The Fallen Star

First of all, I love beautiful covers… Who doesn't, right? So, when I saw for first time this one, I just fell in love with it. This violet eye caught my attention immediately…. so that's the reason I wanted to read it so bad… But sometimes we think a book is going to be awesome, but at the end, It isn't… and we are disappointed… thinking that the only nice thing about the book was its cover…. BUT I'm glad to say, this wasn't the case… This book was a completely surprise. I wasn't expecting what I found in that pages…. and I'm still in shock. (I'm not kidding!)

The story is about Gemma… Oh, man, I loved her character… even though the story sometimes was sad and dark, I couldn't stop laughing with her. She said a lot show more of funny things, and she behaved in a completely different way to all the heroines from others YA books. In other stories, you can see a girl who is really mature, even she has 15 years old, and she decides to sacrifice herself for the good of humanity and all the world. But in Gemma's case, the only thing that she can think is… Run for your life!!!! I mean… she was real… she didn't want to suffer anymore, she wanted a normal life…

Of course, there are other characters; Aislin, Laylen (I loved that guy), and Alex, of course. If you ask me, I would tell you I thought I was in front of another version of Edward Cullen (Twilight). He was the new handsome guy at school, and our Gemma was kind of crazy with him… But as the story progresses we find out that he's not so perfect at all, and their relationship (Gemma-Alex) is not perfect, either. They have a lot of misunderstandings that made it realistic, and kind of sweet and lovely.

The plot is awesome. Is different. Completely different. When I started reading I thought I was reading another YA novel like any other, but the story started to change, and I was amazed. I don't want to spoil anything, because I think this book is really great, and you need to read it. I almost cry once. The only thing I found, was that sometimes was a little bit predictable… But not so much. What I mean is that sometimes I knew what was happening and Gemma didn't. Maybe she is a little slow….

But well, like I said before, you should read it… It's a really nice book! Now I want to read the second one so bad!!! It's going to be called "The Underworld". Interesting… Pretty Interesting… hmmmmm!!!

5/5 I love it! show less

I very much enjoyed this story, it quickly became a favorite. The story pulls you in and doesn't let go.

A young girl, who's never known affection from her grandparents, suddenly finds herself thrust into a world she'd only experienced in her nightmares. With mysterious new friends she's forced to trust, and creatures trying to kill her at every turn, how can she hope to deal with the biggest surprise yet- that she has a fallen star inside her?

Filled with deep characters, surrounded my mystery, danger and suspense, this book keeps you on your toes, until the very end, only to leave you wanting more!

This book does a fantastic job at setting the stage for a very exciting and unique adventure. Gemma finds herself in the middle of an epic show more battle between light and dark, and the power to end the world (or save it) hidden inside her. Only, it's not so hidden anymore, and now she has monsters who want her power, at any cost.

Living with distant and un-affectionate grandparents who turn out to have dark secrets of their own, Gemma's never gotten close to anyone. Then she runs into Alex (literally). Why does he hate her? His glares and cold attitude don't make her life any easier, and the fact his touch leaves her skin excited and warm makes it all the more confusing. It only gets more complicated when she finds out she has to trust him, maybe with her life.

Can she fight monsters and evil creatures? Can she stop them from opening the gates of the Underworld, bringing life as we know it to a shuttering halt? Can she figure out why Alex drives her so crazy?

I recommend this book to any YA fan, who likes adventure, romance, thrills, and magic. show less

2.5-3.0
I really liked how this starts out: Starting with the adrenaline-pumping, fear-provoking dream at the beginning... only to be dumped into hum-drum, everyday high-school life. Gemma seems to be a typical socially-underdeveloped teenager. Except she isn't. She didn't have feelings until a month ago. And now? One after the other she experiences all kinds of different feelings: Happiness. Sadness. Disappointment. Anger. Fear. Love.

The two main characters intrigued me from the start: Gemma, the socially inexperienced nobody, and Alex, the brooding, mysterious guy with proverbial trunks full of secrets. I enjoyed Gemma's initial personal development -- she not only learns what it's like to feel, but she also learns how to stand up show more for herself for the first time (to Alex, to her "grandmother," to the bitchy girl in her class...).

The story’s mystery grabbed me too -- so many questions! I found the premises extremely intriguing and I definitely wanted to know more. I hoped the resolution of all the mysteries lived up to my expectations...


But then it started to drag. The whole middle section, where we actually find out a ton of information, seemed so anti-climatic. A lot of the suspense dwindled out, which was a shame.

The glossary of paranormal, magical, and mythical creatures that kept showering down upon me distracted from the main story line and did very little to move the story along. If anything, it clogged the story’s momentum.

