Review:
I have mixed feelings about this book.
It started off great. The beginning of this book was absurd and ridiculous, and I loved it. I swear the author just crammed in as many words with a sexual connotation as he could. The word “throbbed” was used at least three times within the first half hour. It was hilarious for its sheer ridiculousness, and the audiobook narrator deserves an award for keeping a straight face (voice?) throughout the entire thing. Also for her amazingly overdramatic and sensual voice performance that paired perfectly with the content.
Also, I thought the pterodactyl would be a shifter and have a human form, but nope. It was a full-on pterodactyl that the main character was attracted to. Honestly, that just made it even better.
But the book got more serious as it went on. It became more about Sheils realizing she couldn’t control everything and everyone around her, realizing she was selfish and used people and took them for granted, realizing what she really wanted in life. Except I feel like most of those things weren’t really followed through on. By the end, she didn’t seem to actually change much except that she liked running. Maybe I just missed something? There was also more serious stuff happening in the plot. But the more serious the book got, the harder it got for me to suspend my disbelief about certain things. And what Sheils felt for Pyke, it didn’t feel like love; it felt like obsession. Maybe it was just Pyke’s strange powers affecting her, and maybe it was realistic in the sense that some teens feel things very quickly and strongly, but I still couldn’t quite understand why she was going to the lengths she was going to for him.
As for the audio narration, the male voices were not the worst I’ve heard, but also not the best. I’m really picky about that though. Other than that, the narrator (Brittany Pressley) did a good job.
Another thing, the characters kept using the term “wrangle dancing.” I have no idea what that is. Either a) it’s something the author made up, b) it’s a regional term, or c) I’ve reached that age in which I can’t keep up with the lingo of the youngins anymore. Now get off my lawn!
Overall, I think this book would’ve worked better for me had it kept that silly, absurd tone that it had in the beginning. But some readers might enjoy the character development and the more serious aspects of this story just as much! And let’s be honest, if you’re anything like me, it doesn’t matter what anyone says because you’re not going to be able to resist reading what is probably the only book in existence about a pterodactyl boy ;-P
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes YA, uncommon paranormal creatures, and books that combine silly with serious.
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I have problems with books that don’t stick to the same style throughout. If you’re going for the absurd, I think you should stay with it. Anyway, this idea is crazy and I wish the cover had an image of Pterodactyl boy!!
I agree, trying to do both absurd and serious usually doesn’t work well for me. One of the cover versions on GR has a pterodactyl boy silhouette, I think lol.
“full-on pterodactyl” lol. Love it. I bet this was fun for the narrator. 🙂
I imagine Sheils has to wrestle with are her feelings really her feelings or a result of his powers?
Wrangle dancing- hmmm… like a country/ western thing?
And is this really 416 pages??!? 🙂
I was not expecting just basically a talking pterodactyl!
Probably? Honestly I listened to this last year, I don’t remember lol.
Oh, it does sound country! I got the feeling the author meant it more like some sort of sexual dancing though? Like it was scandalous…
I have no idea what wrangle dancing means either LOL. Those darn youngin’s!
I wouldn’t appreciate the sudden serious turn of the story but an actual pterodactyl? Awesome.
Lol good to know it wasn’t just me.
Right? I loved that he was just a pterodactyl.
I have watched movies that are so bad they are actually funny, but I haven’t read books so absurb they are funny yet 😀 This sounds so entertaining and I also thought the pterodactyl was going to be shape shifting from the synopsis but wow, that’s not the case 😛 It sounds like when it tried to get serious it sort of petered out though…
Lol it was definitely entertaining in the beginning. And right? Who would’ve thought he was literally just a talking pterodactyl? Haha.
This sounds bananas and I think I will totally love it but I am sad that they stuck such a meh cover on a book about a Pterodactyl boy!
It *is* totally bananas lol. I agree, they did give it a meh cover. I saw some other version on GR that had a pterodactyl I think!