David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite! discussion

David, Karen, Jenny, and I are starting a buddy read for on Thursday, September 4th! Everyone is welcome to join!

There are no set chapters per day, we just read at our own paces and start each post with how far along you are, i.e., Chapter #, %, using spoilers where needed. Have fun!

YAY!!! Thanks for creating the thread Daniel!

Thanks so much for setting it up! Heading to the library now, my fingers are crossed they'll have the book :)

Hopefully they have it David!

I'm going to start tomorrow on the subway on the way to school.

Still waiting for my copy I ordered to get here

Fingers crossed it comes soon, Jenny. I don't want to have to be too ahead. It's more fun when everyone's reading at the same time.

They had it! I'll start when you start, Daniel :) Jenny will catch up quickly :)

Yay!

:)

Awesome Nolan! Welcome!

Daniel wrote: "Fingers crossed it comes soon, Jenny. I don't want to have to be too ahead. It's more fun when everyone's reading at the same time."

I agree, although unfortunately there's not much I can do about it :(

Nolan wrote: "Hey guys :) I would like to join in as well. I also had the luck of finding it at my local library, just acquired it not too long ago. So that makes two of us David!"

The more the merrier!

Oh yay!! This is going to be an awesome buddy read. :) I should finish up my current book tonight so will start this one right after (maybe I'll start tonight so I can be a cheater cheater...!). Hahahaha... ;-D

Karen, no one likes cheaters! LOL!
(This is probably not the time to tell you I read the first 2 pages today.)

Nolan wrote: "Hey guys :) I would like to join in as well. I also had the luck of finding it at my local library, just acquired it not too long ago. So that makes two of us David!"

YAY! Welcome, Nolan! So glad to have you join us :)

Daniel wrote: "Karen, no one likes cheaters! LOL!
(This is probably not the time to tell you I read the first 2 pages today.)"

Oops! I read the first 77 pages today at the beach LOL (Biggest Cheater Award!)

(view spoiler)[LOVE LOVE LOVE the creativity of the world building with the sinking into the ground and the "dead spots" and the not needing to breathe, etc. Shusterman is so creative, every book of his is different than his others. Awesome so far! (hide spoiler)]

David!!! Tsk tsk. lol.
Ok, I have to catch up on the subway today.

LOL! For those who haven't buddy read much with me, I'm a notorious cheater :)

Yes, you will learn this about David. He always ALWAYS starts the buddy read the day before!! I think he may have NOT done that once. Hahahhaha...

I ended up NOT cheating after all. I fell asleep last night reading my other book, but I did read the first couple of chapters today on a break.

Back from school, and I'm at 113. Amazing what an hour a day on the subway can do for you.

(view spoiler)[ The story's pretty interesting, but for some reason, I'm having trouble getting invested. Maybe it's because there's been no action, or because the characters are pretty young, or because the writing is a bit juvenile, but I'm not really into it yet. It's a quick read, but not something I think about when I'm not reading. Maybe that will change? I will admit that Shusterman is very good at creating interesting worlds- the concept is mind-boggling. (hide spoiler)]

David wrote: "LOL! For those who haven't buddy read much with me, I'm a notorious cheater :)"

Noted. lol

Nolan, when you're on the subway and have nothing to do, reading comes easily.

Loved this series when I read it, was one of the first in this genres. hope you all enjoy it!

I'm the lagger. Only on page 20. :)

LOL Karen!! Stop giving away my secrets!

Daniel wrote: "Back from school, and I'm at 113. Amazing what an hour a day on the subway can do for you.

[spoilers removed]"

I understand what you're saying, Daniel (view spoiler)[ I'm definitely not that invested in the characters exactly, but I am invested in the story and really want to know what Shusterman will come up with next. It IS a very young YA book though, I agree with that :) (hide spoiler)]

Page 190. Some things I've loved (view spoiler)[-the superstition about crossing the street at the Chinese Restaurants LOL! Random!
-How the Haunter stuffed them in pickle barrels! Also random and hilarious!
-How she's starting to really learn about her powers and "body surf" and used that to save herself on the ship.
(hide spoiler)]

I finally got my book! YAY!!