Vampires? Really? I asked myself: Do we really need vampires in this story? Okay, so we've got witches, we've got demons, we’ve got death walkers, we've got shifters, we've got keepers, and we've got this star power, but... do we really need vampires? And didn’t end there: let’s see, there was a sea witch, a black angel, forseers, fairies… I felt like a conglomeration of all paranormal creatures and entities available was being thrown at me – it was like experiencing a whole season of Charmed or Buffy, but without the character development.

Ah yes, character development. Alex's character is flat. He's charming, gorgeous, brooding, hateful, angry, worried, concerned, amusing, obnoxious, cocky -- all with no connection to the story or with what is happening to him, whatsoever. It's just random. And the only consolation in lieu of explanation we are given is to share in Gemma's bafflement over his mood inconsistencies.

As far as Gemma is concerned, all her character development happened in the first couple chapters of the story when she developed from a socially-inept loner to a snarky, partially self-confident teenager who can hold her own with the school's (if not the world's) most gorgeous young man, not to mention vampires, witches, and whatever else she may encounter.

After about a third through the story, though, Gemma started reverts to her wimpy mode. She constantly needs to have her knight in shining armor (figuratively) come save her with a sword (literally).

After a near-death experience, all she can think about is that Alex could look up her skirt if he wanted to -- but... get this, she is actually disappointed because she figures he doesn't want to! SERIOUSLY? They are fighting for their lives and this is what Gemma is thinking about? I've fought for survival before and I can tell you that modesty or teenage crushes were the last things that were on our minds.

There were some pockets of action, which kept me reading, but too much information was "told" rather than "shown". We have flashbacks, which is good, but we also have Laylan telling Gemma some important revelations. It would have had more dramatic effect if Gemma had figured out some of these things for herself. To be fair, she does figure out some stuff, like that her mother is still alive, but she figures that out long after I, the reader, figured it out -- and that's frustrating.

Frustrating was also that we, the readers, know, and Gemma knows, that Alex and Aislin have much more information than they are giving Gemma. She has spent weeks with them -- and now is on the run with them -- and she still doesn't get them to cough up everything they know. This frustrates me to no end.

I don’t think it would have been out of character for Gemma at all to refuse to cooperate with Alex until he gave her some answers. That would totally have been in line with the feisty, snarky girl Gemma had become since she developed feelings and started interacting with Alex, and it would also have been in line with the stronger, more self-confident Gemma that she was becoming.

Instead Gemma just gets wimpier and wimpier until she totally wimps out during the climax.

Wait! What? I had to do a double take.
Gemma has just learned that someone is coming to detach her soul and she does what? Get the blazes out of there I hope. Nope: She storms into her room, throws herself on the bed and cries and cries and cries until she runs out of tears.

Are you f%$&ing kidding me?!!!
What should she do? You ask.
Uh. How about steal the jeep and take off? How about getting Alex on her side -- he is obviously feeling guilty about the whole thing. How about doing anything other than throwing herself on the bed to cry and cry and cry until she runs out of tears... Come on! She has been through so much lately. She has proven she has some spunk and the will to fight back. It's her life we're talking about. And quite possibly her mother's life. And these people, especially Alex, have proven they can not be trusted. So she is just going to take their words for it that she must be separated from her soul to save the world?


Of course it ends in a cliff-hanger.

Arghhhh!

There was some fast-moving action at the end, some change-of-heart on Alex's part... I got my hopes up... I let my guard down...

But was it too much to ask that the story have an end? I do not understand how people can market a portion of a novel as a complete novel. I understand that it is a series, but that doesn't mean it should have no climax (or even a mini-climax) and no resolution (or even a mini-resolution).

Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Penryn & the End of Days, Divergent, etc. -- all are series. But each installment of the series has a mini-climax (or in the case of the above examples, a mind-blowing climax) and a mini-resolution.

A part of a story is not the same as an installment in a series -- at least I don't see it that way.

And of course this book ends with Gemma going back into wimpy mode, crying all over the place, and waiting for her knight in shining armor to come rescue her. Very frustrating.

In defense of the story, I will say that I do actually want to know what becomes of Gemma. I certainly hope that she will take some steps to create her own destiny in the future -- and not just rely on Alex to come save her.
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I thought the premise of this book was interesting, a girl who had previously been unable to feel suddenly starts getting her emotions back, but it quickly disappointed me. The only reason I kept reading was in the hope that the plot would go somewhere interesting. It didn't.

First off we meet Gemma who has been unable to feel her entire life, but suddenly she is able to experience emotions which surface accompanied by a prickling sensation. Of course, this being a book aimed at young adults, the first feeling we really get any detail about is attraction to a boy. Alex is a complete jerk to her throughout the entire book and yet Gemma continues to have feelings for him, which aren't really explained other than the "electricity" between show more them.

