Looking for Alaska by John Green

I read Green's The Fault In Our Stars just before the movie release and was so enchanted with his writing style I couldn't wait to read another of his novels. Though intriguing and certainly thought provoking, I wasn't nearly as engaged in Looking for Alaska as I was in The Fault In Our Stars. Looking for Alaska doesn't have the laugh-out-loud humor or create the deep emotional ties TFIOS does. My level of interest in Looking for Alaska was certainly enough to keep my attention for the duration but I never experienced any particular attachment to any of the characters. That said, I loved Green's brilliant approach of centering the novel around the moment that ultimately defines the characters in the book. The event takes on a B.C./A.D. aura and I got a deep sense of the intense effect wrought on the characters as the novel transitions from the countdown to the time after.

You will find an official plot line description at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99561.Looking_for_Alaska?from_search=true.

Sheer Abandon by Penny Vincenzi

I am a huge fan of Penny Vincenzi's Spoils of Time trilogy so I was excited to begin another of her novels. I can't decide if I would have been better off to read this one before the trilogy or if I would have skipped Spoils of Time if I read this one first...

Sheer Abandon is mostly engaging and enjoyable but it was nowhere near as entrancing as the Spoils of Time for me so I was slightly let down. The story really picks up through the middle after a slow start but it seems to drag at the end. It took too long to culminate into a climax and a finish for my taste. I found my mind wandering more and more as the story continued to string me along.

I had a difficult time loving the characters. I wanted to choke one or more of them almost the entire way through the book. Nat was my absolute favorite even though he doesn't play a main role. Sweet and funny, he adds an endearing quality to every scene he appears in. I found Kate's adolescent outbursts and obscenities very funny and appreciated the respite her teen angst provided. Clio is a love but Jocasta and Martha are frustrating and often annoying in what I perceived as a lack of growth through the story.

Despite my diminished enthusiasm for Sheer Abandon, I'm still looking forward to reading more from Penny Vincenzi. She writes incredibly well and she has a notable talent for weaving multiple story lines into a cohesive, thought-provoking "whole." I have no doubt that there are many more Vincenzi novels out there that I will adore.

You will find an official plot line description at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/668635.Sheer_Abandon.