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jmoses's review against another edition
3.0
interesting YA. The narration takes a bit of getting used to, and I'd like to think it could have had an easier transition from "wtf is going on" to "oh, I finally get it" but I have no idea how.
the story is decent, and the characters are good, if a but one dimensional. I find that's a common problem for me with YA, so it's probably just that I'm 30 and not 13.
regardless, not sad I read it. not sad its not a series.
the story is decent, and the characters are good, if a but one dimensional. I find that's a common problem for me with YA, so it's probably just that I'm 30 and not 13.
regardless, not sad I read it. not sad its not a series.
callidice's review against another edition
5.0
In case you don't know, I am what you would call a superhero fan-girl, and I love all things comic book related. Unfortunately, while I've read my fair share of comics, I haven't read that many actual novels about superheroes - only Perry Moore's Hero and Superman: Last Son of Krypton by Elliot S! Maggin. That's why I was beyond ecstatic to hear about this book while browsing through Kickstarter.
The Girl Who Would Be King tells the story of two very different girls: Bonnie Braverman and Lola LeFever. Bonnie is an orphan who survived the car crash that killed her parents at the tender age of six. She grew up in an orphanage, and moved to New York City as soon as she turned eighteen. I absolutely adore Bonnie - she's a hard worker, has a kind heart, and when she finds out about her abilities, she decides that she wants to use them to help people. Bonnie also goes through her fair share of struggles, including trying to balance being a superhero, working at a bookstore, and having time to spend with her friends and boyfriend.
Lola, on the other hand, finds no pleasure in helping or being around others. Instead, the novel opens with a sixteen-year-old Lola drugging her mother and driving her off of a cliff in order to steal her powers. She then runs off to Vegas, and later Los Angeles, where she commits various crimes and murders. While Lola may not have grown up knowing how to trust others, she does take a stab at trying to find love and friendship - but those relationships usually end in Lola killing more people, to the point where she becomes rather insane. I found that Lola's descent into madness was quite fascinating, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective.
And yes, this novel is told from both Bonnie's and Lola's perspective - I love it when authors choose to alternate viewpoints in a story. There are so many things going on in the lives of those two girls that this book never got boring - it was a very quick read. And once Bonnie and Lola finally met and battled, the story became so gripping that I could not put it down.
Kelly Thompson wrote a fantastic first novel, and I'd recommend The Girl Who Would Be King to anyone - especially those of you who enjoy comic books or superheros in general. I will warn you that there are some typos (at least in the printed version), but while there are enough to be noticeable, they don't detract from the story at all, and there weren't enough to really be a big bother. I truly loved reading this book, and I hope Ms. Thompson decides to put out more novels soon, as I would love to read more of her work! This definitely added any of her future books to my insta-buy list!
The Girl Who Would Be King tells the story of two very different girls: Bonnie Braverman and Lola LeFever. Bonnie is an orphan who survived the car crash that killed her parents at the tender age of six. She grew up in an orphanage, and moved to New York City as soon as she turned eighteen. I absolutely adore Bonnie - she's a hard worker, has a kind heart, and when she finds out about her abilities, she decides that she wants to use them to help people. Bonnie also goes through her fair share of struggles, including trying to balance being a superhero, working at a bookstore, and having time to spend with her friends and boyfriend.
Lola, on the other hand, finds no pleasure in helping or being around others. Instead, the novel opens with a sixteen-year-old Lola drugging her mother and driving her off of a cliff in order to steal her powers. She then runs off to Vegas, and later Los Angeles, where she commits various crimes and murders. While Lola may not have grown up knowing how to trust others, she does take a stab at trying to find love and friendship - but those relationships usually end in Lola killing more people, to the point where she becomes rather insane. I found that Lola's descent into madness was quite fascinating, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective.
And yes, this novel is told from both Bonnie's and Lola's perspective - I love it when authors choose to alternate viewpoints in a story. There are so many things going on in the lives of those two girls that this book never got boring - it was a very quick read. And once Bonnie and Lola finally met and battled, the story became so gripping that I could not put it down.
Kelly Thompson wrote a fantastic first novel, and I'd recommend The Girl Who Would Be King to anyone - especially those of you who enjoy comic books or superheros in general. I will warn you that there are some typos (at least in the printed version), but while there are enough to be noticeable, they don't detract from the story at all, and there weren't enough to really be a big bother. I truly loved reading this book, and I hope Ms. Thompson decides to put out more novels soon, as I would love to read more of her work! This definitely added any of her future books to my insta-buy list!
jen286's review against another edition
1.0
Also posted to Jen in Bookland
This book was interesting. Like I thought the idea of the story was interesting, but the execution put me to sleep for the first 70% or so. I thought the idea of one girl who is good, one who is evil, and both kind of know that is just the way they are and they can't really change it. It is written in them to be that way. Lola at one point comments when she is happy how it is odd and doesn't feel right, and there is something wrong with her if she shouldn't be able to be happy. Things like that made it a really interesting story, but the way it was written just didn't work. I have read that it is like a graphic novel but in prose and once I saw that I thought yes if this were a graphic novel I would have liked it so much more. The writing just didn't work for it.
