Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It's rare that I review a book before finishing it, but at this rate I doubt that I ever will. As forewarning, my review is pretty harsh, but this is my honest reaction to the book. Of all the books I've ever read, this is the worst. The writing is atrocious - the reader is consistently told who these characters are and what is happening in the most colourless language possible. Parts of the description are actually laughable. "We go inside and she takes me on a tour. It's a great house. A classic family home with bedrooms on the second floor, an attic where one of her brothers has his room, and all of the living spaces - the living room, dining room, kitchen and family room - on the first floor." This example pretty much follows throughout the entire book - we are given bland, generic treatments of everything from setting to characters - things that tell us NOTHING about them. An actual description of the house in terms of its decor, style, what sorts of things the family keeps, might have given us an idea about Sarah's character and her family, but it seems the author goes out of their way to keep everyone, including the main character, as anonymous silhouettes with no tangible identity. It's a great house because it has bedrooms an attic and living areas? I suppose every house is pretty spiffy then. I thought perhaps the plot would save this train wreck, but I was sorely disappointed. A premise that promised suspense, sci fi and break-neck pacing managed to peter out after a single chapter. Despite the fact John is being hunted by a savage alien race - and his death is imminent, as he's next on the chopping block, for 200 pages of exposition not a single alien has shown up, nor any significant sign of danger. Instead we're hand-fed a crudely spun romance between John and Sarah - a girl we are told is beautiful, blonde and intelligent (over and over again) but who has less personality than an elastic band. Every interaction between these two characters is less interesting than the last. They walk, they hold hands, they kiss. Rinse and repeat. Beyond her apparent good looks, we're never given an idea of what he sees in her, or her in him. Yet (much later) on page 250 after a near escape from Mogadorians (which somehow also managed to be just as boring as the happy couple's dates), we're asked to believe that John and Henri will now risk their lives and (potentially) the lives of their entire race by staying put so John can continue to kiss his girlfriend. Gag me. For a story about aliens this sure lacks anything alien. So far this is a mundane high school romance - as cliched as they come. John behaves like a regular human boy, except that he has flash light hands and telekinesis. There is so little to hint at the behaviours, customs, culture and lifestyles of the race these two main characters embody. We're supposed to be reading this through the eyes of an alien - so to him wouldn't some human customs seem strange? Guess not... Most fanfiction authors could claim to have written a more honest, heartfelt story. At this point I'm convinced it was written solely to hype up the movie. I'm extremely put off - I was told this would be as good as The Hunger Games. That is an insulting comparison. Do yourself a favour: either get it from the library or just watch the movie, but certainly don't spend money on this book.