Thursday 18 July 2013

All These Things I've Done, Gabrielle Zevin

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin, reviewed by Eleanor

What is this book about?
In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. That is until her ex is accidentally poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight -at school, in the news and, most importantly, within her mafia family. (goodreads.com)

Who should read this book?
12+, YA dystopian, romance

How long is this book?
351 pages

Marks
Story Line: 6/10
Well written: 4/5
Enjoyabililty: 3/5
Overall: 13/20

Star Rating:
3 stars

Question 1. What character would you most like to have tea with?
Anya's Nana because she was born in 1995 and I was born a year later and that's kinda cool (this book is set in 2082/3)


Question 2. What character would you most like to throw tea at?
Mr Delacroix. I know he has his reasons for not wanting Anya and Win to be together but I would still throw tea at him because they're a cute couple!

Question 3. What do you think of the cover?
I'm not so sure about the front cover of the edition I read but I do love the cover of another edition so I'm putting a picture of that up instead.

Question 4. What do you think of the title? Do you think there is an alternative?
I like the title. It's quite catchy after a while and suits the book.

Question 5. Favourite quote!
"Should have. Would have. Could have. Didn't."

Overall: I loved the main characters in this book, Anya is a likable protagonist, her older brother, Leo, is so sweet and her younger sister, Natty, is pretty cute. And then there's Win. Although he's no Jace Wayland, I did like his character too. The problem for me was that I found the romance to be rather rushed. One day Anya's not interested in Win, the next she's really not interested in him and then the next she's suddenly kissing him. Hmmm. Also, the book is written as though Anya is writing her life down for the reader (e.g. "N.B. This is foreshadowing, dear readers...") however when she has time for this/why she's doing it is not explained and so I'm not sure if this really worked. Maybe it shall all become clear in the sequel though, which I'll definitely be reading on its release!

This summer I seem to have given rather a lot of 3 stars out in my reviews. Any recommendations for books I'd be able to like enough to give 4 or even 5 stars to?

2 comments:

  1. I literally just finished reading the sequel to this! If you're looking for some five-star recommendations, contemporary is really strong right now so you're guaranteed to find some great books there.

    (Sidenote: I don't usually give specific recommendations, but I recently read Mystic City by Theo Lawrence and it was a really solid four-star read for me, so maybe go in with an open mind into something like that and see how it works for you?)

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  2. Ooh thank you, I'll download it to my Kindle for when I go on holiday! ~Eleanor

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