Already on Page 77, and I'm loving this book so far, so inventive! Lief is a riot!

Daniel - I read this last year - on audio. It's narrated by Nick Podehl and if you're having trouble getting into it - then switch to the audio. It's one of my favourite series of all time, only made better by the narrator. You really get the nuances of the characters and the world. I LOVED this book. I love the series!

Question - has anyone run across "chiming" yet?

Another hour on the subway and now I'm at page 235.
(view spoiler)[ Allie really pissed me off. So she ignores the warnings of Mary to go find some creepy dude named HAUNTER (warning bell number 1) and drags her friends along with her. She's stupid enough to believe the HAUNTER will give her what she wants and let her go, EVEN THOUGH no one has returned from a visit to his lurking place. She gets her friends trapped and then has the NERVE to beg Mary to essentially sacrifice her hundreds of kids to attempt a futile rescue of her friends. Wow.
Another issue I'm having is that this story is essentially being told by an otherworldly storyteller. That's fine for kids, but for me, it makes me seem detached from the characters in a way. Also, the storyteller keeps jumping between perspectives, which is confusing and also leads to some obviousness. For example: "The McGill was surprised that Allie did not seem repulsed by him. (two lines later) Allie was in fact not repulsed at him." Yeah, I kind of got that.
I do love the world building- I think it's really inventive and interesting, and I'm basically reading only for that. The characters to me are not really memorable. Nick's done literally nothing to this point except for the tangling stuff and Allie has been more than a bit annoying (although I can see she's trying to redeem herself.) (hide spoiler)]
I might finish the book tomorrow!

David wrote: "Page 190. Some things I've loved -the superstition about crossing the street at the Chinese Restaurants LOL! Random!
-How the Haunter stuffed them in pickle barrels! Also random and hilarious!
-How..."

(view spoiler)[ Yes, there's a bunch of randomness that doesn't quite make sense but is funny nonetheless, in the "what the heck?! way. (hide spoiler)]

Jen wrote: "Question - has anyone run across "chiming" yet?"

Yes. Interesting name for it, I must say.

Jen wrote: "Daniel - I read this last year - on audio. It's narrated by Nick Podehl and if you're having trouble getting into it - then switch to the audio. It's one of my favourite series of all time, only ..."

I've never really tried audio-books. I'm not a great listener, so I feel I'll just doze off or get distracted. Maybe the narrator does help, though.

Jen wrote: "Question - has anyone run across "chiming" yet?"

YES, LOVED that concept. Everything is so inventive in this book :)

Daniel wrote: "Jen wrote: "Daniel - I read this last year - on audio. It's narrated by Nick Podehl and if you're having trouble getting into it - then switch to the audio. It's one of my favourite series of all..."

I'm the same, I tried it once and couldn't focus LOL Reading is much better for me :)

Daniel wrote: "Another hour on the subway and now I'm at page 235.


I totally agree about (view spoiler)[ Allie. She made some REALLY bad, arrogant decisions. At the same time, she is smart enough to realize that the bubble Mary has created is not natural or good for the kids stuck in their daily routines. I'm a little further than you, so I've scene a bit more of Nick's growth, hopefully that will help you enjoy his character a bit more!

I do, however, disagree about the multiple perspectives. I like them. They remind me a bit of Gone (which a lot of people complain about having too many POVs), except for a younger audience and not as dark and creepy. And I really like the McGill as a character, reminds me of the kid in Unwind who's made up of all unwound kid parts LOL (hide spoiler)]

Page 280! (view spoiler)[Loved the twist with Mary and the McGill being siblings. I am, however, worried about the ending. It had potential to be epic (and maybe it still will be, I'm not quite done), but it so far has been somewhat of a letdown. The McGill just suddenly changes into a normal kid and gets taken down? Hmm, hoping there will be more to it! (hide spoiler)]

David wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Another hour on the subway and now I'm at page 235.


