Tuesday, October 07, 2014

The 100. Should I, or should I not hate it? Well, I don't hate even though I know I should.



The 100

Ok so according to those in the know this book is written or aimed at the age group of 9-12.  It has some heavy influences from the TV series Lost.  Actually it is basically almost a fan fiction of the story.  It also has some influence according to the blurb from The Hunger Games.  Now I read the Hunger Games.  I loved it I am still trying to fit that into the story. More than everything this story is a rehash of the reality TV show Survivor.  You know that basic plot line….take the one guy who can make a fire, one guy that can catch fish and you vote him off as soon as possible.  Because he is a threat.  So basically, you go out of your way to lose any chance you had to build up strength to survive and win challenges, to go hungry and possibly incur serious bodily ailment due to being thirsty, dehydrated and hungry all so you have a better chance to win a buck. 

And that is the thrilling part of this book.  Then we hit the romance.  Lots and lots of romance.  You know the type….they are being hunted. They are being stalked. They are gonna be dinner so what does two hot blooded teens do.  Drop everything and have a heated argument then possibly kiss, or let the baggage they had come in the way then discuss that or go through a very nice long internal dialogue of the pro's and cons' of ….well being young.  But hey.  Wait, they are being hunted so in a split second the one or the other turns in the nick of time…not always some do die, and save the day by running like a school kid. 

I loved the fact that in this story kids who never had enough water to take a bath is able to swim by teaching themselves.  Fearless are they not? Nope daft is the word I would use.  But hey they are teenagers. 

So back to the romance.  Oh my good golly gosh people it goes on and on and on.  Now I think…age group 9 - 12….I would not have loved all this soppy romance then.  Age 13-17 this romance is far too tame.  So exactly what sense does the romance make herein… not much.  Turns out all action are akin to a pea in a bean soup mix.  The beans being the romance.
So by now you might believe that I hated the book.  Not so.  The author has an amazing ability to write a story with the ease and flow I have never come across.  Not bothered by writing pretty prose but truly a unique ability to write a story line worth 337 pages that I read through in an hour and twenty minutes with three coffee breaks in between. Now that is something I love.  This ability astounded me.  According to my Fire my reading level is INTERMEDIARY so obviously this woman has a way with evening out the plot so that it flows seamlessly along. 

The characters were also not bad and the baggage they brought with them was quite remarkable and actually did add depth to the story.  It was about the only thing that formed the characters for one on the island, arch I mean earth between the kissing, fighting and running little else happened of note. 
I do still not hate this book.  It was a fun read.  What confuses me is the juvenile prose, the somewhat mature plot line.  The truly mature sub plots all in one. 

I watched episode one of the TV series yesterday simply to see what my reaction will be.  I will watch more and I already started on 21 Days, book 2 in the series. 


I am not recommending this to 9 year olds.  I am however saying that as far as a quick read goes, this is definitely that and it does serve to entertain.  

Click on the pic to get your copy from Amazon.com

The author Kass Morgan


More about the author.

Kass Morgan studied literature at Brown and Oxford, and now resides in Brooklyn, where she lives in constant fear of her Ikea bookcase collapsing and burying her under a mound of science fiction and Victorian novels. Kass is currently working on the sequel to The 100, which she’ll finish as soon as she finds a coffee shop that allows laptops on the weekend.

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