What else? Well I really enjoyed Lola. I liked how she was just like kill everyone and who cares. I liked how she never had a conscience, though she couldn't kill Adrian because she loved him. Even though she went crazy and is not very smart, she knows she doesn't have the brains to be a great criminal overlord and does something about it. She just needs to learn to control her temper some so she doesn't do things that make her go even crazier, but it was fun reading how crazy she went. The last 30% of the book was better than the first 70%. Partly because I loved Lola in that part.
Bonnie was the good one, and she falls for Clark but handles that all really poorly. I mean when he sees her on the train she is just like sorry I can't tell you anything I am leaving now. Why? Why not just tell him what is going on and if he rejects you then...so what you are leaving anyway? I don't know. It was odd. I did like how she has the overwhelming need to help people in distress. Not just that she is good, it is like she has to do good. I just found it interesting that the two girls were very definite opposites.
So even though the writing wasn't that good I did eventually get into the story more. I was kind of on the line 3 stars, good but nothing special for most of the book. Well right up until the epilogue, and then since my husband happens to be home today I went off on a rant to him about how horrible the end is!
This book was interesting. Like I thought the idea of the story was interesting, but the execution put me to sleep for the first 70% or so. I thought the idea of one girl who is good, one who is evil, and both kind of know that is just the way they are and they can't really change it. It is written in them to be that way. Lola at one point comments when she is happy how it is odd and doesn't feel right, and there is something wrong with her if she shouldn't be able to be happy. Things like that made it a really interesting story, but the way it was written just didn't work. I have read that it is like a graphic novel but in prose and once I saw that I thought yes if this were a graphic novel I would have liked it so much more. The writing just didn't work for it.
What else? Well I really enjoyed Lola. I liked how she was just like kill everyone and who cares. I liked how she never had a conscience, though she couldn't kill Adrian because she loved him. Even though she went crazy and is not very smart, she knows she doesn't have the brains to be a great criminal overlord and does something about it. She just needs to learn to control her temper some so she doesn't do things that make her go even crazier, but it was fun reading how crazy she went. The last 30% of the book was better than the first 70%. Partly because I loved Lola in that part.
Bonnie was the good one, and she falls for Clark but handles that all really poorly. I mean when he sees her on the train she is just like sorry I can't tell you anything I am leaving now. Why? Why not just tell him what is going on and if he rejects you then...so what you are leaving anyway? I don't know. It was odd. I did like how she has the overwhelming need to help people in distress. Not just that she is good, it is like she has to do good. I just found it interesting that the two girls were very definite opposites.
So even though the writing wasn't that good I did eventually get into the story more. I was kind of on the line 3 stars, good but nothing special for most of the book. Well right up until the epilogue, and then since my husband happens to be home today I went off on a rant to him about how horrible the end is!
Spoiler
So Lola and Bonnie fight it out to the death, Bonnie killing Lola finally and so then Bonnie gets all the power! Plus she is pregnant so baby will have all the power, good and evil, and will have to deal with that. Cool. I kind of liked the idea of having one person with both sides and honestly would have picked up a second book if that were the premise - Bonnie's baby and how she deals with it. But no, the stupid epilogue shows Bonnie has twins - one will be good, one will be evil. Really? So nothing changes? That is it? It is pointless to do anything, because you cannot really do anything. So lame. I mean I want the option at least left open to change. Otherwise why both? So you could just continue the cycle again and again and again forever and you can't do anything about it? Soooo lame! Really if it wouldn't have had an epilogue I would have liked the book so much more. But because of that stupid stupid ending my rating dropped way down. Ugh, I hate when authors do that - end books in a horrible way. I just can't get over it - why did I read this story if it is just to show me how nothing can change?!? I wasted way too much of my time on it.stalwart's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very enjoyable read. Thompson does a great job of getting inside the heads of her main characters and developing their personality and voice. The book is written with alternating chapters narrated first-person from the two many characters, a superhero and supervillain. Superheroes rarely make for good prose novels, but this is one of the exceptions. By keeping the plot simple and not attempting any extravagant "world-building", Thompson seizes on the strength of prose: To develop characters' inner lives. I was particularly impressed with the development of Lola (the villain) and how every step made sense for that character, but ended her up in a place she never wanted to be. Bonnie (the hero) is very believable and inspiring. The gradual reveal of the "superheroic origin" of the girls' powers does a nice job of throwing light on the characters' previous actions. It was apparent that Thompson knew exactly what these characters were capable of—both psychologically and (super-)physically—from the very first page.
A well-done first novel.
A well-done first novel.
mieren's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Good plot, good characters, creative story idea. And one I haven't specifically seen elsewhere.
Lovers of comic book genre definitely need to check this book out.
The writing style is a bit raw, but the author is also pretty new. I give it a definite thumbs up.
Thanks for a great read!
Lovers of comic book genre definitely need to check this book out.
The writing style is a bit raw, but the author is also pretty new. I give it a definite thumbs up.
Thanks for a great read!
frexam's review against another edition
4.0
io9.com loved this book - I was unsure but gave it a shot and it was much better than I expected.
wwrlad's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Bonnie's story started off a bit slow but once the story picked up it was an exciting and fun ride. There is something about a person's decent into madness that I will always enjoy.
A sequel isn't needed but I would be interested in reading one based on that ending.
A sequel isn't needed but I would be interested in reading one based on that ending.