The Nine Lives of Chloe King (Book 1) - Celia Thompson

2.5 Stars

ABOUT THE BOOK -
Chloe King is a normal girl. She goes to class (most of the time), fights with her mom, and crushes on a boy…or two. But around her sixteenth birthday, Chloe finds that perhaps she isn’t so normal after all. There’s the heightened night vision, the super fast reflexes – oh, and the claws.
As she discovers who she is – and where she comes from – it is clear she is not alone. And someone is trying to get her.
Chloe has nine lives. But will nine be enough?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (Liz Braswell)

Elizabeth J. Braswell (aka Celia Thompson) is an American author of young adult books. She is best known for the series The Nine Lives of Chloe King from which the cancelled 2011 TV show by the same name is based.  



MY REVIEW -
Surprisingly, even though I was a huge fan of the TV show I did not enjoy this book. I thought the writing was amateurish.  The over use of italics really bothered me for some reason. No joke - there were a few on every page! Sometimes 2 -3 in one sentence and it just didn't make sense to me why they were there.

The character development was good, I just didn't like the characters. They were rude, obnoxious, they drank, swore, and all they talked about was sex (ok maybe pretty typical for some teenagers, but not for all). The descriptions were almost non-existent. The whole book was pretty much conversation and action... and arguing, and angst. There were no good quotes, so I am sorry I am not adding any to the review today. 
I am actually pretty surprised that I finished the book. I guess I just wanted to see if was going to be anything like the TV show.

COMPARE TO THE TV SHOW -
Anyone who watched this show will tell you how great it was. I was very surprised when it was canceled. After not missing a show I was very disappointed in the book.
The characters in the TV show were very likable! The were sweet, cute, funny, and nice! Chloe had a great relationship with her mother. In the book her mother was a B*%@&. She was mean, unsupportive and not loving at all. 
Her friends are all so cute and are totally in on her "little secret" the whole time. In the book, no one knows!
The story line was pretty much the same, with a few changes. That didn't bother me as much as the personalities of the characters. If I had read the book first I don't think i would have ever watched the TV show!
Needless to say I will not be reading the rest of the series.

THE ALL-IN-ALL -
I honestly can not think of anyone I know who would like this book. I would recommend it for younger teens if it were not for all the swearing. I am not really sure who it was written for. To me - it seems too young for older teens and too old for younger teens, and would not appeal to adults at all.
I don't know... I am wondering if someone would enjoy it more if they had not watched the show first. I had such high hopes and was let down.
If you get a chance to watch the TV show, I would recommend it! It is cute and OK for younger viewers.


Comments

  1. I am not a big fan of bad writing, and so I will probably just avoid this one. It's funny how the books are always better than the movies, but often the television series is better than the book. Weird.

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  2. I too love Chloe and was so sad it ended so abruptly. I considered reading this one and heard much the same thing. :)

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    1. I know you were a big fan of the show too! I was thinking of you when reading the book. If it was good I was going to recommend it to you, but... ah well.

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  3. I was going to say the book sounded interesting...until I started reading your review that is. It's a shame it didn't live up to your expectations.

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    1. I don't even think I would have liked it if I had read it first, before the TV show. The characters are just horrible, not likable at all. And that will just ruin a book for me.

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