"Occam’s Razor—the simplest explanation is usually the correct one"

I finally finished reading The Nine Lives of Chloe King! I meant to blog everytime I finished a book, but that obviously didn't happen. Sorry about that.

In case you missed it: Pre-Reading

SPOILER WARNING

First of all, this book pretty much met all of my expectations, and then some. I was prepared to have to deal with some of the stupid paranormal teen romance garbage that a lot of YA books have right now, but I was pleasantly surprised that the romance was not really the main focus of the book. It was a (fairly large) sub-plot, but Chloe didn't focus entirely on choosing between her two boyfriends (Brian and Alyec). I do disagree with her final choice, but to each ther own (I totally would have picked Alyec over Brian). 

The romance between Chloe and Brian seemed a little rushed though. At first, Brian was only supposed to get close enough to Chloe to dispose of her. Then, all of a sudden, he's in love with her? I feel like Chloe and Brian, like most teenagers, just throw the word around without fully understanding what it means. As I read through the books, I felt that Alyec was more mature than either of them and that Chloe could have learned quite a bit from him. Oh, and also, Alyec tried to protect her while Brian was trying to kill her. Most normal people would choose to be with the person who was always trying to save her, not with the guy who suddenly had a change of heart. Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox.

Although the books did cover quite a bit, I felt like they also left much to be discovered still. What happened to Chloe's adopted father? Who was Chloe's birth father? Does Chloe figure out how to be the leader of her Pride? What happens to her remaining six lives? Does she go to college? Although one plot line was resolved, I feel as though Braswell left so many loose ends that it's hard for the reader to really get any closure from the ending. Also, the books contained quite a bit of "fluff" that could have been left out to make the story a little bit shorter... and then she wouldn't have had to write 3 novels to tell one story. Especially since Chloe doesn't realize she's Mai until the end of the first book. Hello, isn't that what the series is supposed to be about? 

Turning Amy and Paul into a couple was also unnecessary, I think. I realize that things like that do happen and I'm pretty sure Braswell wanted to depict a normal teenage experience, but it just added an element to the story that did not need to be there. It just complicates things further and is one more thing that needs to be resolved. That space could have been used to resolve another more pressing issue!

I did think that Chloe's transformation over the course of the three novels was done very well though. She goes from being a self-centered teenager to being the selfless leader of her people. She sacrifices two of her lives to try and bring peace to the Mai and the humans, and eventually succeeds in doing so - at least for the time being. Unlike Sergei, Chloe cares little for power and more for ensuring her people can survive and lead semi-normal lives without having to be afraid of being hunted because of what they are. Although she is a leader by birth, Chloe grows into the role and will eventually be one of the greatest leaders her people have seen (or at least it's implied that she will.)

Over all, I thought the novel was pretty decent. An easy read with an interesting storyline and some well-developed characters. Although it had its flaws, I would probably rate this a 3/5. Pretty average for a YA novel dealing with the supernatural.

I still have yet to finish my October pick, and I haven't even started Paul's yet... Hopefully I get around to those and our November books before November ends...

--Ashley

The Nine Lives of Chloe King

I was going to make this book my October Pick, but decided that I wouldn't pick an entire trilogy as my pick. So until my October book comes in on Wednesday, I'll be reading this book and trying to get through some more of Wizard's First Rule. 

Also, this is all three books... so the all of the information  for the entire thing and the individual books is included below. I apologize for the long post.

Title: The Nine Lives of Chloe King
(Includes: The Fallen, The Stolen, The Chosen)
Author: Liz Braswell (writing as Celia Thomson)
Year Published: 2004, 2004, & 2005 respectively. The collection I have was published in 2011 though.




Synopses: 
The Nine Lives of Chloe King: 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? Even curiosity can't kill her.


The Fallen: Chloe King was a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She did her homework and got good grades, but she wasn't afraid to ditch class sometimes to hang out with her best friends. She slept at home, but otherwise avoided all human contact with her mom. The usual stuff. Then she fell from San Francisco's highest tower, and her life changed. For starters, she died. And then, she woke up. Now Chloe's life is anything but normal: Suddenly guys are prowling around her, she's growing claws, and someone's trying to kill her. Luckily for Chloe, she still has eight lives to go.


The Stolen: She argues with her mother. She occasionally skips class. And she alternately crushes on two totally different boys. But Chloe King is by no means your typical teenager. The girl can scale buildings and see in the dark. Sometimes, at night, she even likes to leap from rooftop to rooftop. Yes, Chloe has the instincts and ability of a cat. And that makes her unique indeed. It also makes her a wanted woman. Because the Order of the Tenth Blade does not deal kindly with people like Chloe. It stalks them. Preys upon them. And wants many of them -- like Chloe, for instance -- dead.


The Chosen: CHLOE KING MAY BE THE ONE. Despite a rocky few weeks, Chloe King is starting to get it. She's figured out who she is (a girl with catlike superpowers), where she belongs (at home with Mom), and what she wants to do (chill with her friends). Yes, she's got funky superpowers, and yes, two rival groups think she's some "chosen" leader. But no, she's not buying all that ancient-warrior crap. And she's definitely not developing a superhero alter ego like in those old comic books. For Chloe, being the One means she can have whatever she wants -- i.e., more goof-off time and fewer "cat people" conventions. Then she finds her friend bleeding in an alley. All at once Chloe realizes that the years of bloodshed are not over. In fact, they never will be. The Mai and the Tenth Blade are going to persist in their dangerous rivalry. Unless Chloe accepts her destiny -- and takes control.
Why?: ABC Family picked up the novel to be a new TV series, and it looked intriguing, to say the least. I figured the books would be better than the show (since that was definitely the case with Pretty Little Liars, although the show is good if you haven't read the books). I looked up the books on Amazon, and found this collection for like $8 and couldn't really pass it up. I've had it for a couple of months and haven't gotten around to reading it yet, so I figure now is as good a time as any.


Expectations: I expect this to be a supernatural teen romance novel, dealing with the normal problems of a 16 year old girl... as well as the not-so-normal problems of a 16 year old girl who is also the chosen leader of the Mai. Cat-like powers are always cool though, so I expect to be entertained most of the time and annoyed with stupid teenage problems for only a small amount of the time. I don't expect it to be a difficult read since ABC Family picked it up.


Judging a book by its cover: The cover of the book I have is mostly white and has a girl's eyes that are very cat-like. The cover makes me think that the book is about a girl who has cat-like powers and eventually starts to look like a cat.




--Ashley