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Liked It “Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com |
Didn’t Like It “I would give this 2 1/2 stars. There were a lot of twists and turns but none of them very plausible.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“I would give this 2 1/2 stars. There were a lot of twists and turns but none of them very plausible.”
Baglady wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Let me just start out by saying that I didn't finish this book. I read the first 5 chapters and then skipped ahead and read the ending. The book's plot is so far fetched and it annoyed me how badly nuns were portrayed in this book. I mean really, crazy nuns quietly shipping girls off to a brothel? That's ridiculous. Maggie Leigh was an interesting character, but this just wasn't my kind of book. ”
Katie M wrote this review Friday, July 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“ Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
TeensReadToo.com wrote this review Tuesday, July 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Maggie Leigh is a teenager growing up in war torn London in 1941. So far, Maggie and her mom have avoided any of the bombing raids over the city. But she is used to the blackout curtains and the warning sirens. It isn't until she ventures into another part of the city with her world-traveled Aunt Joan that the reality sets in. Maggie and her aunt are shopping in an exotic fabric shop when the unmistakable sound of a low-flying plane is heard overhead. In a matter of moments, the street outside is destroyed, and debris flies into the shop. As the plane passes, Aunt Joan grabs Maggie and runs for the underground station. They've been taught that the underground stations are deep enough to protect from the bombs above.
Unfortunately, the underground isn't as safe as they'd hoped, and the ceiling is about to cave. Protecting Maggie over everything else, Aunt Joan forces Maggie up the stairway. Maggie makes it back out safely, but Aunt Joan is left in a coma. It's from here that Maggie's mother decides that the best and safest place for Maggie to shelter is on the coast at her Uncle Harold's. Maggie doesn't have much say in the matter, and within two days, she finds herself on a train headed towards Carmarthen, with a letter from her mother stashed in her pocket.
It's only when the train arrives late at night at a deserted station that Maggie starts to worry. A lone car pulls up and a nun steps out. Maggie is confused, until Sister Bramley has Maggie retrieve the letter. The letter wasn't for her Uncle Harold, but for herself! Her mother is sending her to St. Garan's for the next three months. It's a convent in the middle of nowhere. Her mother is overly religious and was afraid that Aunt Joan's influence was corrupting Maggie.
Life at St. Garan's starts out miserably, and goes from bad to worse. It's only when she is befriended during the night by Kate that there is any bright spot for Maggie. Kate knows how to work the convent and helps Maggie to survive.
But a horrible event occurs on the beach below the rocky cliffs of St. Garan's. Maggie knows she will be blamed and life will become intolerable. Kate rescues her and the two decide to run away in the middle of the night. The duo turns into a foursome before the night is over, and they do their best to escape from St. Garan's.
It's at this point that I can't give anything else away. It would spoil the rest of the story!! I have to give the author kudos for writing a book that didn't give anything away before it was necessary. I could anticipate Maggie wanting to leave St. Garan's but did not plan on how it would turn out. I was kept turning pages from the initial bombing until the last page.
The story is dark, set in a desperate time in history, but Maggie's spirit and perseverance keeps the novel from becoming too depressing. The situations felt real and the horrors Maggie endured were traumatic, but she was a strong character able to persevere. This is yet another novel by Alex McAulay that I was relieved to end because of the constant suspense, but sad to see end because I was so caught up in the entire story.”
“I kept waiting for the payoff on this one, and was disappointed - it was pretty awful.”
evilmissmonkey wrote this review Monday, June 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Title: Shelter Me
Kelsey wrote this review Thursday, February 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Author: Alex McAulay
Publisher: MTV Books/Simon and Schuster
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: January 6, 2009
Pages: 274
Rating: C+
Plot - 14/20
Characters - 17/20
Writing - 16/20
Originality - 18/20
Entertainment - 7/10
Recommendation - 6/10
Total: 78/100
Summary:
Maggie Leigh just wants to be a normal teenager, but when German bombs tear apart London during World War II, her ultra-religious mother sees the destruction as divine punishment. She sends Maggie to a remote boarding school in coastal Wales, supposedly to keep her safe, but also to keep her in line. The school is creepy, the headmistress is a lunatic, and the students range from spoiled rich girls to speechless trauma victims. But when a tragic accident happens on the beach, Maggie and three friends are forced to flee the school, plunging into the nightmarish world of Europe during wartime. Now every decision Maggie makes is fraught with danger, and living to see another day depends on how quickly she can think and act...and how far she's willing to go.
Review:
I've read one of McAulay's previous books, Bad Girls, and I absolutely loved it. I've heard nothing but great things about this novel, so I had high expectations. But this novel completely disappointed me.
This novel started out exciting with hope and like I was expecting. McAulay's British was spot-on, which is expected when McAulay holds a Ph.D in British Literature. But soon enough I was disgusted and disturbed. This novel was completely absurd, psychotic, and demented. I don't really want to ruin this for you so I want explain why, just that a whole lot of it was so inane and not realistic or astute at all. The ending was seriously messed up, it wasn't happy and it felt rushed and vapid.
The reason it even got a C+ was because the writing was actually pungent and ample. I loved Maggie as a character and I thought her actions were genuine. The whole originality is a plus, even if I didn't care for it. I also liked the bit about the fact that it was taken place in Britain in World War II, so that was really neat.
I wouldn't recommend this really, I mean there were a few high points to it, but a whole lot of it was just absurd, but I think if you really want to read it, go for it, but I wouldn't recommend buying it.
ETA 2/19 7:21 AM: I just wanted to tell you guys that this review I wrote seconds after I finished the book in January. I was still really mad about it then, so I'm kind of harsh in this review.”
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