Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Review: Rampant

Rampant (Killer Unicorns, #1)



Title: Rampant
Author: Diana Peterfreund
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-06-149000-2/Harper Teen
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

Sixteen year old Astrid Llewelyn grew up hearing stories about killer unicorns from her mom. And how killing them was part of their family history. But she never believed them. Why would she believe stories about venomous and hard to kill unicorns? But then one night one attacks her boyfriend out in the woods.

Now, Astrid's mom sends her to Rome to train with other virginal descendants of Alexander the Great to kill the re-emergence of the supposedly extinct unicorns. Here she will meet new friends, make some enemies, and learn about the powers that she was born with. Oh, and she has to figure out if being a unicorn killer is worth being a lonely girl for the rest of her life or if it's worth compromising with her virginity to get out of the cloisters.

I really, really wanted to love this book. The idea of killer unicorns seemed so awesome and different. However, the story was pretty slow. I understand that the slow start off the book was needed so the reader can learn the history and get to know the characters. But it was too slow for me. It took too much time to get into the story. It wasn't until the end that the action started, and then it seemed a bit rushed at times.

But, when the story was good, it was good. There were times when I wished I can jump in the book and help kick some butt. And then there were the parts where I was so upset with some of the characters and then parts where I wanted to protect them from some boys that wanted to date them.

This is the first book of a series and it will be interesting to see how the rest of it will play out, but I'm not going to head to the bookstore to purchase the next one right when it comes out. So, if I were you, I would just borrow it from the library or friend. I don't think it's worth buying.

Favorite lines...
"Are you saying you're a superhero? You're like Wolverine or something?" page 337

"Ti voglio...ti voglio tanto bene. [...] It means everything. It means I love you. It means I want you. It means I want you to be okay. It means everything." page 348


My Rating
***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because it's Maureen Johnson's month, grab her fave: iced tea...or anything with ginger...or mint (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***
***don't forget to enter my contest to win a signed copy of Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder***

4 comments:

  1. Great honest review Jennay. I like the line from page 348. Very emotional. Dramatic to an extent. Thanks for posting this review. Because I was eyeing this book. And was prepared to buy it. Oh, the gambles of hardcovers.

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  2. I'm sorry to hear that Rampant didn't work out for you, Jenna-y! I usually don't like books that are very slow paced either.

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  3. Great review! Books with slow beginnings aren't always my best friends, but I do have to say that I really want to read this book. Too bad the library hasn't got this book to rent.. :)
    Seems to be a kick ass book. :)

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  4. Hardcovers really are a gamble. You should see me at the store contemplating on them. But I hope you guys enjoy it more than me when you read it.

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