I totally agree about Allie. She made some REALLY bad, arrogant decisions. At the same time, she is smart enough to realize th..."

(view spoiler)[ I like the McGill. I think he's a good villain. Regarding the writing, it's different than Gone for two reasons. First of all, in Gone, it's clear when the perspective is changing. There's a page break to signify it. With Everlost, the narrator changes perspectives without any notice, which makes it more confusing to follow for me. Second, in Gone, the narrator makes it a point to make it seem like he isn't there, so we feel more like we're right with the characters. But in Everlost, the narrator has more of a presence. You can sense that he's there. And that kind of throws me off. For me, the narrator is like a sports umpire in that the less people notice you, the better. You're there to do your job, and that's it. Of course, this is a subjective topic and each person has their own idea of what a narrator is supposed to do. For example, it would totally work for slightly younger kids (the target audience), so I understand the decision. It just doesn't work for me. (hide spoiler)]

Nolan wrote: "David wrote: "Jen wrote: "Question - has anyone run across "chiming" yet?"

YES, LOVED that concept. Everything is so inventive in this book :)"

Inventive indeed, Shusterman has a marvel talent fo..."

I also love the excerpts from Mary's books! I always look forward to them :)

Daniel wrote: "David wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Another hour on the subway and now I'm at page 235.


I totally agree about Allie. She made some REALLY bad, arrogant decisions. At the same time, she is smart enough..."

Those are good points, it is a slightly different approach to the narration. For me, I didn't have any issue with it, but like you said, reading is subjective! Although I thought for the most part he has a blank line when the POV changes within a chapter? At least I think he does, now I'm second-guessing myself LOL

I also like the little excerpts at the end of the chapter. They're interesting tidbits that make the book easier to understand.

Oh man, Jen, Nick Podehl!!!??? Huge crush on him! I may have to switch to the audio after all. I'm actually relistening to right now also narrated by Nick. :)

I am soooo behind on this buddy read compared to all of you. Yikes! I'm interested in all of your spoilers!

Karen wrote: "Oh man, Jen, Nick Podehl!!!??? Huge crush on him! I may have to switch to the audio after all. I'm actually relistening to right now also narrated..."

Karen, the spoilers are basically David and I fawning over the creative world building and us disagreeing over the writing. LOL

You guys would love this book if Nick Podehl were reading it to you. His voice for The Magill is especially notable.

And all those kids with the chiming. Hilarious. I think I laughed more with these books than I have in a long time. And I laugh a lot!

Page 135. I agree with all of you up to this part. (view spoiler)[ Mary and Allie are a bit annoying, actually. But the creativeness of this world is mind boggling! (hide spoiler)]

Daniel wrote: "Karen wrote: "Oh man, Jen, Nick Podehl!!!??? Huge crush on him! I may have to switch to the audio after all. I'm actually relistening to right now..."

Ha! That pretty much sums it up :) Did you finish yet? I just finished, I'll post my final thoughts in a separate comment :)

page 287.
I'm so sick, I just toppled over sideways on the couch. Haha. I'll have to finish it later. But I did get to the big twist. Didn't see that coming.

Finished! OK, I'm going to eat my earlier words about the ending, loved it! (view spoiler)[I spoke too soon in saying the ending wasn't epic enough. While I originally thought the McGill was too easily defeated (and he sort of was), it was an incredible set up for some awesome stuff. Nick helping everyone get "where they're going" and becoming Mary's archrival, the McGill and his horse saving Allie and becoming a sort of team, Vila (I think that's his name) joining Pinhead to become the new McGill...all good stuff and really makes me want to read the next book.

I'm really looking forward to the sequel! (hide spoiler)]

Daniel wrote: "page 287.
I'm so sick, I just toppled over sideways on the couch. Haha. I'll have to finish it later. But I did get to the big twist. Didn't see that coming."

Wait, are you literally sick, Daniel? If so, get some rest, buddy, and I hope you feel better soon!