#s.a. bodeen

[thepersonalwords]

It's easier to revise lousy writing than to revise a blank sheet of paper.

S.A. Bodeen

[fiercereadsya]

Are you reading any murderous/spooky/mysterious/thrilling books this Halloween season? 🎃😬😱🎃

[thepersonalwords]

It's easier to revise lousy writing than to revise a blank sheet of paper.

S.A. Bodeen

[sarabandezflagz]

The Girl/Laila from The Gardener - S.A. Bodeen + Associ-sun flag edit

flag creds

got a request? send it here ! thnx !

[libertyreads]

Book Review #11 of 2019:

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen. Rating: 2.5 Stars.

Read on January 30th.

I picked this book up a few years ago at a bookstore and it’s been in my TBR pile since then. So finishing it means another TBR veteran off the shelf. However, this was written in 2008. Now, can we imagine why this might be important? Because I read the eight page prologue and knew it was an older book. And that’s how the rest of the book comes across as well. It feels old. Jokes that are made or topics that are discussed do not age well so that just put everyone on the wrong foot from the get go.

I also had an issue with the plot twist of the book. I mean, I don’t know for sure that it’s supposed to be the plot twist when I figured it out in chapter one and it isn’t “revealed” for another 150 pages. There were a lot of obvious signs that either the main character ignored or the author thought were foreshadowing (but it can’t really be called foreshadowing when it’s written in neon lights). I wish there had been more time laying everything out for the reader. I normally don’t like exposition, but it feels necessary there. There are questions that come up for the reader that never get answered. Why was the dad like this? How did everyone not see it coming? Was the dad hiding his mental instability from everyone? If so, how was the reader able to see it so well before the characters do? I just wish I could go through and erase a lot of things that were written as foreshadowing so the author could rewrite it in a better way. That way there’s actually a sense of confusion, not understanding what’s happening, and fear for the main character’s life.

Most of the stars are for the premise and the readability of the book. I like the concept as a whole, but it just was not executed well at all. I know this was the first YA novel that this author has written so maybe it’s a lack of experience. But it fell really flat for me. I also enjoyed that the story was told in short, choppy chapters. It made it easy to read but also created the feeling of fear that we were supposed to have in the novel.

[mobilepubliclibraryteens]

Nothing is as it seems. These are the first words Kiva's best friend Seth says, after three years of silence. Kiva thought she was growing up in ancient Alexandria. That's what she and all her classmates had been led to believe by their parents. It turns out she was living in virtual reality, in a sleep chamber in deep space, and three years ago, Seth woke up. Now it's her turn to join him. Together, Kiva and Seth must take an escape shuttle to search for the engine part their home ship needs to keep running. But it's been a long time since the Krakatoa has communicated with any of the other three ships harboring human civilization.

[bands-and-books]

Book Review: The Raft

I read The Raft by S.A. Bodeen! See what I thought here:

Found on Google Images

Title: The Raft

Author: S.A. Bodeen

My Rating: ★★★

Summary: “Robie lives with her family on the Midway Atoll, a group of islands in the middle of the Pacific. After visiting her aunt on Hawaii, Robie is left to return home alone. Catching a cargo flight at the last minute, all systems are go until the plane hits nasty weather. And then the plane goes down.

And…

View On WordPress

[thegoldengolem]

But it wasn’t easy for me to put my dreams out for everyone to see. I preferred to keep them to myself so only I was disappointed when they didn’t happen.

S.A. Bodeen, The Gardener