes into the lives of two mysterious people living on the outskirts of town. As she prepares to start her final exhaustive year of high school, she already has enough on her plate. Then with the entrance of Gregory Mason, her life becomes even more complicated. Tall, handsome, and ever so annoying, Livy can't stand being around him until she finds herself being pulled closer and closer to things she cannot explain.She was determined to understand why Gregory Mason was so interested in her until she discovered something that may put her curiosity to an end. Before she knows what is happening, Livy becomes entangled in the mystifying plots of a secret society, a vengeful ex-lover, and a situation she never expected to find herself in: falling in love with a boy whose secret she should have never known.
Read in Nov' 13
Read for Review + Universal TBR
Rating:
A while back I was
reading this ARC by an author who I know has a YA series as well. I am friends
with her on twitter and I expressed my wish to read her YA series as well. And she
was kind enough to send me the book as a gift. Thank You Paulina for that treat.
FlightlessBird
is the first book in The Flightless Bird series by Paulina Ulrich. The first
three books are already out. The fourth book is scheduled for release in 2014.
I liked the synopsis
and the cover. That cover didn’t really give away much but the new cover change
made it a surety that this book has something to do with time travel.
Caution: Ignore the
constant use of the words ‘sometimes’ and ‘like’ and some other recurring
words. <_< (Also, the in-coherency.)
I have mixed feelings
about this book. I liked it sometimes and sometimes I just wanted it to end.
This book was long. It could have done fairly well had it been short and
compact. I didn't like the slow pacing in this book. I liked… the writing
style. But I felt it lacking sometimes in the way that I almost felt nothing in the moments the characters
shared. I was on Chapter 12 and I was
like, ‘Give us answers already or some action at least.’ Like, I get it. There
needs to be a buildup but seriously I was getting tired of the attraction
between the two main leads. I liked the names of all the chapters. -- I don't
know but the book scenes seemed like Twilight,
Unbreakable whatever. Time traveling was
different. But I wasn’t sure if the book was leaving an impression on me. It was
readable but frustrating. And. Not in a good way. I was so waiting for the plot
twist. I had to wait for a long while. When the twist finally came, I wasn't really impressed. :/
Seriously, the question
sessions and then whispering in the back of the class -- Twilight much?!!? Livy was not a solid protagonist. Neither was
Gregory. The proper execution was missing. Sorry. L
Also what is with the authors- making every guy speak like a gentleman? Why
can't they act like normal teenage boys? Not act, talk. Gah. I didn’t like
Gregory’s use of the endearment ‘love’. *gags*
Sometimes I liked how
the two leads were but it seemed like the situations were dragged- as in the
frustrations and/or the plot. LOL. Sorry. I am not making sense. If you get me,
then comment!! LOL.
My book notes were
literally like ‘I don't get it.’
I didn't like how Livy
was always contemplating and thinking. Argh. It’s not her fault. And what is with the insecurity. Well, I think
that happens. Yeah. Guys suck. I can side with her in that situation but it was
too much. I felt like Livy was trying too hard to be smart or whatever. Unnecessary stress or whatever—unnecessary emotions
sometimes, more like. For instance, when in Chapter
33 Gregory asked her if she had any plans for Saturday and I didn’t like
how Livy responded. He wasn’t ‘pestering’ her he only asked her a simple ‘yes
or no’ question. That question wasn’t mysterious. And yeah you can say it was
random but not really. That dance scene where she was like I don’t deserve you –
like what’s with self-deprecating girls?
And I felt like Gracie
was that cliché best friend who was outspoken, chirpy, getting whatever she
wants, liked by everyone. I liked her but then sometimes she was too much. But I liked her nonetheless. :p I liked Cecily and (Grandma Jean) as well.
Random: I thought it
had things to do with time travel and the bird was an allegorical reference to
one of the characters. So it was nice to finally find the reason behind the
title and who called it. My guess was close, btw. ;)
So, I will be reading
the next book that is for sure because well, I did like this book (kind of). I
believe maybe I wasn't in the right mind state to not have loved this book; to
not have enjoyed this book. And who knows I might really like the next book.
Because sometimes, you don’t like the first book but you like it enough to read
the next book or be sure of the fact that you will like the future books. Does
it make sense? I did enjoy some parts. So... read the book.
Will I recommend it? (Hesitant) Yes, I will still tell you to check it out as you might like
it more than me.
Teaser:
Have you read this book? What did you think about it?
Toodles.
Happy Reading.
P.S. I wish I loved this book and that makes me sad that I had problems with it. Perhaps not every book is for everyone. Le sigh.
