Hey guys! So I recently realized that I hadn’t done an Interdimensional Travels post in almost three months (also, that I dreadfully neede...

Interdimensional Travels: Log Three

Alexa Mintah

2 Comments

Hey guys! So I recently realized that I hadn’t done an Interdimensional Travels post in almost three months (also, that I dreadfully needed to update my Goodreads). So here I am to give you all a quick report on some of the worlds I’ve visited recently via literature.

Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot

I was a huge Princess Diaries fan when I was younger, so when I saw this one being advertised, I basically jumped at the chance to return to Mia’s crazy, amazing world. Visiting again gave me the same fun, companionable feeling I got when I was a younger teen reading her older diaries, but since we’ve both grown up, it was like seeing an old friend after a couple of years, and finding that, while you’ve both matured, you’re still the same best friends you ever were.

My one problem with it was that, at some points, the story started to feel a little issue-oriented. Like, I was just there to have a laugh and catch up with Mia, but then people kept trying to make these not-so-subtle political statements rather than just piping down and letting me enjoy my trip.

That only happened a few times, though, and for the most part, I really enjoyed my return. Part of me hopes there will be future adventures in Mia’s world, while the rest of me thinks this is and should be the end of the line. Regardless, I adored this addition to the series, and I highly recommend it for older fans hoping for a return to Genovia.

Or technically, New York City, but you get what I mean.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

It’s hard to explain what I thought about this trip. I mean, I liked it... but I didn’t. The idea of it was fascinating, yet, in my opinion, the actual experience left a little to be desired. The mains were the sort of people I should’ve loved (cheeky, kickbutt, girl-assassin; pampered prince searching for something more; quiet, cool, Captain of the Guard... oh wait, that one I adored), but for some reason, most of them just rubbed me the wrong way. I was okay watching them from a distance, but I couldn’t like them enough to get too close.

In fact, my favorite people (besides Chaol) ended up being the secondaries: Nox, Pelor, Nehemia, even Kaltain (don’t give me that look. I didn’t like what she was doing, but I admired her cleverness and determination, especially in a society that made keeping her status so difficult. I didn’t like the steps she took and I certainly didn’t root for her, but I could see things from her point of view). Dorian and Celaena, on the other hand,... I didn’t strictly wish them ill, but I couldn’t love them either.

Overall, I think that my... slight displeasure during this trip had more to do with me than anything else. I mean, there were definitely some legitimate points that annoyed me (priorities, Dorian. Evaluate them); but even more than those, something about this world just didn’t click with me, and I’m not entirely certain what it was. Still, I would recommend this book for anyone who loves dystopians and high fantasy, because it’s got all the elements I think fans of those genres would enjoy.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

The Orphan King by Sigmund Brouwer

This wasn’t one of my favorite trips ever, but I definitely liked it. It was engaging and enjoyable, and I loved how the main character, Thomas, was fantastically brilliant and severely logical, yet still struggled to balance that strictly rational mindset with all of the natural emotions a human feels. I just found that to be super interesting, super relatable, and super something-you-don’t-see-very-often-in-YA-literature-since-all-the-teenagers-are-always-whining-about-their-feelings. Not to say that I don’t like YAs, since those are practically all the worlds on my itinerary, but I do that wish some of them would take a leaf out of Thomas’ book and apply some logic to their respective problems. Then perhaps they would not end up in as many problematic situations as they do.

Also, there was Tiny John. My perfect little pickpocket.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5

The Always War by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Fun fact: this one’s actually a reread, and while I vaguely recalled enjoying it the first time around, I didn’t really remember what happened in the book. So when I saw it while working at the library one day, I decided I’d go ahead and book myself a return trip.

Although I wouldn’t give it the same 5 stars I did when I first visited in 2012, I definitely enjoyed this one. It has this fantastic, fast-paced feel from the very beginning, and, even though there isn’t a lot of, shooting and fighting or anything like that, the feeling of that kind of intense action carries through from beginning to end.

My only complaint is that the ending felt a little rushed and weird. It’s hard to explain without giving spoilers, and even then it’s still actually pretty hard, but I just felt like it maybe could’ve unfolded a bit better.

Still, it was enjoyable, and even better, completely clean. So if you’re looking for a short, clean introduction to YA dystopians, I think this would be a good choice.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

***

And that’s it for this month. If you want to check out more of the worlds I’ve visited (aka books I’ve read), you can check out my Goodreads or my other review blog. :)

So have you ever been to any of these places? What’d you think about them? Random question, but what’s the average page length of the books you read? (I think I average around 400, but half of these were closer to two). Hope to see you in the comment section! :)

You may also like