Meg Cabot- Insatiable

Insatiable is a new novel released by Meg Cabot. It continues on the vampire-human romance trend which seems to have a reached a high-point with twilight. Honestly, I am fed up of people trying to do all 'supernatural' just because one book became a hit. They all don't have to copy Stephanie Meyer. Even Stephanie Meyer has moved on to sci-fi.

When I heard that Meg Cabot was doing a vampire novel, my reaction was something between shock and disgust. Meg is one of the most entertaining and original writers, why does she also have to copy the twilight trend? The first line of the synopsis was interesting, though- Tired hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.

Meena Harper is the protagonist of this novel. She is a modern, chic urban screenwriter behind the suuccess of a Tv soap called insatiable which is something about a mother and daughter. She lives in a nice apartment with her unemployed brother. Her neighbor is a hard-core socialite whose husband does real estate business. Her neighbor also annoys her with constant atttempts at match-making. She has a friend Leisha who is a hair-dresser. But everything about Meena is not ordinary- she can see when people will die as soon as she meets them. When she tries to warn then, they think she is nuts. But her predictions almost always come true.

The first chapter described her life. The second chapter shifts the scene to Romania where we meet professer Lucien Antonescu who is the prince of darkness (king of all vampires, son of Dracula). He is rich and spending time teaching European history to students in college. Girls have a crush on him due to his being so handsome (I wonder why everyone thinks vampires are handsome. Seriously, if a vampire came and stood before a human, anyone would think that such a person is a corpse). However, his peaceful life is disrupted by a call which says that some vampires have been killing human girls. Since it is his duty to protect the secret of vampires, he rushes to Manhattan to find the culprit. There he meets Meena Harper in a party and a one-night-affair becomes love. This is so unrealistic. It is impossible for someone to fall in love within a day (or night). Yet, it happens so frequently in romance novels.

You can read the rest of the story yourself. My analysis was that the story had potential. Meg's writing style is great. If she had written twilight, I can guarentee that it would have been better. Stephanie Meyer's style is too dry for a genre like romance.



Anyhow, Insatiable starts off the tension very well and maintains the tension very well too. Towards the end, however, the story starts to deteriorate. Suddenly, without any coherent reason, Meena decides that she doesn't love Lucien, a vampire-killing organisation appears and a vampire war ensues in which Lucein turns into a dragon! (This one was completely confusing).

The ending was terrible. Meg Cabot usually has happy endings but this one was too vague for me to understand. Meena suddenly tells Lucien that she doesn't love him anymore. Also, Lucien's character is inconsistent throughout the story- he is mysterious in the beginning, he becomes overly sentimental in the middle, starts getting violent after that and in the end, he just looks like a weak loser. Meena is also very inconsistent.

If you don't like ending which are too vague to be understood, please don't torture yourself by reading Insatiable. However, I would like you to read this book and decipher the ending for me. It is not such a bad read overall, just something unexpected from Meg Cabot.

Ratings-
Story-4
Plot-4.2
Characters-4
Writing Style-4.5

Pros
Starts off well
Clifffhangers
Unique writing style

Cons
Inconsistent characters
Undecipherable ending
Characters take decisions without any rationality in the end
Another vampire romance (when will it stop?)

Meg Cabot- All American Girl

Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries) presents another teen-pleasing novel and another likable heroine in this story set in Washington, D.C. Feisty, red-haired Samantha, a self-described "urban rebel" who has dyed all of her clothes black, is a 15-year-old middle child, uncomfortably wedged between her popular, cheerleader older sister, Lucy, and her brainy 11-year-old sister, Rebecca. And she has a major crush on Jack, Lucy's nonconformistartist boyfriend, whom she feels is far better suited to her than to her rather vacuous sister.

The entertainingly opinionated narrator's wry top-10 lists add considerably to the tale's charm and speedy pacing, among them, the "top ten reasons why I can't stand my sister Lucy" and the "top ten signs that Jack loves me and not my sister Lucy and just hasn't realized it yet." Sam's life suddenly changes dramatically when, while standing on the sidewalk one afternoon, she foils an attempt to assassinate the President. She becomes a national hero overnight, is named teen ambassador to the United Nations and eventually lands the president's son as her beau.

Despite these rather unlikely plot twists (in a comic coincidence, the president's son also happens to be a fellow student in her art class whom she finds attractive), Sam's spunky and intermittently affecting narrative, as well as the true-to-life voices of the supporting cast of characters, make this a convincing and diverting tale. As Sam learns important truths about herself, Cabot interjects a worthy message into her comedic caper. Ages 12-up.

I found All American girl a little boring at first. Only gradually does it become interesting. Even at the end, I felt that Meg Cabot's other books were much better. This book is very averagely written and when Samantha meets the president and his son and all, there is really no excitement. Rather, it seems like she is telling the story of a sad dog. Everything about the book was very average (including its cover art). Even though I have nothing against having an average girl as a heroine, this book focuses too much abbout her normal life which is not interesting to read about since every teenage girl has a similar kind of life.

Meg Cabot has not put her whole heart into writing the book like she usually does. I find it a disappointment coming from a writer who has authored many wonderful books. The characters (especially David) is very flat and two-dimensional. I could not grow to like him. Samantha is also not a very interesting heroine (like Jinx (Jean Honeycombs) or Steph from How to be popular). This book is a major letdown.

Pros
Meg Cabot's writing style

Cons
Everything about the book was average and reads like the diary of an average teenage girl. Even meeting the president and his son could not save this book. It lacked a 'wow' factor.