Gemma takes forever to put all the pieces together when I had pretty much worked it all out in the first half of the book. Not a lot actually seems to happen, its a lot of Gemma asking questions and following Alex around obediently. She is a wet and annoying main character who doesn't really seem to have much of a personality, rarely does she take her destiny into her own hands, and when she does she usually just attempts to run away without any sort of plan.

If Alex and Gemma are empty shells, then the other characters are merely names on a page. They have barely any of their own personality, with Nicolas barely being mentioned without the word 'creepy' next to him. Show us he's creepy, don't keep telling us. Marco and Sophia have very little interaction with Gemma despite supposedly being her guardians. Laylen was possibly the only character I was interested in, his story raised questions and I liked that he was honest with Gemma. show less

My Thoughts:
HOLY WOW!!!! I loved this story!
"In the midst of a dark forest, haunted by the winters chill, I ran for my life." (quoted from page 1 of The Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen)
That is the first sentence - gripping!!! I was "in" from that very sentence. What struck me first is the fantastically visual language. The writing is so vivid that I was able to actually FEEL Gemma's panic. The characters are mysteriously created with vague descriptions that are intriguing and led me to turn the pages and read on to learn more. By chapter six I was still in the grip of Gemma's emotions and could feel my heart pounding as I continued to read. The story is wonderfully written. The characters are fascinating and I couldn’t wait to show more find out all the answers to the questions I had compiled.
The story finished as strong as it started. The characters and the plot developed before my eyes! I found myself unwilling to put the book down, always needing to read just one more page; one more chapter. The story tells of secrets both kept and told, friendship, duty, and betrayal. I love the characters, they drive the story. This is a new theme; the fallen star with the power to save or condemn the world. There are mysteries left unsolved and the story finishes in a heart wrenching cliffhanger. Well worth the read!!!! show less

This book was difficult for me. There was a lot of dialogue - too much, for my tastes - and you could see the ending coming from a mile away. That's something I don't like in my books. I am investing significantly more time into them than I am into a movie - I want surprises! Sorensen didn't even try to surprise you. She all but told you the twist three or four times before making it happen.

Also, the co-conspirators, the sub characters... hated them! This is odd for me because usually I find the minor characters make the book. Not this time.

On to the good - I liked Gemma. Being typically against the protagonist, this was off for me... I liked her. I wanted not to, but I failed. Maybe because when I was her age I was listening to emo show more bands and yes, I was even driving a Mitsubishi Mirage! So I felt like I could relate. Also, she felt real. Not too deep, not too idealized, and despite what some other people have said, I didn't find her whiny. She does mope a bit after a supporting character, Alex (I don't like him; did I mention?), but it's hard to find a YA book these days without a love triangle.

Oh, and for those of you who love them, be forewarned - about halfway through, I was certain there was going to be a love triangle, and then delightfully, there was not. I was pleased. You may not be.

The plot. It was different. Not entirely original, but different, and different is refreshing. Sorensen gets points for that.

Overall, I couldn't decide to rate it low for all its frustrating aspects (and even a few glaring errors), or high because despite my greatest efforts, I was hooked. So I've rated it comfortably in the middle. I got it for free off Amazon and to be honest, I don't think that I'm going to pick up the sequel, but I enjoyed it for what it was. show less

I very much enjoyed this story, it quickly became a favorite. The story pulls you in and doesn't let go.

A young girl, who's never known affection from her grandparents, suddenly finds herself thrust into a world she'd only experienced in her nightmares. With mysterious new friends she's forced to trust, and creatures trying to kill her at every turn, how can she hope to deal with the biggest surprise yet- that she has a fallen star inside her?

Filled with deep characters, surrounded my mystery, danger and suspense, this book keeps you on your toes, until the very end, only to leave you wanting more!

This book does a fantastic job at setting the stage for a very exciting and unique adventure. Gemma finds herself in the middle of an epic show more battle between light and dark, and the power to end the world (or save it) hidden inside her. Only, it's not so hidden anymore, and now she has monsters who want her power, at any cost.

Living with distant and un-affectionate grandparents who turn out to have dark secrets of their own, Gemma's never gotten close to anyone. Then she runs into Alex (literally). Why does he hate her? His glares and cold attitude don't make her life any easier, and the fact his touch leaves her skin excited and warm makes it all the more confusing. It only gets more complicated when she finds out she has to trust him, maybe with her life.

Can she fight monsters and evil creatures? Can she stop them from opening the gates of the Underworld, bringing life as we know it to a shuttering halt? Can she figure out why Alex drives her so crazy?

I recommend this book to any YA fan, who likes adventure, romance, thrills, and magic. show less