Meg Cabot- Avalon High

AVALON HIGH is a novel about Ellie- a girl who moves to Annapolis, MD because of her parents. There she goes to a new high school. In the park, she meets a guy named Will which starts off a series of bizzare events. It seems that Will is the reincarnation og king Arthur. He will have the same fate of king Arthur. Ellie starts liking him but her math teacher Mr. Morton who is part of a secret society which is dedicated to the return of Arthur tells her to stay away because she is not the one destined for him.

Soon, Ellie realizes that the legend is not just a stupid invention of her math teacher but it is actually happening! It looks like Will is the present day Arthur and he is in danger. Will Elllie be able to save him?

I will leave it up to you to read the book and find that out. As for me, I found the book very good. It had a creative twist by linking a story with the present. The characters are interesting and the story is very well told.

Pros
A good story
Solid plot

Cons
Cover art
I did not like Will

Meg Cabot- JINX

JINX is a novel by Meg Cabot about a teenage girl Jinx (what a name! Her real name is Jean) who is very unlucky. Here is the synopsis:

Jean Honeychurch is so unlucky that even her family calls her Jinx. To escape an unpleasant situation with a boy who refuses to let her end their relationship, Jinx moves from Iowa to Manhattan to live with her aunt and her family in their swanky Upper East Side townhouse. It's no surprise that the klutzy, small-town 16-year-old doesn't fit in with über-chic cousin Tory and her friends, and she definitely doesn't share their fondness for drugs and alcohol.

Tory, who has been practicing witchcraft for some time, soon realizes that Jinx also has the gift and invites her cousin to join her coven. But Jinx knows the dangers of playing with magic and refuses. Tory sees Jinx's snub as a threat and plots against her. Though she wants to leave magic behind, Jinx must learn to harness the mysterious powers that are her birthright before Tory does too much damage.

Cabot creates believable conflict and avoids being too fantastical, as Tory's mental instability is more dangerous than her Wiccan powers. In the vein of Avalon High (2006) and "The Mediator" series (both HarperCollins), the author delivers her signature blend of romance and wit, successfully combining upper-crust chick-lit and a tad of the supernatural into an entertaining potion that is sure to please her fans and draw in new readers.—Emily Anne Valente, New York Public Library


The book was pretty good. It had romance, high school life and this time, also magic (there is real magic!). It is a pretty good read for casual lovers of books as well as Meg cabot fans.

The story unfolds slowly as Jean's past is relealed. Her cousin tries to take revenge on her by doing various things throughout the course of the book.

Pros
Suspense and supernatural give the novel a uniqueness
Interesting characterization of Jean
Good unfolding of story

Cons
Guys might not like the pink cover (The version I read had a pink cover)
The cover gives an impression that it is very girly so girls who don't like girly stuff might not even give it a try

Meg Cabot Being Nikki

I usually review trilogies together, but since all the books in this series came out after a long gap (I still don't have the last one)I am making an exception.

Airhead left off with Em being caught up in the body of supermodel Nikki Howard. I felt that some parts of the first book really dragged.

In being Nikki, we see Em getting along with her friends Lulu and trying to win back Christopher's heart while managing the busy schedule of a supermodel. When, things with Christopher finally start to look up, Nikki's long lost brother turns up saying that their mother is sick or has died or something (I read it long ago, I don't really remember.

Then Brandon, the son of Stark enterprises chairman, starts liking Nikki. Amidst all this, Christopher finally descovers that Nikki is Em. But she suddenly discovers a secret- that Nikki is alive, or rather, her brain is alive in the body of another person.

Being Nikki was a great thriller. I never expected teh story to take such a suspenseful turn. I really am waiting to get my hands on Runaway now.

Rating

Story-4
Plot-4.6
Characters-4
Style-4.3

Pros
Unexpected twists and turns
The fast pace of the story
Writing style

Cons
The first few pages are a bit boring and the story really gets into gear a bit later.
The cliffhanger ending (she didn't have to make me so desperate to read Runaway)

Great book, though!And coming from me, that's a lot.

Meg Cabot Airhead

Meg Cabot is a writer of fiction aimed mainly at girls of all ages. Her style is realistic and funny at the same time. She is critically accclaimed for her Princess Diaries series and now is rising in fame.

Airhead is the first book of the Airhead trilogy. It is about an average teenage girl, Emmerson Watts, who has no interest in fashion whatsoever. She likes to hang out with her computer game crazy friend Christopher. Her sister, unlike her, is crazy about fashion and celebrities.

One day, when Em accompanies her sister for a CD signing by Gabriel Luna- a new heartthrob singer in Stark Mall owned by Stark enterprises, her fate changes. World famous model Nikki Howard also happpens to be there. During the signing, a huge television is about to fall on Nikki but Em saves her. Instead, Em's bodyy is completely crushed and she is admitted into hospiital.

When she opens her eyes, she is.....Nikki Howard!! Her parents inform her that Nikki Howard suffered from some brain disease which made her brain give out (I am not sure I have all the facts right) and now Em's brain has been transplanted into Nikki's body. And not only that, now Em has to become a model and model for Mr. Stark- the owner of Stark enterprises who paid millions of dollars for her brain transplant.

The book is well written and gives a first hand account of a girl transitioning from normal high school life to celebrity life in one day.

Ratings
Story-4
Plot-4.5
Characters-4.5
Style-4.5

Overall-4

Pros
Strong protagonist
Original plot
Hidden plot

Cons
The idea of a brain transplnat is pretty unbelievable
Other characters are not as interesting